The Truth About Ketamine: Depression Cure, Health Fad, or Placebo?

The Truth About Ketamine: Depression Cure, Health Fad, or Placebo?

One week ago, Matthew Perry’s autopsy report came back, finding that the ‘Friends’ actor died from the acute effects of ketamine overdose. His death has sharpened focus on the popular and controversial drug. Ketamine has been hailed as a miracle cure for depression and anxiety, criticized as a VC-fueled fad, and investigated as a placebo. But what is ketamine, what is its history, what do we know about how and why it works, and how could it help hundreds of millions of people with depression and anxiety? Today’s guest is Boris Heifets. He is an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Stanford University and the author of a much talked about and utterly fascinating study on ketamine that came up with a brilliant way to test the effects of ketamine. The study's surprising results raise big questions about not only ketamine, but the curative power of belief. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Boris Heifets Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(362)

What Is Trumponomics? Part 1: How Donald Trump Is Breaking American Capitalism

What Is Trumponomics? Part 1: How Donald Trump Is Breaking American Capitalism

Today is the first of two interviews this week trying to answer this question: What is Trumponomics? From the 1980s to the 2010s, it was generally assumed that Republicans and Democrats had settled d...

3 Sep 202549min

The Healthiest "Super-Agers" Have One Thing in Common, According to a 25-Year Study

The Healthiest "Super-Agers" Have One Thing in Common, According to a 25-Year Study

Memory is the glue of life. Without it, our focus softens, our experience of the world blurs, and our identities melt away. But as people age, their memory declines. Many billions of dollars have been...

27 Aug 202541min

Plain History: How the Transcontinental Railroads Built the Modern World

Plain History: How the Transcontinental Railroads Built the Modern World

Today’s pod is about the economic story of the moment. It’s about new technology that supporters claim will transform the U.S. economy, an infrastructure build-out unlike anything in living memory tha...

20 Aug 202555min

The Modern World Is Changing America’s Personality For the Worse

The Modern World Is Changing America’s Personality For the Worse

According to analysis by Financial Times writer John Burn-Murdoch, something extraordinary has happened to Americans’ personalities in the last decade. Longitudinal tests indicate that we’ve collectiv...

13 Aug 202547min

Will AI Usher In the End of Deep Thinking?

Will AI Usher In the End of Deep Thinking?

Last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis published the latest GDP report. It contained a startling detail. Spending on artificial intelligence added more to the U.S. economy than consumer spending l...

6 Aug 202558min

The New Geography of Housing in America

The New Geography of Housing in America

Subscribe to Derek’s new Substack. In 1991, the median age of first-time homebuyers was 28. Now it’s 38, an all-time high. In 1981, the median age of all homebuyers was 36. Today, it’s 56—another all...

30 Jul 202542min

The Demise of Late-Night TV Is an Omen for American Culture

The Demise of Late-Night TV Is an Omen for American Culture

Even before the cancellation of 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,' the business of comedy was changing rapidly. Twenty years ago, comedians aspired to be late-night hosts, or to star in movies, or ...

23 Jul 202547min

 If Trump’s Economic Ideas Are So Bad, Why Isn’t the U.S. Economy Doing Much Worse?

If Trump’s Economic Ideas Are So Bad, Why Isn’t the U.S. Economy Doing Much Worse?

Sign up for Derek's Substack here. Harvard economist Jason Furman returns to the show to answer two big, burning questions. First, if Trump's economic ideas are as bad as most economists say, why isn...

17 Jul 202552min

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