Michael Pollan
Guest on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard · Guest on On Purpose with Jay Shetty · Guest on The Ezra Klein Show
Michael Pollan is an American author and journalist known for his influential books on food, agriculture, nature, and the mind, including “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” “In Defense of Food,” and works on psychedelics and consciousness. He is a professor of the practice at Harvard University and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
Products they talk about
Being You👍 Recommends
…recommending anil seth's book on consciousness and the self
“Lastly, there was a book about consciousness. There were several books on consciousness I like. But the one I want to recommend is Being You by Anil Seth. He's an English neuroscientist. And it's a book about the self.”
on The Ezra Klein Show
Descartes' Error👍 Recommends
…discussing damasio's work on emotions and decision-making in consciousness
“And I also think, I mean, in a way, this is the lesson of Antonio Damasio's first book in 1994, Descartes' Error, it was called. And he was basically showing that feelings and emotions should be admitted into the decision-making process.”
on The Ezra Klein Show
Ducks, Newburyport👍 Recommends
…recommending experimental stream of consciousness novel for understanding thought
“Another book that was really influential as I was working on the stream of consciousness is a stream of consciousness novel by Lucy Ellman called Duck's Newburyport. It's a thousand pages, one sentence. And that sounds really daunting and like I'm not going to pick that up.”
on The Ezra Klein Show
How to Change Your Mind💬 Mentioned
…discussing how psychedelics influenced the development of his current book
“And psychedelics and meditation both have a way of kind of smudging the windshield of our consciousness, you know. And suddenly we, because normally we don't have to think about consciousness. It's just the water we swim in, you know. But when you smudge that pain, you realize, hey, there is something between me and the world. It's this way, but it could be that way. It's subject to change. What is that? And that, you know, that became the question that drove this new book. I had psychedelic experiences I had for my book, How to Change Your Mind.”
on On Purpose with Jay Shetty
The Blind Spot👍 Recommends
…recommending book on how science deals with lived experience
“Well, a book that was really influential in the writing of this book is a book called The Blind Spot. It's by a philosopher, Evan Thompson, and two physicists, Adam Frank and Marcelo Gleiser. It's a critique of Western science.”
on The Ezra Klein Show
What Is It Like to Be a Bat?👍 Recommends
…discussing foundational philosophical work on consciousness and subjective experience
“Another definition that I like is Thomas Nagel, there's a philosopher who wrote a wonderful essay in the 70s called What Is It Like to Be a Bat?”
on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard