Organ Trail
Summary
Host Mangesh Hatikudur investigates the controversial longevity industry, exploring rumors of human cloning and organ farms fueled by figures like Vladimir Putin. He interviews exiled journalist Mikhail Rubin about Putin’s health obsessions and meets startup founder Alice Gilman, who proposes growing non-sentient monkey "organ sacks" for medical testing. The episode examines the ethical and scientific boundaries of radical life extension, from dark web drug markets to Silicon Valley’s quest for immortality.
Topics discussed
Introduction: Childhood mysteries and the cloning rumor
Putin's longevity initiative and organ farms
Investigating the dark web for longevity drugs and organs
The Ship of Theseus: Brain cell replacement theory
R3 Bio, organ sacks, and the ethics of human cloning
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