The Living Room Podcast

Most anti-aging skincare is focused on the surface — but the real story of skin aging starts much deeper. Mayo Clinic dermatologist Dr. Saranya Wyles breaks down what’s actually happening beneath your skin, why up to 75% of skin aging may be modifiable, and what science really says about retinol, SPF, red light therapy, collagen, peptides, GLP-1s, and more.Saranya Wyles, MD, PhD, is the Director of the Regenerative Dermatology and the Skin Longevity Laboratory at Mayo Clinic whose work focuses on skin aging, wound healing, cellular senescence, and regenerative medicine. In this episode of The LIVING Room Podcast, she joins Chris Wharton to explain why your skin is often a reflection of what’s happening inside your body — from brain health to heart health and overall aging, what SPF, retinol, red light therapy, collagen, and peptides actually do, and why the future of skincare will include 3D-bioprinted skin tissue and regenerative therapies.What we cover in this conversation:Why 75% of skin aging is modifiable — and what that actually meansThe skincare routine a Mayo Clinic dermatologist actually recommendsWhy oral collagen supplements may be a waste of moneyWhether retinol, red light therapy, and peptides live up to the hypeWhat sunscreen actually protects you from (and how it impacts vitamin D)Why weight-loss drugs like GLP-1s may be aging your faceThe future of regenerative skin repair — from exosomes to 3D-bioprinted skinFor science-backed clarity on what really protects your skin, free from the noise of anti-aging marketing — this episode delivers true value around powerful anti-aging practices that you can apply to your life.Learn more about  Dr. Saranya Wyles https://www.instagram.com/drwyles.derm 

What does it really look like to evolve into the best version of yourself? Robert Downey Jr. sits down with Chris Wharton for an honest conversation about discipline, self-awareness, taking control of one’s health, and what happiness truly means after living one of Hollywood’s most extraordinary lives.In this episode, Robert Downey Jr. opens up about the daily rituals that keep him grounded, why he was the very first "patient zero" for Chris's wellness program, and what he learned from years of burning the candle at both ends. From preparing for Broadway to suiting up for Marvel, this is a masterclass in intentional living from a man who's seen it all. Connect with Robert Downey Jr. at https://www.instagram.com/robertdowneyjr Want more? Each month, we send a newsletter curated by our scientific council on what's actually advancing the science of human longevity — and what isn't. Subscribe at https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list.The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/ 

Dr. Courtney Peterson runs one of the world's largest labs studying intermittent fasting in humans  at Harvard,  and her research shows most people are fasting at the wrong time of day. Here's what the clinical data actually says.Chris Wharton sits down with Dr. Peterson — Harvard researcher and member of the international scientific committee that formally defined intermittent fasting — to break down what rigorous clinical trial data actually says about fasting, meal timing, blood sugar, and weight loss. Not what the headlines say, but what the science says.In this episode, you'll discover: → Why fasting doesn't work by burning more calories — and what it's actually doing inside your body instead → The single most important variable in your fasting protocol — and why most people are getting it completely wrong → Why the timing of your eating window matters more than the window itself — and how shifting it can dramatically improve blood sugar and blood pressure → What 27 out of 28 clinical diabetes studies showed about intermittent fasting — and why this finding changes everything → The weight loss results you can realistically expect — what the data shows for both short-term and long-term outcomes → How fasting affects hunger hormones — and why people who do it right stop feeling deprived → The specific populations who benefit most from time-restricted eating — and the ones who should not fast at all → How to make fasting sustainable long-term — practical strategies backed by clinical research, not wellness trends→  Why intermittent fasting may support women’s metabolic health and healthy aging — and why extreme fasting is not one-size-fits-all.Dr. Peterson has spent years running controlled clinical trials on intermittent fasting. This episode isn't wellness hype, it’s the science.Courtney Peterson, PhD | Harvard UniversityDr. Courtney Peterson is Associate Professor of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, with appointments in the Department of Nutrition and the Department of Molecular Metabolism. Her research examines how meal timing, intermittent fasting, and circadian rhythms shape metabolic health, with the goal of developing dietary strategies to prevent and reverse type 2 diabetes and obesity. She led the first human clinical trial of early time-restricted eating, an approach that aligns the daily eating window with the body's internal clock, and her work has helped establish meal timing as a distinct variable in metabolic health, alongside diet composition and total caloric intake. Dr. Peterson holds a PhD in physics from Harvard, where she studied the early universe before turning to nutrition science, along with master's degrees from Tulane in clinical research, Imperial College London in science communication, and the University of Cambridge in applied mathematics and theoretical physics. She previously served on the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Can your environment cause more disease than your genes? Columbia University exposome researcher Gary Miller, PhD, has spent his career answering exactly that — and his findings will change how you live your daily life…As founder of the first exposome center in the United States, Dr. Miller studies how toxins, air quality, plastics, food, and stress silently accumulate in the body over a lifetime — and how they're driving diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's in ways that genetics alone can't explain.In this episode, he breaks down what the science actually says about the exposome, and cuts through the fear and wellness noise to tell you where you should genuinely be concerned — and what you can do about it.You'll learn:Why your environment may matter more than your DNAWhich hidden daily exposures could be affecting your health right nowThe real science on microplastics, pesticides, tap water, and indoor air qualityWhy most supplements are doing less than you thinkSimple, low-effort changes that can meaningfully reduce your risk at homeHow to make smarter health decisions without falling for hype or headlinesIf you've ever felt paralyzed by conflicting health advice, this conversation gives you a clearer, evidence-based framework — from one of the most credible voices in environmental health research.Gary Miller, PhD | Columbia UniversityGary Miller, PhD, founded the first exposome center in the US and studies the role of environmental factors in neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. At Columbia University, he serves as Vice Dean for Research Strategy and Innovation and Professor of Environmental Health Sciences in the Mailman School of Public Health, and Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Miller is a member of the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program Advisory Panel and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Advisory Council. He is also the founding editor of the journal Exposome, published by Oxford University Press.Website: https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/profile/gary-w-miller-phd Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-w-miller-2609309/ 

