
Conquering Fear with Alex Honnold
From StarTalk Radio by Neil deGrasse Tyson
June 12, 2026 · 58 min · Season 17 · Episode 35
About this episode
Neil deGrasse Tyson and guests discuss the nature of fear and how to overcome it with insights from neuroscience and rock climbing.
Is the fear of heights innate or learned? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O'Reilly explore taking risks, the neuroscience of fear, and how to overcome it with freestyle rock climber and subject of the film Free Solo, Alex Honnold, and neuroscientist Heather Berlin.
People in this episode
Hosts: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, Gary O'Reilly
Guests: Alex Honnold, Heather Berlin
Topics covered
- fear
- neuroscience
- rock climbing
- risk-taking
- psychology
Keywords
- fear of heights
- neuroscience of fear
- rock climbing
- risk
- overcoming fear
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Free Solo
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