Biohacking, Self-Sovereignty & the Optimistic Future of Human Enhancement, with Shelby Newsad, Partner at Compound VC

What happens when millions of people take health into their own hands?

In this episode of The Augmented Life, Michael Tiffany sits down with Shelby Newsad, biohacker, investor, and principal author of A Biohacker Future, to explore the explosive intersection of AI, gene therapy, neuromodulation, and self-experimentation.

Shelby shares what inspired her to write one of the most ambitious pieces of biotech futurism to date—and why she believes biohacking is not just a fringe movement, but a full-blown social shift toward radical individual empowerment.

Topics include:

• The rise of the biohacker of necessity

• The future of follistatin gene therapy and muscle enhancement

• Ultrasonic neuromodulation and the fast-tracking of meditation mastery

• How ChatGPT is changing the doctor-patient power dynamic

• The role of AI therapy, context-aware LLMs, and digital self-understanding

• Why optimism may actually be a sign of higher intelligence

This episode is a deep, exploratory ride through what’s possible when curiosity meets capability, and why the next wave of biotech innovation might start with you.

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