What's up, everybody? My name is Demetric Afinas, and you're listening to Hidden Forces,

a podcast that inspires investors, entrepreneurs, and everyday citizens to challenge consensus narratives,

and to learn how to think critically about the systems of power shaping our world.

My guest in this week's episode is Lorna Geary, an award-winning science journalist whose book

The Mind Thief tells the story of a team of doctors who through years of investigation

discover a surprising connection between the use of opioids, specifically fentanyl, and memory loss.

This condition first discovered in overdose victims with severe damage to their hippocampus

has since led to a series of discoveries about the nature of memory, as well as the mysteries

that persist about how we remember, where memories live, how they're formed, and why we forget

most of what happens to us in a day, but can remember some events with stunning clarity,

years, even decades later. Perhaps the greatest mystery that Lorna tackles in her book, however,

is why Alzheimer's, a degenerative brain disease responsible for causing dementia and early death,

has continued to evade scientific capture despite deflecting tens of millions of people around the world.

It's one of the questions we explored during the episode over time where Lorna also shares

information about some of the more promising new strategies and developments that may finally lead

to an effective treatment and perhaps even cure of this devastating disease.

So without any further ado, please enjoy this week's highly informative and eye-opening conversation

with my guest journalist and author, Lorna Geary.

Lorna Geary, welcome to Hidden Forces.

Hi Dimitri, I'm happy to be here.

It's great having you on, Lorna. So I'm very excited to talk about your book,

the title of the book is The Memory Thief and the Secrets Behind How We Remember.

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