Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch

Episode: Jennifer Jarrett: I Never Forget A Face
Air Date: April 8, 2026
Host: Rachel Dratch
Co-Host: Irene Bremis
Guest: Jennifer Jarrett

Episode Overview

This episode features Jennifer Jarrett, Rachel Dratch’s neighbor and a super fan of the podcast, who possesses an extraordinary ability: she never forgets a face. Jennifer discusses her rare “super recognizer” capacity, which allows her to identify people—even after decades or dramatic changes in appearance—and explains her participation in Harvard and Dartmouth studies that explored this phenomenon. The conversation delves into memory, the science behind face recognition, the spectrum of facial memory skills (including face blindness), fun celebrity encounters, and even a foray into the woo-woo world of animal communication.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Jennifer and Her Superpower

• [02:48] Rachel introduces Jennifer Jarrett, sharing she's known for having a “superhuman” memory for faces.
• Jennifer explains:
  • “Basically, I sort of have a photographic memory for faces. I really, I don't forget people's faces. Not just people I know, but just walking down the street...”
    — Jennifer Jarrett [04:36]

2. Discovering Her Gift

• Childhood: It seemed normal at first, but by high school and college, Jennifer realized she remembered faces and meetings that others clearly didn’t.
• Example:
  • Recognizing minor TV actors from years-old commercials and classmates from fleeting encounters.
  • Family anecdote: She correctly identified Granville Van Dusen, a TV character actor, on a plane, before IMDb existed.
    — [06:04 - 08:00]
• Social navigation: Initially, she thought everyone else was pretending not to remember her, until friends pointed out her experience was unusual, leading her to adapt her social responses.
  • “I started to realize like, how much I was remembering people who didn't remember me.”
    — Jennifer Jarrett [10:55]

3. How Her Memory Works

• She cannot recall dates or facts unrelated to faces; her ability is specific.
• In school, her skill did not translate to memorizing academic material.
• She does, however, experience a mild photographic memory in literature:
  • “I would sort of remember like, oh, I want to find that section to quote it... I would know where I'd be looking on a page to find something like that.”
    — Jennifer Jarrett [12:22]

4. Limits and Range of Her Recognition

• Can usually recognize people even as they age, unless significant plastic surgery (e.g., nose job) alters the core face structure.
  • “People can age and look very different, but that doesn't impact me...”
    — Jennifer Jarrett [13:15]
• Hairstyle, hair color, and aging function almost like outfit or accessory changes—easy to see past.

5. Path to Scientific Study & Media

• [16:19] Jennifer shares stories that highlight her skill—like instantly recognizing a fourth-grade classmate at an adult party, and finding a childhood Hebrew school volunteer decades later.
• Reads about prosopagnosia (face blindness) and reaches out to Harvard researchers, pitching herself as their opposite.
  • “I don't have face blindness. I have what I think might be the opposite...”
    — Jennifer Jarrett [19:40]

— Becoming a Research Subject

• Tested with rapid-fire images, including baby photos of celebrities, strangers with faces nearly obscured, and visually degraded images. She performs exceptionally.
  • “I finished the test and then he patted me on the back and he said you were worth coming for.”
    — Jennifer Jarrett [23:11]
• Her participation shaped the first “super recognizer” studies.

— Media and 60 Minutes

• Study had little initial attention, picked up by BBC Radio, sparking a press wave (New York Times, 60 Minutes).
• Her TV appearance was “out of body,” including being interviewed by Leslie Stahl.
• The 60 Minutes segment was mostly about face blindness, but ended with the reveal of “the opposite”—Jennifer walking through NYC.

6. The Science: Super Recognizer Spectrum

• Before this research, scientists thought people either had face blindness or normal recognition; the study revealed a spectrum, like vision.
  • “There's a spectrum. Sort of like with vision... that's actually the same thing with facial recognition.”
    — Jennifer Jarrett [27:26]
• Many self-identified “good with faces” people actually test within a normal range.

