Ep 58: Parkour with Julie Angel

Julie Angel received her doctorate researching Parkour, and she has a new book out, Breaking the Jump, which chronicles the birth of this movement. The book, and our conversation, wind up tackling the larger issues that have emerged out of Parkour- like how the origin and effects of this movement is about something so much bigger than athletics or physical training; Really how it was and is a way to evolve as a human. We also get into our cultural biases to, on the one hand, abuse ourselves with physical training, and on the other hand be so obsessively careful and terrified of movement or of leaning into the edges of one’s capabilities that we wind up without much middle ground. We also discuss Julie’s personal journey from a sedentary academic to someone who also does Parkour and how that has changed her and how she sees the world.