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Hi, welcome to big picture science produced at the SETI Institute.

I'm Seth Shostak, and as a listener to this program, you're undoubtedly aware that we discuss a variety of subjects,

from astronomy to zoology, from computer science to biology, anthropology, and more.

But even our panoply of subjects can't accommodate every science story our team finds interesting.

So in this episode, problem solved, because we're making room for the oddball stories.

We'll present research that doesn't fit easily into our themed shows, but we'll also expose you to our idiosyncratic interests by sharing what we personally find fascinating.

I'm Molly Bentley, and here's the thing. Seth and I have not yet shared with each other

the subjects that we choose to pursue. So we will reveal them to you and to each other in this

episode. It's called Eclectic Company. All right, Seth, let's begin with you. You're up. You have an interview here with a scientist.

I do. I do. And we're about to listen to it. Set this up for us. How did you come across this story? Well, this story, I mean, I went looking for a story like this. I have to tell you, Molly. And I think it's, you know, I hate to say this. It may be just part of the getting older business. You know, as you get older, when you're a kid, you don't think about living forever. you just figure you will. You know, when you're 18 and old enough to join the Army, you figure you're immortal, right? But when you get older, you realize maybe you're not immortal. So that's what drew me to this subject. Well, that gives me some hints as to what it might be about, something about perhaps the aging process. And again, I don't know who you interviewed. We're about to

learn who you interviewed and what the subject is. So let's take a listen. And then on the other side of

it, you and I can chat about why this subject is so interesting to you. Hi, I'm Tony Weiss-Core.

I'm a professor of neuroscience at Stanford University.

Tony, I think all of us would love to live to 100 or 150 or maybe 200 in good health,

but I also believe that most folks consider that impossible. Is it impossible?

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