The Life Lab by Death Clock

In this episode of Death Clock, Brent sits down with Dr. Edward Calabrese, the scientist who helped pioneer the modern understanding of hormesis: the idea that low doses of stress can trigger powerful adaptive responses that make the body more resilient. The conversation explores how hormesis shows up in exercise, fasting, heat exposure, cold exposure, and even surprising areas like radiation and...

This week, Brent speaks with Dr. Stephanie Cook, a researcher specializing in stress and cardiovascular health, who breaks down the science of chronic stress, cortisol, and the body's stress-response system. She explains how stress can influence everything from sleep and inflammation to heart disease risk, why our perception of stress matters as much as the stressor itself, and how factors like re...

In this episode, Brent speaks with physician-scientist Dr. Loren Walensky to explore the rapidly growing world of peptides, GLP-1 drugs, and experimental health interventions. As compounds like semaglutide, BPC-157, and other peptides gain popularity in wellness and longevity circles, Walensky explains the critical difference between therapies that have been rigorously tested and those that are be...

In this episode, preventive cardiologist Dr. Ann Marie Navar, a member of the committee that helped shape the American Heart Association's new recommendations for earlier cholesterol management, explains why many experts believe cardiovascular prevention should begin decades before most people ever experience symptoms. Dr. Navar explains why lowering LDL cholesterol earlier in life can have lastin...

This week on Death Clock, Dr. Katherine Ramos of Duke University breaks down the growing body of research linking social connection to longevity, resilience, and quality of life. Dr. Ramos explains why meaningful connection is deeply individual, and why having people who truly understand, support, and ground you can shape both mental and physical health outcomes over time. The conversation moves f...

This week, Brent sits down with Dr. Nancy Keller, one of the world's leading experts on fungi and mycotoxins, to explore how mold actually affects human health. Dr. Keller explains how certain fungi produce toxic compounds that can contaminate crops like peanuts, corn, and apples, why improper food storage is often the real culprit, and how modern food systems work to reduce those risks. The conve...

In this episode, Brent speaks with Dr. David Hafler, a pioneering neurologist and immunologist whose research helped establish multiple sclerosis as an autoimmune disease and reshape how it's treated today. Drawing on decades of work at both Harvard and Yale, Dr. Hafler explains the emerging evidence connecting Epstein-Barr virus to MS, why certain genetic profiles may leave people unable to fully...

In this episode, Brent speaks with Dr. Ryan Vandrey of Johns Hopkins to take a closer look at cannabis. With more than two decades of research in behavioral pharmacology, Dr. Vandrey walks through how THC and CBD actually interact with the brain and body, why addiction is often misunderstood, and how factors like dose, delivery method, and individual biology can completely change the experience. T...

This week on The Life Lab, Brent Franson sits down with Dr. Adam Brickman, a leading expert in brain aging and Alzheimer's research at Columbia University, to unpack what we actually know about measuring brain health. Drawing on nearly three decades of research, Brickman explains the real value and limitations of biomarkers like ApoE genetics, p-tau blood tests, MRIs, and PET scans, and why more i...

This week, Brent speaks with Dr. Helen Burgess, a leading researcher in sleep and circadian rhythms, to unpack what we actually know about how to optimize your internal clock. Drawing on decades of research, Burgess explains how circadian rhythms govern everything from sleep and hormones to body temperature, and why consistent light exposure may be the most powerful lever for improving sleep. The...

In this episode of Death Clock, host Brent Franson sits down with Dr. S. Jay Olshansky, a leading expert on human longevity, to unpack what that data says about how long we can live. Drawing on decades of research, Olshansky explains why dramatic lifespan extensions (like living to 120 or beyond) may be far less realistic than many in the longevity space believe, and why increasing life expectancy...

This week on The Life Lab, Brent speaks with Dr. Paul Offit, a leading vaccine expert and pediatrician, to separate fact from fiction on one of the most debated topics in public health. Brent presses on common concerns around vaccine safety, schedules, and side effects, while Dr. Offit responds with decades of research and clinical experience. He breaks down why vaccines are recommended the way th...

