Alex Hutchinson: Why Humans Are Wired To Explore

Apr 15, 2025

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Please enjoy my B.rad podcast conversation with Alex Hutchinson, the world’s leading science-sport journalist and NYT best-selling author of Endure.

The occasion is the release of his long-awaited next book, titled The Explorer’s Gene, and in this much-anticipated follow-up to Endure, he refutes the myth that, in our fully mapped digital world, the age of exploration is dead. Instead, the itch to discover new things persists in all of us, expressed not just on the slopes of Everest but in the ways we work, play, and live.

The Explorer’s Gene combines riveting stories of exploration with cutting-edge insights from behavioral psychology and neuroscience, making a powerful case that our lives are better—more productive, more meaningful, and more fun—when we break our habits and chart a new path.

Alongside our deep dive into The Explorer’s Gene, we also enjoyed a lively and friendly debate about my latest book, Born to Walk, sparked by Alex’s unique perspective as a long-time runner and promoter of endurance. Spoiler alert: we have lots of common ground, so it’s a peaceful, enlightening discussion; my favorite take away from Alex is: “Running is fine, as long as you recover from workouts.” You will hear his thoughtful critiques and insights, helping to clarify the message of the book while reflecting on the value of endurance pursuits—like why training for the mile might be more beneficial than pushing for a marathon.

Alex Hutchinson is a National Magazine Award-winning science journalist and Outside magazine’s longtime Sweat Science columnist. Before journalism, he was a postdoctoral physicist and a long-distance runner for the Canadian national team. Check out his website here.

TIMESTAMPS:

Modern technology has an impact on our hardwired drive to explore and be creative. Intelligence is going up and creativity is going down. [02:14]

Why are we drawn to explore different horizons? [06:02]

We athletes need to change our approach when our goals change. [12:41]

What are the effects of aging on athletic performance? [16:24]

Alex explains the inner drive that makes us push ourselves to such a degree. [26:29]

This trait varies from person to person. [31:36]

If you have one person choosing what to look at, and the other person being shown the same thing as the person who's making the choices, the person who's active learns more than the person who's passive, even though they're being fed the same information. [39:23]

Brad and Alex talk about the process of beginning to write a book. When and how does the research come about? [44:06]

How is ChatGPT influencing writing? [48:08]

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