#487: Dr. Martine Rothblatt — A Masterclass on Asking Better Questions and Peering Into the Future

Tim Ferriss Show

Podcast Notes Key Takeaways To find your purpose is the best feeling ever, Martine describes it as “a lightning bolt to your soul”Science is about critical thinking and asking ‘Why’To cultivate more science in society, we have to relate it to people’s everyday livesPharmaceutical companies should get consent before mining genome data from remote isolated communities for the purpose of medicine development“I would say that one of the greatest unmet medical needs today is an adequate supply of transplantable organs”“I am absolutely convinced that in this decade, the 2020s, we will be delivering manufactured organs by electric helicopter” – Martine RothblattIn the future, people will be able to wear headsets that stimulate the vagus nerve to target particular ailments, with no pills or medical expenses“I believe this kind of bridging of electronics and the mind is really right around the corner” – Martine RothblattThe ability to create a technology doesn’t necessarily grant the right to make it, that right is coupled with the obligation to have the consent of whoever may be adversely affected by itIn a future full of innovation, techno-ethics is a field with rich possibilitiesHumans spewing greenhouse gases into an undeniably thin atmosphere, yet fearing nuclear energy, will seem barbaric to future generations“Identify the corridors of indifference and run like hell down them” – Martine Rothblatt

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Dr. Martine Rothblatt — A Masterclass on Asking Better Questions and Peering Into the Future | Brought to you by FreshBooks cloud-based small business accounting software, Headspace easy-to-use app with guided meditations, and Athletic Greens all-in-one nutritional supplement

Dr. Martine Rothblatt (@skybiome) is Chairman and CEO of United Therapeutics, a biotechnology company she started to save the life of one of her daughters. The company offers FDA-approved medicines for pulmonary hypertension and neuroblastoma and is working on manufacturing an unlimited supply of transplantable organs.

Dr. Rothblatt previously created and led Sirius XM as its Chairman and CEO and launched other satellite systems for navigation and international television broadcasting. In the field of aviation, her Sirius XM satellite system enhances safety with real-time digital weather information to pilots in flight nationwide. She also designed the world’s first electric helicopter and piloted it to a Guinness world record for speed, altitude, and flight duration.

In the legal arena, Dr. Rothblatt led efforts of the transgender community to establish their own health law standards and of the International Bar Association to protect autonomy rights in genetic information via an international treaty. She also published dozens of scholarly articles and papers on the law of outer space, resulting in her election to the International Institute of Space Law, and represented the radio astronomy community’s scientific research interests before the Federal Communications Commission.

She has bachelor’s (communications studies, summa cum laude), JD (Order of the Coif) and MBA degrees from UCLA, which in 2018 awarded her its highest recognition, the UCLA Medal, and she holds a PhD in medical ethics from the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Her patented inventions cover aspects of satellite communication, medicinal biochemistry, and cognitive software.

Dr. Rothblatt’s recent books are on xenotransplantation (Your Life or Mine), gender identity (Transgender to Transhuman), and cyberethics (Virtually Human). She occasionally posts on Instagram at @transbinary and Twitter at @skybiome.

Please enjoy!

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