This week on The Life Lab, host Brent Franson sits down with Dr. Marilyn Albert, a leading Alzheimer's researcher at Johns Hopkins, to unpack what we actually know about Alzheimer's prevention. From the early buildup of amyloid and tau in midlife to the nuanced role of genetics like ApoE4, Dr. Albert speaks to biomarkers, blood tests, and the growing world of experimental longevity hacks. The conv...

This week, Brent speaks with Dr. Laura Carstensen, a Stanford psychologist and leading expert on aging, to explore how our priorities, emotions, and relationships change over time. She explains the science behind why people often become happier and more emotionally stable as they get older, and how shifting time horizons reshape the way we make decisions and spend our time. The conversation also c...

This week, Brent sits down with Dr. Lin Chang, a gastroenterologist at UCLA and expert in digestive disorders, to unpack what's really going on in the gut when people experience chronic stomach issues. They discuss the gut–brain connection, why the digestive system is often called the body's "second brain," and how conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) develop. Dr. Chang explains why symp...

Welcome back to The Life Lab. In this episode, Brent speaks with Dr. Richard Moon, medical director of the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine, to break down the science behind hyperbaric oxygen therapy. They discuss what the treatment actually is and how it's used today to treat conditions like carbon monoxide poisoning, difficult wounds, and decompression sickness in scuba divers. Dr. Moon expla...

In this episode of Death Clock, Brent sits down with Dr. Michael Snyder, a Stanford geneticist and leader in precision health research, to explore how wearable technology and continuous biomarker tracking are changing the way we understand disease risk. Dr. Snyder explains how devices like smartwatches can detect early signs of infection, how continuous glucose monitors reveal individual metabolic...

This week, Brent talks with Dr. Vishesh Kapur, a sleep physician and leading expert in sleep medicine and sleep apnea, for a practical breakdown of what actually drives high-quality sleep. They cover how much sleep most adults really need, what "sleep quality" means in real life, and why obsessing over sleep trackers can sometimes make sleep worse. Dr. Kapoor explains the basics that matter most a...

This episode is a deep dive on acupuncture. Brent is joined by Dr. Richard Harris, a UC Irvine professor and clinical researcher, to take a serious, evidence-based look at one of eastern medicine's oldest practices. Dr. Harris explains what acupuncture is (and isn't), why it's often dismissed in Western medicine, and what the research actually shows. They dig into randomized controlled trials, pla...

In this episode, Brent speaks to Dr. Christopher Gardner to break down what the science actually says about diet quality, weight loss, and long-term metabolic health. They discuss how to build a diet that's sustainable without obsessing over perfection. Dr. Gardner explains the role of ultra-processed foods, protein, fiber, and satiety, and why individual response to diets can vary so widely. He's...

In this episode of Death Clock, Brent is joined by Dr. Leonard Jason, a patient advocate and researcher focused on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), to unpack a disease that is widely misunderstood and chronically underdiagnosed. They discuss what ME/CFS actually is, how it differs from everyday fatigue or burnout, and why post-exertional malaise is its defining feature....

On this week's episode, Brent is joined by Dr. Barry Popkin, a leading nutrition researcher known for his work on ultra-processed foods and global diet trends. Dr. Popkin explains how modern food systems have reshaped what we eat, why ultra-processed foods are linked to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and how liquid calories and added sugars uniquely drive metabolic harm. The conversation al...

Today, Brent sits down with Dr. Emily Lantz, a leading researcher in nutrition and muscle health, to unpack one of the most talked-about topics in longevity: protein. She explains how much protein we actually need, why timing and quality matter just as much as quantity, and how protein intake changes as we age. She offers insights on animal versus plant sources, supplements, fasting, strength trai...

In this episode, Brent speaks with Dr. Anne Cappola, a leading endocrinologist at the University of Pennsylvania, about thyroid health. Using both clinical insight and Brent's personal experience as a parent, they break down what the thyroid does, how hypo- and hyperthyroidism show up in real life, how these conditions are diagnosed, and what treatment actually looks like. The discussion covers co...

This week, Brent sits down with Dr. Luke Laffin, a preventive cardiologist and hypertension specialist, to break down what blood pressure really tells us about long-term health. Dr. Laffin explains why high blood pressure is one of the strongest predictors of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and dementia, even when it shows up early or seems "borderline." They discuss how blood pressure shoul...