7. Fun and Emotional Moments

• Jennifer recounts being asked to use her skill in poignant real-life searches, including helping a woman try to find a sibling lost in the Holocaust. She explains the limitations of facial recognition between a childhood photo and a crowded group, but her explanatory approach brings some comfort.
  • “It was so heartbreaking. And then what was so sweet is that she ended up writing back to me and ... it helps, helps me to know that you at least tried.”
    — Jennifer Jarrett [43:48]

8. Face Blindness Experiences (and the Other Side)

• Rachel confesses to being almost the opposite—a mild form of face blindness—describing social pitfalls of forgetting people.
  • “I'm the person from the table in your college...it's very embarrassing sometimes.”
    — Rachel Dratch [32:12]
• Irene shares her own trick: recognizing people by their voices.
  • “Voice is the one way that I have always recognized everybody, even if their face looks different...”
    — Irene Bremis [32:41]

9. On Brain Studies

• Jennifer underwent brain scans as part of the Harvard/Dartmouth studies. Scientists found no drastic anatomical differences but noted a slightly heightened activation in facial recognition areas.

10. The ‘Woo Woo’ Corner

• Jennifer transitions from a skeptic to a recent participant in “woo woo” practices, spurred by the podcast.
• She consults Christine Longnecker, a pet psychic featured in the New York Times, for her rescue dog, Mitzi. The psychic accurately notes Mitzi’s unique behaviors and circumstances, including being fed canned pumpkin—impressing Jennifer.
  • “She said, ‘You feed her twice a day, and one time every day you give her something that's sweet and mushy. I don't know what it is, but she loves it and she wishes she could get it twice a day.’ ...To me, there was no way she could have guessed that.”
    — Jennifer Jarrett [51:26]

11. Pendulum Reading Segment

• Irene and Rachel conduct their recurring “Pendulum (Penji) Reading” with Jennifer, who asks whether her upcoming bathroom renovation will finish on time. Penji says “yes,” much to Jennifer’s delight.
  — [53:01-54:08]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I don't forget people's faces. Not just people I know, but just walking down the street…” — Jennifer Jarrett [04:36]
• “It does sort of feel a little like a party trick. But, you know, to me it's just normal.” — Jennifer Jarrett [39:13]
• “I started listening to your podcast and there were so many unexplainable things that I started to sort of move the needle on it.” — Jennifer Jarrett [48:36]
• “If I go through this whole episode without Irene ever calling me sweetie, I've done something terribly wrong.” — Jennifer Jarrett [54:31]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:48] Introduction to Jennifer Jarrett & her superpower
• [06:04-08:00] Childhood/college anecdotes—realizing her difference
• [16:19] Standout real-life examples (Granville Van Dusen, subway recognition)
• [19:25] Introduction to face blindness (prosopagnosia)
• [23:11] Description of “super recognizer” testing procedure
• [27:26] The science: facial recognition as a spectrum
• [31:48] Appearing on 60 Minutes
• [32:12] Rachel and Irene discuss face blindness and voice memory
• [39:13] What it feels like to live with this ability
• [43:45] Holocaust family inquiry and the emotional side of her ability
• [48:36] Pet psychic reading and woo woo turn
• [53:01] Pendulum (Penji) Reading for Jennifer’s bathroom reno

Tone & Style

The conversation is lively, humorous, deeply personal, and warm—filled with self-deprecating jokes, friendly banter, and relatable moments of awe at both the wonders of the human mind and the oddities of everyday life. Rachel and Irene inject warmth and curiosity throughout, keeping the “woo woo” spirit playful yet respectful.

For Listeners

This is a particularly engaging episode for anyone interested in:

• Memory and cognition
• Neurology and psychology
• Real-life “superpowers” & research participation
• The strange ways human brains differ
• Pets, animal communication, and a bit of light-hearted mysticism

You’ll walk away with new trivia about face memory, a few laughs, and even a little faith in the unexplainable—just as the Woo Woo podcast intends.