THE BRAIN WITH DAVID EAGLEMAN

THE BRAIN WITH DAVID EAGLEMAN, hosted by Dr. David Eagleman, neuroscientist, New York Times best-selling author and a Guggenheim Fellow, reveals the true story of how our brains create the rich and beautiful world around us by blending scientific truth with innovative visual effects and compelling personal stories.

The six-part series exposes the inner workings of the brain and takes viewers on a visually spectacular journey into why they feel and think the things they do.

With hardly a brain scanner or a white coat in sight, THE BRAIN focuses on understanding the fundamental truths of what it means to be human today and in the coming centuries.

Dr. Eagleman’s exciting multi-disciplinary approach has generated respect — and fans — across the world.

He takes viewers on a fascinating journey through our neural universe, asking profound questions like “What is reality?” and “Who is in control?”

He also looks at the darker side of human behavior, and reveals that the modern study of the brain offers us special insight into why we can commit terrible acts of group on group violence, even genocide.

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Cold Blue Luke - Robert Luke, former inmate who suffered hallucinations in solitary confinement, Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco.

Courtesy of Blink Films

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Hannah Bosley, color synesthete who always associates specific colors with letters and words.

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Dr. David Eagleman talks to Nun's doing a puzzle. They are part of the Religious Orders Study – run by David A. Bennett, M.D.Director, Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center - which is collecting detailed family histories, socioeconomic data and records of cognitive exams from more than 2300 people including older Catholic Nuns, priests and brothers living in forty communities across the U.S.

Courtesy of Blink Films

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Dr. David Eagleman cupstacking with under 10 world champion cupstacker Austin Naber - here they are connected to an EEG to monitor brain activity whilst they cup stack.

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Dr. David Eagleman batting at the baseball stadium at Rice University, demonstrating our unconscious mind reacting before our conscious mind.

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Dr. David Eagleman in a scene about the concept of free will, using ping pong balls in mousetraps to illustrate the unpredictability of actions and consequences.

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Dr. David Eagleman with a Delorean, talking about the way we simulate future events in order to make decisions, a bit like a form of time travel.

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Dr. David Eagleman and the dilemma booth. Eagleman asks volunteers to consider the trolley dilemma, and we see how the rational and emotional networks in the brain are both involved in how we make decisions.

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Dr. David Eagleman on the set of the parole board scene. A study revealed that parole boards are much more likely to grant parole immediately after a food break.

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Dr. David Eagleman with Mr. Potato Head, talking about a future where we can have plug and play senses.

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EPISODE GUIDE:

Episode 1: “What Is Reality?” repeats Wednesday, June 28 at 10 p.m. - Dr. David Eagleman takes viewers on an extraordinary journey, exploring how the brain, locked in silence and darkness without direct access to the world, conjures the rich and beautiful world we all take for granted.

Episode 2: “What Makes Me” repeats Wednesday, July 5 at 10 p.m. - Explore how we are our brain, how our personality, emotions and memories are encoded as neural activity. The process of becoming continues through our lives. We change our brain and our brain changes us.

Episode 3: “Who Is In Control” repeats Wednesday, July 12 at 10 p.m. - Dr. Eagleman explores the unconscious brain and reveals that everything from our movements, to our decisions, to our behavior is largely controlled and orchestrated by an invisible world of unconscious neural activity.

Episode 4: “How Do I Decide” repeats Wednesday, July 19 at 10 p.m. - Learn how the brain navigates the tens of thousands of conscious decisions we make every day and the many more unconscious decisions we make about everything from whom we find attractive to what we perceive.

Episode 5: “Why Do I Need You?” repeats Wednesday, July 26 at 10 p.m. - See how the brain relies on other brains to thrive and survive. This neural interdependence underpins our need to group together — and our capacity to do the best and the worst of things to each other.

Episode 6: “Who Will We Be?” repeats Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 10 p.m. - Join Dr. Eagleman as he journeys into the future and asks what’s next for the human brain and for our species. He speculates that our descendants may be so different from us that we’ll be strangers to them.

WATCH ON YOUR SCHEDULE:

All six episodes are available for viewing on demand with KPBS Passport, video streaming for members ($60 yearly) using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

Dr. David Eagleman is on Facebook, Instagram, and you can follow @davideagleman on Twitter. #BrainPBS

CREDITS:

Produced by Blink Films. The series is executive produced by Justine Kershaw and Dr. David Eagleman.