To start our new series about what it means to live in a world of ageing populations, David talks to geneticist Adam Rutherford about the benefits and pitfalls of increasing longevity. Are GLP-1s – drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro – miracle cures that will extend human lifespans? What happens if longer lives do not coincide with better health? How far can life extension be pushed? And who wants to live forever anyway?

Available now: a pair of new educational courses to accompany two of our series – The Great Essays and The Lives of the Philosophers. These courses are free for anyone who wants to use them and offer recall tests, extensive reading guides, discussion topics and essay questions for further reading, writing and exploration around the subjects of our podcasts. For use in schools, colleges or just in your spare time. To explore these courses simply go to https://ppfideas.com/courses

Out now on PPF+: ‘Podcast University’, a bonus episode to accompany the launch of our new educational courses in which David lays out the thinking behind them and his own ideas about the relationship between what he used to do as a university teacher and what we do now on PPF. To get this and all our bonus episodes plus ad-free listening – and to help support and keep freely available our educational work – subscribe to PPF+ now https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus

You can find out everything else you need to know about this podcast – who we are, what we do, plus upcoming events and full lists of all episodes including PPF+ bonus episodes on our website https://www.ppfideas.com

Next time in An Ageing World: The Meaning of Death

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