Do you ever feel like you and a friend are speaking past each other?

Or that you're not sure how to break out of a rut?

I'm Shankar Vedantam, host of the podcast Hidden Brain.

We explore questions that keep you up at night

and provide answers that are grounded in rigorous science.

Join us each week to explore your Hidden Brain.

Hey, smarty pants. As you can hear, I'm taking a little swim in the pool.

Do you know how to swim?

Sounds like a lot of you do. And if you don't know how,

it's actually a really good thing to learn.

For me, nothing beats swimming around on a hot summer day, splashing with friends,

or if the water's deep enough...

Cannonball!

Ha ha, nice one, Tino.

Alright, I've been in the pool for a while now.

It's time to get out. I'll just climb up this ladder.

Ooh, it's chilly outside the water.

Oh, look at my fingers. They're all all in rankly looking.

Whoa, not only are they old and wrinkly looking.

Apparently they talk, too. Yeah, I figured it was about time I introduced myself.

The name's Bruno. I'd shake your hand, but I am your head.

I guess it would be weird to shake yourself.

...