Molly Carlson on cliff diving, mental health & #bravegang | ReThinking with Adam Grant | TED

Molly Carlson (@mollycarlson1) is a professional high diver, three-time runner-up at the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, and the founder of Brave Gang, an online community of people who encourage each other to face their fears together. In this episode, Molly and Adam reflect on anxiety and motivation, the functions and dysfunctions of fear, and how to harness the benefits and overcome the costs. They also discuss what Molly has learned from her challenges with mental health, body image, and asking for help. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Molly Carlson (Instagram: @mollycarlson1 | TikTok: @mollycarlson | YouTube: @mollycarlson1) Links https://www.mollycarlsonofficial.com/ https://bravegang.co/ Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com. 00:00 Intro 00:43 Diving speed 02:32 Why high diving? 03:59 Molly's first high dive 05:56 Moly's scariest dive 12:31 What motivates Molly 16:20 Respecting your fear 24:25 Molly's experience at the Olympic trials 28:41 Molly's struggles with body dysmorphia 32:14 #BraveGang 33:57 Lightning round 36:40 Takeaways

Molly CarlsonguestAdam Granthost

Sep 12, 202537mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: September 12, 2025
Duration: 37m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Molly Carlson (@mollycarlson1) is a professional high diver, three-time runner-up at the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, and the founder of Brave Gang, an online community of people who encourage each other to face their fears together. In this episode, Molly and Adam reflect on anxiety and motivation, the functions and dysfunctions of fear, and how to harness the benefits and overcome the costs. They also discuss what Molly has learned from her challenges with mental health, body image, and asking for help. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Molly Carlson (Instagram: @mollycarlson1 | TikTok: @mollycarlson | YouTube: @mollycarlson1) Links https://www.mollycarlsonofficial.com/ https://bravegang.co/ Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com. 00:00 Intro 00:43 Diving speed 02:32 Why high diving? 03:59 Molly's first high dive 05:56 Moly's scariest dive 12:31 What motivates Molly 16:20 Respecting your fear 24:25 Molly's experience at the Olympic trials 28:41 Molly's struggles with body dysmorphia 32:14 #BraveGang 33:57 Lightning round 36:40 Takeaways

SPEAKERS

Molly Carlson
guest
Canadian high diver and Red Bull Cliff Diving athlete, founder of the “Brave Gang” community.
Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and professor, host of ReThinking with Adam Grant.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Molly Carlson and Adam Grant, Molly Carlson on cliff diving, mental health & #bravegang | ReThinking with Adam Grant | TED explores cliff diver Molly Carlson on fear, identity, and mental health Carlson describes the physical realities of high diving—speed, impact, and narrow margins for error—and why the sport demands calculated risk rather than recklessness.

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