The Guardian's Science Weekly   /     Revisited: are the world’s oldest people really that old?

Description

In this episode from September, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Saul Newman, an interdisciplinary researcher at University College London and the University of Oxford, who has recently won an Ig Nobel prize – given to scientific research that ‘first makes people laugh, and then makes them think’ – for his work showing that many claims of people living extraordinarily long lives come from places with short lifespans, no birth certificates, and where clerical errors and pension fraud abound. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Summary

In this episode from September, Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Saul Newman, an interdisciplinary researcher at University College London and the University of Oxford, who has recently won an Ig Nobel prize – given to scientific research that ‘first makes people laugh, and then makes them think’ – for his work showing that many claims of people living extraordinarily long lives come from places with short lifespans, no birth certificates, and where clerical errors and pension fraud abound. Help support our independent journalism at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sciencepod">theguardian.com/sciencepod</a>

Subtitle
Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Saul Newman, an interdisciplinary researcher at University College London and the University of Oxford, who has recently won an Ig Nobel prize – given to scientific research that ‘first makes people laugh, and then make
Duration
00:16:44
Publishing date
2024-12-24 05:00
Contributors
  The Guardian
author  
Enclosures
https://flex.acast.com/audio.guim.co.uk/2024/12/17-55257-gnl.sci.20240912.eb.ageing_xmas_repeat_new.mp3
audio/mpeg