Conquering Fear with Alex Honnold

About This Episode

Is the fear of heights innate or learned? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore taking risks, the neuroscience of fear, and how to overcome it with Alex Honnold, freestyle rock climber, subject of the film Free Solo, and Host of Planet Visionaries: in partnership with the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative as well as neuroscientist Heather Berlin.

We start with Alex Honnold, the only person ever to free solo Yosemite’s El Capitan, and how he approaches a big climb. Has he ever gotten scared or shaken? Did he ever have a fear of heights? Alex breaks down what free soloing actually means and what he does to mentally prepare himself for taking on big challenges. How does he expand his comfort zone? We discuss a brain scan he had of his amygdala and whether it’s nature or nurture that makes his brain fear less. Learn about Alex’s foundation, The Honnold Foundation, and how time spent in nature inspired him to help with solar access.

Are some fears preprogrammed? Why do we fear heights and spiders more easily than electrical sockets? Neuroscientist and clinical psychologist Heather Berlin joins to explain what’s actually happening in the brain when we take risks and feel fear. We explore the role of the amygdala, risk-taking, and how phobias form. How can someone who does feel fear change their mindset and practice to get over their fears? We explore the balance between overpreparing and underpreparing and how “letting go” can sometimes be the best thing– of the fear, not the rock, of course.

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