Bulletproof Radio

In this episode of Bulletproof Radio, Dave welcomes Scott Carney, an award-winning investigative journalist and anthropologist whose reporting has taken him to some of the most dangerous and unlikely corners of the world. He’s also a New York Times bestselling author “What Doesn’t Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength.” This book traces our evolutionary journey back to a time when survival depended on how well we adapted to the environment around us. 

Scott has spent time with some of the most extreme people on Earth who do the most extreme things, such as controller of the cold, Wim Hof; legendary big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton, and HIIT creator Brian Mackenzie.

“As a journalist, you have a couple of options for how you cover someone,” Scott says. “You can go in there and sit back and say, "Okay, I will watch you from a distance. I will watch you breathing or whatever, and I will write an article about that," or you can jump in and give it an experience.”

That pique’s Dave interest more than a little, as he notes Scott’s curiosity and “willingness to go to the ends of the earth to figure out cool stuff.” Scott’s curiosity gets a boost from learning “neural grammar,” which allows better control of the parasympathetic nervous system. Because our system craves homeostasis, he says, it’s going to find it naturally because of the environmental stimulus to which you’re being exposed.

Listen in on this conversation about human endurance, why effortless comfort is hindering our health and how “the wedge” can flip your neurological script.