Returning: Redesign My Brain

Later this month ABC premieres a second season of Redesign My Brain with Todd Sampson -and this time he will attempt to train his brain for a death-defying high-wire walk between Sydney skyscrapers.

In 2013, Todd Sampson put brain training to the test in the groundbreaking series Redesign My Brain.

This unique, transformative and interactive experience ended up as one of the most watched Australian science documentaries of all time and won the 2014 AACTA Award for Documentary of the Year.

Todd will now continue this incredible journey in Redesign My Brain 2, this time to prove that the brain can be trained to meet the challenges and stresses of modern life. Across three dynamic episodes, Todd undergoes scientifically endorsed brain training to prepare for his ultimate challenge – a unique high wire walk across two skyscrapers in Sydney.

We follow Todd to the United States and back on his personal quest to improve his brain. To meet the world’s most inspirational scientists, experts and figures, Todd travels to Utah, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Wyoming, Florida and California.

He’s on a crash course to learn nine new mental skills using brain science as his foundation. He enhances his mental endurance, flexibility, and learns how to manage pain. He sharpens his senses – vision, hearing and touch; and he manages fear, learns how to make better decisions, and discovers the benefits of mindfulness meditation to reduce stress.

Along the way, Todd is challenged to climb a 120m high rock face blindfolded; compete in a safe-cracking competition; and manage his fear to the point where he can step onto a three centimeter wire 21 stories above central Sydney. Todd’s brain performance is regularly mapped and tested to measure the changes, and the results are revealed using state-of-the-art CGI graphics.

But the mental skills Todd needed to develop for his death defying skywalk challenge are applicable to all of us. It’s an inspirational and unforgettable story that has something in it for everyone.

8:30pm Thursday May 28 on ABC.