Im a Mortal

Episode 24: Theodora Girgis is an Aerospace Engineering Student at the University of Toronto. As one might guess, Theodora is passionate about all things space with experience in astrophysics research at her university and an internship with the Canadian Space Agency. She is also one of the hosts of The Sound of Space, a podcast on space created by the University of Toronto Aerospace Team. In this episode, Theodora discusses the limitations of space travel, the implications of extended life in space, how life extension might be perceived by peers in her program, whether radically extending lives conflicts with her faith, and much more.

Episode 23: Jeremy Cohen, Co-Founder of TalkDeath and an Assistant Professor at McMaster in the department of Religious Studies focuses on new religious movements seeking radical longevity and immortality, alongside the historical and cultural framework of changing North American relationships to technology and death. Jeremy describes death across the scopes of religion, life extension, and what exactly a good death is. The conversation dives deep into life extension and immortality in the realms of religion, potential changes to religions with the advent of extended life, transhumanism and our personal opinions on cryonics and much more!

Episode 22: Judy Ford holds a Ph.D. in Genetics and Cell Biology and has been involved in health research for several decades with extensive work on the interplay between reproduction, genetics, and toxicology. Although retired, Judy now teaches about how lifestyle affects the aging process through her online courses and her book, Why We Age - Solving the Puzzle of Aging. In terms of biology, Judy describes the contributions of diet and genetics to longevity, as well as the differences in extending life pre and post-menopause. She also veers into the hypothetical with discussions on economic productivity with age, overpopulation, and euthanasia. Finally, Judy also shares some ways to get involved in aging research such as citizen science projects!

Episode 21: Aisha Musa holds a doctorate of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University with a specialization in Arabic and Islamic Studies. In the context of life extension, she authored the chapter, A Thousand Years, Less Fifty: Toward a Quranic View of Extreme Longevity, in the book, Religion and the Implications of Radical Life Extension. In this episode, Aisha discusses interpretations of extreme life extension in the Quran, the compatibility between free will and destined death, what Islam teaches about the afterlife, and what Muslims may think of undergoing life-extending therapies.

Episode 20: David Wood is chair of London Futurists, author of Vital Foresight, cofounder of Symbian and has over 25 years of experience in the tech industry and as a head of research. His experience alongside his foundation in mathematics and philosophy at Cambridge University has led him to being the futurist he is today. What is a futurist you might ask? Well in this episode David goes through a plethora of questions including plenty regarding what exactly a futurist is and how it is distinguished from transhumanism. David also describes problems with life extension, societal rejection, developments in technology and its co-occurrence in longevity as a field, humanity+ (Humanity Plus), and plenty more.