What is aging? Why is it the single biggest predictor of disease? And which of the most talked-about anti-aging interventions — telomere extension, biological age tests, supplements — actually hold up?

In this conversation we talk to Dr. Vera Gorbunova and Dr. Andrei Seluanov who run a research lab together at the University of Rochester where they study the biology of aging across dozens of long-lived species — from naked mole rats to bowhead whales. 

A naked mole rat is roughly the size of a mouse but can live past 40 years — more than ten times a mouse's lifespan — and almost never develops tumors. Gorbunova and Seluanov's lab traced that resistance to a single molecule, and when they engineered mice to produce it, those mice developed about 50% fewer tumors and lived 10–15% longer. 

The same lab has also found a seaweed compound that extended mouse lifespan by 15%, studies a 200-year-old whale that carries 100 times more of a specific DNA-repair protein than humans do, and recently found that controlling a stretch of the genome once dismissed as "junk" nearly doubled the reproductive lifespan of mice. 

In this episode you'll learn:

• What aging actually is, and why it happens in the first place

-  Why naked mole rats almost never get cancer — and the clogged lab-vacuum tube that led to the discovery

•  Why a naked mole rat gene cut tumors in half in mice and extended their lifespan

•  Why a 200-year-old whale has 100x more of a DNA-repair protein than humans — and whether cold plunges can activate it

•  Why longer telomeres don't make you live longer, and can raise cancer risk instead

•  How a gene variant found in human centenarians led to a seaweed compound that extended mouse lifespan 15%

•  How controlling the "dark genome" nearly doubled mice's reproductive lifespan, and what that might mean for delaying menopause

•  Why biological age tests can swing by years on the same day — and how to actually use them

•  Why the researchers say most anti-aging supplements are unproven — and which ones they still take themselves

Connect with Dr. Vera Gorbunova: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vera-gorbunova-64a97b46/

Connect with Dr. Andrei Seluanov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrei-seluanov-52055b62/

Connect with our host Chris Wharton on Instagram: instagram.com/chriswharton1

Follow The LIVING Room Podcast on Socials:

•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.living.room.pod/

•  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/wndrlab/

•  The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/

Want to learn more? Each month, we send a newsletter curated by our scientific council on what's actually advancing the science of human longevity — and what isn't. 

Subscribe at https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list

3. Show Notes

Institutions Referenced:

The Gorbunova & Seluanov Laboratory at the University of Rochester 

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Research:

Naked mole rats can undergo developmental, oncogene-induced and DNA damage-induced cellular senescence

Comparative analysis of naked mole-rat thermogenesis and its potential to maintain euthermia in response to cold

What is aging? Why is it the single biggest predictor of disease? And which of the most talked-about anti-aging interventions — telomere extension, biological age tests, supplements — actually hold up?

In this conversation we talk to Dr. Vera Gorbunova and Dr. Andrei Seluanov who run a research lab together at the University of Rochester where they study the biology of aging across dozens of long-lived species — from naked mole rats to bowhead whales. 

A naked mole rat is roughly the size of a mouse but can live past 40 years — more than ten times a mouse's lifespan — and almost never develops tumors. Gorbunova and Seluanov's lab traced that resistance to a single molecule, and when they engineered mice to produce it, those mice developed about 50% fewer tumors and lived 10–15% longer. 

The same lab has also found a seaweed compound that extended mouse lifespan by 15%, studies a 200-year-old whale that carries 100 times more of a specific DNA-repair protein than humans do, and recently found that controlling a stretch of the genome once dismissed as "junk" nearly doubled the reproductive lifespan of mice. 

