JOHANN HARI: Is Ozempic a miracle drug or something darker?

Johann Hari (bestselling author Stolen Focus and Lost Connections) has written another system-rattling book, this time about the new weight loss drugs that everyone is both talking about AND not talking about. I’ve been wanting a wild mind to come chat about the phenomenon for over a year. Johann happened to reach out and tell me he’d been experimenting with Ozempic, had travelled the world interviewing 100-plus experts on the matter and was up for a chat.

In this conversation, we talk through what he lays out in his book Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs. We cover how the drugs work on our biology; the emerging risks; how the rich are the guinea pigs in this particular science experiment; the implications of a world with no appetite (“What will become of the dinner party?”); and the fact these drugs mask the real problem – how Big Food manipulates our hormones with their Franken-foods. And, so, here we are again, told to fix a systemic problem with the same mindset that caused it in the first place (ie: manipulating nature with additives for profit). The Ozempic debate is a lot. This chat goes there!

SHOW NOTES
Johann's book Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs (amzn.to/4beEpvJ) is available now
Connect with Johann on Instagram (instagram.com/johann.hari) and buy his books here (johannhari.com)
Listen to my Wild chat about Ultra-Processed Food with Dr Chris van Tulleken (podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/chris-van-tullek…)
Read my Substack post on the Ozempic “divide” here (sarahwilson.substack.com/p/community-chat-ozem…)

--

If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "sarahwilson.com/about"; page
For more such conversations subscribe to mySubstack newsletter (sarahwilson.substack.com), it’s where I interact the most!
Get your copy of my book,This One Wild and Precious Life (amzn.to/3vs3tf2)
Let’s connect onInstagram (instagram.com/_sarahwilson_) and WeAre8 (click.weare8.com/zMp3/1qib7lyt)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.