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Outlook: 'If you cut out part of my brain am I still Jody?'

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Jody Smith is outside, and he looks at the camera

06/09/2021 GMT

'If you cut out part of my brain am I still Jody?'

BBC World Service - Outlook, 'If you cut out part of my brain am I still Jody?'

Brain surgery cured Jody Smith's seizures and there were other surprising side effects

Brain surgery cured Jody Smith's epileptic seizures but he discovered one dark night when he was about to be mugged that he'd lost his fear instinct too.

Jody grew up with many anxieties, especially around death. His father and brother both died while he was still in his teens. Years later he started to have seizures. He was diagnosed with epilepsy and doctors decided the best course of action for him was brain surgery. It cured his seizures but had some other surprising side effects too. Jody's relationship with fear had changed. He's become more outgoing, talkative and able to live his life with more freedom.

*Please note this programme includes repetitive percussive music which in very rare cases can be a trigger for epileptic seizures.*

The search for the lost music of Costa Rica's King of Calypso. Walter Ferguson spent many years serenading people with his songs, and recording individual cassettes for adoring fans, but they were often the only recordings of his work. Much later a music producer realised all those cassettes contained one-off musical treasures and so began an international campaign to find Walter's lost songs. Clayton Conn reports. This feature was first broadcast in December 2019.

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Picture: Jody Smith
Credit: Courtesy of Jody Smith

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