I like to share this video/podcast from The Gray Area, as I often discuss memory on this blog. Understanding how memory shapes who we are is crucial to our self-awareness and identity.

We like to think of memory as a record of the past. But that’s not really what it is. Memory doesn’t keep the past — it can also remake it. It stitches fragments into stories, and those stories — true or not — are what we end up calling our life, and sometimes, our collective history. Sean’s guest today is Charan Ranganath, a neuroscientist and author of a book called Why We Remember. The two discuss the strange alchemy of remembering and how the stories our minds create end up creating us. Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling) Guest: Charan Ranganath, neuroscientist and author of Why We Remember

I must admit that I didn’t know Charan Ranganath. He is a cognitive neuroscientist and professor at the University of California, Davis, where he directs the Dynamic Memory Lab. His research explores how the brain constructs, stores, and reshapes memories — showing that remembering is not about replaying the past, but about using fragments of experience to imagine and guide the future. In his acclaimed book Why We Remember, Ranganath blends decades of neuroscience with deeply human insights, revealing how memory shapes identity, decision-making, and even the stories we tell about our lives. Outside the lab, he’s also a musician, something we have in common. Therefore, he also has a curiosity about rhythm, emotion, and pattern in both science and art.