80. The Impact of Drugs on History, Society & Health: From Nazis to Neurology with Norman Ohler

Norman Ohler is a Berlin based novelist and filmmaker. In 1995 he published the first hypertext-novel world-wide: ‘Die Quotenmaschine’, a detective story set in New York. In 2001, his acclaimed Berlin-novel ‘Mitte’ was published, followed in 2002 by a novel about Johannesburg called ‘Ponte City’. 

In 2004, Ohler was writer-in-residence in Ramallah, and was the last person to interview Yassir Arafat. In 2008, he co-wrote “Palermo Shooting'”, a film by Wim Wenders, in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2017, Ohler’s first non-fiction book ‘Blitzed - Drugs in Nazi Germany’ became a New York Times bestseller: an explosive true story that uncovers an untold aspect of what fueled Hitler and the Nazi war machine, currently translated into 32 languages. His new book, ‘Tripped’ A.K.A ‘Der stärkste Stoff’ about the history of LSD appears is out now.

Episode Highlights

• Norman’s personal journey with LSD and his mother’s Alzheimer's
• The historical impact of drugs: from LSD to Nazis
• The global war on drugs and its implications
• Swings in the perception of psychedelics in the media
• The cynical view on psychedelic advocacy
• Psychedelics and personal transformation
• The complex influence of LSD
• Psychedelics in the context of empathy and social change
• The debate on psychedelics and social movements
• The legal landscape and future of psychedelics
• Psychedelics in warfare and government control
• Potential impacts of psychedelics on society 

Norman Ohler’s Links 

• Website: www.normanohler.com
• Instagram: @normanohler

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age by Norman Ohler
• Book: Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler
• Book: Mary's Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision for World Peace by Peter Janney