Episode Details

China has always been obsessed with long life—from Qin Shi Huang’s doomed search for immortality to today’s biotech boom—and now that ancient dream is being rebooted with modern science. In this episode, we explore China’s fast-growing longevity industry, where state money, private startups and elite consumers are pouring into anti-ageing pills, clinics and research promising to slow, halt or even reverse ageing. A casual remark by Xi Jinping about living to 150 helped spark serious investment, but behind the hype lies a mix of cutting-edge biology, mouse studies that may not translate to humans, and a lingering tradition of quack cures. Is China on the brink of a longevity breakthrough—or just repackaging an old fantasy with new technology?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/world/asia/china-aging-longevity-science.html