Norman Ohler: Hitler, Nazis, Drugs, WW2, Blitzkrieg, LSD, MKUltra & CIA | Lex Fridman Podcast #481

Norman Ohler is a historian and author of "Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich," a book that investigates the role of psychoactive drugs, particularly stimulants such as methamphetamine, in the military history of World War II. It is a book that two legendary historians Ian Kershaw and Antony Beevor give very high praise to for its depth of research. Norman also wrote "Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age," and he is working on a new book "Stoned Sapiens" looking at the history of human civilization through the lens of drugs. 0:00 - Episode highlight; 2:09 - Introduction; 3:31 - Drugs in post‑WWI Germany; 13:49 - Nazi rise to power; 18:16 - Hitler's drug use; 24:08 - Response to historian criticism; 40:47 - Pervitin; 54:46 - Blitzkrieg and meth; 1:13:23 - Erwin Rommel (Crystal Fox); 1:17:34 - Dunkirk; 1:25:37 - Hitler's drug addiction; 1:41:34 - Methamphetamine; 1:43:29 - Invasion of Soviet Union; 2:02:26 - Cocaine; 2:11:21 - Hitler's last days; 2:31:20 - German resistance against Nazis; 2:53:31 - Totalitarianism; 2:58:40 - Stoned Sapiens - Drugs in human history; 3:13:52 - Religion; 3:24:41 - LSD, CIA, and MKUltra; 3:50:10 - Writing on drugs; 4:03:12 - Berlin night clubs; 4:13:45 - Greatest book ever written.