#646: Brian C. Muraresku with Dr. Mark Plotkin — The Eleusinian Mysteries, Discovering the Divine, The Immortality Key, The Pagan Continuity Hypothesis, Lessons from Scholar Karen Armstrong, and Much More

Brought to you
by GiveWell.org charity
research and effective giving and
5-Bullet Friday, my very own email
newsletter.


Welcome to The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is usually my job to
deconstruct world-class performers to tease out their routines,
habits, et cetera that you can apply to your own life. 


This time around, we have a very special edition featuring
Dr. Mark Plotkin and Brian C.
Muraresku. 


Mark takes over my duties as host and interviews Brian for an
episode of the Plants of the Gods podcast. You, my dear
listeners, are hearing the audio before anyone else, so this is a
Tim Ferriss Show exclusive. I’ve previously featured some of my
favorite episodes from that podcast at tim.blog/plantsofthegods.
These episodes cover a lot of fascinating ground.


So, who is Dr. Mark Plotkin? Mark
(@DocMarkPlotkin) is an ethnobotanist who serves as president of
the Amazon Conservation Team, which has partnered with ~80 tribes
to map and improve management and protection of ~100 million
acres of ancestral rainforests. He is best known to the general
public as the author of the book Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice,
one of the most popular books ever written about the rainforest.
His most recent book is The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know.
You can find my interview with Mark at
tim.blog/markplotkin. 


And the guest today is Brian C. Muraresku. Who
is Brian? Brian (@BrianMuraresku) graduated Phi Beta Kappa from
Brown University with a degree in Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit.
The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion
with No Name is Brian’s debut book. In 2020, it became a
New York Times bestseller, and Audible named it “Best of 2020” in
the History category. His website is brianmuraresku.com. You can
also find him on Instagram @brian_muraresku.


This is a tightly packed 55-minute interview. Mark and Brian
cover the Eleusinian Mysteries, the pagan continuity hypothesis,
early Christianity, lessons from famed religious scholar Karen
Armstrong, overlooked aspects of influential philosopher William
James’s career, ancient wine and ancient beer, experiencing the
divine within us, the importance of “tikkun olam”—repairing and
improving the world as we go—and much, much more. 


Please enjoy! 


*


This episode is brought to you
by GiveWell.org ! For
over ten years,  GiveWell.org  has helped
donors find the charities and projects that save and improve
lives most per dollar. GiveWell spends over 30,000 hours each
year researching charitable organizations and only
recommends a few of the highest-impact,
evidence-backed charities they’ve found. In total,
more than 100,000 people have used GiveWell to donate as
effectively as possible.


This year, support the charities that save and improve lives
most, with GiveWell. Any of my listeners who
become new GiveWell donors will have their first
donation matched up to
$100 when you go
to GiveWell.org and
select “PODCAST” and “Tim Ferriss” at checkout.


*


This episode is also brought to you
by 5-Bullet
Friday, my very own email
newsletter that every Friday features five bullet points
highlighting cool things I’ve found that week, including apps,
books, documentaries, gadgets, albums, articles, TV shows, new
hacks or tricks, and—of course—all sorts of weird stuff I’ve dug
up from around the world.


It’s free, it’s always going to be free, and you can
subscribe now
at tim.blog/friday.


*


[07:24] Who is Brian C. Muraresku?


[09:19] The Eleusinian mysteries.


[11:51] The ridicule of Carl Ruck.


[16:18] Why are these ideas only being accepted now?


[18:22] How the Eleusinian mysteries influenced Christianity.


[23:54] A mind-altering Eucharist?


[28:07] The role of beer and wine in the foundation of
civilization.


[31:31] Patrick McGovern.


[33:33] Stoned apes and/or drunk monkeys?


[39:04] Changing attitudes at the Vatican.


[40:13] What’s going on at Harvard Divinity School today?


[43:14] Karen Armstrong and the God paradox.


[50:57] Ethnobotanists find friends in strange places.


[51:55] Doing good in the world based on the otherworldly.


[54:21] What is the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT)?


[56:10] Psychedelics at Harvard didn’t begin with Leary and
Alpert.


[58:35] Learning from past mistakes and respecting the heritage
of compounds from which we benefit.


*


For show notes and past guests
on The Tim Ferriss Show,
please
visit tim.blog/podcast.


For deals from sponsors of The Tim
Ferriss Show, please
visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors


Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday)
at tim.blog/friday.


For transcripts of episodes, go
to tim.blog/transcripts.


Discover Tim’s
books: tim.blog/books.


Follow Tim:


Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 


Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss


YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss


Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 


LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss


Past guests on The Tim Ferriss
Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh
Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin
Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew
McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth
Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah
Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine
Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary
Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael
Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria
Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de
Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly
Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard
Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael
Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan
Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit
Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim
Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval
Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth
Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard
Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid
Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick
Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren
Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter
Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah
Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California
Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.