#871: The “Divine Leaf” with 8,000+ Years of Use — Exploring the Many Benefits of Coca with Dr. Andrew Weil and Wade Davis

#871: The “Divine Leaf” with 8,000+ Years of Use — Exploring the Many Benefits of Coca with Dr. Andrew Weil and Wade Davis

"Coca is to cocaine what potatoes are to vodka" — Dr. Andrew Weil and Wade Davis on the health benefits, sacred history, and unjust prohibition of the most misunderstood plant on Earth. Dr. Andrew Weil is a pioneer in integrative medicine and founder of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, where he holds the Lovell-Jones Endowed Chair and serves as Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health. Wade Davis is an ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker. From 2014 to 2024 he served as Professor of Anthropology and BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia, and from 2000 to 2013 as Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. Connect with the Beneficial Plant Research Association (BPRA): Website [https://www.bpra.org/] (scroll down to donate) | Coca Leaf Research [https://www.bpra.org/cocaleaf/research] | Coca Leaf Documentary [https://www.bpra.org/cocaleafdocumentary] | Coca Leaf Retreat [https://www.bpra.org/coca-retreat] This episode is brought to you by: * Incogni, [https://incogni.com/tim]which automatically removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: Incogni.com/Tim [https://incogni.com/tim] (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan) * Maui Nui Venison [https://mauinuivenison.com/tim] delicious, nutrient-dense, and responsible red meat: https://mauinuivenison.com/tim [https://mauinuivenison.com/tim] * 5-Bullet Friday [https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/?utm_source=timblog&utm_medium=timblog&utm_campaign=podcast-sponsorship], my very own free email newsletter: https://tim.blog/friday [https://tim.blog/friday] Timestamps: * [00:00:00] Start. * [00:02:38] When coca tea cured my brutal altitude sickness in Chile. * [00:04:01] Andy meets coca, 1965: the Andes' master medicine for gut, energy, mood, metabolism. * [00:06:20] 14 alkaloids, one scapegoat. * [00:07:11] The paradox: one remedy for both diarrhea and constipation. * [00:11:37] 8,000 years, zero addiction — and the 1975 study no one wanted to run. * [00:13:11] Eradication began 60 years before there was a cocaine problem. * [00:16:27] Two nations inside Peru: alcohol versus coca. * [00:17:05] The 1950 UN commission that dictated coca policy by pseudoscience, fear, and racism. * [00:18:10] Filed beside fentanyl and heroin; 250,000 families and the price of peace. * [00:20:03] What coca actually feels like: milder than half a coffee, no crash, no withdrawal. * [00:24:19] Decoupling the leaf from the cartels; why crop substitution is a fantasy. * [00:25:54] Domesticated three times; the accident of Schedule II. * [00:27:49] The sacred leaf: k'intu, cruceta, Pachamama, runakuna. * [00:31:11] Hayo in the Sierra Nevada, and Latin America's most-denied gift. * [00:32:53] The wedge in the door: demand, the FDA, and an entrepreneur's gold mine. * [00:40:22] The story coca deserves — a film, green powders, and one good study. * [00:43:12] Monkey mind, the tax of consciousness, and an 84th birthday on coca. * [00:47:35] Who to fund: McCurdy and the hunt for legal leaves. * [00:49:17] Could coca treat cocaine addiction? Cost, and NIDA's timing. * [00:53:18] "Green cocaine" at the airport: coca is to cocaine as potatoes are to vodka. * [00:56:58] A 24-hour ritual run powered entirely by coca. * [00:59:07] Why two men gave their careers to one leaf — and the pharmaceutical body count. * [01:06:22] America's legal cocaine capital, and Coke's secret recipe. * [01:09:08] No accident: the hideous prose behind laws we still obey. * [01:15:42] Parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast [https://tim.blog/podcast/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-description]. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors [https://tim.blog/podcast-sponsors] Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday [https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/]. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts [https://tim.blog/transcripts]. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books [https://tim.blog/books]. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss [https://twitter.com/tferriss]  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss [https://instagram.com/timferriss/] YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss [https://www.youtube.com/timferriss] Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss [https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/]  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss [http://linkedin.com/in/timferriss] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

#870: Sebastian Mallaby, Biographer of Demis Hassabis — Lessons from 100+ AI Insiders on The Race to Superintelligence, The Religion of AI, and Spotting Breakthroughs Early

