Dying To Ask

Road Test Your 2025 Goals Now In 5 With Fitz

Planning on making a goal for 2025? Don't set it until you road test it.

The start of a new calendar year seems like a great time to start a new challenge or resolution. But is it?

In this Five with Fitz, we're making the case for road testing a personal challenge in December. Listen to this short episode for hacks on how to make sure that resolution is worth setting.

Why You Should Make AI Your Bestie With David Pogue

A recent poll finds Americans are getting more comfortable with AI. But, they're still worried about it. 

The survey was done by Bentley University and Gallup. You can check it out here. 56% of people polled say AI's influence is equally good and bad in society. Two out of three of us say we're learning more about it. But only one in 10 describes themselves as knowing a lot about artificial intelligence. 

David Pogue has forgotten more about AI than most of us will ever know.  He's one of the top science and tech reporters in the country and a popular keynote speaker on everything from climate change to crypto. 

"All people want me to talk about these days is AI," David told me when I moderated his appearance at the Sacramento Speakers Series. 

David's main message?  New technology is scary to humans.  Always has been. Always will be.  But resisting change is pointless.  And you might be surprised at some of the upsides of artificial intelligence. 

On this Dying to Ask:

• Why you need to understand and embrace AI
• How historically we tend to react to major tech advancements from the steam engine to elevators
• The impact AI is having on everything from how we learn to how we cure disease
• And David is known for his optimism and positivity. Where does that come from and how we can all share his spirit?

Save Time And Increase Productivity With Laura Vanderkam

Think you're busy? Try telling that to time and productivity expert Laura Vanderkam.

Vanderkam is the New York Times best-selling author of eight books on time management and host of the daily productivity podcast Before Breakfast.

Her books include "What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast" and "168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think."

"We all have 24 hours in a day," she said. "And many of the things we think are happening in our lives are based mostly on impressions."

Vanderkam says the easiest way to unlock free time is to keep a time log of what you actually do in a day. Often, we think we're busier than we are and can change our relationship with the clock.

"People track their time, and they tend to realize well, maybe I do have some free time. It's probably not as much as I want, but it's some. And then once you realize that you're like well, let's figure out ways to work with this," says Vanderkam.

In this Dying to Ask:

• Where we tend to waste the most time
• How to keep a time log
• Why Fridays are the best day to plan your next week
• What is "effortful fun" and why it's worth planning some

Mentioned in the episode:

Want to see our documentary 'Always Remember Your Name?'

• Watch in 4k on YouTube here.
• Watch on KCRA.com and see lots of web extras about the Bucci family here.

Simone Biles, Mental Health And Life As An Olympic Doc With Dr. Marcy Faustin

Being bored at the Olympics is a good thing if you're Dr. Marcy Faustin.

Faustin is a co-head team physician for USA women's gymnastics. Paris will be her second Olympics.

The delayed Tokyo Games were her first Olympic experience. She thought protecting her athletes from COVID-19 and injury would be her main challenge.

Instead, she found herself thrust into one of the most seismic moments in sports when superstar Simone Biles had to withdraw from competition to take care of her mental health.

"What Simone was able to do is show that you need to take care of yourself first even if she feels the external pressure of the gymnastics community, the Olympics and the world needing her to be the face of the Games. It allowed other people to say, 'I'm not doing OK right now and I'm having a hard time,'" Faustin said.

"The Simone effect" rippled through the Games and the world, giving other athletes the freedom to admit the mental toll training and competing takes.

Protecting the mind is as important as protecting the body, according to Faustin. Athletes work with sports psychologists. The USOPC provides additional mental health help during the Games.

At USA Gymnastics, Faustin and Dr. Ellen Casey share the responsibility of taking care of the athletes and supporting personnel and their families. It's a holistic approach centered on making individuals feel safe, comforted and supported.

Faustin said, "Everyone who is a part of the team knows we have to do that physical aspect, but we also have to do that mental aspect. Whatever that is for that individual person."

Faustin is a former college athlete. Her primary job is working for UC Davis Sports Medicine in Sacramento taking care of non-Olympic patients and giving sports medicine lectures. Her love of sports and competitive nature make her a perfect medical ally and personal hype woman for Team USA.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How do you become an Olympic Team Doctor?
• How Simone Biles destigmatized mental health for athletes and everyday people
• What will a day in Paris look like for the medical team?
• Why female gymnasts are older and stronger than ever in 2024
• Dr. Faustin's phone-free hack to relieve athletes' stress during the games

 

3-Time Olympian Alex Obert Aims For Gold In Olympic Water Polo

Experience matters. And, it may be the U.S. men's water polo team's greatest asset heading into Paris.

