Imagine sitting down with a group of strangers to discuss your mortality. Sound terrifying? It shouldn’t be. Jools Barsky and Susan Barsky Reid lead a global movement called Death Cafe, which offers non-judgmental spaces for people to share their thoughts and feelings about death. Mangesh had a wonderfully life-affirming conversation with them about the legacy of their brother and son Jon Underwood, Death Cafe’s founder; the ways in which death conversations help us make the most of our lives; and why cake is really, really important.

• Visit the Death Cafe website
• Find a Death Cafe event near you
• Try an easy snacking cake recipe

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Philosopher John Fischer thinks you should want to live forever…but not so you can see the stars or run your start-up forever. He thinks you should choose life because living can bring so much joy. And that made his argument for living forever the one Mangesh found most compelling…compelling enough that he wanted to share their conversation in this mini-episode with you, our favorite longevinauts.

John Martin Fischer is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at University of California, Riverside.

• You can read his extended (and much more high-minded) debate with our favorite longevity curmudgeon, Stephen Cave, in their book: Should You Choose to Live Forever: A Debate from Routledge Press.
• Read about near-death experiences and other touches with immortality in John’s study for the Templeton Foundation: The Science of Immortality.
• Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life by John Gray

Special thanks to Botany for the score.

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At the end of his longevity journey, Mangesh struggles to make sense of the growing belief that death can—or should—be optional. He spends time with death doula Alua Arthur, who explains how accepting mortality allows people to live with purpose, and meets a longevity researcher whose tidy economic models are complicated by a tragic loss in her own life. Then, as he weighs the optimism of young longevinauts with the fear of losing what makes us human, he confronts the question he’s really been asking all along.

• Watch Alua Arthur’s TED Talk and learn more about Going with Grace
• Check the Aevitas House events calendar
• Read Chloe Mango’s newsletter, Chloe’s Lab Notes
• Learn more about Starsuit, Owen Zoyt’s next-gen spacesuit
• Check out Bishoy Tadros’s books, podcast, and coaching
• Visit the Why Philanthropy Matters website and read Rhodri Davies’ essay on longevity
• Explore Raiany Romanni-Klein’s work on longevity, ethics, and economics

Special thanks to Azadi Records and Bliss Samsa for their beautiful tracks, and Botany for the score.

Episode collage art by Vahini Shori.

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