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The Tim Ferriss Show

The Tim Ferriss Show

By: Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author Human Guinea Pig
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Tim Ferriss is a self-experimenter and bestselling author, best known for The 4-Hour Workweek, which has been translated into 40+ languages. Newsweek calls him "the world's best human guinea pig," and The New York Times calls him "a cross between Jack Welch and a Buddhist monk." In this show, he deconstructs world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, chess, pro sports, etc.), digging deep to find the tools, tactics, and tricks that listeners can use.© 2014–2026 Tim Ferriss Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • #883: How to Legalize Medical Psychedelics in Your Country — Tania de Jong on The Playbook Behind Australia's World-First Breakthrough

    #883: How to Legalize Medical Psychedelics in Your Country — Tania de Jong on The Playbook Behind Australia's World-First Breakthrough
    Sep 18 2026
    My guest today is Tania de Jong, co-founder of Mind Medicine Australia. Tania and her husband, Peter, helped lead the push that, in 2023, made Australia the first country in the world to allow MDMA and psilocybin to be prescribed for psychiatric conditions. I wanted to understand how the hell they helped make that happen and what the rest of the world can learn from it.This episode is brought to you by:ProLon science-backed Fasting Mimicking Diet that helps activate cellular renewal through fasting, while still eating nourishing meals: https://prolonlife.com/TimMomentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: https://LiveMomentous.com/TimAG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/TimTimestamps[00:00:00] Intro from Tim.[00:02:46] The article that changed Tania’s life.[00:04:39] A first psychedelic experience—and the year it took to integrate it.[00:10:17] Rick Doblin’s encouragement and the birth of Mind Medicine Australia.[00:13:15] Turning regulatory rejection into a stronger application.[00:20:48] Building a grassroots movement and training clinicians.[00:23:23] Cold emails, scientific allies, and singing your way into the room.[00:31:11] A week with Ram Dass: silence, singing, and an extraordinary LSD story.[00:37:54] Bringing David Nutt—and a family’s devastating story—to the regulators.[00:42:42] Dancing in the kitchen: Australia’s rescheduling breakthrough.[00:43:40] From changing the rules to treating patients.[00:48:18] Why Tim thinks MDMA is still underestimated.[00:50:23] Integration beyond the session: therapy, nutrition, and exercise.[00:52:29] Scaling access and collecting real-world evidence.[00:58:13] Getting insurers, government agencies, and philanthropists on board.[01:01:39] Syrian rue, psilocybin, and learning to let go of control.[01:10:01] Dosing, expectations, and the pressure to take more.[01:12:02] The promise of group therapy and shared integration.[01:14:22] Hiring mistakes, personal attacks, and the resilience advocacy requires.[01:23:38] Turning a window of change into lasting habits.[01:25:51] Getting through to regulators and pushing for end-of-life access.[01:28:27] The bureaucratic barriers that remain.[01:31:38] What treatment costs—and why therapist time drives the bill.[01:35:07] Could shorter-acting compounds make treatment more affordable?[01:38:46] Ketamine, kratom, and the limits of “all natural.”[01:43:14] The unexpected payoff from Tim’s ketamine experiment.[01:47:46] What might come next for psychedelic access worldwide?[01:49:04] Persistence versus pushiness—and knowing when to try another door.[01:54:22] Supporting patients and training the next wave of clinicians.[01:57:51] “Be curious”: exploring your inner world and walking each other home.[02:01:35] The ripple effects of sharing your curiosity—and simply asking for help.Timeline:February 2, 2015: Michael Pollan publishes “The Trip Treatment” in The New Yorker, which is the article Tania credits with setting her journey in motion.March 21, 2015: Tim releases his James Fadiman interview, “The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide” (#66). Its show notes link to “The Trip Treatment.”January 15, 2016: In 5-Bullet Friday, Tim announces support for Johns Hopkins’ psilocybin research and a personal commitment of at least $100,000 toward psychedelic research that year.2016: Tania and Peter travel to the Netherlands for their first guided psilocybin experience. (Source)2017–2019: UCSF conducts the psilocybin-assisted group-therapy study involving long-term AIDS survivors that Tim helped support. (Source)May 6, 2018: Michael Pollan joins Tim for “Exploring the New Science of Psychedelics” (#313), discussing his forthcoming book (How to Change Your Mind).May 15, 2018: Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind is published.February 13, 2019: Tania and Peter publicly launch Mind Medicine Australia. (Source)2020–2022: MMA applies to reschedule MDMA and psilocybin, faces rejection, and submits new applications in March 2022. (Source)November 21, 2022: David Nutt presents to Australia’s medicines regulator, the TGA, supporting the case for therapeutic access. (Source)February 3, 2023: The TGA announces restricted prescribing access to MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, effective July 1, 2023. (Source)January 2024: Patients begin receiving treatment under the new prescribing program. (Source)*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-sponsorsSign 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/timferrissYouTube: youtube.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferrissSee Privacy Policy at ...
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    2 hrs and 12 mins
  • #882: How to Teach a 3-Year-Old to Read and Rethinking Education — Tim Coaches Niels Hoven of Mentava