Ten of the 13 guys on the roster competed on the Tokyo Olympic team, including three-time Olympian Alex Obert.

"There is a huge difference between your first Olympics and your second Olympics, the kind of nerves just knowing what you're going to go through every single day," Obert said.

Obert grew up in Loomis, California. He played for the University of the Pacific, the U.S. National Team, played overseas, and competed in two Olympics.

He retired after the Tokyo Olympics and took a finance job. Then came the call asking him if he'd come out of retirement for one more go at gold.

His wife and employer said go for it.

And, Obert made the cut, joining his third Olympic water polo team.

Obert says, "Even in retirement, I still had that itch to compete at the highest level. I didn't know if I was going to be able to make the comeback. But obviously I was able to make it enough to come back and help the team, and that's all I want to do is help the team compete and win."

On this Dying to Ask:

• How hard it is physically to come out of retirement
• How being a dad changed Alex as an athlete
• Advice for parents on how to best support your teen athletes
• The advantages of having 10 guys with Olympic experience on a roster of 13

Race Walker Robyn Stevens Is Back On Track For Paris Olympics

Robyn Stevens walks faster than most people run and is on track to make her second Olympic Team.

Stevens is the fastest female race walker in the country.

Growing up in Vacaville, she said a high school track coach suggested she try race walking. Stevens did and instantly fell in love with the sport. 

"It's super technical it's what drew me to it," Stevens said.

Women compete in the 20-kilometer distance in the Olympics. The sport relies on precision and power.

"With race walking, you have to land with one foot on the ground at all times. You have to land with [a] straight leg that stays straight until it passes beneath the hip," Stevens said.

Judges line the course watching for foot infractions and rely purely on what they see. There is no video review.

Athletes walk faster than most of us can run.

"In a 20k race, I'll average anywhere from a 7-minute to 7:15 a mile," Stevens said.

She contemplated retiring after the delayed Tokyo Games where she finished 33rd out of 58 competitors.

Two things kept her in the sport: One, she'd like her mom to see her compete at an Olympics in person. Fans weren't allowed at the Tokyo Olympics because of pandemic restrictions.

The second is that at age 41, she's still the fastest American race walker.

And that's despite having her 2023 training year disrupted severely by long-haul COVID-19 symptoms.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Why Robyn wants an Olympic do-over
• The impact long haul Covid has on endurance athletes 
•  How she's changed her Olympic mindset to balance her personal and professional life
• What it's like to train for hours a day on your own
• And we break down the mechanics of race walking

 

Other places to listen

CLICK HERE to listen on iTunes
CLICK HERE to listen on Stitcher

 

 

Liz Plosser Takes Olympians From Grit To Glam

From grit to glam. Women's Health is celebrating female athletes with its first-ever Olympics issue.

Liz Plosser is the editor-in-chief of Women's Health magazine.

The July-August issue is a global celebration of women's sports and athletes and spans 10 editions of the magazine worldwide.

"We really wanted to focus on women who would share their stories vulnerably, and let us into who they are as human beings, as advocates in their community, as moms as role models. In addition, they're sharing how they train and compete and perform at the top of their game," Liz said.

Women's Health drew on the colors of the Olympic rings for inspiration and then took the women out of the gym and into iconic settings for their photo shoots.

"We put them in a really epic-like superhero environment because they are superheroes to us," Liz said. "We also wanted to show them an action and reflect."

Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin- Levrone (track and field) is on the cover.

Six other athletes are featured in the issue including boxer Jajaira Gonzalez, breaker Sunny Choi, para-triathlete Hailey Danz, water polo goalie Ashleigh Johnson, pentathlete Jess Savner and rugby star Llona Maher.

