Michael Pollan — This Is Your Mind on Plants | The Tim Ferriss Show

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

July 6, 2021

Duration

2h 2m

Channel

Tim Ferriss

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Michael Pollan — This Is Your Mind on Plants | Brought to you by Headspace (http://headspace.com/tim), Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover (http://eightsleep.com/Tim), Wealthfront (http://wealthfront.com/tim). Show Notes: https://tim.blog/2021/06/28/michael-pollan-this-is-your-mind-on-plants/#more-56318 Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan) is the author of eight books, including How to Change Your Mind, Cooked, Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and The Botany of Desire, all of which were New York Times bestsellers. A longtime contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Pollan teaches writing at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the one hundred most influential people in the world. His newest book is This Is Your Mind on Plants. Please enjoy! Intro: 00:00 Where Michael’s engagement with nature began [05:52] The timing of This Is Your Mind On Plants [12:31] Plants or molecules that did and didn't make the cut [17:06] Nixon's criminalization of drugs was politically motivated. [19:38] Jim Hogshire and how Michael wound up on the radar of law enforcement [24:56] Harper’s Magazine owner Rick MacArthur and his defense of First Amendment rights [38:59] The irrationality and hypocrisy of the war on drugs and why prohibition is a losing strategy [42:44] The public's embracing of psychedelics since Michael wrote How to Change Your Mind [48:38] How is mescaline unique from other psychedelics? [58:39] Mescaline, peyote, and protecting Native American culture [1:02:52] The obstacle-laden path to writing This Is Your Mind On Plants [1:09:10] After the drug war, what does the drug peace look like? [1:12:37] Practical applications for decriminalized mescaline [1:17:08] A vision for psychedelics in 50 years [1:19:42] The work of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics [1:26:53] The goal of the Ferriss UC Berkeley Journalism Fellowship [1:28:43] Why supporting quality journalism in the psychedelic space right now is so important [1:35:30] US vs. UK: coffee or tea? [1:36:32] The importance of caffeine to the rise of capitalism [1:39:20] Why sleep researchers often abstain from caffeine [1:41:30] Is caffeine a boon or bane to our species? [1:43:57] My experience with coffee culture in Japan [1:45:50] What we can expect from the upcoming Netflix documentary series based on How to Change Your Mind [1:47:33] Michael’s tips and recommended resources for the novice gardener [1:49:23] One important correction on the John Jeavons book Michael referred to [1:54:33] Parting thoughts. [1:55:02] SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1dSzTkW LINK TO ALL SHOW TRANSCRIPTS: https://tim.blog/2018/09/20/all-transcripts-from-the-tim-ferriss-show/ About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 500 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Tim Ferriss

  host

  Host of The Tim Ferriss Show and author/investor known for interviewing top performers.

• Michael Pollan

  guest

  Author and journalist known for writing about food, nature, and psychoactive plants (e.g., This Is Your Mind on Plants).

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Tim Ferriss, featuring Tim Ferriss and Tim Ferriss, Michael Pollan — This Is Your Mind on Plants | The Tim Ferriss Show explores Pollan on psychoactive plants, drug-war politics, and mescaline ethics Michael Pollan explains how gardening shaped his worldview and writing, framing the garden as a microcosm of humanity’s broader relationship with nature and other species.

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