The Tim Ferriss Show

#520: Michael Pollan — This Is Your Mind on Plants

Jun 30, 2021

In this conversation, Michael Pollan, a prolific author and educator, dives deep into the fascinating relationship between plants and the human psyche. He shares personal stories of his childhood gardening adventures and reflects on the ethical dilemmas surrounding psychoactive plants like opium. Pollan discusses societal perceptions of drugs, particularly psychedelics, and their potential therapeutic benefits. He also highlights the cultural significance of caffeine and critiques the complexities of modern drug policies, all while emphasizing the importance of reevaluating our relationship with nature.

02:02:02

Episode guests

Michael Pollan

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

I Got Into War With A Woodchuck

03:51

Revealing the political motivations behind the drug war

02:13

The Politics and Misconceptions Surrounding Drug Scheduling

01:23

Intro

5min

Exploring the Roots of Gardening and Its Impact on Life and Writing

2min

Gardening, Opium, and Reflection

26min

Controversy and Courage in Publishing

9min

Exploring the Complexities of Psychoactive Substances

2min

The Shifting Landscape of Drug Perception

14min

Exploring Mescaline: Culture, Therapy, and Ethics

29min

Exploring Psychedelics: Research and Journalism

10min

Caffeine's Cultural Revolution

17min

10.

Gardening Pests and Sleep Innovations

8min

Michael Pollan — This Is Your Mind on Plants | Brought to you by Headspace easy-to-use app with guided meditations, Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, and Wealthfront automated investing. More on all three below.

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.

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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.