    #882: How to Teach a 3-Year-Old to Read and Rethinking Education — Tim Coaches Niels Hoven of Mentava
    Sep 10 2026
    This episode is a bit different. It's a live, unscripted working session with a founder, and I've only done one other earlier this year.Niels Hoven (@NielsHoven) is the founder and CEO of Mentava, a company building software to support fast learners. Eager kids are dramatically underserved by today's education system, and Niels created Mentava to allow students to achieve their potential. Prior to Mentava, Niels worked at Cloudflare, ClassDojo, and Pocket Gems, where he ran the highest-grossing mobile game in the world in 2011. He has a graduate degree in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley.This episode is brought to you by:Fin powerful AI Agent for all your customer service: Fin.Ai/TimShopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/TimWealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/TimNew clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional 0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (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.[00:01:32] What Mentava is—and the toddlers reading before age three.[00:08:31] Game design, slot-machine motivation, and lowering the hoop.[00:11:54] Tim's red pen: rewriting the bio and positioning.[00:16:59] The real problem: wasted early years, high-school pressure.[00:23:55] Learning at your own pace—and "what if you did nothing?"[00:29:32] Dog-fish, fish-dog: readiness, failed trials, and follow-ups.[00:35:06] The $500 price, school pilots, and videos-for-tuition scholarships.[00:41:39] Teach a kid to fish: selling relief, not nagging.[00:47:49] Viral posts, the culture-war trap, and why exaggeration is death.[00:55:05] Put the ask on top: investor updates and what actually converts.[00:59:35] The thirty-year phonics war—and it's not with teachers.[01:01:10] A $1,000 coupon, zero takers: why the referral bribe flopped.[01:08:04] Lead with the love letters: testimonials, homepage, and who's buying.[01:20:03] "No scam charges $500 a month": pricing and who you're not for.[01:34:16] Uncrowded channels and workshopping like a standup.[01:42:08] Don't let Amazon be your debutante ball: testing what sells.[01:46:42] Alpha School, the competitive map, and the eager investor.[01:48:39] Reaching the already-converted: be the painkiller, TiE, surround sound.[02:08:18] Niels's charge: advocate for your child, unapologetically.*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-sponsorsSign 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/timferrissYouTube: youtube.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferrissSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    2 hrs and 14 mins
  • #881: Tales of Overcoming The Odds, and How to Turn Losses Into Wins — Tim McGraw, Terry Crews, Dax Shepard, and More

    #881: Tales of Overcoming The Odds, and How to Turn Losses Into Wins — Tim McGraw, Terry Crews, Dax Shepard, and More
    Sep 4 2026
    This is a special episode about overcoming mistakes and failure. What do you do when your work is rejected, when the big bet fails, or when the path ahead suddenly disappears? As you’ll hear in this episode, setbacks can often present opportunities, if you know how to look for them.This episode is brought to you by:Helix Sleep premium mattresses: HelixSleep.com/Tim (20% off any purchase)Gusto simple and easy payroll, HR, and benefits platform used by 400,000+ businesses: Gusto.com/TimIncogni, which automatically removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: Incogni.com/Tim (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan)In this episode: BJ Miller, a triple amputee, on his years-long quest to ride a motorcycle.Terry Crews on missing a season-ending shot—and the mindset shift that stayed with him for life.Tim McGraw on his debut album flopping and betting his career on next steps.Jessica Lahey on being told her first book was “unpublishable” and turning brutal feedback into a New York Times bestseller.Dax Shepard on the collapse of an identity and career he thought he wanted—and the unexpected much better life it made possible.Cathy Lanier on becoming a teenage single mother, passing her GED by a single point, and beginning an unlikely climb.Janna Levin on the liberating realization that life is not a smooth path interrupted by obstacles—life is the obstacles.Boyd Varty on using the mindset of a lion tracker to move through uncertainty and the paralysis of not knowing what comes next.Dr. BJ Miller is a triple amputee, longtime palliative-care physician, cofounder of virtual palliative-care service Mettle Health, and coauthor of A Beginner’s Guide to the End.Terry Crews is an actor, artist, author, television host, and former NFL player best known as Terry Jeffords on the Emmy-nominated TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and as the longtime host of America’s Got Talent.Tim McGraw is a three-time Grammy-winning country-music superstar, an actor, and a 2026 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.Jessica Lahey is an educator and the New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure and The Addiction Inoculation.Dax Shepard is an actor, writer, and director and the co-creator and host of the hit podcast Armchair Expert.Cathy Lanier is the NFL’s chief security officer and the first woman—and longest serving chief—to lead Washington, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department.Janna Levin is a theoretical cosmologist, the Claire Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College, a Guggenheim Fellow, a PEN-winning author, and the founding director of sciences at Pioneer Works.Boyd Varty is a lion tracker, wildlife activist, TED speaker, and author of The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life.Timestamps:00:00 — Introduction from Tim01:23 — BJ Miller: Making an Impossible Motorcycle Dream Real05:35 — Terry Crews: Why You Have to Take the Shot16:28 — Tim McGraw: Failing on Your Own Terms27:31 — Jessica Lahey: From “Unpublishable” to Bestseller31:48 — Dax Shepard: When Failure Saves You From What You Want38:11 — Cathy Lanier: Rebuilding a Life47:33 — Janna Levin: Life Is the Obstacles54:36 — Boyd Varty: Finding the Next Track When You’re Stuck*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-sponsorsSign 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/timferrissYouTube: youtube.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferrissSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
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