Podbit · Lex Fridman Podcast
The head of the Temmler pharmaceutical company, furious that Jesse Owens outran German athletes at the 1936 Olympics, ordered his chemist to develop a stronger amphetamine. The result was methamphetamine — branded as Pervitin, sold over the counter with no prescription, and eventually prescribed to the entire Wehrmacht.
Where this was said
At 49:40 · chapter starts 46:16
In a story almost too absurd to be true, German pharmaceutical nationalism gave birth to military-grade methamphetamine. The Temmler Company's head assumed Jesse Owens must have been on drugs — specifically, American Benzedrine — since no Black athlete could otherwise outrun Aryans. His chemist Fritz Hauschild traced methamphetamine back to a 1917 Tokyo discovery and remade it. The chemists tested it on themselves, loved it, patented it, and marketed it as Pervitin. No prescription was needed. No stigma attached. Negative effects only emerged publicly in 1940, when a relative of Albert Speer warned that Pervitin violated Nazi ideology and would cause addiction. Before that, universities tested it and praised it: reduces fear, suppresses appetite, eliminates the need for sleep — perfect for a soldier.
Pervitin (methamphetamine) was sold over the counter in any German pharmacy with no prescription required, and a child could buy multiple packs.
Kierkegaard lost five of six siblings and his mother before adulthood, grew up under a shame-ridden father, fell in love, proposed, then mailed back the ring and fled to Berlin. His inability to live up to his own most important commitment became the engine of his entire philosophical project.
Casanova escaped from Venice's inquisition prison, met Voltaire, Catherine the Great, Benjamin Franklin, and Mozart — then died completely alone in a Slovak castle, broke, telling stories to children who thought he was a crazy old man. His 2,000-page memoir sat unread for decades. A life full of fireworks that meant nothing.
Factories that replaced coal engines with electric ones in the early 1900s got only 6% efficiency gains. Those that redesigned their entire factory around electricity got a 3x productivity improvement. Swapping AI tools into your existing structure will give you 6%. Rebuilding around AI will give you 10x.
Lebanese terrorists backed by Iran were holding American hostages throughout the Reagan presidency. Reagan had loudly campaigned against negotiating with terrorists — putting him in an impossible position that his team quietly decided to ignore.
During the Iran-Iraq War, the US openly supplied Iraq with weapons, training, and intelligence. At the same time, Oliver North was secretly funneling missiles to Iran. The US was playing both sides of a shooting war.
Oliver North traveled to Iran under the alias 'William P. Goode' with a fake passport. CIA Director William Casey allegedly gave him cyanide pills so he could kill himself rather than be tortured if captured. He returned safely and the deal moved forward.
The Pentagon sold missiles to the CIA for $3,700 each. The CIA sold them to Richard Secord at cost. Secord sold them to Iranian middleman Ghorbanifar for $10,000 each. Ghorbanifar charged Iran even more. The profit — including $3 million in interest in one Swiss account — was diverted directly to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.
America secretly transferred 2,000 missiles and missile parts to Iran in 8 shipments over more than a year. Only 3 of 7 hostages were released. Three more were taken. The net result was zero freed hostages and a full-blown constitutional scandal.
On October 5, 1986, a CIA Contra supply plane flew a weapons drop at 2,500 feet in broad daylight. A Sandinista soldier shot it down. The only survivor, Eugene Hasenfuss, had borrowed a parachute from his skydiving brother. He was captured, paraded in front of cameras, and told the Sandinistas everything he knew.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.