Transcript
A (0:01)
It seems like everyone's shouting protein from the rooftops lately. And that's fair. It really does maintain your muscles, and protein is a great way to recover after a hike or a run. But let's be honest, meeting your protein needs shouldn't require you to consume another sad unseasoned chicken breast. Ratio protein yogurt has 25 grams of protein per cup. That's more than four whole eggs. Not only is it packed with protein, but Ratio protein has a smooth and creamy texture, so there's need to compromise great taste when hitting your goals. And get this ratio protein's 25 grams of protein is the most protein per cup in the yogurt aisle, plus zero added sugar. This helps you get the fuel you need to power through your day. Ratio does the math so you don't have to head to ratiofood.com to find a retailer near you.
B (0:58)
Lemonade.
A (1:03)
I think I was three or four when I learned how to swim in New York City. I remember my mom would sit on the edge of the pool with her legs dangling into the water from her knees down and I would sit on my mom's feet and her legs were a little prickly because she shaved them. I remember that vividly. And that I couldn't wait to grow up to shave my legs and have them be all prickly. Which is a funny thing to think when you are three or four years old, I mean. But that's how much I wanted to grow up. Anyway, she'd bounce me up and down in the water while I waited for my lesson to start. My mom can't remember and I was really tiny, so I can't remember, but I think it might have been at the 92nd Street Young Men's Hebrew association pool. Not really sure. But I do remember that the whole building smelled like chlorine. You know, that smell. And that I really did love to swim from the very start. When I was pregnant and I was absolutely enormous with my first son, Henry, I turned to swimming for relief. Oh boy. And it was a relief. Wading into a pool was just magical because it made me cool and comfortable. I was so uncomfortable and weightless. And I remember wondering if the strokes going back and forth, you know, doing laps, if the strokes were soothing to the baby inside of me. And I have a feeling that they were because now, 30 years later, that baby, he's a surfer and he's in the ocean almost every single day, which is so funny. So when the boys were little, I really wanted them to learn how to swim and they learned how to swim at a very young age. They had a teacher who was very strict. She was really kind of mean sometimes, but she was a great swim teacher. Cause she was so tough and there was no negotiation, no nothing. She didn't baby them. And I was all down for that. Cause I lived in fear of the kids not knowing how to swim and being near a pool at a friend's house or whatever. So that's why I endured her toughness. And what the kids loved about taking swimming lessons with her was the first thing she taught them in the pool was what to do if you got in trouble. And so you would turn over, lie on your back, put your chin up. Then you would call help, help. And, and then you would find your way to the edge of the pool and try to hold onto the pool so that they would play this sort of SOS game all the time. And the boys loved it. And the other thing that they loved was that she didn't want kids going into her house. So if they had to go pee, pee, they were allowed to pee in the drain that was right next to the pool. So that was a highlight of the lesson, was pretending you were, you know, lost at sea and then peeing in the drain. It was money well spent. I have to say. I wanted the kids to learn to swim early for safety, of course, but also because I believe that swimming is one of the great primal human pleasures. ChatGPT is never going to take swimming away from us. Swimming is cool because it connects us to our evolutionary past and has all kinds of therapeutic benefits for the body and for the mind. And it's just also the most fun. Cannonballs and splashing. What could be better? Our whole family actually recently, well, we all jumped into a very freezing cold river because we were hiking with some friends in the Scottish Highlands. And there they call it wild swimming. And if you hike with my husband, by the way, and there is water, no matter how cold, he is going to jump into it. But this time we really all happily jumped in and floated in the gentle current. And we were all so excited and laughing and giggling together. You know, everybody's a kid in the water. You know, everybody's a wild swimmer. Ultimately. I'm a lap swimmer now, though. I've gone back to swimming and I'm not fast, I'm not strong particularly, but it's good exercise. And looking down at that lane line, wearing my full body protective sun suit, I'm slathered in zinc oxide in my swim cap with my special dark goggles. And my swimmer snorkel that goes up the middle of my face. Can I say I look gorgeous? And I feel sublime? I feel like a swimmer. So how lucky I am then. Today to talk to one of the greatest swimmers who has ever lived, Diana Nyad. I'm Julia Louis Dreyfus, and this is Wiser Than Me, the podcast where I get schooled by women who are wiser than me. Did you know that women are incredible at endurance sports? Yeah, high intensity stuff usually favors raw power and youth. But endurance challenges like swimming, running, cycling, ultra distance feats, those reward stamina and resilience. Turns out women have a real edge in endurance as we get older. Research all over the place shows that mentally, women often develop an extraordinary ability to pace themselves and push through discomfort. And that's exactly why athletes like Diana Nyad can pull off swims that feel almost or very much superhuman. In the 70s, when women in sports were still fighting for space, Diana was out in the open ocean, pushing her body farther than most people could imagine. She became one of the greatest long distance swimmers in the world, breaking records, becoming a regular on Johnny Carson. She looked so comfortable on that stage. And then at the very peak of her fame, she walked away. Not another stroke for 30 years. And here. Here's where it gets wild. She came back in her 60s at an age when the world tells women to quiet down, slow down and shut the hell up. She did something she couldn't do at 29, at 64, after four failed attempts, after box jellyfish stings and the Gulf Stream's brutal cross currents and the disorientation that hits around hour 40. God. She came back out of retirement and swam from Cuba to Florida. She did it. No shark cage, just a rebuilt body, an elite support team, and her brain. Her story was made into the 2023 feature film NYAD, which you have to watch. If you haven't yet. I'm sure you have. The movie stars Annette Bening as Diana and Jodie Foster as her coach and close friend Bonnie Stahl. Over the years, she's been recognized again and again, from the ESPN Sports Science Newton Award to her induction into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports hall of fame and the U.S. national Women's Sports hall of Fame. Today, she leads Everwalk, a movement about connection, energy, and the everyday vitality that actually sustains a long life. She's a loyal friend, a devoted dog mama, and the kind of person who knows that to pace herself while she swims in her head, she needs to sing Bob Dylan's it ain't me, babe. 2,000 times. And it equals exactly four hours and 45 minutes in the water. A woman who is truly wiser than me. Diana Nyad. Welcome, Diana.