Bonus Episode 2: A Conversation with Dr. Alex Hutchinson
Welcome once again to the Emerging Scholar Podcast, we're back with another teaser episode for Season 2! Our guest today is someone whom I greatly admire that I've been wanting to interview for several years now - Dr. Alex Hutchinson.
Alex is a scientist, a journalist, and the New York Times best-selling author of Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. His new book, The Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, came out in March and we'll dive into it as well as introduce the concept of the adjacent possible - how can two fields come together to enlighten the field that we currently work in? I feel like Alex's experience and expertise in endurance sport, as well as his knowledge of coaching, training and integrating the latest science to optimize behaviour and performance is something that we could really learn in the field of medicine.
We cover a lot in this wide-ranging discussion including endurance sport, multiple aspects of behaviour change, as well as how to make tough decisions and tackle interesting problems. It's a real pleasure to interview Alex, he's a brilliant scientist who can take complex topics and break them down into really simple ideas, applying them in an important way.
I hope you enjoy this entertaining and insightful interview as much as I did! We've got more bonus content coming up before year end, so stay tuned - Season 2 drops in January 2026!
Papers & Resources That We Touched On In This Episode:
Guests
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Dr. Alex Hutchinson
Many believe our limits are defined by physical traits, but Alex Hutchinson knows that limits only exist in our minds. An award-winning science journalist, Hutchinson draws on his experiences as an elite long-distance runner for Canada’s national team and as a scientist to explore the limits of human performance and understand the subtle factors that define champions. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance, and in March 2025, he released his follow-up book, The Explorer’s Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map.
Shortly after competing in his second Canadian Olympic Trials, Hutchinson decided to leave his postdoctoral physics research post with the US National Security Agency to pursue a master’s degree in journalism — and has never looked back. In 2008, Hutchinson received a US National Magazine Award for his work covering technology for Popular Mechanics, and in 2012 he received a Lowell Thomas Award for his travel writing in the New York Times. He is currently a columnist and contributing editor for Outside and has written for both Canadian Running and the New Yorker on a myriad of topics including science, endurance, health, and human performance.
Hutchinson has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge and graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. He has given talks on endurance and human performance to audiences ranging from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Own The Podium program to investment bankers and funeral home directors.