Erling Kagge, an adventurer, philosopher, and author of 'Silence' and 'Walking', offers intriguing insights on the profound connection between walking and the human experience. He argues that walking fosters reflection and enhances memory, while advocating for embracing voluntary hardship for personal growth. Kagge highlights walking's role in problem-solving and its philosophical ties, illustrating how embracing simplicity can enrich modern life. With a nod to the transformative power of movement, he encourages listeners to step outside and explore their surroundings.
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insights INSIGHT
Walking and Time Perception
Walking can alter our perception of time, making it feel slower compared to driving.
This counterintuitive effect happens because walking engages our senses more, creating richer memories.
insights INSIGHT
Walking and Memory
Walking deepens memories because of increased sensory engagement with the environment.
Unlike driving, walking allows us to smell, see, and hear things, creating a richer experience.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Embrace Voluntary Hardship
Embrace voluntary hardship to enrich your life.
Walking, being slightly more challenging than driving, offers this enrichment by engaging us more deeply with our surroundings.
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In this book, Erling Kagge reflects on the significance of walking as a natural accompaniment to creativity and a means to achieve mindfulness. He argues that walking is not just a physical activity but a sensory experience that involves both the body and the mind. Kagge discusses how walking brings us back to slower rhythms, harmonizes us with nature, and allows our subconscious to wander. The book is an homage to walking, highlighting its health benefits, its role in the lives of thinkers and creative people, and its ability to provide a unique perspective on the world.
Never Split the Difference
Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
Tahl Raz
Chris Voss
VOSS/RAZ
This book, written by former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss and co-author Tahl Raz, provides a masterclass in influencing others through negotiation. It distills the Voss method, revealing skills such as establishing rapport, creating trust with tactical empathy, and transforming conflict into collaboration. The book is filled with real-life examples from Voss's career, illustrating how these techniques can be applied in both professional and personal life to achieve goals and defuse potential crises.
Walking. It can seem, well, rather pedestrian.
But my guest today makes the case that walking can act as a gateway to explore memory, meaning, and what it means to be human. His name is Erling Kagge, he’s an adventurer and philosopher, and we had him on the show last year to discuss his book Silence (that's episode 433). Erling’s latest book is called Walking, and we begin our conversation discussing the connection between bipedal locomotion and silence and how walking instead of driving can help slow down time and deepen our memories. Erling makes the case that embracing voluntary hardship can enrich your life and how walking can be a step towards that. He then shares why going for a walk can help you solve problems, why most great philosophers were also committed walkers, what the Adam and Eve story can teach us about the need for exploration, and how walking can be one of the most radical things you can do in the modern age.
You'll want to take a walk after listening to this show, or maybe you'll walk while you're listening.
The Art of Manliness 
