
44 David Epstein - The Science Behind the World's Greatest Athletes
About this episode
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."
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