Scientists have been able to d age cells in living organisms. There are mice that go blind from aging, and we can manipulate genes so that they can see again. We're close enough to a benjamin button situation that philosophers are now publishing books about the morality of extending the human life span. i've always thought this, that somebody sooner or later, is going to look at aging as a teho. A problem becose.
FT Weekend is a weekly Saturday show that brings the best of our weekend journalism into audio form, with everything from culture and food and the arts, to nuanced questions and big ideas. In this episode, we ask the question: what does it mean to defy death? Rock climber Leo Houlding tells us about his terrifying family holidays, scaling vertical cliff-faces with his two young kids. We also explore radical life extension with science writer Anjana Ahuja. How close are we scientifically to extending the human lifespan to 150 or 200? What are the implications when we get there? And do we really want to live forever? PLUS: inside the luxury life extension market, with How to Spend it writer Tiffanie Darke.
Links from the episode:
— Leo Houlding’s extreme family holiday in Wyoming’s wild west: https://www.ft.com/content/0bcba30a-bb46-4bc1-8a7d-9166dc43a5e8
— Anjana Ahuja on whether we can live forever: https://www.ft.com/content/60d9271c-ae0a-4d44-8b11-956cd2e484a9
— Inside the life extension market, with Tiffanie Darke: https://www.ft.com/content/867e647b-c0e8-4aeb-9777-fedff7ec3476
Want to say hi? Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.
If you want a great discount on an FT subscription or a $1/£1/€1 month-long trial, we’ve got you: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast
Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner, with original music by Metaphor music.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.