Why do we crave that ‘rush’, that moment of peak experience – the highs that we find tempting and a little bit terrifying? Host Josh Szeps puts himself on the line as a human guinea pig in the latest original podcast from NOVA Entertainment.
The Rush looks at the different ways our brains get the biochemical rush we crave, over eight weekly episodes. Sugar. Fame. Fear. Stimulants. Sex. Naughty or nice, sugar or spice – we all have some sort of behaviour that triggers us.
Host Josh Szeps will experience them all to find out what’s going on when your brain gets it’s hit. Who’s really in control? Why do you keep going back for more?
Part Louis Theroux, part Morgan Spurlock, The Rush takes you on a thrilling, experiential adventure into how, and why, we crave what we do.
Rachel Corbett, NOVA Entertainment’s head of podcasts and digital content said, “We wanted to investigate why some people ferociously crave things other people find wildly unappealing and to do that properly we needed to unpack the science but also the experience. We couldn’t think of a better host to straddle the two worlds of intellect and guinea pig than Josh Szeps.”
Szeps said said, “this has been the most insane show I’ve ever hosted. I’ve been force-fed fatty foods, fallen off a 119-metre tower, and been tied up in Japanese bondage rope. And that was just at the after-party. The Rush is a show you’ll love, or hate… or more likely, love-hate. Nova is crazy for commissioning it. I’m hugely grateful, and sore.”
Josh Szeps is a broadcaster who shakes up the status quo with his fierce intellect and infectious sense of humour. He spent the past decade in New York as one of the founding presenters and producers of HuffPost Live, attracted billions of online views for his insightful interviews with guests including Susan Sarandon, Sir Ian McKellen, Jeff Daniels, Ron Howard and Russell Brand, and was a regular on the Joe Rogan podcast and the NBC Today Show. Szeps’ US podcast #WeThePeople LIVE hit the #1 spot on the iTunes comedy chart multiple times.
In Australia, he has co-hosted Network Ten’s The Project, rumbled with some of the country’s most divisive voices on Q&A, and performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. His new podcast Uncomfortable Conversations, is the preeminent spot for newsmakers, celebrities and even former prime ministers to explore dangerous ideas.
The Rush is the latest addition to the NOVA Entertainment Podcast Network (NEPN), which brings together the largest stable of accessible talent in the country, including much-loved identities, influencers and experts, to create a suite of quality podcast content that connects audiences and brands.
The Rush is an original Nova Podcast launching every Wednesday from 14 July and is available wherever you access your podcasts, or by downloading the Nova Podcast Player.