#2420 - Chris Masterjohn
Joe Rogan speaks with nutrition researcher Chris Masterjohn about how mitochondrial function underlies many aspects of health, aging, and disease. They discuss topics including creatine for brain and muscle energy, red light and sunlight for mitochondrial support, cautious use of supplements such as methylene blue and CoQ10, the long-term risks of seed oils, and how exercise variety, skill training, and good nutrition can promote healthy longevity. The conversation also covers thyroid health, iodine and selenium, cholesterol and statins, and the potential role of nattokinase in reducing clot-related heart attack and stroke risk.
Insulin Doctor: This Is The First Sign Of Dementia! The Shocking Link Between Keto & Brain Decline!
Internal medicine physician and insulin-resistance specialist Dr. Annette Bosworth explains why she believes routinely generating ketones is central to preventing and reversing many chronic conditions. She discusses insulin's role in aging and disease, the practical steps of her "keto continuum" approach, measurement of glucose and ketones, and tools like sardine fasts and exogenous ketones to break through insulin resistance. She also shares case studies from her practice, the story of using a ketogenic diet alongside her mother's cancer care, and her own legal and political ordeal that tested her faith and resilience.
Most Replayed Moment: Anxiety Is Just A Prediction! Rewrite Old Stories and Build Emotional Safety
The host and guest discuss the concept of the predictive brain, explaining that the brain is not primarily a reactive organ but a prediction engine that prepares actions and experiences based on past learning. Using concrete examples such as language processing, thirst, coffee habits, exercise, trauma, and phobias, they show how prediction shapes perception, emotion, and bodily regulation. They also explore cultural inheritance, meaning-making, identity, and practical ways to change entrenched patterns by creating new experiences and dosing oneself with prediction error.
Essentials: Science of Building Strong Social Bonds with Family, Friends & Romantic Partners
Andrew Huberman explains the biology and psychology of social bonding, covering neural circuits, neurochemicals, and hormones that govern how we form and maintain relationships. He describes social homeostasis circuits involving structures like the ACC, amygdala, hypothalamus, and dorsal raphe nucleus, and discusses how introversion and extroversion may relate to dopamine responses to social interaction. He also explores physiological synchrony, early caregiver-infant attachment, emotional versus cognitive empathy, the role of oxytocin, and what happens in the nervous system during breakups.
"Claire Danes"
The hosts open with light banter about facials, manicures, and self-care before welcoming actor Claire Danes, who talks about her relatively low-key beauty routine, life in a New York City brownstone, and becoming a mother of three after an unexpected pregnancy at 44. She describes growing up in an artist loft in Soho, starting acting as a child, the whirlwind of early fame from "My So-Called Life" and "Romeo + Juliet," and how therapy and family grounded her. Danes also shares how she researches roles-including observing brain surgery and visiting Langley-her experiences on "Homeland," working with directors like Baz Luhrmann and Francis Ford Coppola, her eccentric family history (including an ancestor hanged in the Salem witch trials), and her new psychological thriller series "The Beast in Me" with Matthew Rhys.
Essentials: Breathing for Mental & Physical Health & Performance | Dr. Jack Feldman
Andrew Huberman and respiratory neuroscientist Dr. Jack Feldman discuss how breathing is generated and controlled by the brain, with emphasis on the pre-Bötzinger complex, the diaphragm, and the evolution of mammalian respiration. They explore physiological sighs, how breathing patterns influence emotional and cognitive states, rodent studies of slow breathing and fear, and potential mechanisms involving the vagus nerve, olfaction, and carbon dioxide regulation. In the latter part, they discuss magnesium threonate's effects on synaptic plasticity and cognitive aging, including animal and human data on learning, memory, and mild cognitive decline.
No.1 Brain Scientist: Your Brain Is Lying To You! Here's How I Discovered The Truth!
Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor explains how four anatomically distinct brain systems shape our thoughts, emotions, and behavior, and argues that we can learn to consciously choose which "character" to lead with in any moment. She recounts her catastrophic left-hemisphere hemorrhagic stroke, eight-year recovery, and how losing her left brain radically shifted her perspective on identity, trauma, and the preciousness of life. Throughout the conversation she connects brain anatomy to practical tools for emotional regulation, trauma integration, lifestyle choices, and cultivating a more balanced, peaceful mind.
