Nazi drug use wasn’t just “a detail”. It shaped Blitzkrieg speed, soldier psychology, Hitler’s inner circle and the Führer himself.

Nazi drug use shaped WWII in ways most people still don’t realize, and Norman Ohler, bestselling author of Blitzed and Tripped, joins me to expose how Pervitin, opioids, and ideology collided inside the Third Reich to create a regime, strategy (Blitzkrieg) and war never seen before in history.

What part of Nazi drug use do you think most changes how people understand WWII? Pervitin on the front lines, or Hitler’s dependency behind closed doors?

You’ll learn:

-How Pervitin (methamphetamine) went from legal pharmacy product to a wartime performance tool. -Why “mainstream” WWII history often sidelined drugs as a serious factor in power, strategy, and behavior. -The story behind Germany’s stimulant pipeline and why sleep was framed as “the number one enemy of a soldier.” -What “35 million dosages” tells us about scale, normalization, and the machinery of war. -How Pervitin changed fear, motivation, empathy, and decision-making for soldiers in combat.

-Hitler’s medical descent with Dr. Morell: from “vitamins” to opioids, and later even cocaine as a legal product at the time. -The darker edge: drug testing and experimentation connected to concentration camps, including “truth drug” research. -A wider drug lens: psychedelics’ historical role, why the Nazi era “was not really a psychedelic time,” and what Ohler is exploring now. 00:00 Unveiling the Hidden Drug Secrets of WWII

01:01 Inspiration Behind the Book

03:20 The Rise of Pervitin in Nazi Germany

06:39 Methamphetamine's Role in the Blitzkrieg

08:30 The Ethical Dilemma of Drug Use in War

10:01 The Impact of Meth on Soldiers

24:51 Hitler's Descent into Drug Dependency

31:01 The Nazis and Psychedelics

32:36 Psychedelics in WWII: Limited Use and Rediscovery

34:10 Nazi Experiments: Miracle Drugs and Submarine Missions

37:16 Concentration Camp Atrocities: Beyond Drugs

38:55 Human Nature and Atrocities: A Broader Perspective

43:09 Psychedelics and Egalitarian Societies in History

52:22 Iboga: The Potent African Plant

55:08 Advice on Psychedelics and Personal Reflections

57:38 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Norman Ohler – Stone(d) Sapiens Substack:

https://stonedsapiens.substack.com

The Norman Ohler Dopecast & Substack

https://stonedsapiens.substack.com/podcast

Blitzed (Penguin UK):

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/294543/blitzed-by-ohler-norman/9780141983165

Tripped (Atlantic Books UK):

https://atlantic-books.co.uk/book/tripped/

Jacob’s Work

Podcast blueprint (Skool): https://www.skool.com/remote-pro-podcast-blueprint-8385 Website: https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com

Team

Chief Editor: Chloe Breheret

Chief Automation Officer: Jack McDuff

Sting & The Police went from playing to 6 people on his first American performance (broke, on welfare, with a wife and baby) to selling out stadiums with The Police and selling 100 million records worldwide. This deep dive into Sting's biography reveals the brutal years of rejection between obscurity and stardom that nobody talks about, decoded from his memoir Broken Music.

Subscribe for more breakdowns on how icons escape their limitations and build legendary careers.

Expect to learn:

-How Sting escaped a working-class trap in Newcastle and broke the cycle of generational regret

-Why obsession and volume beat talent alone: the forensic practice method Sting used to decode Beatles songs

-The truth about overnight success: the humiliating rejections and 10+ years of grinding before The Police broke through

-How Roxanne became a classic after almost being rejected by the band's manager

-Why Sting left The Police at their peak and what drove his need to keep escaping

-The father-wound pattern that fuels most male outliers: and how Sting channeled it into 100 million+ records sold

-What separates artists who quit from those who make it: Sting's "don't stop" mentality through welfare, empty clubs, and doubt

