New Books in Neuroscience: How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend

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Listen here to New Books in Neuroscience, a podcast from New Books Network featuring interviews with neuroscientists about their new books. For more information, visit New Books in Neuroscience.

Originally released: January 8, 2026

Your brain is the most remarkable thing in the known universe. Always trying to mend itself, and always trying to protect you, it’s in a constant state of flux — adapting, reconfiguring, finding new pathways. And it has an astonishing capacity for recovery.

Rachel Barr struggled through years of devastating loss, heartache, and uncertainty until neuroscience gave her the first spark of self-belief she had felt in her adult life — and proof that, because of the brain’s near-infinite potential for neuroplastic change, it’s never too late to carve out neural pathways to form new habits, new skills, and new ways of thinking.

Whether you want to nerd-out on neuroscientific acronyms, finally understand what’s going on in your head, or take refuge in a book that’s like a warm hug for your mind, How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend is a delight-filled, evidence-based guide to taking better care of your brain — so it, in turn, will take better care of you.

Our guest is: Rachel Barr, who holds a master’s degree in molecular neuroscience. She wrote How to Make Your Brain Your Best Friend while working on her Ph.D. Her videos as “Rachel the Neuroscientist” demystify the fundamental principles of brain science, empowering people to make informed decisions about their mental health. She was born and raised in Fife, studied in Bristol, and is now based in Quebec, with Gnocchi the cat.

Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is an academic writing coach and editor. She is the producer and show host of the Academic Life podcast.

Playlist for listeners:

• The Well-Gardened Mind
• Breaking free from overworking and underliving
• The Burnout Workbook
• In The Garden Behind the Moon
• My What-if Year
• A Meaningful Life
• Gender and Our Brains
• Managing Your Mental Health During Your Ph.D.
• Being Well in Academia
• The Good- Enough Life

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We believe that the principles expressed or implied in the podcast remain valid, but certain details may be superseded by evolving knowledge since the episode’s original release date.