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the Physical Culture Podcast is LIVE! Listen Now to e001!
We are delighted to announce the inaugural episode of our new podcast: the Physical Culture Podcast. Our first episode explores a wide range of topics from physical health to the purpose of life to what a future with UBI might look like for our civilization, with hosts Gregory Roberts and Abram Hodgens. Listen now to…
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The Robots are Coming: Here’s the Plan, Humans!
The wonks call it “AI job displacement”… but let’s just call a spade a spade: With the coming wave of autonomous AI software agents, combined with humanoid robot workers, there will be a massive leap in human unemployment. Ironically, it will probably affect the most industrialized and “developed” nations first. As mentioned all across this…
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Why do we Climb Mountains? Part 2
This is my attempt to articulate my personal reasons that answer the question: “Why do we climb mountains?” I forewarn you: I am a total master of rationalization — finding possibly logical (and sometimes magical) reasons to develop passionate motivation to do the things that I really want to do, but that might be seen…
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The Myth of Gear: Its not the Weapon, its the Warrior
a meditation on the Myth of Gear in modern climbing culture: over-reliance on equipment (especially by novice climbers) in the twin worlds of mountaineering & rock-climbing. You might have heard of the debate on big mountains about “expedition-style” vs. “alpine-style” ascents. In short, the first is how they did it in the olden days —…
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Why do We Risk Our Lives to Climb Mountains?
My recent adventures on the slopes of Mount Whitney (see 1 the initial summit & 2 the redemption mission), and the dancing with death that were a result of both, has me deeply thinking about the why of mountaineering. And not just for me — for Alex Honnold, for Scott Fischer — for anyone who chooses…
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Redemption: Whitney Gear Retrieval Mission : Doing it Right
I returned home from my Whitney Adventure in a state of almost total and complete shock. I had lost five pounds in 48 hours; I’d also lost my phone, and abandoned all my gear — my entire base camp setup — at 11,000 feet. I knew I had to get back — and soon —…
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Mount Whitney Mountaineers Route is Very Real. Adventure. (Winter 2024)
“There’s a razors edge . . . . between genius and madness. That’s a sharp, . . . . hard edge to ride.” — Barry Blanchard — top high-risk Alpinist This is a story about one human summiting and descending one mountain. In this case, the human is me. I am an acrobat, athlete, amateur…
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Rock Climbing 101: Key Findings from Joshua Tree 2024
I recently did a tech-free (well, aside from my camera) adventure in the blissful playground of Joshua Tree National Park. Casually led by 2 seasoned climber friends, we explored a number of rock climbing routes inside the park. I learned a few things. Read as both literal and metaphor. 1. Going Down is 3x harder…
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The Rise and Fall of SF : A Modern Dystopia c.2023
I’ve lived in SF several times (1998, 2009, 2012, 2016), under several types of economic circumstances (millionaire, homeless, couch-surfing…), and with several “moods” (ecstatic!, curious, dark…) across the decades. And in all that time, I’ve never seen anything even remotely like what I’ve witnessed in the past year: lets just call it what it is:…
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The Meaning of Life
This is a poignant (paraphrased) excerpt from a great article in my all-time favorite magazine, The Atlantic. The Meaning of Life Is Surprisingly Simple By Arthur C. Brooks …How do you go about finding your purpose in life without endlessly spinning your wheels? The answer is: take that sprawling philosophical question (“What is the meaning of…