Olly Steeds is Solving History on the Discovery Channel

Read the full interview here.

The iconic Indiana Jones might be firmly rooted in filmlore, but his wry sense of humor, sexy rough-and-tumble appeal, and deep knowledge of ancient civilizations lives on in rogue English reporter/journalist and explorer, Oliver "Olly" Steeds.

Thirty-something Steeds has traveled to more than 70 countries, oftentimes makes it out by the skin of his teeth (barely), and keeps company with reknown scientists and explorers like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin as one of the youngest of only 50 explorers in the world featured in Faces of Exploration: Encounters With 50 Extraordinary Pioneers. He is also a fellow and founder of countless organizations, including the Explorers Club, Royal Geographic Society, and Digital Explorer, a social enterprise that engages youth in global and environmental issues through technology.

The Emmy award nominee is one of my most favorite famous people, particularly since his Discovery Channel documentaries allow me to live vicariously through his wanderlust. That being said, you can imagine how thrilled yet utterly nervous I was to interview this fascinating man.

I caught him on the eve of his premiere, Solving History with Olly Steeds, as he took a train from New York to D.C., which seemed fitting for an explorer who rarely can be found in one place for very long.

The press has been calling you the modern day Indiana Jones. But what do you think defines you as an adventurer?

Well, when I look at Indy he's defined by these two things, one being incompetence, because he's always involved in all sorts of ridiculous scrapes and situations and somehow he gets out of it. Luckily, I kind of lead a different life than he does. I mean, if you think about it, he goes around stealing stuff off people really. And I, in that aspect, no. I am not like Indiana Jones. As a kid, I watched him and always dreamed of these amazing super adventures.

I think being an adventurer you need to be largely incompetent, which fortunately, I am. The more that can go wrong, the more adventure there's going to be. It's a double-edged sword. Unfortunately, whenever I leave home something goes wrong. During the holiday just before Christmas I had a few days away in Wales, but after an hour there they had to call out the Coast Guard because I got stuck in a canoe. It's the incompetence really, which defines the adventure. And the curiosity. You've got to be curious, you have to want to know what's behind the closed door, you have to want to explore the unknown, you have to celebrate the most ridiculous things. The more ridiculous it is, the better it is.

And, unlike Indiana Jones, you don't have the trademark hat. I've noticed you're more of an umbrella person since you always carry one with you.

Absolutely. It's really an homage to the old British adventurer John Steed in The Avengers. My father always gives me an umbrella for Christmas and I carry it around in his honor.

How many languages do you speak? Are you currently learning any?

I speak English, obviously, and a few others rather badly. I speak Mandarin. I studied Mandarin at college and in Beijing, and I speak a bit of French, again, rather badly, and I speak a few tribal dialects. A bit of Kombai, a bit of Mek, a bit of Machiguenga. But really only 100 words of each. Enough to get by. I'm learning Spanish at the moment. That's my job for this year.

How did you choose the historical mysteries that appear on Solving History?

We wanted to take on the big mysteries to start. The ones we thought people would be interested in. Some of them are iconic mysteries like Atlantis, Ark of the Covenant, El Dorado. As a journalist, I wanted something I could get my teeth into as well, and to explore the modern context of them. We have to find stories that aren't complete nonsense to make for a compelling story.

Of the mysteries you're exploring for the series, which do you find most intriguing?

They're all very different, which has been sort of wonderful. Fortunately, I have a very bad short-term memory, which is one of the key skills I think you need to be an explorer. You don't have to remember how horrible it was the day before. You wouldn't want to get up and go into the jungle every day if you could remember what it had been like the day before.

Tell me about your organization, Digital Explorer. Why is it so important to you to bring the world into the classroom? Do you think your new series will inspire young explorers?

For many reasons. I think it's fundamentally important to raise kids' understanding and interest as to what's going on the world. This is why I go on these things and put my life in danger, to hopefully get people to understand things a little bit better. It's a combination of things. My focus is what motivates me. It positively impacts peoples lives and I'm proud of it without a shadow of a doubt.

I have a feeling they'll like the adventure and I don't take myself seriously, which I'm sure you've very aware of by now, and I think kids can appreciate that. If you take yourself too seriously there's no fun in it. Hopefully it will inspire wanderlust.

What is your most favorite place in the world?

Home, to be honest. Emerson has a whole philosophy and he said that you could travel in search of the beautiful but unless you carry it with you, you'll never find it. And I think that's a motivation of mine. The love and beauty you have is something that you carry with you. My epicenter is where my loved ones are.

Catch the series every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on Discovery. Click here for the full Episode Guide.