The September 7 Edition

I’ve always laughed at people who want to live forever. What kind of a narcissist would you have to be to want that? Check me out at 85, thanks, preferably with a nice pill and a strong cup of tea. The idea of living today obsessed with being here tomorrow has always seemed a bit antithetical. And that was before the tragic case of TV presenter Michael Mosley, who spent all that time eating carefully to optimise his health only to die unexpectedly on a Greek island while walking back to his hotel on a scorching hot day. There are factors we can control, and even more we can’t. That’s … life. That said, today’s cover story by Tim Elliott got me thinking. Would I say no to drugs that might rid my body of cancer and give me many more years of life? No, I would not. Do I think jogging and swimming are good life-extenders? Yes, I do. So why draw the line at red-light therapy or stem-cell transfusions? I guess it’s because I sense there’s no rigorous evidence that they work. Then again, a lot of early adopters embrace things before they’re peer-reviewed. Perhaps, then, it comes down to cost – which would explain why those at the forefront of “life extension”, as it’s called, are often filthy rich. – Editor, Katrina Strickland.

12 stories

Tech entrepreneur Tristan Sternson relaxes in a hyperbaric chamber at Super Young, his life extension centre in Melbourne’s Armadale.

For subscribers

Red-light therapy. Cryotherapy. Hyperbaric chambers: The race to stay forever young

Want to live 20, 30, 50 years beyond the norm? Some with wealth and ambition are eagerly pursuing that dream to the extreme.

September 7, 2024
by Tim Elliott

For subscribers

Defending our democracy: How a cranky uncle, Swedish inspo and ‘pre-bunking’ help out

Our home-grown election system is the envy of the Western world. Will it be enough to inoculate us from AI, fake news and other threats to our way of life?

September 6, 2024
by Nick Bryant

“You used to be able to express an interest in something, and then rock up and start,” says one volunteer. “Now there will be forms, courses … sometimes it feels too hard.”

For subscribers

Red tape’s strangling volunteering – creating more casualties than you’d think

Bureaucracy is making it ever more difficult to lend a hand – to the detriment of willing helpers as well as those in need.

September 5, 2024
by Alan Attwood

Pascoe and wife Lyn Harwood on their farm Yumburra, near Mallacoota in East Gippsland.

Two of Us

‘I don’t know why she’s stuck around’: Surviving the Dark Emu fallout

Bruce Pascoe and Lyn Harwood have built houses, battled bushfires, weathered a media storm, separated from each other and – finally – reunited.

September 5, 2024
by Lenny Ann Low

“When I first started, chefs were the dirty, smelly boys out the back … Then all of a sudden, certain chefs made cooking sexy.”

Dicey Topics

For subscribers

‘It’s a sensual experience’: Chef Matt Moran on the most romantic food

The restaurateur on money-saving food tips, how farmers are being dudded and the dear friend who helped make chefs sexy.

September 6, 2024
by Benjamin Law

Modern Guru

Help! My husband eats his food like a toddler

Let’s not make a meal of it, writes our Modern Guru.

September 6, 2024
by Danny Katz

Pros and cons

Ned looked incredible in swimmers, Anais noted early on. However, as she came to observe over weeks, months and years, he couldn’t load a dishwasher properly. He was substandard, too, at vacuuming, dusting, doing laundry, hanging laundry, folding laundry, cleaning the bathroom, cleaning the kitchen and driving. What’s more, he’d become somewhat perfunctory between the sheets. “At least I look good in swimmers, though,” he offered the morning she catalogued, not for the first time, his many deficiencies. “That’s the thing, not so much any more,” she said, as she took a handful of his belly and gave it a telling squeeze. – Words by Paul Connolly. Illustration by Jim Pavlidis.