What Loneliness Does To Your Brain with Ben Rein
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O'Reilly, and Chuck interview neuroscientist Ben Rein about what loneliness and social isolation do to the brain and body. They distinguish between objective isolation and the subjective feeling of loneliness, explain the stress and inflammatory pathways involved, and discuss how personality, aging, technology, and drugs like alcohol, painkillers, and MDMA affect social behavior and health. Rein also shares research on empathy, dogs and oxytocin, and practical ideas for rebuilding social connection in an increasingly automated world.
Improve Your Lymphatic System for Overall Health & Appearance
Andrew Huberman explains the structure and functions of the lymphatic system, how it interfaces with the blood circulatory system, and why it is essential for clearing cellular waste, supporting immunity, and maintaining healthy tissues. He explores how movement, breathing, sleep, and specific postures influence lymphatic and glymphatic (brain) clearance, and how impairments can contribute to issues like lymphedema, brain fog, and visible puffiness in the face. He also discusses links between exercise, cardiac lymphatic vessels, brain health, and how light exposure and gentle manual techniques can support lymphatic function and appearance.
12 Minutes to a Better Brain: Neuroscientist Reveals the #1 Habit for Clarity & Focus
Mel Robbins talks with cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Amishi Jha about how attention works in the brain and why it is both powerful and fragile. They break down the three systems of attention (selective "flashlight," alerting "floodlight," and executive "juggler"), how stress and chronic demand degrade these systems, and how neuroplasticity allows them to be trained. Drawing on decades of research with military service members, first responders, athletes, and others, Dr. Jha explains why a minimum of 12 minutes of mindfulness practice, four days a week, can stabilize and improve attention, mood, and stress, and she demonstrates practical exercises listeners can start immediately.
Protect & Improve Your Hearing & Brain Health | Dr. Konstantina Stankovic
Andrew Huberman and Dr. Konstantina Stankovic discuss how the auditory system works from the ear to the brain, emphasizing its extraordinary sensitivity and importance for communication, emotion, and cognition. They cover causes and types of hearing loss, tinnitus, noise exposure thresholds, and practical strategies to protect hearing, including sound level limits, earplugs, and possibly magnesium intake. The conversation also explores links between hearing loss and dementia, cochlear implants, genetic and environmental contributors to hearing loss, inner ear regeneration research, and broader issues such as environmental noise pollution and sensory-driven brain plasticity.
No. 1 Sugar Expert: 17 Seconds Of Pleasure Can Rewire Your Brain!
Dr. Robert Lustig explains how dopamine-driven behaviors and ultra-processed food, especially sugar, can create a "hostage brain" by rewiring reward pathways and degrading metabolic and brain health. He details mechanisms linking sugar, artificial sweeteners, mitochondrial dysfunction, and reactive oxygen species to Alzheimer's, cancer, depression, and other chronic diseases, while contrasting environmental versus genetic risk. The conversation also covers GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, vaccines and public health communication, loneliness, serotonin and oxytocin, practical strategies to reduce sugar and ultra-processed food, and emerging research on psychedelics and brain rewiring.
Essentials: Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System
Andrew Huberman explains how the immune system works, outlining the three main defense layers: physical barriers like skin and mucus, the innate immune response, and the adaptive immune system that generates antibodies. He describes how sickness behavior arises via neural and blood-borne signals, then details specific nervous-system-based tools-sleep posture, a cyclic hyperventilation breathing protocol, mindset effects on dopamine, fascia-targeted electroacupuncture, and spirulina-that can reduce inflammation, support immune function, and potentially shorten illness duration.
The Spark of Life
Host Molly Webster speaks with applied biophysicist Narosha Murugan about the discovery that living cells emit extremely faint light tied to their metabolism, and explores how this challenges the traditional lock-and-key view of cellular signaling. They discuss possible mechanisms for how this light is generated in mitochondria and potentially guided through cellular structures, its hypothesized roles in brain function and consciousness, and how its distinct signatures can already be used experimentally to detect cancer and distinguish living from dead tissue. The conversation ends with reflections on "life flashes" at fertilization and death, and on thinking of living beings as organized patterns of energy and light.