The Healthiest "Super-Agers" Have One Thing in Common, According to a 25-Year Study

The Healthiest "Super-Agers" Have One Thing in Common, According to a 25-Year Study

Memory is the glue of life. Without it, our focus softens, our experience of the world blurs, and our identities melt away. But as people age, their memory declines. Many billions of dollars have been spent to understand the biological basis of dementia and to devise a cure. In most cases, they have failed spectacularly. But what if, rather than study the brains of people with advanced memory loss, we instead studied the brains of people with the opposite condition: extraordinary memory and brain health in old age? For the past few decades, Sandra Weintraub, a scientist at Northwestern University, has been part of a team studying the brains of "super-agers," people 80 and older who have the memory ability of people in their 50s. In a new paper published this year to considerable fanfare, she found that super-agers didn't have much in common. They didn't share a diet, or an exercise regimen, or a set of maladies or medications. One thing, however, united them: their social relationships. Today's guest is Sandra Weintraub. We talk about the science of memory and the brain and the protective benefit of social connection for our minds and ourselves. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Dr. Sandra Weintraub Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(348)

A Mysterious Health Wave Is Breaking Out Across the U.S.

A Mysterious Health Wave Is Breaking Out Across the U.S.

Why do Americans die younger than citizens of other rich countries? The most important reason is that life in America is inexcusably dangerous. The U.S. has more fatalities from gun violence, drug ove...

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The Productivity Paradox: Why Less Is More With Oliver Burkeman

The Productivity Paradox: Why Less Is More With Oliver Burkeman

So, here’s a scenario: It’s Monday. And you open up whatever calendar or planner or to-do list you use to organize the essential activities of the upcoming week. There’s a large project due Thursday. ...

20 Des 20241h 1min

Why American Health Care Is a "Broken System"

Why American Health Care Is a "Broken System"

Last week, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot to death outside a hotel in Manhattan by a young man motivated by rage at the insurance industry. His rage is clearly felt widely. In the afterm...

13 Des 20241h 21min

Is Crypto Entering a New Golden Age—or Just a New Era of Failed Promises?

Is Crypto Entering a New Golden Age—or Just a New Era of Failed Promises?

The crypto industry seems poised for a new golden age. But what exactly does that mean? Who would benefit? And, oh by the way, what does this technology do other than serve as a set of assets to bet t...

6 Des 202450min

Megapod: Why Is There So Much BS in Psychology?

Megapod: Why Is There So Much BS in Psychology?

In the last decade, several major findings in social psychology have turned out to be hogwash—or, worse, even fraud. This has become widely known as psychology's "replication crisis." Perhaps you have...

27 Nov 20241h 48min

Vaccine Conspiracies, Fluoride Myths, and America’s Broken Public-Health Discourse

Vaccine Conspiracies, Fluoride Myths, and America’s Broken Public-Health Discourse

Emily Oster, professor of economics at Brown University, joins the show to talk about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his theories about fluoride and vaccines, and how the media and science community should tr...

22 Nov 202439min

The Self-Driving Revolution Is Real—and It Could Be Spectacular

The Self-Driving Revolution Is Real—and It Could Be Spectacular

What would a world of self-driven cars look like? How would it change shopping, transportation, and life, more broadly? A decade ago, many people were asking these questions, as it looked like a boom...

15 Nov 20241h 8min

How Trump Won: Young Men’s Red Wave, the Blue-City Flop, and the Incumbency Graveyard

How Trump Won: Young Men’s Red Wave, the Blue-City Flop, and the Incumbency Graveyard

Derek shares his big-picture theory for Trump's victory. Then, Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson explains how Trump shifted practically the entire electorate to the right. Links: Derek's ar...

8 Nov 202452min

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