The Beyond Tomorrow Podcast with Julian Issa

What if living longer isn’t about chasing immortality but about quietly staying one step ahead of aging?

Julian sits down with George Church for a wide-ranging conversation that challenges how we think about longevity, aging, and medical progress. Rather than promising overnight breakthroughs, they explore why extending human life is a complex, multi-layered challenge and why meaningful progress may already be happening so gradually that it’s easy to miss. From the concept of “longevity escape velocity” to the difficulty of measuring aging itself, the discussion reframes what it truly means to live longer and healthier. 

Together, Julian and George unpack how advances in gene therapy, multiplex genome editing, and AI-driven protein design are reshaping medicine. The focus moves away from sci-fi fantasies toward real-world applications: reversing age-related diseases, improving targeted drug delivery, shortening clinical trials, and reducing risk. They also explore the ethical, societal, and economic implications of longer lives and why revolutions in science often feel invisible right up until they become impossible to ignore. 

George Church is a pioneering geneticist and one of the founding figures of synthetic biology. A professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT, he is known for his groundbreaking work in genome sequencing, gene therapy, CRISPR technologies, and aging research. Over decades, his work has helped shape modern biotechnology, with a focus on reversing age-related diseases, improving human health, and responsibly advancing powerful scientific tools.

What You’ll Learn:
Why longevity is one of the hardest medical outcomes to measure

What “longevity escape velocity” actually means—and why it may already be underway

How gene therapy and multiplex genome editing could reverse age-related diseases

Why AI’s most meaningful breakthroughs may be happening in biology, not chatbots

The overlooked importance of drug delivery in safe, effective treatments

Why scientific progress often feels slow before it suddenly accelerates

How extending healthspan could reshape society, economics, and human potential

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:21 Can Aging Really Be Reversed?
02:21 Why Gene Therapy Is Central to Longevity
06:28 The Real Limits of Gene Therapy
12:09 Why Clinical Trials Are Moving Faster Than Ever
13:56 What Longevity “Escape Velocity” Actually Means
14:55 How Gene Editing Could Shape the Future of Health
17:47 How Scientific AI Is Transforming Biotech
19:44 What Longer Lives Mean for Insurance and Society
22:15 Why Exponential Progress Feels Invisible Until It Doesn’t
24:07 How COVID RNA Vaccines Changed Medicine
29:09 Using AI to Target Treatments More Precisely
33:04 Why AGI May Be the Wrong Focus for Humanity
36:28 Do We Need Guardrails for Powerful Technologies?
38:35 Why Education and Wisdom Matter More Than Intelligence
40:33 Are We Near a Medical Tipping Point?
42:15 Are You Ready to Die or Live Much Longer?
44:47 Why Aging, Health, and Purpose Are Deeply Connected
46:30 How Organ Failure and Dialysis Are Being Rethought
49:12 The Future of Organ Replacement and Regeneration
52:06 Why Survival and Hope Still Matter

Connect with Julian
📸 Instagram: @thebeyondtomorrowpodcast
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.

Follow George:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-church-2b86301

Are billionaires building the future or breaking it?

Julian steps out of the studio and into the real world, putting a single uncomfortable question in front of everyday people: should billionaires exist at all? From candid street interviews to the polished halls of the World Economic Forum in Davos, and finally to the stark realities of Cape Town, South Africa, the responses reveal a world deeply divided on wealth, power, and fairness.

As opinions collide, innovation versus inequality, ambition versus responsibility, this episode doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it challenges us to rethink how wealth should work in a rapidly changing, AI-driven world and who the system is really designed to serve. 

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:38 Should Billionaires Get Abolished?
02:34 How Do We Close the Wealth Gap?
05:35 Billionaires are Also Hardworking People

Connect with Julian
📸 Instagram: @thebeyondtomorrowpodcast
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.

What if the future of healthcare is already here, just unevenly distributed?

Physician-scientist and innovator Daniel Kraft joins Julian to unpack what’s actually happening right now in health, medicine, and longevity and what’s coming faster than most people realize. From AI-powered wearables and digital twins to personalized cancer vaccines and the rise of “health agents,” Daniel explains why he calls himself a now-ist, not a futurist: the tools to radically improve health already exist, but mindset, incentives, and systems are lagging behind.

They explore the shift from reactive sick care to proactive, personalized health, the promises and dangers of biohacking culture, and why evidence-based medicine still matters in a world flooded with hype. The conversation also tackles big questions around health equity, misinformation, vaccines, and how emerging technologies like AI, genomics, and augmented reality could transform care, if we learn how to integrate them responsibly and humanely. 

What You’ll Learn:
Why the future of medicine is about proactive, continuous care, not yearly checkups

How wearables, genomics, and digital twins could enable truly personalized health

The difference between evidence-based innovation and overhyped biohacking

What AI can (and shouldn’t) replace in healthcare and the doctor-patient relationship

How cancer screening, immunotherapy, and personalized vaccines are evolving

Why incentives, not technology, are often the biggest barrier to better healthcare

How to think critically about longevity trends, supplements, and emerging therapies

