Neuroscientist and memory expert Charan Ranganath explains the mechanism behind the human brain's ability to remember and forget.

Failing to remember the name of a person we've just met is embarrassing, but it's far worse to lose one's childhood memories or not be able to recall the face of a loved one.

Our memories are so closely tied to who we are and how we see the world that losing them is one of the most uncomfortable experiences humans can go through.

Charan Ranganath is an American psychologist, neuroscientist, and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Davis.

In his 2024 book Why We Remember, Ranganath sums up decades of research into human memory, explaining why we remember certain things and forget others and how this shapes our understanding of the world.