Jamie Ducharme
Jun 28, 2023
The moment the clock strikes 1:20 p.m., students are out of their seats and shoving laptops into backpacks, spilling out of the classroom and onto Stanford University’s lush California campus. But some stay behind, forming a line to speak to their guest lecturer. A few ask for selfies. Others talk about their workout routines. All look starstruck to be in the presence of Andrew Huberman, the man who has spent the last 80 minutes talking about neuroplasticity, memory, and learning.
Arguably not since the Fauci mania of the early pandemic has a scientist become as famous, as quickly, as Huberman. The 47-year-old Stanford University neuroscientist hosts the Huberman Lab podcast, which consistently ranks among the top 10 podcasts on Spotify and Apple and has more than 3.5 million subscribers on YouTube. Since the show’s first episode in January 2021, Huberman has branched out into ticketed live shows, launched paid premium content for subscribers (with much of the net proceeds donated to scientific research projects), and signed a two-book contract with Simon & Schuster, the first of which is set to come out in 2024. Fans recognize him on the street, which isn’t entirely surprising considering that, in an effort to make his wardrobe simple and spill-proof, he almost always wears the same thing: a black button-down, black jeans, and black Adidas sneakers.
“He’s kind of a rock star in our field,” says David Berson, a neuroscientist at Brown University, who has known him since Huberman was a postdoctoral researcher and has appeared as a guest on his podcast.
Huberman is even intrigued by the thought of running for political office someday, though he has no immediate plans to do so. Politics seems like a slightly unnatural pursuit for a guy who won’t publicly discuss how he votes and doesn’t like meetings or being indoors, but Huberman does have certain relevant traits: He’s used to being in the public eye. He’s well-connected and well-educated. He has a fan base of millions—even if he still seems somewhat mystified by his role at the center of a growing media empire.