logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
18m 37s

Where do our early childhood memories go...

The Guardian
About this episode
It’s a mystery that has long puzzled researchers. Why can’t we remember our early childhood experiences? Freud called the phenomenon infantile amnesia, and for many years scientists have wondered whether it’s a result of failure to create memories or just a failure to retrieve them. Now new research appears to point to an answer. To find out more, Ian Sample ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
Is male testosterone in freefall?
Men’s average testosterone levels have halved over the past 50 years, according to scientists who say society is facing a male fertility crisis. Rising levels of obesity and diabetes are expected to play a part, but the team behind the work suggest that environmental factors such ... Show More
14 m
Jul 7
‘A break from scrolling’: how Gen Z fell in love with birding
In the last 50 years, Britain has lost an astonishing 73 million wild birds from its landscape, according to the British Trust for Ornithology. Habitat loss, pesticides, disease, cats and the climate crisis mean there are fewer birds than ever before. For children and young peopl ... Show More
16m 43s
Jul 2
‘Beautiful blobs’: can scientists build life from scratch?
Researchers claim they are closer to creating life from nothing after building tiny, quivering blobs that use lab-made DNA to feed, grow and multiply in a dish. To find out how significant this step is, and where scientists hope it will lead, Madeleine Finlay hears from co-host I ... Show More
16m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2025
Why can’t you remember being a baby? With Nicholas Turk-Browne, PhD
Why can’t you remember your first birthday party? Or the house you lived in at age 2? Nicholas Turk-Browne, PhD, talks about new studies that suggest that babies and toddlers may form early memories; why we aren’t able to retrieve them as adults; and how evolving brain imaging te ... Show More
41m 42s
Apr 2023
Before You Could Remember, Part 3
Our personal memories only extend back so far in life, and before that, there is a void. Why don’t we remember our early childhood and what does it say about human memory, childhood development and cultural ideas about infants? Robert and Joe explore in this episode of Stuff to B ... Show More
51m 15s
Apr 2024
From the Vault: Before You Could Remember, Part 2
Our personal memories only extend back so far in life, and before that, there is a void. Why don’t we remember our early childhood and what does it say about human memory, childhood development and cultural ideas about infants? Robert and Joe explore in this classic episode of St ... Show More
44m 43s
Apr 2023
Before You Could Remember, Part 1
Our personal memories only extend back so far in life, and before that, there is a void. Why don’t we remember our early childhood and what does it say about human memory, childhood development and cultural ideas about infants? Robert and Joe explore in this episode of Stuff to B ... Show More
48m 37s
Nov 2017
Why can’t we remember being a baby?
The Astronomical Balloon "How far up can a helium balloon go? Could it go out to space?" asks Juliet Gok, aged 9. This calls for an experiment! Dr Keri Nicholl helps Adam launch a party balloon and track its ascent. But their test doesn't quite go to plan. Meanwhile, Hannah disco ... Show More
26m 28s
Sep 2018
BrainStuff Classics: Why Can't People Remember Being Born?
You probably remember your last birthday, but not your first – or your zeroth. Learn why scientists think we lose those early memories in this episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in ... Show More
4m 54s
Jan 2024
Are Your Memories Real?
<p>We rely on our memory to understand the world. But what if our memories aren't true? This week, we talk to psychologist <a href="https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/eloftus/">Elizabeth Loftus</a> about the malleability of memory — what we remember, and what we think we remember.</p> ... Show More
49m 50s
Aug 2022
Focus - Why We Forget
Why does our memory sometimes fail us? Would you recognise an implanted memory? And what implications do the risks of false memories have for society? In this Focus episode of How We’re Wired, join producer Dr Eva Higginbotham as she explores the murky depths of our imperfect mem ... Show More
33m 21s
Aug 2022
Why can't we remember when we were babies?
You've probably seen photos from your first birthday. Or maybe you heard about the time you got spaghetti sauce all over the walls when you were two. The grown ups around you remember these things, so why can't you? In this episode, we'll find out how our brains store memories an ... Show More
28m 50s
Apr 2024
Memory and Forgetting
<p>Remembering is a tricky, unstable business. This hour: a look behind the curtain of how memories are made...and forgotten.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The act of recalling in our minds something that happened in the past is an unstable and profoundly unreliable process--it’s easy co ... Show More
57m 38s