AIRED: September 5, 2016– 11 am PST
TITLE: “The Art of Risk:The New Science of Courage, Caution & Chance”
SPECIAL GUEST: Kayt Sukel
Are risk-takers born or made? This is the question that set Kayt Sukel on a quest to find the answers.
In Sukel’s new book, THE ART OF RISK, chapter by chapter, in a warm and readable style, she uses cutting-edge research to illustrate which parts of the brain drive behavior, the different genes and neurochemicals at play, and the complex interplay of biological and environmental variables that may give some the upper hand in risky situations, whether in the boardroom, on the playing field, in the classroom or on the military frontlines. At the same time, Sukel spotlights individuals whose life stories show how they have learned to take risks and make them work to their advantage, from a professional poker player to a female firefighter to a top neurosurgeon.
Sukel shows us the fascinating neurological pathways that provide the “gas” and the “brakes” when we are faced with a risky decision. “Some of us have the kind of biology that makes us put on the brakes more often, while others have genes that actually contribute to making poor decisions,” she writes. Gender and age also play key roles in how we react to stress. In fact, when the risks are not just financial, women may be bigger risk-takers than men. Teenagers are programmed to take more risks as a way of learning valuable life lessons, writes Sukel.
In THE ART OF RISK, Sukel synthesizes the science with human-interest stories, highlighting a few key rules and showing how to put artful risk-taking into action. We can learn how to make the most of risk, and this book teaches us to be a better risk-taker, how to reset our definition of risk Marrying the knowledge of science with the wisdom of those who have played the game and won, THE ART OF RISK gives us advice that could make the difference between missing out and making it big.
ABOUT KAYT SUKEL
Kayt Sukel earned a B.S. in cognitive psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.S. in engineering psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology. A passionate traveler and science writer, her work has appeared in Atlantic Monthly, New Scientist, USA Today, The Washington Post, ISLANDS, Parenting, Bark, American Baby and AARP Bulletin. She is a partner at the award-winning family travel website Travel Savvy Mom (www.travelsavvymom.com), and is also a frequent contributor to the Dana Foundation’s many science publications (www.dana.org).
Much of her work can be found on her website, www.kaytsukel.com, including stories about out-of-body experiences, computer models of schizophrenia and exotic travel with young children. She is the author of “This Is Your Brain on Sex: The Science Behind the Search for Love.” She lives outside Houston and frequently overshares on Twitter as @kaytsukel.
