Pushkin.

It's hard to read the news these days without asking yourself, how did we get here?

Fiasco is a history podcast for the co-creators of Slow Burn.

In our first season, Bush v. Gore, we examine an unmistakable turning point in American politics, the 2000 election, which resulted in a high-stakes stalemate, ended with one of the most controversial rulings in Supreme Court history. So if you're trying to make sense at the present moment, check out Fiasco, Bush v. Gore. Listen on theHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

From Pushkin Industries, this is deep background, the show where we explore the stories behind the stories in the news.

I'm Noah Feldman. Every generation has a handful of thinkers and writers who profoundly shape

the way we experience the world by tapping into the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times.

Today's guest, Michael Pollan, is one of those rare individuals. First, he did it for food,

with a series of important and influential books and articles for The New Yorker in the New York Times that changed the way we thought about

how our food was made and about what sorts of foods we should eat. In recent years, he's been doing it

again, this time with psychedelics, with books like How to Change Your Mind,

and most recently, this is Your Mind on Plants. Throughout this body of work, Michael has focused

on the intersecting point between nature and culture, and he tries both to tell our stories

and to guide us directionally in how we ought to experience the world.

Michael therefore writes about power, one of our central themes here on Deep Background this season,

but he is also someone who, in his own gentle way, deploys a substantial amount of power in our culture.

He's here today to talk about his new book and the trajectory of his career and how it all

fits together.

Michael, thank you so much for being here.

There are so many questions that I want to ask you.

But let me start with one aspect of your

fascinating new book. This is your mind on plants. And this book is many different things, but one of them

...