Brian Floats!

Speaker 1: Major funding for Backstory is provided by an anonymous donor, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

Brian Balogh: From Virginia Humanities, this is Backstory.
Welcome to Backstory, the show that explains the history behind today’s headlines. I’m Brian Balogh.

Ed Ayers: I’m Ed Ayers.

Joanne Freeman: I’m Joanne Freeman.

Brian Balogh: If you’re new to the podcast, we’re all historians, along with Nathan Connolly, and each week we explore a different aspect of American history. Over the years I’ve done a lot of Backstory, but I never thought I would be floating around in salty water in a darkened isolation tank. When one of our producers emailed me asking if I’d be willing to jump into a tank and see what this wellness craze was all about, well, how could I say no? He never told me how long I’d actually be in the tank.
How long am I floating for?

Ted: You’ll be floating for 90 minutes.

Brian Balogh: 90 minutes? Is that in base 10? I don’t think I can float for 90 minutes.

Jordan: It actually goes by really fast.

Brian Balogh: I had three minutes in mind.

Jordan: A lot of people who come out who have that same apprehension that you do, they come out on the other end and they’re very surprised as to how fast it goes by.

Brian Balogh: How about if we compromise on something?

Ted: Yeah.

Brian Balogh: I’m getting anxious just thinking about the notion of doing anything for 90 minutes. 45 minutes. I think that’s very generous on my part.

Ted: It sounds like you have a strong mind. No, how about you just get in and we’ll get you out, and you just stay in there? Here are the pods.

Brian Balogh: What if I don’t float? I don’t float so well. Did they tell you that?

Ted: We’ve floated anybody from 40 pounds to 590 pounds.

Brian Balogh: I just lie there and do nothing for 90 minutes?

Ted: Yes.

Brian Balogh: Can I use my cellphone?

Ted: No.

Brian Balogh: Yes, I’m ready.

Ted: You’re ready?

Brian Balogh: Yeah.

Ted: Let’s do this.

Brian Balogh: Am I listening to music while I’m in there?

Ted: No. It’s solitude.

Brian Balogh: Solitude, okay.

Ted: Towel right here. Then you’re ready to step into the pod, and basically you brace yourself [inaudible 00:02:52] you’ll step in and you’ll grab this handle and you will close the lid.

Brian Balogh: I close the lid?

Ted: Yeah. I’m not gonna be in here with you.

Brian Balogh: I can open the lid?

Ted: You can open the lid at any time.

Brian Balogh: Same way?

Ted: Same way.

Brian Balogh: You’re not gonna lock it?

Ted: There’s no lock on it.

Brian Balogh: There’s no lock.

Ted: No lock on it.

Brian Balogh: Good. That’s reassuring.

Ted: Keep in mind that you have this homogenous mixture in here of the water, you, and the air. Sometimes our brain really focuses on, “Okay, the temperature’s not perfect,” and then you’re like, “Oh, I don’t like the head pillow because I can feel it,” or, “I’m bumping into the sides.” The beautiful part about this homogenous environment in here is eventually it all becomes one. If you just let the mind go, you could even be on the side, you could have the head pillow on, but after five, 10 minutes, that’s just gonna fade out. You’re not even gonna be able to feel it anymore. Really just try and let go and relax. You ready?

Brian Balogh: Is there an exam afterwards?

Ted: No. This’ll be the easiest thing you’ve ever done.

Brian Balogh: It already isn’t.

Joanne Freeman: Brian, I have to ask you. You’re gonna have to tell me something about what it felt like to be in an isolation tank. I’m so curious.

Brian Balogh: I am not one who truly knows what it is to have a panic attack, but I have a feeling that when I said, “How long am I gonna be in this tank, three minutes?” and they said, “Oh no no no, minimum 90 minutes,” that’s about as close to a panic attack, I think, as I’ve ever had. I felt anxious. I felt uncomfortable.

Joanne Freeman: When you were in there for that scary 90 minutes, was there any point at which you accommodated yourself to it and that empty space began to feel, if not comfortable, then at least less threatening?

Brian Balogh: Yes. I would say once I got through the first 10 or 12 minutes, I did achieve a kind of, I don’t know, slightly different state. It was somewhere between being awake and being asleep. I certainly never fell asleep. The thought of swallowing all that saltwater really was something that kept me and continues to keep me awake at night. I did get in touch with a much more vivid recollection of some very early childhood memories.

Joanne Freeman: Wow.

Brian Balogh: I certainly understand why people seek this out. Joanne, I am publicly making this offer right now.

Joanne Freeman: Uh-oh.

Brian Balogh: I will pay for 90 minutes of floating for you-

Joanne Freeman: Oh, man.

Brian Balogh: … if you would like to do it. What do you think? You gonna take me up on that?

Joanne Freeman: Oh, boy. Part of me, the daredevil part of me, even though it sounded a little daunting at the beginning, is really, really curious, and the other part of me that really doesn’t like being in water or the dark, is not so thrilled. I’m curious as heck, so ultimately I probably might do it.