Aug 28, 2026 · 46 min · 9 segments
In this episode, we spoke to Nir Barzilai, Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and our very own Academy of Geroscience President. Our conversation spanned the past, present, and…
Nir BarzilaiGuest
Asya MartirosyanHost
Jessica FoleyHost
So, you know, I'm biased in the sense that I have 850 healthy centenarians in my study.
Well, but, you know, people, so people assume that I'll say you live thousand years, right? But I think...
The point is that for now, what actually we know statistically is there's maximal human lifespan.
Let's go with the Bible, Old Testament, whatever, and say 120, okay? There's somebody who lived over 122.
And I think that's very important to know because on one hand, we die before the age of 80, half of us now.
It's not that tomorrow we're going to live forever, right? So we have a lot of leeway to start moving.
But what disappoints people is the fact that it looks like there is a ceiling right now, right? In the last 150 years, there was a straight line of increasing lifespan, okay? And demographers said, you see, you know, we're going here forever.
And the answer is no, there is a roof, okay? And unless we do something with the roof, it's going to curve, right? Also, the demographers are ignoring the fact that 100,000 years of evolution, our lifespan has been 20 and 30 years, okay? Take this into account, too.
No, it's interesting because I feel like we have to be, of course, very careful in our statements, but just let's assume in an unrealistic world, do you think at some point we will be able to break that ceiling once more and go even further? Or do you wish for it? Or how do you feel about it? When people say, oh, we focus on immortality, you know, because there is this kind of longevity spectrum, right? We have people who work in aging interventions that are fasting etc which works but this is very conservative and there are people who think about cryopreservation and then this complete extreme of longevity spectrum how do you feel about it and do you think at some point in our wildest dreams we will be able to reach to that
So, you know, I'm biased in the sense that I have 850 healthy centenarians in my study.
Well, but, you know, people, so people assume that I'll say you live thousand years, right? But I think...
The point is that for now, what actually we know statistically is there's maximal human lifespan.
Let's go with the Bible, Old Testament, whatever, and say 120, okay? There's somebody who lived over 122.
And I think that's very important to know because on one hand, we die before the age of 80, half of us now.
It's not that tomorrow we're going to live forever, right? So we have a lot of leeway to start moving.
But what disappoints people is the fact that it looks like there is a ceiling right now, right? In the last 150 years, there was a straight line of increasing lifespan, okay? And demographers said, you see, you know, we're going here forever.
And the answer is no, there is a roof, okay? And unless we do something with the roof, it's going to curve, right? Also, the demographers are ignoring the fact that 100,000 years of evolution, our lifespan has been 20 and 30 years, okay? Take this into account, too.
No, it's interesting because I feel like we have to be, of course, very careful in our statements, but just let's assume in an unrealistic world, do you think at some point we will be able to break that ceiling once more and go even further? Or do you wish for it? Or how do you feel about it? When people say, oh, we focus on immortality, you know, because there is this kind of longevity spectrum, right? We have people who work in aging interventions that are fasting etc which works but this is very conservative and there are people who think about cryopreservation and then this complete extreme of longevity spectrum how do you feel about it and do you think at some point in our wildest dreams we will be able to reach to that
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