Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Zuby is joined by world memory champion, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Mind Max, Ed Cooke. Ed shares his unexpected journey from a 3-month hospital stay at age 18 to competing at the World Memory Championships, and teaching a journalist to become a memory champion in under one year. The conversation explores how memory techniques work, why memory and imagination are the same thing, and how the outsourcing of cognition to smartphones and AI poses a serious threat to human intelligence.
Sponsored by:
Veritas Wealth Management helps families, business owners, and retirees build real financial
freedom through hands-on expert investment guidance. Schedule a call today at veritasalaska.com
Timestamps
(00:00) Trailer
(02:00) Intro
(02:20) Ed Cooke introduces himself
(05:49) From hospital bed to memory champion
(09:30) How memory techniques actually work
(15:00) Competing at the World Memory Championships
(22:00) Building Memrise and reaching 80 million users
(31:00) Language learning and how the brain retains information
(38:00) Attention, distraction, and the modern mind
(44:00) AI and human cognitive decline
(50:00) MindMax and amplifying human genius
(57:50) Raising children in the age of smartphones and AI
(01:00:00) Forecasting human cognition in 2046
(01:01:26) Where to find Ed online
(01:01:44) Outro
Follow Ed Cooke: https://x.com/tedcooke
Follow Zuby: https://linktr.ee/zubymusic
Subscribe to 'Real Talk with Zuby' on Apple Podcasts or Spotify: fanlink.tv/zubypodcast
Zuby is joined by world memory champion, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Mind Max, Ed Cooke. Ed shares his unexpected journey from a 3-month hospital stay at age 18 to competing at the World Memory Championships, and teaching a journalist to become a memory champion in under one year. The conversation explores how memory techniques work, why memory and imagination are the same thing, and how the outsourcing of cognition to smartphones and AI poses a serious threat to human intelligence.
Sponsored by:
Veritas Wealth Management helps families, business owners, and retirees build real financial
freedom through hands-on expert investment guidance. Schedule a call today at veritasalaska.com
Timestamps
(00:00) Trailer
(02:00) Intro
(02:20) Ed Cooke introduces himself
(05:49) From hospital bed to memory champion
(09:30) How memory techniques actually work
(15:00) Competing at the World Memory Championships
(22:00) Building Memrise and reaching 80 million users
(31:00) Language learning and how the brain retains information
(38:00) Attention, distraction, and the modern mind
(44:00) AI and human cognitive decline
(50:00) MindMax and amplifying human genius
(57:50) Raising children in the age of smartphones and AI
(01:00:00) Forecasting human cognition in 2046
(01:01:26) Where to find Ed online
(01:01:44) Outro
Follow Ed Cooke: https://x.com/tedcooke
Follow Zuby: https://linktr.ee/zubymusic
Subscribe to 'Real Talk with Zuby' on Apple Podcasts or Spotify: fanlink.tv/zubypodcast
