Episode · Big Technology Podcast · 2026-08-14
Books mentioned on Best of Big Technology: How Ozempic Changes Our Bodies, Minds, and Economy — With Johann Hari
Johan Hari is a New York Times bestselling author and has a new book, Magic Pill, about his experience with weight loss drugs. Hari joins Big Technology to discuss the impact of Ozempic on our relationship with food and the economy.
Alex Kantrowitz recommended Magic Pill by Johann Hari.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Magic Pill
Magic Pill by Johann Hari investigates the rise of modern GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, examining both their potential benefits and the broader societal implications of relying on pharmaceutical interventions for metabolic health.
Recommended“He's a New York Times best-selling author, and his new book, Magic Pill, The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight Loss Drugs, is out in any bookstore you could hope for, and I've read it. It's a terrific book.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Plugged Magic Pill
“You know, my book is called Magic Pill because there's three ways these drugs can be magic, right? The first is the most obvious, it could just solve the problem, right? And there are days when it feels like that, I've got to be honest with you,”
Plugged Magic Pill
“we've got to deal with the wider forces that have got us into this shitty situation in the first place and then parents have to make that agonising choice I hope my book will help them make a more informed choice but I really empathise with them because that is the hardest of the hard questions that are brought up”