Conor Patrick Heffernan

Conor Patrick Heffernan, historian and author of When Fitness Went Global, explores the rise of physical culture and why he lifts heavy stones in graveyards. He traces stone lifting’s global roots. He narrates the rise of strongmen and vaudeville, and profiles Eugen Sandow as the first fitness influencer who turned strength into spectacle and commerce.

Jonathan Cohen, author and critic of modern sports betting who urges policy reforms, and Conor Patrick Heffernan, historian of physical culture, join to discuss two big threads. Cohen argues for adding friction to slow betting and curb harm. Heffernan traces how strength ideals shifted from Charles Atlas to bodybuilding and how resistance shapes bodies across eras.