Most people focus on living longer. Stanford geriatrician Deborah Kado says that’s the wrong goal — the real goal is living well for longer by protecting strength, mobility, and independence, and the research helps explain why.Deborah Kado is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, co-director of the Stanford Longevity Center, and board-certified geriatrician, specializing in bone health, osteoporosis, and aging-related syndromes. In this episode of The LIVING Room Podcast, she shares what decades of research in geriatrics and epidemiology reveal about what actually shapes quality of life as we age — bone health, hip fracture risk, muscle, posture, strength vs power, and why the difference between lifespan and healthspan is everything.What we cover in this conversation:Why hip fractures are deadlier than most people realize Whether bone density loss is actually reversibleThe difference between living longer and living wellWhy power matters more than strength as you ageWhat Deborah wishes people in their 30s and 40s understood about aging nowWhy NAD supplements may be overratedWhat geriatricians actually do (and why there aren't enough of them)For evidence-based insight on building lasting strength, mobility, and independence — free from the noise of longevity hype — this episode delivers.

Everything you think you know about weight loss may be wrong — and one of the world’s  leading Nutrition professors has the science to prove it.Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, PhD — Dean Emeritus at the Tufts University School of Nutrition and Director of the Food Is Medicine Institute — has spent decades studying why we get sick, why we gain weight, and why so much of what we've been told about food is overcomplicated at best, and actively harmful at worst. In this conversation, he dismantles the myths driving the obesity epidemic and replaces them with what the evidence actually shows.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why counting calories is a bad approach— and what actually drives weight gainWhy most high-protein advice is backwards, and what you should be eating insteadThe real story on seed oils and ultra-processed foods (it's more nuanced than the headlines suggest)What GLP-1 drugs can and can't do — and why they're not the whole answerThe truth about alcohol and how it relates to your wellnessHow to lose body fat and keep it offHow to build a sustainable way of eating that supports your metabolism, your heart, and your long-term healthIf you've ever felt paralyzed by conflicting nutrition advice, this episode cuts through the noise. Dr. Mozaffarian doesn't deal in trends — he deals in evidence. And the picture he paints is both surprising and deeply clarifying.Dariush Mozaffarian, MD DrPH:Director, Food is Medicine InstituteDistinguished Professor, Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition, Professor of Medicine, Dean Emeritus https://tuftsfoodismedicine.org/ Pre-order Dr. Mozaffarian’s book at: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250394286/foodismedicine/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.living.room.podInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.living.room.pod Facebook: https://rebrand.ly/TLRFacebook YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The.Living.Room.Podcast Apple Podcasts: https://rebrand.ly/TLRApplePodcasts Spotify: https://rebrand.ly/TLRSpotify 

What if the way you live today is (scientifically) changing how fast you age? In this episode, Chris Wharton sits down with Dr. William Mair, PhD — Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — to break down the real science of aging, what actually works, and how to truly live better, longer.Most of us think of aging as something that just happens to us. Dr. William Mair thinks differently — and after 30 years studying the biology of aging at Harvard, he doesn’t deal in theory – he deals in evidence.In this conversation, Dr. Mair unpacks why age is the single biggest risk factor for nearly every chronic disease — from Alzheimer's to cancer to cardiovascular disease — and why targeting aging itself may be the most powerful thing we can do for human health and performance. But more importantly, he brings it back to you: what can you actually do, right now, to influence the rate at which your body ages?You'll walk away understanding: Why your lifestyle choices are actively speeding up or slowing down your biological clock What the science actually says about sleep, nutrition, and exercise, and how to optimize those habits to support healthspanHow to cut through the longevity noise — supplements, biohacks, and what's real vs. hypeWhy "healthspan" matters more than lifespan — and how to protect it What emerging science could change everything about how we age in the next 10–15 yearsChronological age is fixed. Biological age isn't. This episode gives you the peer-reviewed science to understand the difference — and how to act on it.