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A Conversation with Victor Vescovo: On Exploration, Risk and the Limits of Human Experience

In this interview I speak to Victor Vescovo - one of only two people ever to have stood at Earth’s highest peak, descended to its deepest trench, and looked back at the planet from space. A…

Dr. Vikas Shah MBE DL 32 min read

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Three thousand moments. Three picked at random.

“The rules of the brain are such that the chimp can freeze our brain, freezing the human out and can make decisions on our behalf.”
— Steve Peters Psychiatrist and author of "The Chimp Paradox
“Too often, organizations become like frogs in boiling water—gradually losing their competitiveness because everyone is afraid to take risks. The short-term pain of taking a risk seems more daunting than the long-term consequences, even though the long-term pain could be the loss of competitive advantage and, ultimately, the entire value of the enterprise.”
— Ron Shaich Founder and former CEO of Panera Bread Company
“She channelled that culture, and felt entitled to do the same thing – only her device wasn't a computer, or software, it was a medical device that patients and doctors relied on to make important health decisions, some of them life-or-death decisions. With medicine, you simply can't fake it till you make it. Otherwise, you jeopardize lives.”
— John Carreyrou Investigative journalist who exposed Theranos fraud through Wall Street Journal reporting

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The Wisdom Series

Ten essays. Distilled from 600+ conversations.

Insights, themes and patterns from years of long-form interviews — organised around the questions that matter most.

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  1. 01 Business & Economics A Conversation with Victor Vescovo: On Exploration, Risk and the Limits of Human Experience 360 interviews
  2. 02 Culture, Society, Sports & Arts A Conversation with Victor Vescovo: On Exploration, Risk and the Limits of Human Experience 234 interviews
  3. 03 Politics & Policy Incorruptible: Eric Ries on Why Good Companies Go Bad — and How to Build Ones That Don’t 167 interviews
  4. 04 Science & Technology A Conversation with Victor Vescovo: On Exploration, Risk and the Limits of Human Experience 133 interviews
  5. 05 Health & Medicine Inside the GLP-1 Revolution: A Conversation with Professor Jens Juul Holst, Co-Discoverer of GLP-1 73 interviews
  6. 06 Nobel Laureates Markets, Morals and the Road Ahead: A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Professor Alvin Roth 21 interviews

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