Forever Young

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comMost people think of meditation as a stress-reduction tool. Something you do in an app, on a cushion, before a hard day. A nice habit, loosely supported by science.Dr. Thomas Lewis wants to correct that framing entirely.In this video, Dr. Thomas Lewis breaks down the neuroscience of meditation — and why it reaches further into your biology than most peo…

Dr. Eric Verdin is one of the scientists at the heart of our award-winning documentary Forever Young. He’s also president and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.After a private screening of the film, director David Donnelly sat down with Verdin for a live virtual Q&A with the audience. No talking points. Just an hour of unfiltered conversation with one of the most respected minds in longevity science.In this conversation, Verdin reveals:* The longevity variable most people completely overlook — and why he’s building an entire research center around it* Why your outlook on life isn’t just a mood issue — and what the science says it’s actually doing to your body* On the realities of GLP-1 agonists, V02 max, and other topics that have captivated popular culture* The booming wellness trend he calls a total scam — and why it makes him furious every time he walks past onePlus: what’s actually coming in anti-aging medicine, the real science on fasting, and what an approved longevity drug could look like within five years.This is just the beginning.Dr. Verdin mentioned something in passing that most people don’t fully register: the biology of aging can be modulated. One of the most extraordinary examples of that happening right now is at his own institution — the Buck Institute’s work on senescent cells, the so-called “zombie cells” that accumulate in your body as you age, quietly driving inflammation, accelerating disease, and shortening your life. Scientists now have drugs that can selectively eliminate them. In animal models, the results are extraordinary.Paid subscribers get access to that interview as well as our full archive of 100+ videos and articles that give insider access to the drugs, treatments, science, and philosophy driving the most exciting revolution of our lifetime.The longevity revolution is moving fast. Don’t fall behind.Join the readers who want the full picture → This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comIn this inaugural Forever Young Substack Live, Dr. Thomas Lewis — psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and co-author of A General Theory of Love — spent 45 minutes answering live audience questions on what actually determines how long we live and how well.What emerged was part clinical insight, part cultural criticism, part longevity science. Tom covered the p…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comSteve Horvath created the epigenetic clock — the molecular tool that, for the first time, made it possible to measure biological age rather than simply count the years a person has been alive. His 2013 paper is among the most-cited in aging research, and his current work at Altos Labs in Cambridge focuses on whether the clock can not only measure aging …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comAfter a recent screening of Forever Young, director David Donnelly sat down with Dr. Laura Carstensen for a live Q&A with the audience.Our ancestors gave us 30 extra years of life.So what are we doing with it?We’ve kept the same life script — education, then work, then retirement — and just stretched it at the seams.Dr. Carstensen thinks that’s a mistak…

We’re getting extraordinarily good at extending the machinery of life. But we’re losing the battle for the life within. In this video, psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Lewis delivers a sobering truth that is often ignored in longevity circles: technology can add years to your life, but it can’t solve the human condition. Pride, envy, jealousy, boredom—these are stubbornly built into us. Without substantial cultural shifts in how we think about relationships, meaning, and what actually makes us happy, we’re just kicking the can down the road. And we will ultimately pay the price. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.com/subscribe

What if we told you there’s an intervention that reduces inflammation, improves cardiovascular function, and costs nothing?No prescription. No side effects. Available to everyone.Here’s what the research tells us about gratitude—and why it matters for longevity:Gratitude is measurable biology, not just a feeling.According to research published in Psychosomatic Medicine, gratitude is associated with lower levels of endothelial dysfunction—a key marker of cardiovascular aging. Heart patients who reported higher gratitude showed better vascular function, independent of depression or anxiety levels. (DOI)A six-week gratitude practice reduced inflammation by 27%.A workplace study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that employees who engaged in daily gratitude exercises for just six weeks saw a 27% reduction in C-reactive protein (a marker of chronic inflammation) and improvements in blood sugar regulation. (DOI)Chronic inflammation, as we cover in several of our posts, is one of the hallmarks of aging. Anything that reduces it is worth paying attention to.The connection between gratitude and longevity runs deeper than we thought.We now know that 93% of how you age is determined by lifestyle—not genetics. What we’re learning now is that how you think is an essential part of that lifestyle equation.Inspired by this article and video? Share it with a friend or family member. Want more from Dr. Thomas Lewis? Here’s one of our popular posts:We are now posting new videos and articles almost DAILY. Click below to gain FULL ACCESS to our growing library, engage directly with longevity experts in subscriber chats and Q&As, and more! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comWe live in a culture that has mastered the art of avoiding death.We don’t see it, we don’t talk about it, and we certainly don’t allow room for the fear of it — not in polite conversation, not in our friendships, not even in our family lives.But Dr. Thomas Lewis makes something uncomfortably clear:Our silence hasn’t made death easier. It has made us more afraid.Why?Because the human brain is a prediction machine.It can model anything — danger, possibility, love, loss — but it cannot model its own non-existence.It literally cannot imagine a world without “you” in it.So it defaults to a kind of illusion: death is something that happens to other people.And that illusion works… until it doesn’t.In earlier centuries, death was woven into the fabric of life.People died at home, surrounded by family.Children grew up watching life end, not in horror, but as part of the natural rhythm of being human.Today, you can go an entire lifetime without seeing a body.Death has been sterilized, outsourced, hidden behind hospital curtains.And when something disappears from view, it becomes mysterious… and then frightening… and then taboo.The result is a quiet epidemic of unspoken fear.People aren’t just afraid of dying —they’re afraid of admitting they’re afraid.But here’s the part that gives this conversation its power:Anxiety grows in silence.Anxiety shrinks when shared.And a little less afraid.More from Dr. Thomas Lewis:

