Can Ozempic end addiction? | Dhruv Khullar | Your Body on Tech
TED Talks Daily
TED
4.1 • 12.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 June 2026
⏱️ 46 minutes
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Summary
What if GLP-1s like Ozempic could do more than just tip the scales? Physician Dhruv Khullar traces the winding path of the "moderation molecule" — from a discovery in Gila monster saliva to a potential diabetes medication and addiction treatment — and how they could quiet the relentless noise of craving. The most surprising effects of GLP-1s may not be in the gut, but in the brain. And stick around after his talk for a deep dive conversation with our guest host for the week, author and podcaster Manoush Zomorodi, into the ideas he shared on stage and beyond.
This is episode five of a seven-part series airing this week on TED Talks Daily, where Manoush — and the seven speakers she curated for TED2026 — explore how you can live a healthier life in our high-tech era.
To hear more from Manoush, listen to TED Radio Hour wherever you get your podcasts. Check out her new book, Body Electric, to learn more about the hidden health costs of the digital age.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You are listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas and conversations to spark your curiosity every day. |
| 0:11.2 | I'm Anoush Summerodi sitting in for Elise Hugh this week with a special series of episodes all about how you can live a healthier life in our high-tech era. |
| 0:20.7 | You may know my voice from the TED Radio Hour |
| 0:22.6 | podcast over at NPR. I'm also an author, two-time TED speaker, and this past April, a guest |
| 0:28.9 | curator for the TED-2020s conference. My session was all about my obsession with technology, |
| 0:36.4 | the human body, and what is keeping us human in this |
| 0:39.8 | digital age. And that included the speaker you're going to get to know today, Dr. Dr. |
| 0:45.3 | Drew Kulaar. Drouve is a practicing physician and associate professor at Wilde Cornell Medical |
| 0:51.3 | College. He also writes for The New Yorker, where he investigates all |
| 0:55.0 | kinds of topics at the intersection of medicine, policy, and being human in this hyper-accelerating |
| 1:02.4 | world. I love reading his articles, and I love his measured take on hot topics in health. He |
| 1:09.4 | brings the perfect mix of science and just kindness and empathy. |
| 1:14.6 | You'd want him to be your doctor, you know? Anyway, his talk is about a hot topic in medical |
| 1:20.6 | innovation, GLP-1s, drugs like OZempic and Wagovi that millions of people are taking to treat diabetes, |
| 1:29.3 | and more controversially, to jumpstart their weight loss journeys. |
| 1:34.3 | And while these drugs have been around for a while, we are still learning a lot about how they work, |
| 1:40.3 | and the many ways that they can impact us beyond the number on a scale. |
| 1:45.8 | Now, for a long time, GLP1 was thought to be mainly about digestion, but it's now clear |
| 1:51.0 | that the medications affect much more than eating. They might have some of their most surprising |
| 1:55.7 | effects, not in the gut, but in the brain. As Drew explains, GLP-1s are starting to show real signs of treating addictions, all kinds |
| 2:04.8 | of addictions from alcoholism to gambling. |
| 2:08.1 | And the way that these drugs work is changing how physicians and researchers think about how |
... |
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