Sebastian Mallaby (@scmallaby [https://x.com/scmallaby]) is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics [https://www.cfr.org/paul-volcker-chair-international-economics] at the Council on Foreign Relations, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and the author of six books, including More Money Than God [https://www.amazon.com/More-Money-Than-God-Relations/dp/0143119419/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20], The Power Law [https://www.amazon.com/Power-Law-Venture-Capital-Making/dp/052555999X/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20], The Man Who Knew [https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Knew-Times-Greenspan-ebook/dp/B01CDVCAXS/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20], and The World's Banker [https://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Banker-Financial-Poverty-Relations-ebook/dp/B01MUNOYM9/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20]. His latest book is The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence [https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Machine-Hassabis-DeepMind-Superintelligence/dp/0593831845/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20]. This episode is brought to you by: * Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 [https://www.eightsleep.com/tim/] sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim [https://www.eightsleep.com/tim/] * AG1 Pro [https://drinkag1.com/tim] all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim [https://drinkag1.com/tim] * Wealthfront [http://wealthfront.com/Tim] high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim [https://wealthfront.com/Tim]  Wealthfront disclaimer: New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional 0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash [https://wealthfront.com/Tim] (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest. Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value. * Timestamps * [00:00:00] Start. * [00:02:11] The twinkly eyed polymath who became Sebastian's next book. * [00:06:55] Picking the next book project the way a great VC picks a startup. * [00:09:41] Why God keeps crashing the superintelligence party. * [00:11:13] Shane Legg's grainy 2009 prophecy — and the nervous giggle. * [00:13:11] Ilya Sutskever burns an effigy. * [00:13:54] Demis at 4 a.m., hunting God's algorithm. * [00:18:43] Super-abundance, Mad Max, and the China shock lesson. * [00:22:39] The kitchen debate with Geoff Hinton that flipped Sebastian. * [00:24:06] Why a zero-percent chance of doom is indefensible. * [00:24:52] Will Washington seize the labs? The Mythos wake-up call. * [00:27:18] Anthropic's bull case, bear case, and a dead parent's letter. * [00:33:24] Where Sebastian and Benedict Evans part ways. * [00:38:16] Is the SaaS apocalypse overdone? One word: Palantir. * [00:39:53] The AI friend you'll never switch. * [00:41:56] Does Google win consumer AI by default? * [00:44:45] Four cities, eight days: China actually talks safety. * [00:47:28] A Cold War non-proliferation playbook for AI. * [00:49:45] Did the chip export controls actually work? * [00:51:49] Burned doves: why Washington swears China won't talk. * [00:54:56] "By 2028, the race is over" — one lab boss' bet. * [00:59:11] Inside Hikvision: toddlers, sensors, and US sanctions. * [01:01:07] Bill Gurley's Uber bet: venture capital perfected. * [01:05:18] Luke Nosek bear-hugs DeepMind into existence. * [01:10:52] Thiel's heresy: never invest by committee. * [01:11:59] How Founders Fund nearly fumbled the deal of the century. * [01:14:30] Selling to Google for $650M: a secret British heist? * [01:16:41] The Traitorous Eight, gardening leave, and the UK's to-do list. * [01:20:55] Ender's Game: "That's really how I see myself." * [01:23:42] Too dumb for Gödel, Escher, Bach? Maybe an LLM can help. * [01:25:19] If not Demis or Sam, then Dario. * [01:26:04] My royalties cliff — and what dropped in late 2022. * [01:27:47] Lila Sciences and the labs that run themselves. * [01:31:13] Sebastian's billboard: "Prepare your mind." * [01:35:14] The one thing Sebastian will never outsource to AI. * [01:40:09] Parting thoughts. For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast [https://tim.blog/podcast/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-description]. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors [https://tim.blog/podcast-sponsors] Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday [https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/]. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts [https://tim.blog/transcripts]. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books [https://tim.blog/books]. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss [https://twitter.com/tferriss]  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss [https://instagram.com/timferriss/] YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss [https://www.youtube.com/timferriss] Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss [https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/]  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss [http://linkedin.com/in/timferriss] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

#869: Max Levchin, PayPal and Affirm — The Path from The Soviet Union to Building Multi-Billion Dollar Companies (Plus: Real-World Socialism vs. Capitalism)