In this episode you'll learn:

• What aging actually is, and why it happens in the first place

-  Why naked mole rats almost never get cancer — and the clogged lab-vacuum tube that led to the discovery

•  Why a naked mole rat gene cut tumors in half in mice and extended their lifespan

•  Why a 200-year-old whale has 100x more of a DNA-repair protein than humans — and whether cold plunges can activate it

•  Why longer telomeres don't make you live longer, and can raise cancer risk instead

•  How a gene variant found in human centenarians led to a seaweed compound that extended mouse lifespan 15%

•  How controlling the "dark genome" nearly doubled mice's reproductive lifespan, and what that might mean for delaying menopause

•  Why biological age tests can swing by years on the same day — and how to actually use them

•  Why the researchers say most anti-aging supplements are unproven — and which ones they still take themselves

Connect with Dr. Vera Gorbunova: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vera-gorbunova-64a97b46/

Connect with Dr. Andrei Seluanov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrei-seluanov-52055b62/

Connect with our host Chris Wharton on Instagram: instagram.com/chriswharton1

Follow The LIVING Room Podcast on Socials:

•  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.living.room.pod/

•  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/wndrlab/

•  The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/

Want to learn more? Each month, we send a newsletter curated by our scientific council on what's actually advancing the science of human longevity — and what isn't. 

Subscribe at https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list

3. Show Notes

Institutions Referenced:

The Gorbunova & Seluanov Laboratory at the University of Rochester 

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Research:

Naked mole rats can undergo developmental, oncogene-induced and DNA damage-induced cellular senescence

Comparative analysis of naked mole-rat thermogenesis and its potential to maintain euthermia in response to cold

Why do women spend the last 5–6 years of life in worse health than men — and what does it have to do with your ovaries? Only 8–9% of NIH research funding goes to women’s health research, and by some estimates as little as 4% of private R&D investment goes to anything outside female cancers, fertility, and maternal-fetal health combined. Meanwhile, cardiovascular disease risk can rise 2–4x almost overnight at menopause — a shift most women are never warned about.

In this episode, Chris is joined by Dr. Jennifer Garrison, PhD, a neuroscientist, Co-Founder and Executive Director of ProductiveHealth.org, who spearheads the science on ovarian health.

Most people — including doctors — have conflated ovarian aging with reproductive aging for decades. Garrison’s research shows they’re not the same thing: ovaries function as a signaling hub for the entire body, and when they decline, they take whole-body health down with them, independent of fertility.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why ovarian aging and reproductive aging are two different things — and why that distinction matters for your whole-body health
• What the research funding gap actually looks like, in numbers
• Why the 2002 hormone therapy scare was based on flawed study design — and what the data actually shows today
• Why oral estradiol carries stroke risk but the transdermal patch doesn’t
• What a landmark mouse study revealed when researchers swapped old ovaries for young ones — and then removed the follicles
• Why cardiovascular risk changes so sharply at menopause, and when to get a baseline cardiac workup
• Why the “four phases of your cycle” fitness trend oversimplifies the real science
• What Garrison would tell women in their 20s to start paying attention to now

Want to learn more? Each month, we send a newsletter curated by our scientific council on what's actually advancing the science of human longevity — and what isn't. Subscribe at https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list

Links:
Follow Dr. Garrison on LinkedIn

Connect with our host Chris Wharton on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswharton1

Follow The LIVING Room Podcast on Socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.living.room.pod/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/wndrlab/

The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list

Show Notes:

28andMe study: https://jacobs.psych.ucsb.edu/research/28-and-me 
https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003800
https://www.theinstitute.com/fellow/jennifer-garrison

Why do women spend the last 5–6 years of life in worse health than men — and what does it have to do with your ovaries? Only 8–9% of NIH research funding goes to women’s health research, and by some estimates as little as 4% of private R&D investment goes to anything outside female cancers, fertility, and maternal-fetal health combined. Meanwhile, cardiovascular disease risk can rise 2–4x almost overnight at menopause — a shift most women are never warned about.

In this episode, Chris is joined by Dr. Jennifer Garrison, PhD, a neuroscientist, Co-Founder and Executive Director of ProductiveHealth.org, who spearheads the science on ovarian health.

