Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
How Our Brains Learn
1 hour 22 minutes Posted Aug 18, 2025 at 7:39 pm.
0:00
1:22:00
Download MP3
Show notes

Have you ever fallen asleep in school or during a work meeting? Maybe you felt your eyes glaze over as your boss or a teacher droned on and on about a topic that had no relevance to you. What's missing from these classrooms and conference rooms is engagement: A state of being absorbed, alert, and eager to learn. This week, psychologist and neuroscientist Mary Helen Immordino-Yang explores why so many of us feel apathetic at school and at work, and how to cultivate the magic of engagement.

Do you have follow-up questions or comments after listening to this episode? If you’d be willing to share your thoughts with the Hidden Brain audience, please record a voice memo on your phone and email it to us at ideas@hiddenbrain.org. Use the subject line “learning.” Thanks! 

Episode photo by Ismail Salad Osman Hajji dirir on Unsplash