Exploring the subtle yet significant advancements in health over history, this chapter highlights how innovations such as vaccines have prevented major diseases like smallpox and doubled the average human lifespan in the past century. 'Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer' by Stephen Johnson showcases the underappreciated contributions to human longevity.
Today, friend-of-the-pod Steven Johnson stops by to share a few big ideas from his recent book "Extra Life," which President Obama praised for offering readers "a useful reminder of the role of modern science in fundamentally transforming all of our lives."
• If you enjoy this episode, check out the audio essay we made with Steven. It's called "Immortality: A User's Guide"