The guest
Andrew Huberman: Stanford neuroscientist, professor of neurobiology, and host of the Huberman Lab podcast
What this episode covers
Joe Rogan and neuroscientist Andrew Huberman cover a sweeping range of topics, opening with dog breeding genetics and the surprising science of human olfaction, including live experiments with smelling salts. They dig into the neuroscience of doing hard things, centered on the anterior mid-cingulate cortex and how voluntary adversity builds resilience and slows cognitive decline. Much of the conversation analyzes elite performance in fighting, running, and skateboarding, arguing that nervous systems shaped young produce unbeatable athletes. They also discuss media deception, deceptive editing, out-of-context clips, and the value of long-form honest conversation. The episode closes on creativity, fame, Rick Rubin's philosophy of authenticity, peptides like BPC-157, and self-care over pharmaceuticals.
Recommended on this episode
BookRecommendedISBN verified
A Fighter's Heart
Sam Sheridan
“I actually think that's a really terrific book because it speaks to a lot of really interesting aspects of bonding”
“a guy that I think was on your podcast a long time ago Sam Sheridan in a Fighter's heart there's a great chapter where he talks about dog fighting”— Andrew Huberman
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Five Types of People Who Can Ruin Your Life
Bill Eddy
“I only wish I had read it years ago; very useful book I think; something that everybody should know about”
“listening to a really good book that a really smart person suggested to me called five types of people that will ruin your life”— Andrew Huberman
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Alpha-lipoic acid
“decent enough data to explore that alpha lpoic acid at 600 milligrams per day during the time when you're starting to lose your smell might rescue some of that smell”
“I had that happen lost my sense of smell I was like listen I want my smell back so I took 600 milligrams of valal lpoic acid”— Andrew Huberman
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Alpha-GPC
“that's one that I would put kind of high on the tier things for if you want alertness and focus it's certainly more benign than a lot of prescription drugs”
“600 milligrams of alpha GPC is going to make you more alert; that's one that I would put kind of high on the tier things for if you want alertness and focus”— Andrew Huberman
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Morozko Forge cold plunge
Morozko Forge
“you turn up the knob and it'll be like a flowing raging River the flow breaks up the thermal layer; much more effective”
“I've got a new one that I got from morasco we have two so we have one here at the gym that's a blue cube that's this one's insane because you can crank it”— Joe Rogan
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BPC-157
“I certainly have experienced it can help repair things; it's legit it's legit”
“bpc157 while only animal data it's very clear has the propensity to encourage fiber blast which these cells make up things like tendon and cartilage and can really repair tissues”— Andrew Huberman
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Weighted vest
GoRuck
“I use that because you can really move easily in that; I like that nice smooth feel”
“I use one of these vests I don't have any relationship to them but aoro makes these ones that are really like close to the body”— Andrew Huberman
MediaRecommended
Basquiat
Julian Schnabel
“one of my favorite movies”
“if you watch the movie one of my favorite movies the Basia movie right with B Del Toro and Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walker and David Bowie”— Andrew Huberman
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
ProductReferenced
Smelling salts
Juju Mufu
“this is uh Juju mufu who is a real athletic freak who who uses these we I don't know him but this is the strongest stuff we have ever tried”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Alpha Brain
Onnit
“we did double blind placeo control studies for Alpha Brain right and so they exist”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
L-theanine
“theanine takes away the Jitters like 100 to 200 milligrams of theanine will take away the Jitters associated with stimulant which is why it's now in a lot of energy drinks”— Andrew Huberman
ProductReferenced
Modafinil
“there were a couple of things on that list including prescription drugs like modafanil for instance which was originally designed for the treatment of narcolepsy”— Andrew Huberman
ProductReferenced
Nicotine pouches
Lucy
“I like threes like mild three milligram but I Lucy sent me some that are twelves Jesus I can do like half a piece of Nicorette”— Joe Rogan
ProductReferenced
Black Rifle Coffee
Black Rifle Coffee Company
“the olfactory bulb for kind of like oh is this Black Rifle coffee you know”— Andrew Huberman
MediaReferenced
Awakenings
Penny Marshall
“Oliver Sachs the man who Mok his wife for a hat he was behind the movie Awakenings”— Andrew Huberman
BookReferencedISBN verified
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Oliver Sacks
“Oliver Sachs one of the greatest neurologists and writers of our time wrote all these beautiful books about how the mind works the man who Mok his wife for a hat”— Andrew Huberman
MediaReferenced
Road Runner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
Morgan Neville
“I recently saw the documentary Road Runner about Bourdain and I actually had a chance to sit down and talk to Morgan Neville who made that movie”— Andrew Huberman
MediaReferenced
The Defiant Ones
Allen Hughes
“I watched that movie the defiant ones with About Dre and I think it's Jimmy iven about beats but it's really about the energy of early hip-hop”— Andrew Huberman
MediaReferenced
8 Mile
Curtis Hanson
“you don't have to see Eminem very many times or watch Eight Mile more than a couple of times or listen to his music understand there's an energy there”— Andrew Huberman
MediaReferenced
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Andrew Hickey
“we listen to this podcast a history of 100 songs 100 rock and roll songs by Andrew hickey it's sort of like cuber Lab podcast but rock and roll like super nerdy”— Andrew Huberman
Big reveals from this episode
- A neurosurgery chair told Rick Rubin that roughly 50% of what is in medical textbooks is false, with incalculable impact on patient treatment.
- Huberman recounts that the dominant breathing nostril switches about every two hours, reflecting shifts between parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous-system dominance.
- Huberman explains the anterior mid-cingulate cortex grows when you do hard things you don't want to do and is larger in 'superagers' who resist cognitive decline.
- Rogan describes MSNBC deceptively editing his Tulsi Gabbard comments to make it appear he was praising Kamala Harris.
- Huberman discusses the FDA declining to approve MDMA for PTSD despite over 60% success rates, citing control-group and practitioner-patient safety concerns.
- Huberman links a meditation practice of stillness with an active mind to REM sleep, suggesting it mimics the brain state that generates creative ideas.
- Huberman argues many regenerative therapies like BPC-157 face resistance because they would reduce surgeries and drug sales that the healthcare business relies on.
Worth remembering
- Researcher Noam Sobel's lab showed blindfolded humans with covered hands can track a chocolate scent trail buried below ground like a tracking dog.
- Studies suggest people unconsciously wipe the scent of another person on their own face within about a minute of shaking hands.
- Olfactory neurons are among the very few central-nervous-system neurons that regenerate throughout the human lifespan.
- Smelling something aversive triggers a parallel adrenaline release from the adrenals and the brain's locus coeruleus within a couple hundred milliseconds.
- Joe describes Glaube Feitosa's question-mark kick, whose hip flexibility let him arc kicks over the guard and down onto opponents' heads.
- Robert Sapolsky's view that dopamine is not about pleasure but the pleasure of pursuit.
- An expert told Huberman that high-potency cannabis edibles cause psychotic episodes partly via the 11-hydroxy metabolite, which is about five times more psychoactive than THC.
- Neuroscientist Oliver Sacks held a state powerlifting record with a roughly 600-pound squat.
- David Anderson's Caltech lab found stimulating specific ventromedial hypothalamus neurons makes animals either mate or attack.
- Huberman cites Stuart McGill's 'big three' back exercises as widely reported to stabilize and strengthen the spine and relieve back pain.
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