Bush cites Lancet paper claiming 35 million deaths tied to US sanctions
"incredible medical paper was published just recently in the Lancet uh and it looked at the number of global deaths from just US economic sanctions over the last 40 years. And the number was around 35 million people dead."
About this episode
Joe Rogan talks with physician and wellness entrepreneur Zach Bush about diet, technology, chronic disease and what Bush frames as a broader biological “reconnection” for humanity. Bush argues that modern life has become “abstract” and detached from nature, and he repeatedly claims that restoring microbial and ecological relationships is central to human health. A major strand of the episode focuses on herbicides and industrial agriculture: Bush says glyphosate acts as an “antibiotic” that disrupts mitochondrial energy production and links it to rising obesity, diabetes, allergies, autoimmune disease, neurological disorders, cancer and fertility decline. He also extends this argument to foetal development, claiming “gender dysregulation” is a downstream effect of reduced metabolic capacity.
The conversation moves into contested historical and geopolitical assertions. Bush alleges Bayer’s early fertility and microbiome research was tied to Second World War-era concentration camps and claims a Lancet paper estimated around 35 million deaths connected to US economic sanctions over 40 years. He also recounts time with Amazonian indigenous communities and describes consumer products—such as boxed sweetened juice—as disrupting traditional self-sufficiency.
Rogan and Bush explore speculative themes including ancient pyramid-building, telepathy, and Bush’s claim that geometric “biogeometry” shapes can affect biology. Bush says Switzerland hired an Egyptian figure, Ibrahim Karim, to “recode” 5G networks using such shapes. Later, Bush describes clinic experiences where he says autistic children improved after treating parents’ “emotional field,” presenting autism as a heightened sensory and relational state rather than a disorder.
Throughout, Rogan challenges parts of Bush’s worldview while largely allowing long, free-ranging explanations; many scientific and historical claims are presented without supporting documentation in the transcript.
Key takeaways
- Bush claims glyphosate exposure suppresses mitochondrial energy production and drives multiple chronic disease trends.
- He says global glyphosate use amounts to “3 billion to 4 billion pounds” sprayed into soils.
- Bush alleges a Lancet paper estimated roughly 35 million deaths linked to US economic sanctions over 40 years.
- He links Bayer’s wartime-era research history to concentration camps, describing corporate restructuring in Nazi-era Germany.
- Bush claims Switzerland hired Ibrahim Karim to “recode” 5G networks with geometric shapes to improve biological outcomes.
- Bush recounts clinic experiences where he says autistic children improved when parents received “emotion code” interventions.