Organ Trail

The game’s afoot! Many powerful people—from world leaders to Silicon Valley billionaires—have been whispering about the possibility of living forever via organ replacement. But is their dream a reality, or is it still in the realm of sci-fi? Mangesh learns about Vladimir Putin’s longevity obsession from an exiled Russian journalist, spends an illuminating afternoon with a white-hat hacker, and meets a scientist who’s rebuilding brains, one cell at a time. Finally, he tracks down the co-founder of a mysterious start-up that’s rumored to be doing things no one ever thought possible… until now. • Read Proekt’s coverage of Putin’s health • , and Foreign Policy on death rates for Russian soldiers • • Read Nakoa Po’s Sundial Therapeutics Substack • Support your local library • Visit R3 Bio’s website • , and read coverage in Wired • and MIT Technology Review 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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