Imagine remembering your childhood, your parents, the history you learned in school, but never being able to form a new long term memory after the age of 27. Welcome to the life of the famous amnesic patient “HM”. Neuroscientist Suzanne Corkin studied HM for almost half a century, and considered him a friend, even though he could never remember how he knew her. Suzanne gives us a glimpse of what daily life was like for him, and his tremendous contribution to our understanding of how our memories work.

This episode of Transistor is hosted by neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki and produced by Julie Burstein, with editing and sound design by Derek John.

Episode extras are at transistor.prx.org.

Image of Henry Moliason (Patient HM) in the lab, copyright Suzanne Corkin.

Transistor Episode 4: Totally Cerebral: The Man Without a Memory

This year on Reveal, we’ve dug into issues that affect people's lives across the country. We told stories about worker abuse, toxic schools, women’s sports and private prisons. So we decided to round out this season with something different: This hour, we look back at stories you, our listeners, told us were the most memorable. 

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Head over to revealnews.org for more of our reporting. 

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Reveal

The year in Reveal

The Offshore team heads to the Big Island to gather material for Season Two, and author Lois-Ann Yamanaka gives us a humorous glimpse at working class life in Hawaii.

OFFSHORE

Episode 11: The Gift Shop [Bonus]

The bestselling author of The Blind Side, The Big Short, Moneyball and his newest, The Undoing Project, is known to be a master storyteller. He proves no different in this interview as he tells great stories about his years growing up in New Orleans and how that helped shape his world view and his approach to writing.

#48 Michael Lewis

America's digital dumping ground

PRX is a leading media company, shaping the future of audio by connecting talented producers with their most engaged, supportive audiences.
PRX builds technology and creates cutting-edge content that reaches millions of listeners worldwide.

For 15 years, PRX has operated public radio’s largest distribution marketplace, offering thousands of shows including This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour and Reveal. Named one of Fast Company’s "Ten Most Innovative Companies in Media" in both 2015 and 2017, the company has pioneered new approaches to technology and talent.

In 2014, PRX launched Radiotopia, a curated network of extraordinary podcasts anchored by 99% Invisible from Roman Mars. The network has quickly grown to over 19 million downloads per month (November 2017, Podtrac).

Transistor Episode 4: Totally Cerebral: The Man Without a Memory

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