Brave New World

Did you ever think you’d live to see woolly mammoths return? For Episode Five of Brave New World, Evgeny is joined by Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of the most forward thinking de-extinction company on the planet, Colossal Biosciences.Since Ben co-founded the Austin based biotech start-up with legendary geneticist George Church in 2021, Colossal has consistently made headlines with their Jurassic Park-esque breakthroughs. In this conversation, Ben goes into the science behind “bringing back” an extinct species, how sci-fi and speculative fiction has inspired Colossal’s work, and the incredible implications de-extinction could have for conservation and the planet.This episode was produced by Message Heard and The Standard.Producer: Florence de SchlichtingProduction Coordinator: James CoxProduction Manager: Kirsty McLeanVideo Editor: Nani WenaniThe Standard team:Joe BromleyWill Rogers-Coltman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For Episode Four, Evgeny is joined by human biologist, longevity science monolith and founder of The Ultimate Human, Gary Brecka. Together, they explore why so many people feel stuck at a “six out of ten,” what Gary believes to be the cause of fatigue, brain fog, poor sleep, soreness, low mood, and why poor exercise recovery is often driven by nutrient deficiencies.Gary shares his unconventional background as a mortality expert in life insurance, where he used massive datasets to predict lifespan with extreme accuracy. In the conversation, he challenges modern medicine’s tendency to label many chronic conditions as “familial” or “idiopathic” and details how to treat the most common gene mutation in the world, which is also Gary's bêtes noire: MHTF.We’d like to thank The Ultimate Human for providing the video clips featured in this episode. This episode was produced by Message Heard and The Standard.Producer: Florence de SchlichtingProduction Coordinator: James CoxProduction Manager: Kirsty McLeanVideo Editor: Nani WenaniThe Standard team: Joe BromleyWill Rogers-Coltman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode Three of Brave New World, Evgeny is joined by Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of WHOOP. Together, they explore recovery, sleep, and the idea that “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Ahmed explains how overtraining as a Harvard athlete led him to build his own wearable, identifying a major gap in health diagnostics at the time: measuring recovery, not just performance.He explains what WHOOP tracks - sleep quality, strain, heart rate variability (HRV), recovery, and stress; dives into why seven hours in bed can still mean poor sleep; and why consistency of bedtime and wake time often matters more than raw hours.Evgeny and Ahmed get practical on health trends, address the criticism that wearables culture a state of analysis paralysis and how to use metrics as a tool, not a verdict.This episode was produced by Message Heard and The Standard.Producer: Florence de SchlichtingProduction Coordinator: James CoxProduction Manager: Kirsty McLeanVideo Editor: Nani WenaniThe Standard team:Joe BromleyWill Rogers-Coltman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Professor Tim Spector, a genetic epidemiologist and co-founder of ZOE, alongside Dr Federica Amati, a medical scientist specializing in nutrition, as they debunk common food myths. They tackle misconceptions about fats, calorie counting, and the so-called importance of breakfast. Discover how ultra-processed foods harm gut health and the benefits of time-restricted eating. Their core message emphasizes prioritizing gut health through a diverse diet, proving that what works for our microbes is key to better nutrition.

Welcome to the first episode of Season 4 of Brave New World.This time, Evgeny is joined by Steven Bartlett to talk about mindset, ambition and the future. He shares how he manages “a million tabs” without burning out, why self-empathy boosts performance, and how a humiliating paddle match taught him a breakthrough lesson on failure.He opens up about growing up in poverty and shame, the influence of his mum, and why the biggest entrepreneurial lesson he learned was simply: have an idea, then do it.Steven unpacks the thinking behind his book Just F**ing Do It, the neuroscience of hard things, his obsession with 1% gains, and why his company has a “Head of Failure.”The conversation expands to happiness, arrival fallacy, AI, humanoid robots, the future of work, the creator economy, and why he’d homeschool his future kids to double down on uniquely human skills.This episode was produced by Message Heard and The London Standard.Producer: Florence de SchlichtingProduction Coordinator: James CoxProduction Manager: Kirsty McLeanVideo Editor: Nani WenaniThe Standard team:Joe BromleyWill Rogers-Coltman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, Evgeny Lebedev talks about the remarkable potential of ketamine with Dr John Krystal, Professor of neuroscience at the Yale School of Medicine. Their discussion delves into the world of neurology, what ketamine actually does to our brain and the importance of glutamate receptors in treating depression. Ketamine may have gotten bad press after Friends actor Matthew Perry died of an overdose while receiving treatment with the drug, but for Dr Krystal, it is a critically overlooked solution to the epidemic of mental illness.Also in this episode:Ketamine’s complicated history starting in the 1950sThe real reason depression leads to suicideWhy ketamine is effective at dealing with traumaThe detailed procedure of ketamine therapy The importance of ketamine’s “narrow window” dosageKetamine’s reputation and why it needs to change Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this engaging conversation, Peter Attia, a longevity expert and physician, shares his insights on 'Medicine 3.0,' a holistic approach to health that intertwines happiness with longevity. He discusses how AI could transform clinical trials and combat chronic diseases, the vital difference between healthspan and lifespan, and why emotional well-being is crucial to overall health. Attia also debunks common nutrition myths and offers tips for glucose regulation and caloric intake, emphasizing exercise as a cornerstone of a long, healthy life.

Evgeny Lebedev joins Dr. Aubrey de Grey, a visionary in biomedical gerontology and co-founder of the SENS Research Foundation.Known for his radical approach to ageing, Dr. de Grey discusses why some need to awaken from a "pro-ageing trance".What’s Aubrey’s biological age?In this episode:Why we don’t “have” to ageReversing cellular agingThe ethical questions surrounding life extensionThe societal shifts we might expect if ageing becomes a treatable conditionThe science behind extending the human healthspanPlus more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s show Evgeny Lebedev is in conversation with the Oscar-winning actor, Dame Helen Mirren.They discuss everything from the evolution of fashion to the contemporary media landscape.“It’s so sad that Kurt Cobain died when he did, because he never got to see GPS”Also in this episode:The evolution of technology and why Helen is grateful to have been around in a world without itHow young people rediscover previously forgotten tech and bring it back to lifeHelen reflects on spirituality, the power of belief and how it shapes our lives, but why she doesn't believe in God.Russian heritage and the complexities of her identityHow Helen stays youthful, both in body and mind Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evgeny Lebedev is joined by Jim Poole, chairman, president and chief executive of neuroscience company Solace Life Sciences.The company owns NuCalm, a technology designed to reduce stress and improve sleep without recourse to drugs.You may have even spotted the Duchess of Sussex wearing one of their stress relief patches.In this episode, Evgeny and Jim explore the evolution of the human brain, anxiety and how to deregulate the amygdala, a small, almond-shaped part of the brain that plays a central role, which Jim says ‘feeds on fear’. In this episode:The current state of brain understandingBrain psychology and its evolutionThe autonomic nervous system and how it shapes everything from stress to relaxationHo to control anxious thoughtsHow to downregulate the amygdala, the part of the brain that triggers intense fear responsesDifferent frequencies in the brain and how they influence mental statesWhy “the Western world may be leading the cause” of anxiety Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.