Humans have seen a significant increase in life expectancy over the past 200 years — but not in overall lifespan. Nobody on record has lived past 122 years. So, for this early Halloween episode, host Regina G. Barber asks: Why do we age and why do we die? Microbiologist Venki Ramakrishnan explains some of the mechanisms inside of our bodies that contribute to our decay — and tells us if it's possible to intervene in the process. Curious about other biology news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org and we might cover your topic on a future episode! Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Hey there, it's Ian and Mike.
And on the how to Do Everything podcast from the team at.
Wait, wait, don't tell me.
We will answer any question you have, no matter how ridiculous.
Like, maybe you want to get a haircut in space and you're not sure how astronaut Frank Rubio has had a haircut in space.
We plan for everything, right?
And so it's not a pretty haircut.
For sure, but it's functional.
Listen to the how to Do Everything podcast from npr.
Hey, it's Emily Kuang.
Real quick before the show.
It has been a wild, exciting, exhausting election season.
And if you want to follow what's going on now and make sure you don't miss a development, we want you to know there are three things you can listen to every day.
NPR's Morning News podcast Up first is recorded before dawn and out by 7am each weekday.
It's the only morning podcast anywhere that captures the news overnight.
Up first, 7am later in the day, you can find a new episode of the NPR Politics Podcast with context and analysis on the big stories whenever they happen.
So, like, you get an alert.
Big breaking news, you don't know what to think.
Look for the NPR Politics Podcast a few hours later.
And finally, consider this as the podcast where NPR considers one big story in depth every weekday evening.