At the end of his longevity journey, Mangesh struggles to make sense of the growing belief that death can—or should—be optional. He spends time with death doula Alua Arthur, who explains how accepting mortality allows people to live with purpose, and meets a longevity researcher whose tidy economic models are complicated by a tragic loss in her own life. Then, as he weighs the optimism of young longevinauts with the fear of losing what makes us human, he confronts the question he’s really been asking all along.
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.