All the women shared what they're doing to get their bodies and minds ready for the Paris Games. Several expressed the role mental health takes on an athlete's journey and share what makes them mentally tough.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How you get top Olympians runway-ready
• What inspired the photo shoot locations and wardrobe
• What were the athletes like on set
• Olympic mental health hacks

Other places to listen

CLICK HERE to listen on iTunes
CLICK HERE to listen on Stitcher

Hiding From The Sun While Searching For Gold With Keana Hunter

Keana Hunter spends most of her day upside down, trying to avoid getting kicked in the head while hiding from the sun. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

The 20-year-old first-time Olympian will represent Team USA at the Paris Olympics this summer.

Team USA hasn't qualified in the Olympic artistic team event since 2008. It last medaled in the sport formerly known as synchronized swimming with a bronze at the 2004 Athens Games.

Head coach Andrea Fuentes is getting a lot of credit for turning the team around. Fuentes is the most decorated artistic swimmer ever for Spain and won four Olympic medals.

Keana and her teammates relocated to Los Angeles for a year, putting their lives on hold to train for 10 hours a day, six days a week. Eight of those hours are in the water.

Artistic swimming is considered one of the toughest sports in the Olympics because of its blend of physical strength, flexibility, and performance.

"You're upside down in the water looking at your pattern and making sure you're in the right spot. But you're also traveling. So everything has to come together to make it like this beautiful routine. But there are so many pieces that like take hours and hours to fix," Keana said.

Coach Fuentes recently announced her Olympic roster of eight athletes. A squad of 12 swimmers qualified the U.S. for one of 10 Olympic spots but only eight athletes can compete in Paris.

Only one swimmer in the final eight has Olympic experience. The rest are first-time Olympians like Keana.

On this Dying to Ask:

• An update on Bill May, the 45-year-old artistic swimmer who'd hoped to become the first man to represent Team USA in the Olympics
• Keana breaks down what it's actually like underwater for an artistic swimmer
• Find out how swimmers protect themselves from the sun when they're in a pool for 8 hours a day
• How do you maintain passion for a goal despite that much training and sacrifice

Finding Balance With Diver Katrina Young

Katrina Young has unfinished business and she wants to get it done in Paris.

The two-time Olympic diver will compete in the U.S. Olympic Diving Trials in Knoxville, Tennessee, from June 17-23. She'll compete in both solo and synchronized events.

Katrina grew up in the Pacific Northwest, graduated from the University of Florida with a music degree in 2015 and competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Games. She didn't medal in either.

Her third Olympic push has focused heavily on mindset.

"You do have to go through this series of moments where the pressure feels very heavy. And I don't think that I've ever gotten into the zone at the Olympics where I've gotten through the pressure," says Katrina.

Going for a third Olympic team meant doing things differently.

The 32-year-old is a newlywed. She and her husband relocated to the West Coast.

Katrina moved to Los Angeles last year to train at the USC pool and pursue her other passion as a singer-songwriter. The change in scenery and shakeup in training are paying off.

Katrina says, "Shaking up where I live and my day-to-day routine has really opened my eyes to different sides of myself."

And, it's provided the elusive balance so many Olympians and the rest of us crave.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Athletes thrive on routine. How did Katrina decide to flip her life upside down in her push for Paris?
• Advice on defining what balance means to you
• The unexpected value in pursuing two passions at the same time

Leading With Gratitude Is A Golden Strategy For Maggie Steffens

They say good things come in threes. Maggie Steffens hopes they come in fours.

Steffens is the team captain for the U.S. Olympic Women's Water Polo Team.

The team has won three straight Olympic gold medals. Winning a fourth would make history as no team, men's or women's, has won four straight gold medals.

We caught up with Steffens and her team at a sold-out exhibition game at Long Beach City College. The crowd was packed with female teenage club players.

"I was once that little girl on a pool deck looking up and seeing role models and saying, that's something I want to do," Steffens said.

Steffens' team is a team is a mix of veterans and first-time Olympians. She leads with an Olympic mindset grounded in gratitude with an eye on mentorship for the next generation of players.

Steffens says, "Going into this Olympics gratitude is one of my biggest things. How cool is it I get this opportunity and how can I make this torch a little brighter for the future of our sport?"

Coach Adam Krikorian says his team tries not to focus exclusively on winning gold again.

"The reality is this team has never won a gold medal. And we have people that have never been Olympians before. So this is their first experience," Krikorian says.

Bottom line: leadership and experience will matter greatly this summer in Paris.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Why leading with gratitude works
• How a spirit of gratitude fosters mentorship
• Advice on how to get different generations to work together toward a goal