Everything Tim Ferriss has recommended in 5-Bullet Friday — 2,122 books, articles, quotes, films, products and more, gathered from 480 issues since 2015. Browse by category, sort by what the community values or how often Tim has returned to it, and spend your 25 votes on what matters most to you. Each item's note is quoted from Tim's own words in the newsletter.
“A New Vision for Wolf Conservation After 150 Years of Yellowstone.” For my readers in the U.S.: If you’d like to help, you can find a call-to-action at the end of the article, or you can simply click here to be taken directly to the action. It takes less than 60 seconds, and every person counts.— Tim Ferriss
“Can’t cook, won’t cook? Here are the tips that saved me from a life of terrible meals.” by Elle Hunt (@elle_hunt).— Tim Ferriss
“Johns Hopkins, Yale, and NYU are teaming up to tackle a key bottleneck that will arise as psychedelics come to market” by Yeji Jesse Lee (@jesse_yeji). This has been in the works for a while, and I couldn’t be more excited. Here are a few snippets from the above piece: “As psychedelics treatments move closer to regulatory approval, there’s an issue looming in the industry: the lack of trained professionals who can handle such powerful compounds. … The goal is to have the curriculum certified by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, which would create a pathway to make the — Tim Ferriss
“Essential Life-Learnings from 14 Years of Brain Pickings” by Maria Popova (@brainpicker). The key takeaway is so important and yet so easy to forget. I read this twice in the past week.— Tim Ferriss
“Yuval Noah Harari argues that what’s at stake in Ukraine is the direction of human history” (The Economist). This article is very short, excellently written, and well worth the time. It’s also worth a few minutes of trouble to get to. To read this for free without a subscription, you will need to create an account here or use a service like Archive.is. We may be at a critical crossroads, and I encourage everyone to take this seriously. Hat tip to Dr. Mark Plotkin, who sent me this article.— Tim Ferriss
“Cannabidiol Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Promotes the Host Innate Immune Response.” From the abstract: “Here we report that cannabidiol (CBD), a compound produced by the cannabis plant, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection. CBD and its metabolite, 7-OH-CBD, but not congeneric cannabinoids, potently block SARS-CoV-2 replication in lung epithelial cells. CBD acts after cellular infection, inhibiting viral gene expression and reversing many effects of SARS-CoV-2 on host gene transcription.”— Tim Ferriss
“Tech entrepreneurs pledge $2.5 million to Dog Aging Project.” (University of Washington Medicine)— Tim Ferriss
“Sort By Controversial” by Scott Alexander (@slatestarcodex) of Slate Star Codex fame, now writing at Astral Codex Ten. Note that this is fiction. Or is it? Hilarious and terrifying. “The Control Group Is Out Of Control,” also by Scott Alexander. This is a fun read as well as an outstanding article on the basics of statistics for a lay audience. I believe there is a place for frequentist statistics, but I’m relying on people far smarter than myself, and that doesn’t detract from the main points. For those interested in a technical exploration far beyond my abilities, here you go: “Why Isn’t Ev— Tim Ferriss
Azolla event. From Wikipedia: “The Azolla event is a scenario hypothesized to have occurred in the middle Eocene epoch, around 49 million years ago, when blooms of the freshwater fern Azolla are thought to have happened in the Arctic Ocean. As they sank to the stagnant sea floor, they were incorporated into the sediment; the resulting draw-down of carbon dioxide has been speculated to have helped transform the planet from a ‘greenhouse Earth’ state, hot enough for turtles and palm trees to prosper at the poles, to the current icehouse Earth known as the Late Cenozoic Ice Age.”— Tim Ferriss
“A Domineering Father’s Letter to His Son” by Howard Muson. Pair it with the letter that the mother of philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer sent to him. Hat tip to Letters of Note (@lettersofnote).— Tim Ferriss
“The Inevitable Weaponization of App Data Is Here” by Joseph Cox (VICE). This is a very important piece to read. Applies to nearly everyone. Links with helpful tips to protect your data and privacy: “Online Privacy 101 Checklist” “16 Practical Privacy Tips for Your iPhone” (Click here for the Android equivalent.) (Wirecutter/New York Times) “How a Burner Identity Protects Your Inbox, Phone, and Credit Cards” (Wirecutter/New York Times) “Our Favorite Ad Blockers and Browser Extensions to Protect Privacy” (Wirecutter/New York Times)— Tim Ferriss
“Can Dying Languages Be Saved?” by Judith Thurman for The New Yorker. As longtime readers know, I am obsessed with languages and language learning. This article checked all the boxes. Fun fact: Another article from Judith prompted the Herzog documentary in the next bullet.— Tim Ferriss
