New research on consciousness sheds new light on the line between life and death.

For centuries, death has been seen as a final, inescapable line—a moment when the heart stops and the brain ceases to function. But revolutionary research asks: What if everything we thought we knew about death was wrong?

Sam Parnia, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone, is the author of Lucid Dying: The New Science Revolutionizing How We Understand Life and Death (Hachette, 2024). His groundbreaking work explores how science is pushing the boundaries of life and death, uncovering the potential to resuscitate animals—and maybe one day humans—after they’ve been declared dead.

From recalling experiences of consciousness after death (what some call “near-death experiences“) to using AI and advanced techniques to study the brain in its final moments, he explores the profound implications for medicine, ethics, and our understanding of what it means to be alive.

On this episode of the Big Brains podcast, Parnia digs into what happens when we die:

Read the transcript for this episode. Subscribe to Big Brains on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Source: University of Chicago