⏱ Timestamps00:00 Intro
00:26 The Art of the Possible in Health
01:22 Why Daniel Calls Himself a “Now-ist”
03:09 Curiosity, Gadgets, and Connecting the Dots
04:18 What Are Omics and Why They Matter
07:18 Wearables and the Shift to Proactive Health
09:17 Why Doctors Don’t Prescribe Wearables (Yet)
11:35 We Don’t Practice Healthcare, We Practice Sick Care
13:39 The Danger of Over-Quantifying Your Health
16:23 What the Future of Healthcare Actually Looks Like
19:50 Why Human Connection Still Matters in Medicine
22:18 How AI Will Change the Role of Doctors
24:52 Hospital-to-Home and Care Anywhere
29:41 Incentives: Following the Money in Healthcare
31:45 Why Healthcare Is Ripe for Disruption
33:40 The Rise of Health Agents and Personal AI
34:30 What Is a Digital Twin?
36:37 What a Cancer-Free World Could Look Like
38:29 Cancer Vaccines, Genetics, and Early Detection
40:20 Can We Really Cure Cancer?
42:34 COVID Vaccines, Misinformation, and Science
46:16 The Problem With Health Disinformation
47:54 Why Correlation Is Not Causation
50:27 Separating Science From Snake Oil
52:50 How to Evaluate Health Claims Critically
54:36 What Evidence-Based Medicine Really Means
55:59 Simple Habits That Actually Improve Healthspan
57:12 Longevity Hype vs. What’s Proven
58:46 Gene Therapy and CRISPR’s Real Potential
01:03:01 Stem Cell Therapy: What to Know Before You Try It
01:08:59 AI, Protein Folding, and Drug Discovery
01:10:15 AR, VR, and the Metaverse in Healthcare
01:12:52 What Daniel’s Next TED Talk Will Be About
01:14:41 Who Daniel Thinks About When He Does His Work
01:16:38 Longevity Escape Velocity: Will We Reach It?
01:19:03 What AGI Means for the Future of Health
01:20:46 Daniel’s Final Advice for Living Healthier 

Connect with Julian
📸 Instagram: @thebeyondtomorrowpodcast
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.

Follow Daniel:
Website: http://DanielKraftMD.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dkraft   
X: https://x.com/daniel_kraft 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielkraftmd 
NextMed Health: 
https://www.nextmed.health/  
http://Digital.Health  
http://ContinuumHealth.vc

Should the U.S. just take Greenland because it can?

As the Arctic melts and critical minerals become the new oil, Greenland has gone from forgotten ice sheet to geopolitical prize. In this Davos street debate, world leaders, policy insiders, and global citizens clash over an unthinkable question: should Greenland become a U.S. state or would that cross the line into modern-day imperialism? Some argue it’s a strategic necessity in a world racing toward conflict with China and Russia. Others warn it would shatter NATO, alienate Europe, and revive the ugliest chapters of colonial history.

What starts as a conversation about minerals and defense quickly spirals into something darker: who really gets to decide the fate of a nation? Is this about security or power? Cooperation or coercion? And if borders can change when resources are at stake, is any country truly safe?

This street interview took place in Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, where global leaders, policymakers, executives, and media gather to discuss geopolitics, economics, and global risk. Featuring voices including Kerry Kennedy, @billboardchris, an Arctic defense and security expert, and many more.

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Should Greenland Become a US State?
03:26 Will the U.S. Invade Greenland?
05:03 Europeans Speak About the Possible Invasion
07:47 The Geographical Factor
10:52 The Arctic is Heating Up

Connect with Julian
📸 Instagram: @thebeyondtomorrowpodcast
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.

What happens when artificial intelligence stops being something we use and starts becoming something that shapes who we are?

Julian sits down with Ramesh Raskar for a hopeful, wide-ranging conversation about where AI is actually headed and where it should go. Instead of leaning into the usual doomsday fears, they talk about a different risk, a future where intelligence is centralized, creativity is squeezed out, and people slowly lose their sense of purpose.

They discuss what an “agentic” future could look like, one where everyone has their own AI agent working on their behalf, not owned by a company but shaped by personal values, goals, and lived experience. They talk about how this could transform healthcare, education, and work, not by replacing humans, but by amplifying what makes human contribution meaningful. There’s a strong emphasis on dignity, pride in craft, and why losing those things could be more damaging than job loss itself.

Ramesh Raskar is an MIT professor, researcher, and inventor whose work spans artificial intelligence, imaging, robotics, and decentralized systems. He has led research teams at Google, Facebook, and Apple, and focuses on building human-centered AI technologies designed to support shared prosperity.

What You’ll Learn:
Why centralized AI risks reducing human agency and purpose
How decentralized AI agents could reshape work, education, and healthcare
The difference between efficiency-driven AI and human-centered intelligence
Why loss of meaning may be a bigger threat than job displacement
How shared prosperity depends on ownership, not just access
What an “agentic society” could look like in practice
Why AI literacy is essential for the decade ahead
How adaptability and learning-to-learn shape human flourishing

⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:51 How Can AI Benefit Society?
02:40 The Real Risk of AI Isn’t Doomsday
05:45 From Using AI to Owning AI
10:16 Why Centralized AI Fails
12:25 The Rise of Personal AI
15:10 When Work Loses Meaning
17:38 Why Purpose Still Matters
20:13 A World Where Everyone Has an AI Agent
25:42 Inside an Agentic Society
33:11 How Power and Bias Scale
36:41 Why Decentralization Works
39:07 Lessons From the Internet
44:07 What the World Could Look Like in 2030
47:20 How AI Could Change Healthcare
48:45 Collective Intelligence at Scale
53:55 Who Wins When Data Is Decentralized
56:45 How AI Doomsday Actually Happens
01:01:44 Why Phase One Was Necessary
01:04:20 Why AI Literacy Matters
01:07:20 Learning How to Learn
01:08:22 What Kids Should Learn Today
01:10:05 A Simple Rule for the Future

Want to Follow Ramesh's Mission?
Join here: https://nanda.mit.edu,
projectnanda.org,
join39.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raskar MIT Media Lab: https://www.media.mit.edu/people/raskar/overview/

Connect with Julian
📸 Instagram: @thebeyondtomorrowpodcast
🌐 Website: www.beyondtomorrowpodcast.com
📩 Email: [email protected]
🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for more stories from the edge of what is possible.