kill switch

When an astrologer tells Mangesh that he’ll (probably) die early, he takes it in stride. But his family and friends (not to mention all the Don’t Die longevity influencers on his FYP) feel differently… and besides, if science can keep his brain sharp and his tennis game strong for longer, why not take advantage? So he visits Dr. Nir Barzelai, the world’s leading aging researcher, and Dr. Ron Primas, an elite longevity doctor, to figure out what he should do. Plus: A chat with Ken Reid from TV Guidance Counselor about age in pop culture, from the Golden Girls to “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
Disclosure: The experts we spoke with want to be clear that although they have some minor quibbles with Bryan Johnson, they’re grateful for the fact that he’s started the conversation on longevity. Any insinuation that he’s got weird vibes is ours.
Listen to Ken Reid’s podcast, TV Guidance Counselor
Learn more about Nir Barzelai’s Longevity Genes Project and his book, Age Later
Learn more about Ron Primas’s longevity and concierge medicine practice
Read Cynthia Kenyon’s groundbreaking 1993 study of worm longevity
Check out the Ray Kurzweil Library
Special thanks to Azadi Records and Bliss Samsa for their beautiful tracks, and Botany for the score.
Episode collage art by Vahini Shori.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s a recent favorite of ours from our friends at the Uncanny Valley podcast.
Actor Ben McKenzie (The O.C.) is out with a new documentary, Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, which follows his journey into becoming an anti-cryptocurrency advocate. He says we should all stop trying to unmask the presumed original developer(s) of bitcoin known as Satoshi Nakamoto because it benefits only the mysterious inventor. The actor-director talks with Katie about why he thinks crypto is a scam, and why he says people are falling for it.
Listen and subscribe to Uncanny Valley here: https://swap.fm/l/wired-uv-drop
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your brain is the last place companies don’t have access to… yet. But that’s changing fast. Nita Farahany, professor of law and philosophy at Duke University and author of The Battle for Your Brain, explains why the sci-fi future of mind-reading technology is here, and already sitting on the shelves at Best Buy. Dexter talks to Nita about how AI is learning to decode your mental state, how employers are using neurotechnology to monitor workers, and why this might be our last chance to protect the one thing that’s still private: what’s actually going on inside your head.
And be sure to listen through the end of the episode for a note from Dexter.
Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod on IG, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discord announced it would start scanning users' account data to guess their age and if it couldn't figure out how old you were, it would ask for your government ID or a face scan. Gamers lost it, and within weeks, Discord backed down. But the fight isn't over. Dexter talks with Rin Alajaji of the Electronic Frontier Foundation about why age verification doesn't actually protect kids, how California's new Digital Age Assurance Act means your next laptop might card you before you can turn it on, and why a policy that started with gamers is quietly becoming everyone's problem.
Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.
Links:
EFF’s Age Verification and Age Gating: Resource Hub: https://www.eff.org/issues/age-verification
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re sharing a clip from another podcast we’re excited about. Two Percent with Michael Easter is a deep dive into the science of living better, balancing rigorous evidence with a healthy dose of skepticism to cut through the noise of the modern wellness industry.
In this episode, Michael takes a nuanced look at vices and whether some of them might actually enhance your life when you use them the right way. We don't have to live like monks to live a good life.
We’re sharing the first segment of the episode featuring Dean Stattmann, a GQ reporter who spent three months sober and wrote a now-viral piece titled "Why My 2026 Resolution Is to Start Drinking Again." His Whoop scores got better, but his friendships, his marriage, and his mood got worse. Dean explains what alcohol actually does for human connection, what anthropologists call "costly signaling," and why moderate drinking might not be the villain the internet has made it out to be.
Check out the rest of the episode and the show, Two Percent with Michael Easter, wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.
Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.