Professor Kristen Hawkes is a pioneering anthropologist whose work helped bring the grandmother hypothesis to the spotlight of human evolution research. Through fieldwork and evolutionary theory, she argued that older women may have played a crucial role in shaping the human life course, not just by living longer, but by helping feed and support grandchildren. That idea helped reframe menopause, longevity, and family cooperation as possible drivers of what makes humans distinct and what explains our longer lifespans.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:05 How Kristen started to think about the paradox of grandmother longevity

09:15 What accounts for variation in adult mortality across lifespan

13:40 Difference in male and female longevity

17:20 Why human babies are very dependent

20:05 Bon Charge sponsorship

21:10 Dynamics of human social evolution and longevity

23:05 How longer weening period in human babies contributes to our intelligence

29:35 Weening and intelligence

34:25 Evolutionary explanation for grandparents

36:35 The contribtion of hunting success vs gathering to children size in Hadza

47:05 Does the grandmother hypothesis make sense

48:15 Role of DHA and seafood in human brain evolution

51:35 Social hierarchy of grandparents in the Hadza

56:01 Grandfathers

01:08:35 Role of grandparents in the modern world

My 2026 longevity routine: https://youtu.be/OceysodInIo

Start rewinding your biological clock: https://www.siimland.co/course

Dr. Uri Alon is a physicist-turned-biologist, a professor at the Weizmann Institute, and one of the leading thinkers exploring how complex biological systems work. In this episode, we discuss his research on the effects of genetics, lifestyle, environment, and luck on human lifespan.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:55 How big of a role does genetics play in longevity

06:25 How important is lifestyle vs genetics

08:25 How big of a role does lifestyle play in longevity

12:55 Why is lifestyle less impactful than genetics

15:25 Bon Charge sponsorship

16:30 Genes of people who live to 110

18:55 Why lifestyle matters a lot if you have bad genes

21:45 What leads to aging

22:45 What’s the maximum human lifespan

25:20 Why nobody has lived over 122 yet

27:05 Strategies to extend lifespan beyond normal

34:05 What made Uri interested in longevity as a physicist

36:25 Recurring patterns in human longevity and aging

38:40 Simplest analogie for aging

49:15 Surprising role of luck in longevity

54:55 How to practically extend your lifespan

59:30 What Uri needs to discover next about aging

Dr Uri Alon Lab YouTube channel with Systems Aging courses: https://www.youtube.com/@alonlab9733/videos

My 2026 longevity routine: https://youtu.be/OceysodInIo

Start rewinding your biological clock: https://www.siimland.co/course

P.S. This is not professional medical advice and should not be taken as such. The creator of this video is not held accountable for your health. Consult your doctor first.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:36 Lifestyle bracket

06:50 Lifestyle bracket winners

11:47 Join my online community

18:46 Medicine / pharmaceutical bracket

19:20 Medicine /pharmaceutical bracket winners

22:32 Geroscience bracket

33:13 Geroscience winners

35:00 Biohacking bracket

40:16 Biohacking bracket winners

43:04 Final 8 winners

46:32 Final 4 winners

49:23 Final 2 winners

Vote yourself for the Longevity Bracket: https://www.optispan.life/longevity-bracket

My 2026 longevity routine: https://youtu.be/OceysodInIo

Start rewinding your biological clock: https://www.siimland.co/course