Max Levchin (@mlevchin [https://x.com/mlevchin]) is a serial entrepreneur and investor in 100+ startups. He's the founder and CEO of Affirm [https://www.affirm.com/], the payment network powering consumer purchases and merchant growth. An original PayPal co-founder, Max served as CTO until its 2002 acquisition by eBay. This episode is brought to you by: * ProLon [http://prolonlife.com/Tim]: science-backed Fasting Mimicking Diet that helps activate cellular renewal through fasting, while still eating nourishing meals: ProlonLife.com/Tim [http://prolonlife.com/Tim] * Monarch [https://www.monarchmoney.com/tim]track, budget, plan, and do more with your money: Monarch.com/Tim [https://www.monarchmoney.com/tim]  * Shopify [https://shopify.com/tim] global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/tim [https://shopify.com/tim] Timestamps: * [00:00:00] Start. * [00:02:50] The Ronin line that rewired how Max makes every decision. * [00:06:09] Paprika-style brain-computer interfaces. * [00:09:09] PayPal's founders lived inside a Neal Stephenson novel. * [00:19:21] Transformation via Neuromancer and Snow Crash. * [00:23:40] The book that found Max his wife. * [00:29:24] The real secret to a great marriage. * [00:38:29] What's worth tracking, and what's not. * [00:44:13] A scrawny kid, a clarinet, and a Kyiv velodrome. * [00:46:55] What going all-out on a bike actually gives you. * [00:51:02] The mantra by which Max rides. * [00:53:02] A Soviet kid's fear of socialism. * [01:02:48] Making a profit without destroying society. * [01:04:31] What is Affirm, and why did every banker say it would fail? * [01:20:18] Why the best mathematicians eschew the lending industry. * [01:23:50] Does agentic commerce break Affirm, or supercharge it? * [01:28:01] A PhD-level financial advisor in everyone's pocket. * [01:29:58] How close are we to buying anything through one AI chat? * [01:36:32] Improving your coffee: cheap, intermediate, and Bugatti options. * [01:44:33] The books every first-time founder should actually read. * [01:48:08] Claude Shannon, Ed Thorp, and the joy of playful genius. * [01:51:00] Why physical books still beat every digital reading experience. * [01:51:44] Parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast [https://tim.blog/podcast/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-description]. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors [https://tim.blog/podcast-sponsors] Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday [https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/]. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts [https://tim.blog/transcripts]. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books [https://tim.blog/books]. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss [https://twitter.com/tferriss]  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss [https://instagram.com/timferriss/] YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss [https://www.youtube.com/timferriss] Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss [https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/]  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss [http://linkedin.com/in/timferriss] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

#868: Tim’s Founder Kitchen — From Brainstorm to The President’s Office in Two Months (Featuring Jake Becraft, Strand Therapeutics)

Jake Becraft [https://x.com/DrSynbio] is the CEO and co-founder of Strand Therapeutics [https://www.strandtx.com/], a company building one of the most advanced programmable genetic medicine platforms in biotechnology. Under his leadership, Strand is redefining what RNA medicines can do by enabling cell-selective targeting and therapeutic payload delivery inside the body, unlocking a new class of precision genetic therapies. This episode is brought to you by: * Helix Sleep [https://helixsleep.com/tim] premium mattresses: HelixSleep.com/Tim [https://helixsleep.com/tim] (20% off any purchase) * Incogni, [https://incogni.com/tim]which automatically removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: Incogni.com/Tim [https://incogni.com/tim] (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan) Timestamps: * [00:00:00] Start. * [00:06:07] What Strand does. * [00:08:19] The Boston dinner. * [00:11:05] The image of a body riddled with cancer. * [00:15:05] What stuck for the muggles in the pitch deck. * [00:17:14] A good drug vs. a good product. * [00:19:40] Tricking cancer into snitching on itself. * [00:27:38] The abscopal effect. * [00:34:04] Potency, specificity, and delivery. * [00:35:46] First principles thinking. * [00:36:38] The precipice of a revolution. * [00:41:14] The thousand people in the room. * [00:48:38] Psychedelic medicine as a cautionary tale. * [00:51:17] What actually catches a policymaker’s attention. * [00:53:42] Breakthrough vs. incremental. * [00:54:55] What’s in it for the policymakers? * [00:58:08] The 80/20 wish list. * [01:01:31] Australia’s CTN system. * [01:03:51] Sheep, psychedelics, and red-tape arbitrage. * [01:05:22] China’s clinical-trial flywheel vs. slow-motion American loss. * [01:06:53] The bicoastal biotech ethos. * [01:08:10] Can the FDA actually pull this off? * [01:12:12] The Sophie’s Choice of pharma development. * [01:14:16] Lost arts of founder mode. * [01:15:23] Rockets for tumors, T-cells, and beyond. * [01:19:16] Viral in policy circles. * [01:23:09] The Washington Post headline and the PickFu split test. * [01:27:56] Solution-first storytelling. * [01:33:54] RNA medicine and platform therapeutics. * [01:39:17] Moderna’s 62 days. * [01:40:33] Uber Eats and the de-risked launch. * [01:44:17] CEO blockers. * [01:45:52] Where’s biotech’s SpaceX moment? * [01:46:53] Elon Musk betting black on the wheel. * [01:51:55] AWS and the post-conviction / pre-consensus window. * [01:58:47] COVID politicization. * [01:59:46] Insulin, growth hormone, and the original platform story. * [02:01:35] Biotech as pharma’s little brother. * [02:03:29] More recent role models, Apple edition. * [02:04:50] Art Levinson, Steve Jobs, and the biotech-tech crossover. * [02:06:25] The iPhone as a delivery platform. * [02:08:25] Spotify’s problem and the future of bespoke medicine. * [02:10:07] Baby KJ and the limits of liver-only solutions. * [02:11:19] Parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast [https://tim.blog/podcast/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-description]. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors [https://tim.blog/podcast-sponsors] Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday [https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/]. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts [https://tim.blog/transcripts]. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books [https://tim.blog/books]. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss [https://twitter.com/tferriss]  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss [https://instagram.com/timferriss/] YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss [https://www.youtube.com/timferriss] Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss [https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/]  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss [http://linkedin.com/in/timferriss] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

