The Peter Attia Drive

In this episode, Sam Harris, neuroscientist, author, and host of the Waking Up Podcast, walks us through the profound, yet practical, ways that meditation can transform our lives. Additionally, he helps to define the types of meditation and clarifies potential misconceptions with terms like happiness, pain, and suffering. We discuss: The transformative moment that led to Peter reaching out to Sam...

In this episode, Dr. Rudy Leibel, an expert in Clinical Molecular Genetics and Genomics at Columbia University, discusses his role in the remarkable scientific story of discovering leptin. He also gets into the genetics of obesity, as well as a broader discussion of the causes and effects of obesity, energy expenditure, and metabolism. We discuss: Rudy's background, interest in obesity, and trying...

In this episode, Siddhartha Mukherjee, oncologist, researcher, and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer," discusses his writing process, his thoughts about medicine, cancer, immunotherapy, and his recent collaboration on a study combining a ketogenic diet with a drug in mice that provided remarkable and encouraging results. We discuss: Sid's...

In this episode, Nav Chandel, a professor of medicine and cell and molecular biology at Northwestern University, discusses the role of mitochondria and metabolism in health and disease. Nav also provides insights into the mitochondria as signaling organelles, antioxidants, and metformin's multifaceted effects on human health, among many topics related to well-being. We discuss: What got Nav intere...

In this episode, Thomas Seyfried, a cancer researcher and professor of biology at Boston College, discusses a controversial view of cancer as a mitochondrial metabolic disease. Many topics related to the causes, treatments, and prevention of cancer are covered in this in-depth conversation. We discuss: How Tom got interested in cancer research [ 9:00 ]; Calorie-restricted ketogenic diets, fasting,...

In this episode, 8-time Olympic medalist, Apolo Ohno, discusses the lessons he's learned from his remarkable career in speed skating and the extreme physical and mental training — and determination — required to reach greatness. We discuss: Apolo's childhood with his single dad, early success in sports, and falling in love with skating [7:30]; The differences between inline and ice skating, and sh...

In this episode, Mark and Chris Bell discuss their love of powerlifting, their unbelievable personal records, and what prompted the making of their now iconic film, Bigger, Stronger, Faster. They also very openly discuss steroid use, their tragic family history with addiction, the many inspirations that lead to their multifaceted success, and their dedication to having a positive impact on others...

In this episode, David A. Sinclair, Ph. D., a Professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biological Mechanisms of Aging, provides insight into why we age and how to slow its effects based on his remarkable work on the role of sirtuins and NAD in health and diseases. He also presents the case that stabilizing the epigenetic...

In this "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) episode, Peter answers a wide range of questions from readers and podcast listeners. Bob Kaplan, Peter's head analyst, asks the questions. This also marks the first video release of the podcast. You can find it on YouTube ( https://youtu.be/kzs7GgxR_FQ ) and the website ( peterattiamd.com/ama03 ). If you have any questions for the next AMA, please submit them to the...

We discuss: How Scott and Peter met [ 3:45 ]; Scott's tragic family story that shaped his life and altered his trajectory [ 8:00 ]; High school years, rebellion, and music [30:30]; Life as a club promoter, drug use, soul-searching, and a change of heart [41:30]; Mercy Ships [ 1:15:00 ]; The amazing transformations of Mercy Ships and the parallels to his own transformation [ 1:28:00 ]; Leveraging t...

In this five-part series, Thomas Dayspring, M.D., FACP, FNLA, a world-renowned expert in lipidology, and one of Peter's most important clinical mentors, shares his wealth of knowledge on the subject of lipids. In Part V, Peter and Tom talk about inflammation, endothelial health, and oxidative stress as they pertain to cardiovascular disease, and our attempts to monitor them using biomarkers. They...

In this five-part series, Thomas Dayspring, M.D., FACP, FNLA, a world-renowned expert in lipidology, and one of Peter's most important clinical mentors, shares his wealth of knowledge on the subject of lipids. In Part IV, Peter and Tom review the history and current use of drugs to prevent cardiovascular disease. They also discuss why some drugs appear to be more effective than others, an in-depth...

