Cold Exposure Episodes

Someone recently told me about a Mayo Clinic researcher who claimed that cold plunging triggers the same chemical response in the body as dying — and that, basically, you die a little every time you do it. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Apparently, cold plunging is now a near-death experience, and there’s “no credible evidence” it offers any benefits. Right. Look, I’m the first to say cold plunging isn’t a miracle cure. But this take is just flat-out absurd. So in this episode, I unpack...

For Ciaran Flanagan, quitting alcohol wasn’t about having hit rock bottom — it was about realizing just how much better life could be without it. Like a lot of people growing up in Ireland, drinking was part of the culture he grew up in. He wasn’t an alcoholic, but he found himself caught in the same cycle so many people fall into: weekend drinking that derailed his focus, energy, and productivity for days. But after a month without alcohol, everything changed. His brain fog lifted, his sleep s...

Most people go through life never realizing how good they could actually feel. And when David Maus jumped into an icy river for the first time, he had no idea he was starting a routine that would help him break free from depression, brain fog, and the daily grind that was weighing him down. Maus is now a health and wellness advocate who left a successful career in the automotive industry to pursue his passion for optimizing human performance. Once a high-level executive, he found himself strugg...

Cold exposure might sound unpleasant, but its benefits are hard to ignore. From boosting testosterone and improving insulin sensitivity to building resilience and enhancing physical performance, embracing the cold can be one of the simplest ways to unlock your body’s potential. In this episode of the Primal Shift, I’m joined by Dr. Thomas Seager, a cold exposure expert and Associate Professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainable Engineering & the Built Environment. He’s also the ...