Daniel J. Levitin

The act of listening to music impacts human brains in interesting ways. It lights up our language centers, has the power to recall us to emotional memories from the past.

For the election season, learn strategies for conducting critical analyses of the information presented by the media, from spotting pseudo-facts to downright lies.

A psychologist and neuroscientist explains how new research into attention and memory can help us navigate information overload.

A psychologist and neuroscientist explains how new research into attention and memory can help us navigate information overload.

Science says your brain needs it.

To mark the occasion of his landmark 1000th media interview, author and neuroscientist Dan Levitin drops by Soundcheck to share three of his favorite songs.

Has this ever happened to you? Things are going great in a relationship. And then, you find out that your significant other loves music that you hate. Or doesn't understand your taste...

The New York Times' chief classical critic Anthony Tommasini has been writing about “Musical Moments” -- those subtle, surprising passages that just reach out and grab us. He's joined...

We all have that one song that we just can’t stop listening to – just check out your iTunes "plays" column for proof. Writer Katie Arnold-Ratliff joins us to discuss her fixation on an entire album, and we talk with neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin about why we can get stuck on one song. Plus, we want to know: what's your most played song...and how many times have you played it?

We all know that one’s sense of smell is closely linked to taste - but recent research shows that other senses, including hearing, also affect how we perceive what we’re eating.

The age of 14 is kind of a suspension. You’re not a kid anymore…but teenage growing pains are still a growth spurt or two away. Music critic David Hajdu says, that makes it the most important year in a music fan’s life. Hajdu is joined by musician and neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin to explain why so many artists, performers and listeners are shaped by their teenage musical tastes.

How do our brains know what to do with music?  Is the ability to distinguish music part of human DNA?  Best selling author, neuroscientist and musician Daniel J. Levitin returns to our studio with Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker to talk about the biology of music. 

Does practice really make perfect? Musician and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, the bestselling author of “This Is Your Brain on Music” and “The World In Six Songs,” joins us with Grammy-winning bassist Victor Wooten, from Bela Fleck’s band, to talk about the dual roles of inspiration and practice in making music.

A group of wounded veterans are playing death metal and composing rap lyrics as part of their rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Eclectic composer Arthur Bloom joins us to tell us the story of a program called MusiCorps. And we ask neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, and former record producer ...

A Stanford University study suggests that synchronized activities like marching in time and chanting in church can improve how societies function. We discuss the study with its co-author, Scott Wiltermuth, and Daniel Levitin, author of The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature. Later: Henkjan Honing ...

Some people talk about being a slave to the beat. A new study out of Stanford suggests that synchronized activities like marching in time, and chanting in church, can actually improve how societies function. We explore the role of rhythm in society with the study's co-author, Scott Wiltermuth, a PhD ...

Record-producer-turned-neuroscientist Daniel Levitin went from working with Stevie Wonder and Blue Oyster Cult to researching human behavior and music. He joins Soundcheck to discuss whether music is an evolutionary accident -- or fundamental to our species.