Sideways

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Matthew Syed explores the ideas that shape our lives, making us see the world differently.

Best-selling author Matthew Syed explores the ideas that shape our lives with stories of seeing the world differently.

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Sideways: 17. The Endurance of Arlene Blum

17. The Endurance of Arlene Blum

BBC Radio 4 - Sideways, 17. The Endurance of Arlene Blum

Matthew Syed reveals how to get to the top of the mountains in our lives.

The story of pioneering chemist and mountaineer Arlene Blum reveals how experiences in one area of our lives can help us to excel in another, building resilience and bold thinking.

Arlene Blum has scaled some of the most treacherous peaks in the Himalayas. When she’s not climbing mountains, she’s fighting to get toxic chemicals banned from everyday household goods. Arlene says that her experience leading expeditions has helped her acquire the personal skills and attributes required to push through bold new science policies. 

Matthew Syed asks whether transferable resilience from one field to another is the secret to reaching the top not just once, but throughout our lives.

Arlene is not alone in her experience. Riteesh Mishra, a retired pro-footballer turned coach and talent manager, is a big advocate for “dual careers". Likewise, Professor Julia Richardson has led a study looking into how sportspeople can adapt their skills to second careers, drawing on their experiences in one area in order to excel in another. 

Living a dual life as a mountaineer and a chemist has equipped Arlene with resilience and determination, but there’s something else that’s led Arlene to the top, and that’s the ability to question the ways things have always been done. Professor Steven Nadler, a philosopher specialising in early modern philosophy, says that Arlene can be considered a modern heretic. Do we need a bit more heretical thinking to get to the top of our own mountains?

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Claire Crofton
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Researcher: Nadia Mehdi
Music, Sound Design and Mix: Nicholas Alexander
Theme Music: Seventy Times Seven by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4

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