Coming soon: Defying death

Coming soon: Defying death

Author: Financial Times November 19, 2025 Duration: 1:30

Investors are spending billions of dollars on novel ways to extend human life through inventive treatments, therapies, and even manipulating our genes. And increasingly, it seems as though anti-ageing efforts have moved from the super rich to a mass market consumer industry. In this series, we’re covering the past, present and future of the longevity movement. We’ll be looking at where the fixation on longevity is coming from, and trying to understand the practical and ethical issues at the heart of this cutting-edge field of research. 


From Silicon Valley fantasies, to Singaporean health spas, to Colombian genetic clinics and beyond, the FT’s Hannah Kuchler and Michael Peel ask whether breakthroughs in science and technology can really help us live longer, and even stop us aging altogether.


Free to read: 


US ‘wellness’ industry scents opportunity to go mainstream


The quest to make young blood into a drug


This season of Tech Tonic was produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Fact checking by Simon Greaves, Lucy Baldwin and Tara Cromie. Original music by Metaphor Music. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio.


The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.



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From the Financial Times, FT Tech Tonic steps beyond the breathless headlines and gadget launches to explore how technology is fundamentally reshaping our lives, economies, and social structures. This isn't just a series about the latest app; it's a deep, considered examination of the forces driving the digital age and their often unintended consequences. Each episode grapples with the complex interplay between innovation and its real-world impact, drawing on the FT's global reporting expertise to provide clarity and context. You'll hear conversations that dissect the power dynamics in Silicon Valley, investigate the ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence, and explore how entrepreneurship is being redefined across different cultures. The podcast digs into the substance behind the hype, asking whether emerging technologies truly deliver on their promise to improve society or if they introduce new perils we are only beginning to understand. By weaving together threads from technology, business, and culture, the discussions offer a nuanced perspective that challenges simplistic narratives. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that connects the dots between boardroom strategies, algorithmic biases, and the everyday experiences that define our increasingly connected world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

FT Tech Tonic
Podcast Episodes
The geopolitics of chips: Nvidia and the AI boom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:30
Amid the artificial intelligence boom, demand for AI chips has exploded. But this push for chips also creates new challenges for countries and companies. How will countries cope with the huge amounts of energy these chip…
The geopolitics of chips: Taiwan’s ‘Silicon Shield’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:45
The global tech industry depends on Taiwan’s semiconductor chips and many believe the sector plays a key role in the island’s national security, helping stave off an invasion from mainland China. But as relations between…
The geopolitics of chips: A manufacturing miracle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:10
Semiconductors are one of the most complex and technically difficult pieces of hardware to make in the world – which is why they’ve become a flashpoint for tensions between the US and China. For years, semiconductor tech…
The geopolitics of chips: Chips in the USA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:08
The next superpower will be a tech superpower, and to be that superpower you need to have some control over the semiconductor industry which is driving the AI revolution. But almost all advanced semiconductors are made i…
Coming soon: The fight for the future of chips [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04
There's a battle going on for control of the global semiconductor industry – the chips that are in virtually every piece of electronics we use from our phones to our cars to the latest AI software. For the past half cent…
The Telegram case: Privacy vs security [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:50
What are the limits of privacy when it comes to our online lives? If authorities are investigating a crime, should they be able to access private messages sent between two individuals? In this episode of Tech Tonic, John…
The Telegram case: Pavel Durov [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:52
The FT’s Innovation editor John Thornhill and San Francisco tech correspondent Hannah Murphy have in the past both met and interviewed Pavel Durov, the secretive founder of Telegram who was arrested in France for alleged…
The trouble with deepfakes: Beyond control? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:44
Anita was scrolling on Twitter when she found someone had made deepfake porn of her, without her permission. But that was just the start of her problems; she found it was difficult and expensive to get the deepfakes take…
The trouble with deepfakes: Liar’s dividend [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:56
A new breed of AI generated fake pictures, videos and audio clips is spreading across the internet - content anyone with an internet connection can generate. And some of these deepfakes are now so convincing that even ex…
China's race to tech supremacy: New frontiers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:43
China is pushing the frontiers of scientific research, launching missions to the Moon and exploring the remotest places on Earth. It’s part of China’s grand plan to be the world leader in science and technology. But why…