Michael Pollan, writer

Desert Island Discs

Michael Pollan’s award-winning writing about plants, nature and food combines anthropology and philosophy with culture, health and natural history. Time Magazine has named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world and his maxim to ‘Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.’ is a central tenet of the sustainable food movement.

Michael grew up in suburban Long Island, USA, and planted his first garden when he was eight-years-old. He was an intern at the Village Voice newspaper in New York while he was a student and after he graduated he joined Harper’s Magazine as an editor where he worked with the writer Tom Wolfe among others.

Michael’s first book Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education is a collection of essays about gardening and his later titles, including the Botany of Desire and the Omnivore’s Dilemma, addressed modern methods of food production and argued that in an era of fast and processed food, basic cooking skills were being lost. Recently, Michael has written about the use of psychedelic drugs as a potential treatment for some mental health conditions, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Michael is professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2020 he co-founded the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Michael is married to the artist Judith Belzer and they live in California.

DISC ONE: Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) by Harry Belafonte DISC TWO: The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel DISC THREE: Going Up the Country by Canned Heat DISC FOUR: Cheek to Cheek by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald DISC FIVE: Shady Grove by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman DISC SIX: California by Joni Mitchell DISC SEVEN: Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles DISC EIGHT: Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: I. Prélude, composed by J.S Bach and performed by Yo-Yo Ma

BOOK CHOICE: Ulysses by James Joyce LUXURY ITEM: Dark chocolate CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: I. Prélude, composed by J.S Bach and performed by Yo-Yo Ma

Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley