Cards & Climbing (w/ Nelson Dellis)

On this episode of Staying Alive, hosts Jon Gabrus and Adam Pally sit down with six-time USA Memory Champion Nelson Dellis to talk about his Alzheimer’s charity, memorizing cards underwater, getting 50 meters from the summit of Everest, and, perhaps most exciting to the fellas, the science of card counting. Plus Pally can’t remember a single line from a two hour play he starred in, yet Gabrus can still recall the first 30 prepositions in order from seventh grade. Follow Nelson @nelzor on Insta, website NelsonDellis.comNelson’s Alzheimer’s charity Climb4MemoryNelson’s mountaineering company Ax Ventures Full video episodes available HERECheck out Staying Alive merch at siriusxmstore.com/stayingalive This episode was recorded March 13, 2025 at SiriusXM studios in New York CitySpecial thanks to Jared O’Connell and Casey HolfordStaying Alive is produced by Devon Torrey Bryant and Anne HarrisEngineered and edited by Devon Torrey Bryant, who also wrote the musicAssociate producer and video editor is Maddie McCannExecutive produced by Jon Gabrus, Adam Pally, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Bernie Kaminski, and Rich Korson Keywords for this episode: Kickball, memory palace, Alzheimer’s, Shake Shack, hippocampus, amygdala, Montegrappa, My Girl 2, blackjack, craps, Bringing Down The House, Dorf On Golf, Thomas Middleditch, Kilimanjaro, Hillary Steppe, Crossfit, Peloton, Burning Man Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.