Most people — including doctors — have conflated ovarian aging with reproductive aging for decades. Garrison’s research shows they’re not the same thing: ovaries function as a signaling hub for the entire body, and when they decline, they take whole-body health down with them, independent of fertility.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why ovarian aging and reproductive aging are two different things — and why that distinction matters for your whole-body health
• What the research funding gap actually looks like, in numbers
• Why the 2002 hormone therapy scare was based on flawed study design — and what the data actually shows today
• Why oral estradiol carries stroke risk but the transdermal patch doesn’t
• What a landmark mouse study revealed when researchers swapped old ovaries for young ones — and then removed the follicles
• Why cardiovascular risk changes so sharply at menopause, and when to get a baseline cardiac workup
• Why the “four phases of your cycle” fitness trend oversimplifies the real science
• What Garrison would tell women in their 20s to start paying attention to now

Want to learn more? Each month, we send a newsletter curated by our scientific council on what's actually advancing the science of human longevity — and what isn't. Subscribe at https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list

Links:
Follow Dr. Garrison on LinkedIn

Connect with our host Chris Wharton on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswharton1

Follow The LIVING Room Podcast on Socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.living.room.pod/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/wndrlab/

The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list

28andMe study 

AMH testing 

A4M

What's actually in the syringe when you buy a peptide off the black market?

Now that the FDA regulation around 6 of these black market peptides is changing, should you be taking them?

Should you be concerned about the link between GLP-1 use and lean tissue loss?

Dr. Pinchas Cohen, PhD, is the scientist who co-discovered humanin and MOTS-c — two of the mitochondrial-derived peptides now driving the biggest wave of interest in longevity science — and he currently serves as Dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Peptides have become a catch-all buzzword for a category that actually spans thousands of distinct molecules, most of them still unstudied. Dr. Cohen's lab discovered several of the ones people are now injecting themselves with, and he's spent the last year watching an unregulated market grow around his own research — to the point where he tested his friends' black-market MOTS-c and found some vials contained none of the peptide at all.

Up to 30% of the weight lost on GLP-1 drugs is muscle. A genetic variant found in Ashkenazi Jews makes carriers roughly 20 times more likely to live to 100 and appears to blunt the effects of the biggest known Alzheimer's risk gene. In mice, MOTS-c extended lifespan by 10% and prevented the muscle and bone loss associated with GLP-1 use. And in July, 2026, Dr. Cohen testified in front of the FDA panel now reviewing MOTS-c's regulatory path.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why "peptides" make out three fundamentally different categories of molecules, not one trend
• How MOTS-c and humanin were discovered inside DNA once dismissed as "junk"
• Why up to 30% of GLP-1 weight loss is muscle, and what that means over a decade of use
• What happened when Dr. Cohen tested the actual purity of black-market MOTS-c
• The genetic variant linked to a 20x greater chance of living to 100
• Why he — the scientist who discovered MOTS-c — won't take it himself yet
• What the FDA's 503A compounding pathway means for legal access to peptides
• Where Alzheimer's and Parkinson's peptide research stands today

Want to learn more? Each month, we send a newsletter curated by our scientific council on what's actually advancing the science of human longevity — and what isn't. Subscribe at https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list

Check out The WNDR Lab

Connect with Dr. Pinchas Cohen

Connect with our host Chris Wharton on Instagram: instagram.com/chriswharton1 

Follow The LIVING Room Podcast on Socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.living.room.pod/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/wndrlab/

The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/

Show Notes

Studies & Institutions referenced

• Health and Retirement Study 
• Kumagai's Japanese cohort 
• GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Study)
• USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
• 503A
• FDA PCAC panel 

Peptides & molecules 

• Humanin
• MOTS-c
• SHLP 
• SHMOOSE 
• IGF-1, IGFBP-3
• ApoE4 / APOE (Alzheimer's risk gene)

She oversees nutrition for Olympic swimmers, pro footballers, and some of the all-time greats in both Cycling and Tennis. Her biggest lesson? Rigid diet rules cause more harm than good.

Dr. Louise Burke spent three decades as Head of Nutrition at the Australian Institute of Sport, overseeing the diets of Olympic gold medalists across swimming, track and field, and professional football. Her work has shaped how elite athletes fuel for performance — yet her most urgent message has nothing to do with macros.

