April 3, 2018 8:55 pm

Go to Extremes with Chuck Nice, Gary O’Reilly, Adventure Journalist Jim Clash and more.

Are you ready to take on the natural world? Do you have an unhealthy lack of fear that drives you to do insane stunts, take crazy risks, and live life at 150 miles per hour? Would you put your life on the line just for the experience?

On this week’s episode of Playing with Science we’re investigating the psychology of extreme sport athletes. Now, extreme sports can encompass a broad range of activities. For example, the dictionary defines extreme sport as “a sport that is physically hazardous, such as bungee jumping or snowboarding.” So, as you can tell, a lot falls under this umbrella.

To get inside the head of an adventurer, Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly sit down with adventure journalist Jim Clash, whose list of accomplishments are something to behold: reached Mach 2.6 in a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 jet, drove a Bugatti Veyron upwards of 250 mph, learned to skate with Olympic medalist Sasha Cohen, swam at the North Pole without a wetsuit, and climbed the Matterhorn. He also tells about the stupidest thing he’s ever done (Hint: it involves a bull). Oh, and not to mention, he holds a ticket for the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo.

To get inside Jim’s head scientifically, we turn to the experts. Gary and Chuck are joined by neuroscientist and All-Stars host Dr. Heather Berlin and extreme sport psychologist Dr. Eric Brymer. You’ll find out what makes the difference between a high performance extreme sport athlete and a high performance traditional sport athlete.

You’ll also hear Jim describe his own personality and his practice of “curiosity in action.” We also explore the transcendent nature of extreme sports, and if risk-taking can be genetically predisposed or learned behavior…or both!

Be sure to tune in tomorrow night as we take you to the extreme!

Please join us tomorrow night for The Psychology of Extreme Sports right here on our website, as well as on our Playing with Science channels on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen