Kevin J. Tracey, MD is president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health, a pioneer of vagus nerve research and author of the recent book, The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes.
This episode is brought to you by:
Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim (use code TIM to get $350 off your very own Pod 5 Ultra.)
AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D plus 5 free AG1 travel packs with your first subscription purchase.)
Wealthfront high-yield cash account: https://Wealthfront.com/Tim (Start earning 4.00% APY on your short-term cash until you’re ready to invest. And when new clients open an account today, you can get an extra fifty-dollar bonus with a deposit of five hundred dollars or more.) Terms apply. Tim Ferriss receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Brokerage, LLC for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of Wealthfront Brokerage. See full disclosures here.
Timestamps:
00:00 Tim’s intro: why he dismissed vagus-nerve hype
06:34 What the vagus nerve actually is, plus common myths
11:31 Breaking news: FDA approval for SetPoint’s RA implant + Kelly Owens’s turnaround
21:11 Inflammation 101: when healing turns harmful
31:37 Bioelectronic medicine: from lab insight to real devices
55:26 TNF, IL-1, and IL-6: immune drivers and what VNS modulates
56:06 Exercise & recovery: vagal signals, IL-6, and adaptation
56:30 Cold exposure & breathwork: sympathetic spike, parasympathetic payoff
59:04 Chronic inflammation today: prevalence, diagnostics, and uncertainty
59:53 Autoimmunity: genes, environment, infections
01:01:08 Stress hormones, personality traits, and metabolic fallout
01:05:41 VNS tech landscape: implants, focused ultrasound, and what’s just TENS
01:11:14 Ear maps, revisited: the real science behind auricular stimulation
01:27:52 Ulf Andersson: auricular TENS, famotidine, and a depression turnaround
01:36:48 Depression & inflammation: where VNS helps (and where it doesn’t)
01:41:38 Body-brain loop: how inflammation signals ride the vagus nerve
01:42:56 Why VNS can lift mood: a working theory
01:43:22 Ulf’s setup: electrode placement and twice-daily routine
01:44:37 Acupuncture, fertility, and plausible vagal links
01:47:23 Chronic pain through an inflammation lens
01:48:34 Neural “engrams”: how the brain can store inflammatory memories
02:02:35 Cervical TENS vs. true VNS: mechanisms and open questions
02:12:15 On stage with the Dalai Lama: blue energy and two vagus nerves
02:16:55 Closing thoughts: self-care vs. medical devices, and what’s next
*
For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss
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, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Tim Ferriss Show 