#867: Dr. Becky Kennedy — Parenting Strategies for Raising Resilient Kids, Plus Word-for-Word Scripts for Repairing Relationships, Setting Boundaries, and More (Repost)

Dr. Becky Kennedy is the founder and CEO of Good Inside [https://www.goodinside.com/], a parenting movement that overturns a lot of conventional, modern parenting practices to empower parents to become sturdy, confident leaders and raise sturdy, confident kids. She is the author of the bestselling book Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be [https://www.amazon.com/Good-Inside-Guide-Becoming-Parent/dp/0063159481/?tag=offsitoftimfe-20], a chart-topping podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-inside-with-dr-becky/id1561689671], a TED talk [https://www.ted.com/talks/becky_kennedy_the_single_most_important_parenting_strategy?subtitle=en] with more than 5 million views on the power of repair. This episode is brought to you by: * Monarch [https://www.monarchmoney.com/tim]track, budget, plan, and do more with your money: Monarch.com/Tim [https://www.monarchmoney.com/tim]  * Shopify [https://shopify.com/tim] global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/tim [https://shopify.com/tim] * This episode was originally published in December 2024. Show notes and links: https://tim.blog/2024/12/27/dr-becky-kennedy-good-inside/ [https://tim.blog/2024/12/27/dr-becky-kennedy-good-inside/] TIMESTAMPS: [00:00:00] Start. [00:01:55] The power of repair. [00:04:50] "It's never your fault when I yell at you." [00:08:55] What does it mean to be a "good" parent? [00:10:32] Activating curiosity over judgment. [00:13:33] Alternatives to saying "Good job" as a confidence builder. [00:20:50] Making kids happy vs. building capability. [00:24:18] A pilot metaphor for sturdy leadership. [00:29:30] Role confusion. [00:32:04] Defining boundaries. [00:35:07] How parenting becomes a two-way mirror for growth. [00:40:09] The MGI (Most Generous Interpretation) approach. [00:42:52] Biggest challenges in parenting. [00:46:52] Recommended reading for someone with kids in their life. [00:52:11] Advisable prerequisites for singles who aim to build a family. [00:56:18] Setting boundaries with grandparents and dealing with different parenting styles. [01:01:42] Handling frustration when a child is pushing your buttons. [01:09:58] Lessons learned from working with eating disorders. [01:13:26] Managing troublemaker behavior. [01:17:38] Bad influence intervention. [01:22:52] Cultivating resilience in "deeply feeling" kids (DFKs). [01:28:58] The trials and errors that birthed Good Inside. [01:32:53] "Our words are not our wishes. Our words are our fears." [01:40:07] Billboard messages and mantras. [01:48:00] Fan-favorite scripts on saying no, boundaries, and repair. [01:51:15] The tennis court metaphor for boundaries. [01:55:45] Resources and parting thoughts. For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast [https://tim.blog/podcast/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-description]. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show [https://tim.blog/podcast], please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors [https://tim.blog/podcast-sponsors] Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday [https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/]. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts [https://tim.blog/transcripts]. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books [https://tim.blog/books]. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss [https://twitter.com/tferriss]  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss [https://instagram.com/timferriss/] YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss [https://www.youtube.com/timferriss] Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss [https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/]  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss [http://linkedin.com/in/timferriss] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].