“Slow-Roast Gochujang Chicken” by Molly Baz (@mollybaz). This was simply incredible and my first encounter with gochujang. Huge thanks to Kerry for the introduction. Here is a link to another recipe for the gochujang sauce itself, if you prefer homemade to store-bought.— Tim Ferriss
“An Infamous Psilocybin Patent Has Just Been Challenged” by Shayla Love. The outcome of this particular situation will affect the entire psychedelic ecosystem. Whether you’re anti-capitalist or die-hard capitalist, the implications described in this article are important to understand. Highly recommended. On a related note, here is one of the latest developments in a separate journal, and I’ve excerpted a key snippet: “Furthermore, revision is recommended on characterizations in recently granted patents that include descriptions of crystalline psilocybin inappropriately reported as a single-ph— Tim Ferriss
“The chase for fusion energy: An emerging industry of nuclear-fusion firms promises to have commercial reactors ready in the next decade.” by Philip Ball (@philipcball) for Nature. If you prefer video, check out this excellent overview by Matt Ferrell (@mattferrell), which covers the recent excitement in fusion: “Exploring Why This Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Matters.”— Tim Ferriss
“Steve Young Is an Athlete Who’s Actually Good at Finance” by Alex Sherman (@sherman4949) (Bloomberg Businessweek).— Tim Ferriss
“Wolves make roadways safer, generating large economic returns to predator conservation” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).— Tim Ferriss
“The Ice” by William L. Fox with photographs by Shaun O'Boyle (@oboylephoto). Overview: “Governed by international treaty and dedicated to science, Antarctica is the driest, windiest, coldest, and highest continent on the planet. To photograph in such a place is tantamount to practicing art on another planet.”— Tim Ferriss
“Brain in a Vat — Making Philosophy Manifest” by Steve Jurvetson (@jurvetson). If you want a glimpse of the future, take five minutes and peruse this. I also strongly suggest following Steve on Twitter. He has an uncanny ability to see around corners. For more from Steve, listen to my wide-ranging interview with him on quantum computing, nanotechnology, and much more.— Tim Ferriss
“Information for People Seeking Training in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy” from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (@MAPS). If you’ve wondered how you might become a therapist or facilitator who works with patients using psychedelic compounds, this is a good overview of current training options.— Tim Ferriss
The Microdose from Michael Pollan and the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Description: “Every Friday, The Microdose will bring you a handful of brief takes on developments in the field of psychedelics, covering everything from scientific research and policy to business and culture. On Mondays, a second installment will offer a Q & A with a newsmaker in the field—it might be a person you’ve heard of or someone you need to know about. Our goal is to keep you up-to-date and informed, whether you’re in the field or simply curious. The newsletter is free to everyone.” The head w— Tim Ferriss
“Warren Buffett: ‘Really Successful People Say No To Almost Everything’” by Michael Simmons. Huge kiss and playful ass slap to my girlfriend (sorry, Kevin; you got yours in Marfa) for this great recommendation. I’ve read a lot about Buffett, so I was astonished that I hadn’t heard the Michael Flint story, which is an uber-gem of a lesson.— Tim Ferriss
“OpenSea: The Reasonable Revolutionary” by Mario Gabriele, founder and editor of The Generalist. Pair this reading with “Punks, Squiggles, and the Future of Generative Media” by Derek Edws and Stephen McKeon. If you think this stuff is crazy now, just wait...— Tim Ferriss
“Psychedelic therapy: a roadmap for wider acceptance and utilization” (Nature Medicine) by Mason Marks (@MasonMarksMD) and I. Glenn Cohen (@cohenprof), both associated with the Harvard Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR) at the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School. “A Strategy for Rescheduling Psilocybin” (Scientific American) by Mason Marks (@MasonMarksMD).— Tim Ferriss
“Texas Is the Future of America” by Steven Pedigo (@iamstevenpedigo) for The New York Times. This article probably isn’t what you think it is. Based on demographic changes and more, I think it helps you to peek around corners into the near future.— Tim Ferriss
“34 Mistakes on the Way to 34 Years Old” by Ryan Holiday (@RyanHoliday). For more life advice recapped on birthdays, see Elder Jedi Kevin Kelly’s “99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited Advice” and “68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice.”— Tim Ferriss
