The Art of Risk

Diving Doctor on the Thai Cave Rescue (now a Netflix series) and former joint Australian of the Year explores the stories of other people who regularly risk their lives and what we can learn from their expertise.

‘Harry’ Harris – Thai Cave Rescuer, joint Australian of the Year – does something for fun that for the rest of us would trigger about four phobias. In near darkness and tight spaces, underwater and deep underground, he crawls through unexplored caves in what’s often described as the most dangerous sport in the world.

To us, that’s a nightmare. To him, it’s recreation. He’s highly experienced, has done his research, controlled for all conceivable risks, and he’s completely focused. Flooded underground caves are his safe space. And the discipline involved – even the danger – leaves him better prepared to manage the day-to-day stresses of life in the twenty-first century. Is he the only one who feels that way?

Come on the ultimate armchair adventure with Harris while he talks with other ‘risk-takers’ about why they do what they do, how they prepare, and how they’ve handled things going wrong. Harry talks with people like climber Alex Honnold (of ‘Free Solo’), sailor Jessica Watson, mountaineer James Scott, and film director, and deep-sea diver James Cameron, amongst many less familiar world-beaters, each of whom has a fascinating story. We meet base jumpers, drag-racers, snipers, surfers, and people adventuring from the highest of skies to the deepest of oceans.

Harry’s conversations give us insights into what motivates these people and why a life without risk is no life at all. He believes that by doing ‘the hard things’ in life you can push yourself a little further and become stronger, more courageous, and more resilient.

COMPELLING IDEA: why do deep-sea divers, free climbers, and big-wave surfers take the risks that they do? How do soldiers and firefighters manage risk? What can we learn from how they prepare and what they experience, what can we take into our own lives? The Art of Risk has important life lessons as well as gripping stories: Harris shows that in doing ‘the hard thing’, we become more resilient and courageous. Angela Duckworth’s Grit meets Alex...