Transcript
Introduction
Patrick
This week's episode was the first one that I've recorded live. It was the second dinner in what I expect to be a long series where I bring together 30 people from a variety of backgrounds to discuss an interesting and emerging topic, whether that be cryptocurrencies, health, cannabis investing, or some other compelling, emergent thing. My guest for the second time on the podcast is Peter Attia, who has led one of the most interesting careers that I've come across, and who is focused on understanding longevity, healthspan, and quality of life. We dive into many dimensions of health, scientific research, what we can and cannot learn from evolution and our ancestors, and the seven primary modalities we should focus on when it comes to our health and wellbeing. Excuse the lack of clear audio quality on some of the audience questions. The ones that are a little difficult to hear are fairly short, and I felt it was better to include them for some context. As have all of my conversations with Peter, this one has sparked countless subsequent conversations with my wife, my friends, and my colleagues on what is important and how we can change our behavior to improve our quality of life. Now please enjoy my live conversation with Peter Attia.
Peter
So my own journey in this is kind of, in retrospect I can make it sound reasonable. But the reality of it is it's just totally accidental. So it starts because I grew up as a boxer and all I wanted to do was be the next Marvelous Marvin Haggler. I don't know if anybody remembers who that is. The greatest middleweight of all time. Actually, we're coming up on the 30th anniversary of Hagler/Hearns. Which, if anybody wants an awesome eight minutes, you just go home, Netflix Hagler/Hearns, you won't be disappointed. Anyway, so I finished high school without enough credits to go to college. My parents were super disappointed, being immigrants to this country that had a kid that was going to be a professional boxer and get brain damage and not go to college. And then I had a total change of heart, long story short, ended up deciding I wanted to be an aerospace engineer. So I went and studied mechanical engineering and applied math. And then three weeks before starting my Ph.D., had another change of heart and decided I wanted to do medicine. So then I did a post-bac year, applied to medical school, got into medical school, and then did my residency in surgery and then my fellowship in oncology.