“It Is Obscene: A True Reflection in Three Parts” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (@chimamandareal), the award-winning Nigerian author of books including We Should All Be Feminists. She is one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People” (2015) and a MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” recipient. This was sent to me by Ryan Holiday, who found it tucked away in Anne Applebaum’s piece on “The New Puritans,” which is also excellent. Everyone should read this essay. It’s a taste of things to come on a much larger scale. Social media will breed more of this, and few people are immune.— Tim Ferriss
The first two get decently technical. The last is a good overall primer. 1) “6529 ~1 month old 🥳 Some of you know me from somewhere else 👀 My views on NFTs in the thread below” by 65292) “1/ Tokens are a new digital primitive, analogous to the website 🧵” by Chris Dixon3) “Had a call w a very smart investor who dismissed NFTs, trading cards, collectibles as Beanie Babies + I nearly fell out of my chair, but I get it, if you’re not tuned into the power of culture (esp internet culture) this all looks like a fad, a blip. I need to do a video on this.” by Alexis Ohanian— Tim Ferriss
“It’s official. I just received a U01 grant from NIDA to study psilocybin for tobacco addiction. To my knowledge it’s the 1st grant from the US government in over a half century to directly study therapeutics of a classic psychedelic. New era in legitimacy of psychedelic science.” This is a tweet from Dr. Matthew W. Johnson, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins. It is a HUGE deal and decades in the making. This has also been a primary hope/target of mine for the last several years. Congratulations, Matthew and team! Additional coverage: Breaking News: US Gov to Fund— Tim Ferriss
“We See As We Be” by Jamie Wheal. This is a hilarious, smart, and on-point read. If you’re dismayed by the hyper-polarity and “truthiness” of today’s discourse, or if you sense something isn’t quite right but can’t put a finger on it, this article might strike a chord.— Tim Ferriss
“Pharmaceutical companies should pay for raiding nature’s medicine cabinet01686-X/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email )” (The Lancet). Nature is the source and inspiration for many blockbuster medicines, but the ecosystems that provide the original molecules have received very little support in return. Imagine if someone were to take a public domain novel, add 5% new pages in the form of 10 illustrations and an appendix (i.e., make— Tim Ferriss
“The Collapse of Wild Red Wolves Is a Warning That Should Worry Us All” by Jimmy Tobias (The Nation). Thanks to Ryan Holiday (@RyanHoliday) for the recommendation. This is a compelling story of a canary in the coal mine: wild red wolves. Even if you’re a hunter, as I am, it’s a critical preview of what’s coming for many other species if we don’t make important changes soon. It’s also a complete case study on many fronts.— Tim Ferriss
“Remember to Remember: Take Away Lessons from My Interview with Tim Ferriss” by Dennis McKenna (@dennismckenna4). I found this article to be a powerful reminder of powerful reminders. Even if you never hear our conversation, this short read has tremendous value. P.S. I’m part of a related panel that has been submitted to SXSW. If you’d like to see it happen, please upvote it here. The video intro is somewhat odd, so if you watch it, you can skip ahead to the 40-second mark.— Tim Ferriss
The Bauhaus Curriculum. Click here for an English version of the diagram, plus an overview of Bauhaus principles and curriculum. I discovered this via Neri Oxman of MIT, and you can hear her discussions of the Bauhaus wheel, as well as her newer adaptation, here on YouTube.— Tim Ferriss
“Corrections to Misinformation Being Spread about MAPS and IPCI” by David Bronner. I consider MAPS and IPCI to be two of the clear good guys in the psychedelic ecosystem. I know the founders and leadership well. There appears to be a smear campaign afoot, and the claims are ridiculous and unfounded. Nearly everything devolves into a zero-sum game if we let human nature run reflexively without pause. It takes extra effort—sometimes a lot of effort—to remain on guard against our lesser instincts.— Tim Ferriss
“In The Light Of Dying Stars” by David Alder. If you have any interest in psychedelics or the psychedelic ecosystem, I consider this story to be required reading. It’s an impressive combination of prose and illustration.— Tim Ferriss
“Terence McKenna’s Memes” (VICE). I first read Terence McKenna when I was 15 and 16 years old, reading The Archaic Revival and Food of the Gods, respectively. Both had an impact on my trajectory. The Irish bard of psychedelics loved wordsmithing and enjoyed controversy. Two of my favorite memes from the above linked article are Worry is preposterous; we don’t know enough to worry and Nature is not mute; it is man who is deaf.— Tim Ferriss
