Would you want to live until 150?
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 13 September 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
During an unguarded conversation between President Putin and President Jinping in Beijing, the Chinese leader suggested that scientific developments meant that by the end of the century people might live until 150.
So, what is it like to live to an old age and will 150 years ever be possible?
We bring together two women in Australia, Janet and Myfanwy, with a combined age of 202. One of them still drives. The other stopped getting behind the wheel at 96.
They say they both enjoy busy lives. Janet at 102 doesn’t relish the thought of being 150 though: “Think how doddery and staggery you would be.” And Mwfanwy adds: “I don’t want to live forever!”
In another conversation, 87-year-old Elaine in the United States has this advice: “We’ve all been through difficult times, we’ve all had terrible things happen to us, but you just get past it, and you put one foot in front of the other and you just keep on going.”
We also hear from three distinguished researchers who discuss the reality of living a long life and the science of anti-aging.
This edition is from BBC OS Conversations, where we bring people together to share their experiences.
Presenter: Rahul Tandon BBC producers: Iqra Farooq, Akwasi Sarpong, Laura Cress and Ash Mohamed Boffin Media producers: Richard Hollingham and Sue Nelson
(Photo:An elderly man holding a walking stick. Credit: Joe Giddens/PA Wire)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, I'm Rahal Tandon. Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:08.3 | In BBC OS Conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences, |
| 0:14.1 | and this time it's with those who are living a long life. |
| 0:18.7 | The inspiration for our conversations this week came after a microphone |
| 0:23.2 | caught an unexpected private chat between the Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Chinese leader |
| 0:30.4 | Xi Jinping when they met in Beijing. |
| 0:50.0 | President Putin said that with the development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, even he suggested achieving immortality. |
| 0:57.7 | President G responded that there's a chance of living until 150. We'll discuss this with three researchers who offer advice for longevity and what to expect from science in the future. And I promise you, |
| 1:04.1 | there's a joyous exchange when we bring together two Australian women aged 100 and 102. |
| 1:11.6 | Did you say you still drive? |
| 1:14.3 | Yes, I still drive. |
| 1:15.9 | You drive and you're 100? |
| 1:17.9 | 102. |
| 1:19.2 | Oh, very good. |
| 1:20.8 | Oh, yes. |
| 1:21.5 | Well, that's pretty good. |
| 1:23.0 | I've given up. |
| 1:23.9 | I stopped when I was 96, I think. |
| 1:26.4 | Those ladies are so inspiring. Before we hear from them, |
| 1:31.3 | let me introduce you to 95-year-old Joan, a retired teacher, born in New York during the economic |
| 1:38.1 | crisis known as the Depression. She now lives in the US state of Florida. Elaine, she's 87, lives in California and still works in a shop. |
| 1:49.1 | And the baby of this group, 82-year-old Ernest in Ghana, |
... |
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