Episode 6: At the Limits, Small Talk, Unchained Melodies, and Grooks

This week Dave and Steel are joined by their friend Ryan. Together the trio discusses the limits of human endurance by way of the stories of Ernest Shackleton and Yiannis Kouros, share some conversational anecdotes from old Chip & Dale cartoons, Finnish miltary history, and mathematical outsiders, share some favorite recent music, and drop some wisdom from Danish Scientist Piet Hein.

Links

At the Limits

Dave recommends checking out these two books about Ernest Shackleton, both called Endurance, after the name of Shackleton’s ship:

• Alfred Lansing’s book, a non-fiction account written by a professional historian.
• Frank Arthur Worsley’s book, a first-person memoir written by the Endurance’s commander and Shackleton’s colleague Frank Worsley.

Steel recommends this fascinating 2006 profile of Greek-Australian ultramarathoner Yiannos Kouros from Runner’s World. Kouros also maintains his [own website]https:s://www.yianniskouros.gr/index.php/en/ “Yiannis Kouros”), with more biographical information for the curious.

Small Talk

Donald Duck pulls a handgun on Chip & Dale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biy5HrSCSSg

Finnish master sniper Simo Häyhä’s wikipedia page.

The recent New Yorker profile on mathematician Yitang Zhang.

Unchained Melodies

Waxahatchee: Under a Rock https://soundcloud.com/mergerecords/under-a-rock

London Grammar: Nightcall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZYw0MQp\_fI

Mina Tindle: L’Astrakan

Book Wisdom

The poems Steel read in this episode come from Danish scientist Piet Hein’s book [Grooks]https:s://www.amazon.com/Grooks-Piet-Hein/dp/0385041403).