-The escape code Sting discovered: how your obsession is data telling you how to get out

00:00 The Humble Beginnings of Sting

01:28 The Trap and the Escape Code

02:25 The Drive to Prove Himself

03:22 The Obsession with Music

05:01 The Grind and Humiliation

07:57 The Turning Point: Meeting Stewart Copeland

08:48 Roxanne and the Breakthrough

10:32 The Rise and Fall of The Police

11:07 Lessons from Sting's Journey

12:22 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Sting's Memoir Broken Music (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3Nnc4g7

What's YOUR "this is how you escape" moment? What obsession keeps pulling you back even when it doesn't make logical sense? Drop your escape code in the comments. I’m rooting for you. 👇

Best Bits:

"There's something in the driven and compulsive nature of this obsession that's unusual, something in the unconscious saying, this is how you escape. This is how you escape. his how you escape.”

"I will travel the world, be the head of a large family. I'll own a big house in the country. I will be wealthy and I will be famous." [He achieved all of them]

"We'll play with equal passion to six people or 600. Driving ourselves thousands of sleepless miles, loading and unloading our gear...we were the dogs of war and nothing could stop us."

"In my quest to become unique, I have become a statistic."

"Success and failure are on the same road. You just have to keep going.”

"It's just that nothing else I ever did was going to work. I was merely treading water."

#Sting #ThePolice #MusicBiography

Vagabonding isn’t “quitting life”, it’s a practical long-term travel mindset for anyone who wants more freedom, less fear, and more time-rich living.

Rolf Potts is a travel writer and bestselling author of Vagabonding (the modern classic on extended travel).

What’s the biggest thing keeping you from long-term travel right now: money, fear, responsibility, or simply not giving yourself permission?

Subscribe for more long-form conversations on travel, purpose, and designing a life you actually want.

Expect to learn:

–How to give yourself “permission” to travel (even if no one in your life gets it).

–Why “time is the truest form of wealth” and how travel makes that real.

–How to travel longer on less money by stepping outside the tourist bubble and into local rhythms.

–Why slow travel beats rushed itineraries (and how it unlocks better deals + better stories).

–Smartphone independence: simple ways to protect presence, serendipity, and real-world connection on the road.

–Why “know your options, not your destiny” is the best planning rule for long-term travel.

–How routines (gym, journaling, quests) can make travel deeper not boring.

–Travel as pilgrimage: how walking (in cities or nature) can reset attention and reduce anxiety.

00:00 Introduction to Solo Traveling

00:12 First Vagabonding Journey

01:37 Motivations and Realizations

02:28 Impact of Early Travels

03:45 Long-Term Travel Lifestyle

05:19 Writing Vagabonding

06:19 Travel Philosophy and Advice

11:42 Funding Early Travels

13:22 Experiencing Local Economies

17:33 Slow Travel and Serendipity

23:42 Challenges of Modern Travel

30:21 Off the Beaten Path

36:30 Embracing the Unexpected in Travel

37:24 Challenging Journeys and Personal Growth

39:16 Adventures on the Mekong River

42:26 The Joys of Youthful Exploration

44:21 Balancing Routine and Adventure

53:20 Spiritual Reflections and Nature's Wisdom

01:02:42 Final Thoughts and Advice for Young Travelers

01:05:37 Start Your Own Podcast

Rolf’s Work: Rolf Potts (official site): https://rolfpotts.com Vagabonding (book page): https://rolfpotts.com/books/vagabonding/ Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf’s Paris workshops info): https://rolfpotts.com/about/paris-writing-workshop/ Paris Writing Workshops (main site): https://pariswritingworkshops.com Vagabonding (official book site): https://vagabonding.net

Jacob’s Work

FREE Podcast Tips (2nd Channel): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUp5S7ZIZtjA8PMgXJMwppA

Podcast blueprint (Skool): https://www.skool.com/remote-pro-podcast-blueprint-8385

Website: https://www.jacobjwatsonhowland.com