you think animals are sentient? i think pain is pain. if you don t respond to that, there s something seriously wrong with you. it s very buddhist of you, i think. look, when i worked in cape cod, my job is to load this steamer with lobsters, and they don t scream. but you know you hear them scratching against it. i have dreams i m in a sauna and i look through the window and there s a giant lobster like, you know, a bib with a chef on it, you know. i took a walk through this beautiful world felt the cool rain on my shoulder found something good in this beautiful world i felt the rain getting colder sha la la la sha la la la bhutan, a remote, relatively rarely visited kingdom of myth and legend, high in the himalayas, known as land of the thunder dragon. one of the reasons it s not on the tourist trail is it s hard to get to. flying in, you hang on to your seat as the plane negotiates some alarming maneuvers through narrow mountain passes, befo
women. what is this? this is ara with some cordyceps in it. what? that is a cordyceps? that is the cordyceps. which is? essentially, the cordyceps is a fungus which infects the larvae of the ghost moths. a caterpillar that has been invaded by fungus? essentially, it takes over the whole larvae, kills it, sort of mummifies the whole thing. then in the spring, it protrudes out again. is there any caterpillar left at the end or is it sort of like fossilized? it s just a fossilized. meaning it is not meat, it is vegetarian. right. cordyceps are the new profit center for a culture that used to revolve almost entirely around the yak. this stuff costs how much a kilo? on average, it s about 20,000. 20,000 u.s. dollars. that s a lot. may i? yes, please. what does this do for you? it s supposed to increase your virility.
she now, she has a shop. she s gone up the ladder. are you the head of the family? woman: yes, i am. nawang: she is in charge of the business and she makes the decisions for the family. in bhutan, women are the boss. women inherit whatever the parents own, not the sons. darren: always? all inheritance goes to the women? nawang: yes, women. anthony: what is this? nawang: this is ara, with some cordyceps in it. anthony: that is a cordycep? nawang: that is the cordycep. anthony: which is? nawang: essentially the cordycep is a fungus which infects the larvae of the ghost moths. anthony: a caterpillar that has been invaded by fungus? nawang: yes, it eventually takes over the whole larvae, kills it, sort of mummifies the whole thing. and then in the spring it protrudes out again. darren: is there any caterpillar left at the end or is it fossilized? nawang: it s just a fossilized thing. darren: meaning it s not meat. it is vegetarian.
nawang: she is in charge of the business and she makes the decisions for the family. in bhutan, women are the boss. women inherit whatever the parents own, not the sons. darren: always? all inheritance goes to the women? nawang: yes, women. anthony: what is this? nawang: this is ara, with some cordyceps in it. anthony: is that a cordycep? nawang: that is the cordycep. anthony: which is? nawang: essentially the cordycep is a fungus which infects the larvae of the ghost moths. anthony: a caterpillar that has been invaded by fungus? nawang: yes, it eventually takes over the whole larvae, kills it, sort of mummifies the whole thing. and then in the spring it protrudes out again. darren: is there any caterpillar left at the end or is it fossilized? nawang: it s just a fossilized thing. darren: meaning it s not meat. it is vegetarian. anthony: cordyceps are the new profit center for a culture that used to revolve almost entirely around the yak.
nawang: people are giving up. anthony: why? nawang: better opportunities, i suppose. yak herding is a difficult life. she herself has given up now. who have you given your yaks to? woman: to my sister. nawang: so she has given all of her yaks to her sisters, so she now, she has a shop. she s gone up the ladder. are you the head of the family? woman: yes, i am. nawang: she is in charge of the business and she makes the decisions for the family. in bhutan, women are the boss. women inherit whatever the parents own, not the sons. darren: always? all inheritance goes to the women? nawang: yes, women. anthony: what is this? nawang: this is ara, with some cordyceps in it. anthony: is that a cordycep? nawang: that is the cordycep. anthony: which is? nawang: essentially the cordycep is a fungus which infects the larvae of the ghost moths. anthony: a caterpillar that has been invaded by fungus? nawang: yes, it eventually takes over the whole larvae, kills it, s