On this episode of The LIVING Room Podcast, host Chris Wharton sits down with Dr. Burke to dismantle the diet myths dominating social media, explore why rigid nutrition rules backfire for both athletes and everyday people, and uncover why the Australian Institute of Sport reversed its strict no-supplements policy. She also breaks down the placebo effect's real power in performance, the danger of prioritizing physique over function, and why your relationship with food matters more than your meal plan.

Louise Burke, PhD, is a sports dietitian with 40 years of experience counseling Australia's elite athletes, including support for the Australian Olympic Team across six Summer Games. Chair in Sports Nutrition at the Mary MacKillop Institute of Health Research at Australian Catholic University, she has published over 400 papers and was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia.

If nutrition tips have left you more confused than when you started, Louise offers something rare: clarity from someone who spent a career separating food science from food fads.

Want more? Each month, we send a newsletter curated by our scientific council on what's actually advancing the science of human longevity — and what isn't. Subscribe at https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list

The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com

Connect with Dr. Burke: 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/louiseburke4/
Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/louise.m.burke1
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-burke-61923411/
Louise Burke ACU - https://www.acu.edu.au/research-and-enterprise/our-research-institutes/mary-mackillop-institute-for-health-research/our-people/louise-burke
See Dr Burke’s six books 
https://www.thewndrlab.com/scientist/louise-burke

Connect with our host Chris Wharton on Instagram: instagram.com/chriswharton1 

Which anti-aging skincare products actually work according to science, and which are just hype? Board-certified dermatologist and Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology at George Washington University, Dr. Noëlle Sherber cuts through the noise with an evidence-based breakdown of sunscreen, retinoids, peptides, injectables, and more.

Anti-aging skincare has become so crowded with products, procedures, and conflicting advice that building an effective routine feels nearly impossible. Dr. Noëlle S. Sherber, a dermatologist specializing in collagen and connective tissue disorders, brings a clinical lens to skin longevity and explains why just six essentials — cleansing, antioxidants, hydration, moisturizer, sunscreen, and nighttime repair — form the only foundation you need.

Dr. Sherber examines what tretinoin, over-the-counter retinoids, peptides, topical estrogen, red light therapy, and injectables can and cannot do, while unpacking skin barrier health, "digital dermatosis" (the algorithm-driven cycle that pushes you to buy more products), and "perception drift" (why you stop seeing your own results over time).

This conversation with Chris Wharton on The LIVING Room Podcast is for anyone who wants healthier, younger-looking skin without a complicated 10-step routine or unsupported claims. You'll walk away knowing which fundamentals deserve your consistency, where advanced treatments actually fit, and how to make smarter decisions about your skin.

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list

The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/

Connect with Dr. Noëlle Sherber: https://www.instagram.com/drnoellesherber

Connect with our host Chris Wharton on Instagram: instagram.com/chriswharton1 

Episode References:

"Jam Study" and the paradox of choice:

• Iyengar SS, Lepper MR. When choice is demotivating: can one desire too much of a good thing? J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000 Dec; 79(6): 995-1006.
  • full text

Photoaging benefits from a year of daily sunscreen:

• Randhawa M, Wang S, Leyden JJ, Cula GO, Pagnoni A, Southall MD. Daily use of a facial broad spectrum sunscreen over one-year significantly improves clinical evaluation of photoaging. Dermatol Surg. 2016 Dec; 42(12): 1354-1361.

New sunscreen ingredient, BEMT / Tinosorb S, en route to FDA approval:

• https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-proposes-expanding-sunscreen-active-ingredient-list

Effects of sunscreen use on vitamin D levels:

• Neale RE, Khan SR, Lucas RM, Waterhouse M, Whiteman DC, Olsen CM. The effect of sunscreen on vitamin D: a review. Br J Dermatol. 2019 Nov; 181(5): 907-915.

