Brain Pops
Each episode takes one brilliant brain story, from a brand-new study to a science legend, and has a lot of fun with it in about seven minutes. Hosted by clinical neuropsychologist Dr Judy Tang OAM.
How each episode works
Every episode follows the same happy shape, so you know what you are in for.
The hook
A “did you know?” moment that gets you curious.
The story
The people, the study and the surprising result, told in plain English.
The nerd bit
The science explained with a fun, everyday comparison.
The twist
There is nearly always a second surprise hiding in the research.
I wonder…
Curious questions about what it could mean for all of us.
101 brain stories in Season 1
Brain Pops has had a glow-up. Season 1 is 101 fun, nerdy episodes in 9 themes, from brain legends to the future of brain science. Every episode is checked against the original research. Episodes 1 to 30 are out now on Spotify, and the rest are on their way. Here are the first three episodes in each theme.
Where it all starts, plus brain legends
11 episodesEpisodes 1 to 11 · all out now
- 1Your Dog Has A Picture In Its HeadSay 'ball' and your dog's brain pictures the ball, and scientists caught it on EEGListen on Spotify
- 2Why I Love Oliver SacksThe motorbiking, weightlifting, face-blind neurologist who wrote brains like love storiesListen on Spotify
- 3Phineas Gage and the Iron RodA railway worker, a flying iron bar, and the comeback story the textbooks forgotListen on Spotify
Plus 8 more in this section
Brain myths, busted
10 episodesEpisodes 12 to 21 · all out now
- 12Are You Left Brained Or Right BrainedThe two-housemate brain, and why nobody lives on just one sideListen on Spotify
- 13Sorry Lucy You Use It AllThe ten per cent myth, and the sneaky grain of truth hiding inside itListen on Spotify
- 14Mozart Blur And The Baby Genius MythHow ten minutes of piano became a lullaby lawListen on Spotify
Plus 7 more in this section
Your wonderfully weird senses
20 episodesEpisodes 22 to 41 · 22 to 30 out now
- 22Face Blindness Is Way More Common Than You ThinkSome brains just don't do faces, and they've become incredible detectives insteadListen on Spotify
- 23The People Who Can't Picture an AppleClose your eyes and imagine an apple... what did you actually see?Listen on Spotify
- 24The Man Who Can Taste the London UndergroundColoured letters, tasty words, and a very suspicious set of fridge magnetsListen on Spotify
Plus 17 more in this section
Memory is a trickster
10 episodesEpisodes 42 to 51 · coming soon
- 42Where Did All The Baby Memories GoBabies save memories from about their first birthday, so why can't we find them later?
- 43Inside The Memory PalaceAn ancient Greek party trick that can more than double your memory in forty days
- 44Lost In The MallHow one word, or one fake family story, can plant a memory that never happened
Plus 7 more in this section
Sleep, dreams and body glitches
10 episodesEpisodes 52 to 61 · coming soon
- 52Your Brain's Night-Time Wash CycleWhile you snooze, your brain pops on a load of washing
- 53Waving From Inside A DreamLucid dreamers who send messages out of their dreams, with their eyes
- 54Sleep Paralysis And The Horse In The CurtainsWhy your brain sometimes wakes up before your body does
Plus 7 more in this section
Brain, body and feelings
10 episodesEpisodes 62 to 71 · coming soon
- 62Why Songs Give You GoosebumpsThe science of music chills, and why your brain starts celebrating before the drop
- 63Meet Your Second BrainHundreds of millions of neurons in your gut, and the germ-free mice that taught us about them
- 64The Wandering Nerve And The Dreaming ScientistFrog hearts, a 3am lab dash, and the nerve that mostly listens
Plus 7 more in this section
Animal brains
10 episodesEpisodes 72 to 81 · coming soon
- 72Does An Octopus Have Nine BrainsTwo thirds of its neurons live in its arms, and it still knows which arms are its own
- 73Crows Hold GrudgesOne caveman mask, seven crows, and a grudge that lasted seventeen years
- 74Bees Understand ZeroA Melbourne study found honeybees put nothing below one
Plus 7 more in this section
Brains across a lifetime
10 episodesEpisodes 82 to 91 · coming soon
- 82The Teenage Brain Is Under RenovationWhy mates in the room turn a teen brain's reward system up to eleven
- 83Baby Brains Build Faster Than AnythingA million connections a second, and eight-month-old statisticians
- 84London Cabbies and Their Big HippocampusTwenty-five thousand streets, one very buff seahorse
Plus 7 more in this section
Unusual brains and the future
10 episodesEpisodes 92 to 101 · coming soon
- 92Waking Up With A Brand New AccentWhen a small brain change rewrites the melody of your voice
- 93When Someone You Love Seems Like An ImpostorRight face, missing glow: the fascinating science of Capgras
- 94The Hand With A Mind Of Its OwnAlien hand syndrome, Dr Strangelove, and the brain's approval desk
Plus 7 more in this section
Dr Judy Tang OAM
Clinical neuropsychologist and founder of Invictus Health.
Judy works every day with people whose memory, attention and thinking have changed through injury, illness, neurodivergence or stress. Brain Pops is her way of sharing the parts of brain science that are too interesting to keep in the clinic.
- Clinical Neuropsychologist
- Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), 2026
- Managing Director, Invictus Health
Brain Pops is general education, not health advice. If an episode raises a question about your own health, speak with your GP or another qualified health professional.
Curious about your own brain?
Read our articles on memory, attention, ADHD, autism and brain health, or find out what a neuropsychological assessment involves.