
Masud Husain, "Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain" (Canongate, 2025)
From New Books in Medicine by Marshall Poe
April 22, 2026 · 59 min · Episode 175
About this episode
Masud Husain explores how our brains shape our identities through the stories of his patients.
What makes us who we are?Through the stories of seven of his patients, acclaimed Oxford University neurologist Masud Husain shows us how our brains create, change and can even restore our identity. Husain introduces us to a man who ran out of words, a woman who lost all inhibitions and another who believed she was having an affair with the man who was really her husband.These compelling human dramas reveal how our identities are created by different functions within the brain. It will ignite new ideas about who we really are – and why we act in the ways we do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/medicine
People in this episode
Host: Marshall Poe
Guest: Masud Husain
Topics covered
- neurology
- identity
- brain function
- patient stories
- human behavior
Keywords
- neurology
- identity
- brain
- patients
- human behavior
- Masud Husain
- Oxford University
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Oxford University, Canongate
Books & works: Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain
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