Can we cure ageing?
The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC
4.7 • 9.4K Ratings
🗓️ 3 December 2022
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Brian Cox and Robin Ince tackle the thorny issue of their own differing experiences of ageing, as they find out why Robin seems to be doing it so much more quickly than Brian and whether science might have the answer. They are joined by comedian Sarah Kendall, Professor Dame Linda Partridge, world-renowned expert on the biology of ageing, and Dr Andrew Steele, author of "Ageless: The new science of getting older without getting old." Can the scientists answer the age-old monkey cage question of why Robin looks so much older than Brian despite being several years younger? Is it all the donuts he ate in his twenties or is down to his genes? Why do any of us age at all, and is there a biological limit to human lifespan. Most tantalisingly, they discover how the latest science into the biology of ageing could produce medicine that could slow down some of the ageing processes in the body, and in the process prevent many of the diseases, such as cancer and dementia, that can make old age so challenging. With these new advances comes the exciting prospect of not only living longer, but more importantly living healthier and happier and free of disease well into our hundreds.
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | Hello, I'm Robin Hitz. |
| 0:06.3 | And I'm Brian Cox, and this is the Infinite Monkey Cave. |
| 0:08.5 | And today's topic is one... |
| 0:10.3 | Well, frankly, one that is of a lot more interest |
| 0:12.8 | to one of us than the other, because regular listeners |
| 0:16.7 | and any fans of Brian Cox will know that despite the fact |
| 0:19.2 | that he is a professional physicist, |
| 0:20.6 | he has refused to obey the second law of thermodynamics |
| 0:24.8 | and has not aged now in 34 years. |
| 0:28.3 | This, of course, is intensely unfair, |
| 0:31.0 | because for the balance of the universe, |
| 0:33.0 | I have had to plunge headfirst into disorder |
| 0:36.9 | and now basically like a sociology lecturer on his fourth divorce. |
| 0:40.7 | LAUGHTER |
| 0:42.5 | This is true. |
| 0:43.5 | And this is despite the fact that I am actually younger than him, right? |
| 0:46.8 | And this is... |
| 0:48.4 | Which genuinely, when that got told to someone in an audience |
| 0:51.4 | in Pittsburgh, a child next to them, audibly gasped. |
| 0:55.0 | It was... Brian thought he would shock the audience with some of the kind |
| 0:58.7 | of counter-instinctual ideas of quantum mechanics, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