In this five-part series, Thomas Dayspring, M.D., FACP, FNLA, a world-renowned expert in lipidology, and one of Peter's most important clinical mentors, shares his wealth of knowledge on the subject of lipids. In Part III, Peter and Tom dig into HDL, why "reverse cholesterol transport" is a lot more nuanced than what most of us are taught, lipid transport, apolipoproteins, and more. In addition, t...

In this five-part series, Thomas Dayspring, M.D., FACP, FNLA, a world-renowned expert in lipidology, and one of Peter's most important clinical mentors, shares his wealth of knowledge on the subject of lipids. In Part II, Tom provides a 101 on lipids and lipoproteins. Tom and Peter also discuss the history and techniques used to measure lipoproteins, and more.   We discuss:  Lipoprotein basics [ 1...

In this five-part series, Thomas Dayspring, M.D., FACP, FNLA, a world-renowned expert in lipidology, and one of Peter's most important clinical mentors, shares his wealth of knowledge on the subject of lipids. Part I serves as an introduction to Tom, his work, and an overview of lipid terminology. We discuss: Tom's recent and remarkable physical transformation [6:30]; The moving stories behind Tom...

In this episode, Dave Feldman, discusses his journey from software engineer to n=1 experimenter, his experience with low-carbohydrate diets, and his hypothesis that cholesterol levels are influenced by energy metabolism.   We discuss: Peter's synthesis of Dave's energy model [ 5:00 ]; Dave's journey from software engineer to cholesterol enthusiast [ 15:00 ]; Standard blood panels, sterol panels, a...

In this episode, Richard Isaacson, a neurologist and director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, discusses strategies for staving off Alzheimer's disease. Richard shares a wealth of insight for people who want to know more about Alzheimer's and what you can do to help yourself and your loved ones – starting today and continuing throughout the e...

In this episode, ultra-endurance athlete and entrepreneur, Mike Trevino, discusses the lessons he's learned from his remarkable athletic feats, and the training required to reach them. Not only is Mike's advice practical for those looking to take their endurance training to the next level, but his lessons and insight are extraordinarily applicable to living everyday life. We discuss: Mike's backgr...

In this bonus episode, Peter and med school colleague (and brilliant psychiatrist) Paul Conti reminisce on their favorite moments in Formula 1 history, their deep admiration for the late Ayrton Senna, and the remarkable careers of their all-time favorite drivers. Paul also helps to illuminate the psychological components that made the luminary drivers great, and the cautionary lessons we can take...

In this episode, psychiatrist Paul Conti, M.D. discusses the impact of untreated trauma, the rising rate of suicide, and the influence of modern society on mental health, to name a few important topics covered. Paul also talks about how to deal with these challenges for yourself, your loved ones, and the community at large. We discuss: Paul's background, and what drove him to psychiatry [5:00]; Ho...

In this episode, Rob Lustig — a researcher, an expert in fructose metabolism, and a former pediatric endocrinologist — discusses what's wrong with the current food environment, and what we can do to reduce our chances of becoming part of the obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) epidemics. Rob recently earned a Master of Studies in Law because he belie...

This episode explores the question of how we can maintain a naturally youthful look as we get older. Brett — a New York City oculofacial plastic surgeon who specializes in both non-surgical and surgical cosmetic and reconstructive procedures of the eyes and face — shares some remarkably practical advice on everything from the most extensive procedural options, down to the simple steps one can do t...

Corey and Peter met when they visited North Kern State Prison in California together as volunteers for Defy Ventures. Peter was moved by Corey's remarkable story, who is a former inmate himself, and realized he had to have him on the podcast to share his experiences with a wider audience. You'll almost assuredly take away something very important from listening to this episode. Understanding how y...

Consider this episode a cross between an ask me anything (AMA) and a show-and-tell. Peter discusses his fasting experiment in great detail and answers questions from listeners and readers. We discuss: Why Peter did a one-week fast and the rationale for front- and back-ending it with a week-long ketogenic diet [6:30]; What Peter's typical diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and supplementatio...

Matt is someone who is deeply interested in understanding the biology of aging. Why do we age? What happens to us as we age? What are the things we can do to slow the aging process? How can we delay or prevent the onset of age-related diseases? These are all questions that Matt thinks deeply about, and explores these questions with his research at the University of Washington. He is currently inve...