How Humans Doubled Their Life Span in a Century

How Humans Doubled Their Life Span in a CenturyTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 1705, Segment 4

Oct 8, 2021 • 35m

The oldest living American just celebrated her 115th birthday. When Thelma Sutcliffe was born, the life expectancy of an American woman was 50 years. She’s lived more than twice that. Over the course of one century, human life expectancy has doubled. We may not all live to be as old as Thelma, but we’re still living twice as long as we would have been expected to if we were born 100 years ago. How that happened is the focus of science writer Steven Johnson’s latest book: “Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer” and the four-part documentary series he co-hosted of the same name. (Originally aired May 19th, 2021)

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