Longevity: What we get wrong

About this episode

Kara Miller discusses the misconceptions surrounding longevity claims with Dr. Saul Justin Newman.

For two decades, the global phenomenon of "Blue Zones" has shaped how we eat, live, and invest in our health. But what if the data behind these longevity hotspots doesn't quite stack up? In this episode of It Turns Out , Kara Miller sits down with Dr. Saul Justin Newman, a senior research fellow at Oxford and University College London and author of Morbid (MIT Press). Dr. Newman exposes the staggering reality behind world-famous longevity claims—from pension fraud and missing records that inflated centenarian counts in Japan, Greece, and Italy, to the commercial conflicts driving the industry. Tune in as we talk about purple sweet potatoes and anti-aging supplements to reveal what medical science actually says about living a longer, healthier life. Did you know you can also watch the show? Subscribe to the show on YouTube! Sign up for our newsletter on Substack!

People in this episode

Host: Kara Miller

Guest: Dr. Saul Justin Newman

Topics covered

• longevity
• Blue Zones
• health
• nutrition
• anti-aging
• medical science

Keywords

• longevity
• Blue Zones
• centenarians
• health claims
• anti-aging supplements
• nutrition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Oxford, University College London

Books & works: Morbid

Places: Japan, Greece, Italy

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