The stat sheet on hemp sounds almost too good to be true: its fibers are among the planet’s strongest, its seed oil the most nutritious, and its potential as an energy source vast and untapped. Its one downside? For nearly a century, it’s been illegal to grow industrial cannabis in the United States-even though Betsy Ross wove the nation’s first flag out of hemp fabric, Thomas Jefferson composed the Declaration of Independence on it, and colonists could pay their taxes with it. But as the prohibition on hemp’s psychoactive cousin winds down, one of humanity’s longest-utilized plants is about to be reincorporated into the American economy. Get ready for the newest billion-dollar industry. This week’s guest is Doug Fine, a man who knows his hemp. In his latest book, Hemp Bound:Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution, Doug embarks on a humorous yet rigorous journey to meet the men and women who are testing, researching, and pioneering hemp’s applications for the twenty-first century. Tune in to this episode of What Doesn’t Kill You as Doug goes from A-Z on hemp and makes a serious case for this serious crop. This program was brought to you by Consider Bardwell.

“Hemp is any variety of the cannabis plant that has .3% or less of THC.” [02:00]

“There are farmers making money growing hemp and americans know it know – that’s why it’s coming back.” [08:00]

“I think we’re going to have a world leading [hemp] industry here very very soon.” [10:00]

–Doug Fine on What Doesn’t Kill You

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Learning English Podcast - July 05, 2025