“Huy Fong’s Sriracha hit revenue of $150m+ a year...with no sales team, no trademark and $0 in ad spend. Its creator is Vietnamese-American David Tran, making the sauce’s success a tale of immigrant hustle and a product that literally sells itself. Here’s the story🧵…” (hat tip to Mike N.). Tired of all the smoke and mirrors of overhyped entrepreneurship? All the hand-wavy buzz words of the startup du jour? This is a wonderful story of product, product, product meets focus, focus, focus.— Tim Ferriss
“How Should We Do Drugs Now?” (NYT Opinion) by Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan).— Tim Ferriss
“Harvard Lawyers Will Study the Legal Questions Around Psychedelic Treatment” (VICE) “Harvard Law School Launches First-Ever Research Initiative on Psychedelics and the Law” (The Harvard Crimson) This has been in the works for a while, and I really hope people read the full articles. In the meantime, here’s the short version… Law and regulation determine the rules of the game. This is true in nearly all fields. Right now, the good actors in the psychedelic ecosystem have one arm tied behind their backs, and the bad actors have few checks and balances. The next 1–3 years will be a critical wind— Tim Ferriss
“Psychedelics Weren’t As Common in Ancient Cultures As We Think” by Manvir Singh (@mnvrsngh) for VICE. This is a great piece, and it taught me a lot. I don’t agree with every sentence or every sentiment, but if you only read things you totally agree with, you’re reading the wrong stuff. This article points out a number of seductive narratives, historical fallacies, and other fictions that spread easily throughout the psychedelic ecosystem. As iconic physicist and Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman famously said, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest p— Tim Ferriss
The Best Bug Repellents | Reviews by Wirecutter. For extra protection, I use ElimiTick tick-repellent pants.— Tim Ferriss
The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss by Dennis McKenna, PhD (@dennismckenna4). This has been on my to-read list for years. It’s a blast to finally dig into Dennis’s stories of family, experimentation, revelation, and life lessons.— Tim Ferriss
Mike Tyson says psychedelics saved his life, now he hopes they can change the world (Reuters).— Tim Ferriss
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s email newsletter. Arnold is absolutely hilarious. For a taste, and a personal favorite, read this sample edition: “Well here we are again.” And in case you missed it, my podcast interview with Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) from 2015 can be found here. We cover mailing cow balls to politicians, psychological warfare, and much more.— Tim Ferriss
“Amazon, Walmart.....Chinese potting soil.....and the 34th Amendment....” by Deep Throat. This one is long but well worth the time.— Tim Ferriss
“Dear Bill and/or Melinda” (The New Yorker). This caught me off guard and made me laugh out loud. The funniest part—and least funny part—is how many emails I actually receive that are some version of this.— Tim Ferriss
Introduction to Effective Altruism (EA). I wanted to reread the basics of EA, as it’s been a few years since my podcast with Will MacAskill, one of the originators of the movement. This review came about because I was invited to join a psychedelics-focused Ask Me Anything (AMA) on the Effective Altruism Forum, alongside Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan), bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, and Dr. Matthew W. Johnson (@Drug_Researcher), professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins. Huge thanks to the community for all of the wonderful questions. I learned a lot and had a blast.— Tim Ferriss
“Open Letter to the Psychedelic Movement Regarding Peyote in Policy Efforts and How to Be an Ally to Indigenous Peoples of North America” and “The Psychedelic Revolution Is Coming. Psychiatry May Never Be the Same.” by Andrew Jacobs. P.P.P.S. I am doing an AMA on psychedelic research on the Effective Altruism Forum. I will be joined by Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan), bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, and Dr. Matthew W. Johnson (@Drug_Researcher), professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins. Michael and Matthew will be answering questions this Sunday, and I’ll be doing so on Monday. — Tim Ferriss
“MDMA Reaches Next Step Toward Approval for Treatment” by Rachel Nuwer (The New York Times). This is a very big deal, and the results further reinforce why I became involved with these Phase 3 trials, the first conducted on psychedelic-assisted therapy. Huge thanks to all of you who supported the campaign! Thus far, the data represent a home run. Here are just a few highlights, and bolding is mine: “Two months after treatment, 67 percent of participants in the MDMA group no longer qualified for a diagnosis of PTSD, compared with 32 percent in the placebo group. MDMA produced no serious adverse— Tim Ferriss
