44 David Epstein - The Science Behind the World's Greatest Athletes

Inquiring Minds

Science, Society & Culture, Neuroscience, Female Host, Interview, Social Sciences, Critical Thinking

4.4 • 848 Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2014

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What makes a great athlete? Talent? Training? Or is mostly genetic?On the show this week we get some answers from sports writer David Epstein while discussing his new book The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance.Epstein explains a lot—from why growing up in a small town increases your likelihood of becoming a professional athlete to how softball pitcher Jennie Finch made striking out so many Major League Baseball batters during the 2004 Pepsi All-Star Softball Game look easy.This episode also features a discussion with pediatrician Clay Jones about the terrifying consequences of parents refusing Vitamin K shots for their newborns; and we talk about a new study that attempted to experimentally test the idea that we're "born believers."iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inquiring-minds/id711675943RSS: feeds.feedburner.com/inquiring-mindsStitcher: stitcher.com/podcast/inquiring-mindsSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's Friday, July 25th, and you're listening to Inquiring Minds. I'm Chris Mooney.
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1:40.5	Again, that's motherjones.com slash inquiring minds. This week on Inquiring Minds, I
1:46.7	interviewed science writer David Epstein. He wrote a number of very high profile sports science
1:52.8	pieces for the magazine Sports Illustrated. But this is his first book. He wrote a book called
1:57.7	The Sports Gene that investigates the science of extraordinary athletic
	...

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