You Can Grow Your Brain. Here’s How.

The Next Big Idea

Next Big Idea Club

Education, Social Sciences, Science, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2026

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the last 20 years, there has been a dramatic change in our understanding of neuroplasticity — the brain’s capacity to grow new neurons. In the last five years, we’ve learned that your hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for learning and memory, can get bigger at any age. Majid Fotuhi, who teaches at Johns Hopkins, has been at the forefront of a new body of research demonstrating that lifestyle changes — tweaks to the way you exercise and eat, adjustments to your sleep and mindset — can improve your brain health no matter how old you are. They can even reverse early-stage Alzheimer’s. His new book is The Invincible Brain, and the message is clear: with the right lifestyle and mindset changes, you can grow a bigger brain. 🔗 LINKS AND MENTIONS: Check out our playlist of health-related episode on Spotify The Next Big Idea Club — Save 20% on any membership when you use code PODCAST at nextbigideaclub.com Granola — If meetings are eating up your day, Granola is a no-brainer. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to granola.ai/idea Incogni — Protect your personal information online and get an exclusive 60% off an annual plan at incogni.com/nbi Quince — Refresh your spring wardrobe and get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/nbi Shopify — Launch your business for just $1/month. Start selling today at shopify.com/nbi

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Rufus Griscombe, and this is the next big idea.
0:04.0	Today, how to grow your brain. I've been aware for a long time that I could, if I really wanted to get in sick shape.
0:36.8	With an hour or two of daily training after a few months,
0:39.8	I could probably run a marathon.
0:41.8	I could play five sets of competitive tennis.
0:45.0	I could, with sufficient maniacal discipline,
0:48.6	develop such explosive grip strength
0:51.0	that I could crush raw potatoes with my bare hands at cocktail parties.
0:55.0	I've never done any of these things before.
0:58.0	I've never even run a half marathon.
1:00.0	I've never crushed a cooked potato.
1:02.0	But I understand that my body is trainable.
1:06.0	Repeatedly stressing muscles makes them larger.
1:09.0	We know this.
1:10.0	With the right nutrients and discipline regime, my body could do things that would amaze me.
1:16.6	My brain, on the other hand, I've always assumed that its capacities are gated by genetics.
1:22.6	I'm pretty good at math, I'm pretty good with people, but I'm atrocious at remembering names.
1:28.4	I sometimes find the eyeglasses I'm looking for on my nose.
1:32.6	This is the brain with which I was born.
1:35.3	But my guest today, Majid Fatoui, says these beliefs are common misunderstandings of how our brains work and what they are capable of.
1:45.4	In the last 20 years, there's been a dramatic change in our understanding of neuroplasticity,
1:51.0	the brain's capacity to grow new neurons, new connections.
	...

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