“99 Additional Bits of Unsolicited Advice” by Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly). It’s Kevin Kelly’s birthday this week, and he is arguably the real-life most interesting man in the world, so I jumped on this piece as soon as it was published. For more KK life tips, see his “68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice” from 2020.— Tim Ferriss
“Bill to kill up to 90% of Idaho wolves heads to governor” (AP). Thanks for reading this one, as it’s very time sensitive for today (Friday), ideally—this weekend, or Monday, May 3rd, at the latest. The governor is expected to decide in the next several days. OVERVIEW: Idaho News 6: “BOISE, Idaho — Nearly 30 retired state, federal and tribal wildlife managers want Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little to veto a bill backed by agricultural interests that could cut the state’s wolf population by 90%. The former workers at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fo— Tim Ferriss
“I was hospitalized for depression. Faith helped me remember how to live.” by Michael Gerson (@mjgerson) for The Washington Post. If you prefer video, you can watch the original sermon here.— Tim Ferriss
“A Tiny Particle’s Wobble Could Upend the Known Laws of Physics” (New York Times). The subheading gives you the gist: “Experiments with particles known as muons suggest that there are forms of matter and energy vital to the nature and evolution of the cosmos that are not yet known to science.” To dig deeper, or if you have issues with the above link, visit this link and see the accompanying short video.— Tim Ferriss
“Magic mushroom compound at least as good as antidepressant in UK study” (Reuters) and “Psychedelic drug worked for depression as well as common antidepressant, small trial finds” (NBC News). These articles discuss the first head-to-head comparison of psilocybin therapy and the antidepressant escitalopram, also known as Lexapro. There is a lot of confusing media coverage, but the above two pieces are well done. What is the simple summary? Below is a snippet of how one researcher uninvolved with the study, Dr. Alexandre Lehmann (Scientific Director at PSFC, Cognitive Neuroscience PI at McGill U— Tim Ferriss
“This Oddball Chef Wants to Serve You Wild Animals” by Daniel Duane (@danielduane) for Outside. Josh Skenes and I became friends circa 2011, just before the creation of The 4-Hour Chef, and he appears extensively in its pages. I love his unorthodox approaches to both cooking and life. He’s still pushing the envelope. Trigger warning (pun intended): if you’re vegetarian or vegan, this article might not make for the most compatible reading. But if it whets your appetite, you can find more wild tales from Josh in my podcast interview with him.— Tim Ferriss
“Lost in Thought” by David Kortava for Harper’s Magazine. I would have dismissed this article were it not for my personal experience with retraumatization and breakdown at a silent retreat in 2017. I recount this experience at roughly 12:11 of my podcast episode on healing from childhood abuse. This is a very well-researched piece on the largely ignored risks of meditation and, more specifically, the enhanced risks of longer retreats for some populations. I still regularly meditate, but I do find there to be a point of diminishing returns, as well as a point (i.e., extended retreats) where the— Tim Ferriss
The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2021.— Tim Ferriss
“Oregon is Blazing a Psychedelic Trail” or “Can Magic Mushrooms Heal Us?” (The New York Times) by Ezra Klein (@ezraklein). Both links go to the same article, as it has had two headlines. The subheadline is “A very promising mental health experiment is taking shape in Oregon,” and the entire piece is excellent. Five-minute read. “Sounding the Alarm on Compass’s Interference with Oregon’s Psilocybin Therapy Program” by David Bronner. This combines well with the above to provide a fuller picture of what is at stake and what is possible.— Tim Ferriss
“Banksy Work Physically Burned and Digitized as NFT in Art-World First” and “The Non-Fungible Token Bible: Everything you need to know about NFTs” (especially sections 1, 2, and 3, as a lot has happened since this piece was published). “NFTs are a dangerous trap” by Seth Godin. Quick note and questions related to Seth’s post — The current energy costs of crypto/blockchain appear to be enormous. For the crypto-literate engineers out there: How should we think about the promise and feasibility of Proof of Stake as a remedy, and how much of the energetic costs might that mitigate? The creator of — Tim Ferriss