05/23/25

How ‘Super Agers’ Stay Sharp And Active Longer Than Their Peers

Senior runner with armband doing stretching. Autumn nature.
Credit: Shutterstock

Ever noticed how some people get to their 80s and 90s and continue to be healthy and active? They spend their days playing mahjong, driving to lunch, learning shuffle dancing, and practicing Portuguese. Those are “super agers,” seniors who stay fit well into old age. How do they do it? Is it luck or genetics? In this live broadcast, Hosts Flora Lichtman and Ira Flatow discuss the science of aging with two experts on the topic, cardiologist Eric Topol and neuroscientist Emily Rogalski.

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Segment Guests

Eric Topol

Dr. Eric Topol is the author of several books, including Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again (Basic Books, 2019) The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands (Basic Books, 2015), practicing cardiologist at the Scripps Clinic, and a genomics professor at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.

Emily Rogalski

Dr. Emily Rogalski is a clinical and cognitive neuroscientist, and the director of the Healthy Aging & Alzheimer’s Research Care Center at the University of Chicago.

Segment Transcript

The transcript is being processed. It will be available 2-3 days after this story’s publication date.

Meet the Producers and Host

About Annette Heist

Annette Heist is a former senior producer for Science Friday.

About Ira Flatow

Ira Flatow is the founder and host of Science FridayHis green thumb has revived many an office plant at death’s door.

About Flora Lichtman

Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.

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