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Conquering Fear with Alex Honnold

6/12/202658 min

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 freestyle rock climber and subject of the film Free Solo, Alex Honnold, and neuroscientist Heather Berlin. 

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Clips

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds
  1. Gary O'Reilly· Host0:00

    Our listeners love puzzles, paradoxes, and hidden patterns almost as much as we do. On TikTok, those fascinations come to life. People are breaking down physics, exploring geology, and explaining why the world works the way it does. You'll see impressive experiments, explanations that finally make sense, and connections you didn't expect. It's like having a lab, a lecture hall, and science museum in your pocket. TikTok is where wonder is shared, where curiosity turns into discovery, and where millions learn something new every day.

  2. Speaker 20:35

    This episode of StarTalk is brought to you by six all-new McCafe drinks at McDonald's. We're talking crafted sodas made with your favorite sodas and topped with velvety cold foam, like a Sprite Berry Blast made from Sprite and blueberry raspberry syrup. Don't miss the Dirty Dr. Pepper or Orange Dream, too. And there are refreshers made from fruit flavors and add-ins like popping boba and freeze-dried dragon fruit. Try the blackberry passion fruit refresher, mango pineapple refresher, or strawberry watermelon refresher with freeze-dried strawberries. Try all-new McCafe drinks now at McDonald's.

  3. Neil deGrasse Tyson· Host1:13

    About time we revisited neuroscience- Mm-hmm.

  4. Gary O'Reilly· Host1:15

    Yeah ...

  5. Neil deGrasse Tyson· Host1:16

    of fear.

  6. Chuck Nice· Host1:17

    Fear is the mind killer.

  7. Neil deGrasse Tyson· Host1:19

    Yeah, we got the guy who was featured in Free Solo.

  8. Chuck Nice· Host1:22

    Yeah.

  9. Gary O'Reilly· Host1:22

    Mm-hmm.

  10. Neil deGrasse Tyson· Host1:23

    Not dying, ascending that cliff face.

  11. Gary O'Reilly· Host1:25

    Yes.

  12. Neil deGrasse Tyson· Host1:26

    Coming up on StarTalk: Special Edition.

  13. Unknown speaker1:29

    [spacey music]

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