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comResearch by Pankaj Kapahi of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging shows that caloric restriction doesn’t just reduce weight.It reshapes metabolism.When the body takes in fewer calories, it shifts away from burning glucose — a fast but dirty fuel — and begins relying more on fats and lipids. This metabolic switch reduces inflammation, improves mitoch…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comEveryone’s talking about extending lifespan — the molecules, the biomarkers, the breakthroughs. Far fewer are talking about what happens after we succeed. Digital sociologist Julie Albright joins us for a provocative exploration of the cultural shockwaves that come when societies suddenly gain decades of extra life. What happens to dating? Purpose? Reli…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comIn the West, we live in an age of astonishing comfort. Our refrigerators are full, our homes are climate-controlled, and nearly every need can be met with the tap of a screen. Yet our minds have never been more overwhelmed.In the United States — the most materially abundant society in human history — rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are at reco…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comAcross the tech world, a quiet faith has taken hold.Transhumanism is the conviction that technology can perfect the human condition: that we can outgrow biology, outlive death, and design evolution itself. It’s the animating belief behind Elon Musk’s Neuralink, Peter Thiel’s life-extension ventures, and Ray Kurzweil’s vision of the Singularity.Sci-fi au…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comFor decades, modern medicine has studied aging through a narrow lens — one that largely excluded the biology of half the human population.Dr. Jennifer Garrison is changing that. At the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Dr. Garrison and her colleagues are leading a scientific effort to understand why the ovaries age faster than any other organ in the…

What if aging isn’t inevitable — but programmable?Every cell in your body carries a clock, quietly ticking inside your DNA. It doesn’t count minutes or hours; it measures the molecular changes that occur as we live, breathe, and grow older. This clock, composed of tiny chemical tags called methyl groups, determines which genes turn on and which remain silent. Together, these patterns form what scientists call the epigenome — the dynamic layer of information that tells your genes how to behave.Dr. Steve Horvath’s groundbreaking discovery of the epigenetic clock changed how science understands time itself. For the first time, we could measure biological aging — not by calendar years, but by the chemical patterns inside our cells. His work revealed that aging is not simply damage or decay — it’s a process written in molecular code, one that may be possible to slow, pause, or even reverse.Today, Horvath’s research has inspired a global movement. Scientists like David Sinclair at Life Biosciences are building on this foundation to explore how the epigenome can be reprogrammed. In early animal studies, these breakthroughs have reversed blindness, restored cellular function, and even rejuvenated tissue. Human trials are now underway.The implications are almost impossible to grasp. If we can rewrite the epigenome — the software that controls how our DNA is read — we may one day be able to restore health, reverse disease, and extend the healthy human lifespan in ways once thought impossible. Drugs that slow aging. Therapies that rejuvenate cells. Lifestyle choices that directly influence gene expression.For the first time in human history, we are not just studying longevity — we are engineering it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comEvery day, billions of cells in your body reach the end of their natural life. Most die quietly, making room for new, healthy ones. But some refuse to go. These “zombie cells”—or senescent cells—stop dividing yet stubbornly remain alive, releasing inflammatory chemicals that can damage nearby tissue. The body halts their growth as a protective measure b…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.com“Exercise clearly, with no hesitation, can be said to be the most important, life-prolonging factor that we have within our control.” - Dr. James Johnson As we age, we must adapt our approach to exercise. Watch the video for a sneak peek into one of Dr. Johnson’s workouts.Have a question? We’d love to hear from you.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.comDr. Thomas Lewis has been working as a psychiatrist in Northern California for decades. His practice is based in a longevity hot spot with an abnormally high life expectancy. But not all of his patients who are living longer are necessarily happier. Watch the video to learn what Dr. Lewis believes to be the secret to a more meaningful life.

Forever Young is a feature-length documentary premiering at the 2025 Mill Valley Film Festival. The completion of the film marks the beginning of our Substack journey, where our team will dig deeper into the topics, questions, and controversies covered in this sweeping documentary that blends science and humanism. Directed by David DonnellyProduced by James B. Johnson, MD, and Thomas B Lewis, MDOur cast includes: James B. Johnson, MD: Dr. Johnson is a retired plastic surgeon, longevity researcher, philanthropist, and author of the Penguin-Random House book, The Alternate-Day Diet. With Mark Mattson, PhD, he published the first clinical study of alternate-day fasting in 2006.Thomas B. Lewis, M.D: Dr. Lewis is a physician, psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, speaker, and author of A General Theory of Love (Random House)Nir Barzilai, MD: Dr. Barzilai is the director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Human Aging Research. He has long advocated studying metformin and other drugs to prevent the diseases of aging.Eric Verdin, MD, PhD: Dr. Verdin is a researcher, professor, and one of the world’s leading geroscientists. He has served as President and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging since 2016.Richard A. Miller, M.D., Ph.D: Dr. Miller is a Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan and Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Aging Research. He founded the hugely important ongoing NIH Interventions Testing Program, which studies supplements and drugs to assess their potency at slowing or reversing aging.Steve Horvath, PhD: Dr. Horvath is a Principal Investigator at the Altos Labs Cambridge Institute of Science. He discovered the existence of a “clock” in our cells that records our true biological age (instead of our age in years). This biomarker allows measurement of the effect of treatments that slow or reverse aging.Jennifer Garrison, PhD. Dr. Garrison is Co-Founder and Director of the Global Consortium for Reproductive Longevity and Equality (GCRLE) and an Assistant Professor at the Buck Institute for Research on AgingTaryn Southern is a charming and gifted explainer of new technologies whose YouTube videos have garnered more than 1 billion views! She also directed the feature SCI-FI film I AM HUMAN, about the development of brain-computer interfaces, which promise to vastly improve human capabilities and potential. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit foreveryoungfilm.substack.com/subscribe