A very recent peer-reviewed editorial regarding sunscreen safety and misinformation:

• Pissavini M, Kriekoukis O, Matts PJ, Nash JF, Sinclair C, Young AR, Diffey BL. A manifesto for informed sun protection advice in relation to sunscreens. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2026 Apr 3.
  • full text

Skin science on tretinoin:

• Baldwin HE, Nighland M, Kendall C, Mays DA, Grossman R, Newburger J. 40 years of topical tretinoin use in review. J Drugs Dermatol. 2013 Jun; 12(6): 638-42.
  • full text

Topical estrogens:

• Troxel J, Ferrer L, Iwamoto A, Van Voorhis B, Powers J. Topical estrogen therapy for aging skin: Current evidence and clinical considerations. JAAD Reviews, 2026 Mar; 7: 73-80.
  • full text
• Farkas E, Goldblatt A, Nehorayan I, Lefkowitz RB, Fleshner L, Tepper K, Marmon S. Topical estrogen for skin aging: A systematic review of safety and efficacy. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2026 Jan; 94(1): 212-215. 
  • full text

Airborne pollution's impact on skin health:

• Han HS, Seok J, Park KY. Air pollution and skin diseases. Ann Dermatol. 2025 Apr; 37(2): 53-67.
  • full text

Skin quality and age perception:

• Fink B, Matts PJ, Klingenberg H, Kuntze S, Weege B, Grammer K. Visual attention to variation in female facial skin color distribution. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2008 Jun; 7(2): 155-61.
• Fink B, Matts PJ. The effects of skin colour distribution and topography cues on the perception of female facial age and health. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2008 Apr; 22(4): 493-8.
• Carbon CC, Leder H. The Mona Lisa effect: is 'our' Lisa fame or fake? Perception. 2006; 35(3): 411-4.

Nicotinamide for skin cancer chemoprevention:

• Breglio KF, Knox KM, Hwang J, Weiss R, Maas K, Zhang S, Yao L, Madden C, Xu Y, Hartman RI, Wheless L. Nicotinamide for Skin Cancer Chemoprevention. JAMA Dermatol. 2025 Nov; 161(11): 1140-1147. Erratum in: JAMA Dermatol. 2025 Nov 1; 161(11): 1195. 
  • full text
• 
  

Nonablative fractionated laser treatment and keratinocyte cancer prevention:

• Benson TA, Hibler BP, Kotliar D, Avram M. Nonablative fractional laser treatment is associated with a decreased risk of subsequent facial keratinocyte carcinoma development. Dermatol Surg. 2023 Feb; 49(2): 149-154.
• 
  

Skinvive (called Volite overseas) and AQP-3 expression:

• Safa M, Natalizio A, Hee CK. A Prospective, Open-Label Study to Evaluate the Impact of VYC-12L Injection on Skin Quality Attributes in Healthy Volunteers. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2022 Mar; 15: 411-426.
  • full text

What if everything you're doing for your health — the diet, the exercise, the supplements — depends on something you may be overlooking every night?

Matthew Walker, PhD, neuroscientist, sleep expert, and professor of neuroscience and biomedical engineering at UT Dallas, founder of the Center for Human Sleep Science, and author of the New York Times bestseller Why We Sleep joins The LIVING Room Podcast to reveal why sleep is not the third pillar of health — it's the foundation on which everything else rests.

For decades, we've treated sleep as the thing we'll fix after we get our diet, exercise, and productivity in order. But what if that order is exactly backwards?

In this conversation, Dr. Walker explains why one night of 4 hours of sleep causes a 70% drop in cancer-fighting natural killer cells, how losing a single hour to daylight saving time spikes heart attack risk by 24%, and why dieting without enough sleep means up to 60% of the weight you lose comes from lean tissue — not fat. He unpacks the evolutionary paradox of why sleep exists at all, how dreaming acts as overnight emotional therapy by stripping stress chemistry from the brain, and why the single most powerful predictor of all-cause mortality isn't how long you sleep — it's how regular your wake time is.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why one night of bad sleep causes a 70% drop in your immune system's cancer-fighting cells — and how quickly the damage begins
• The daylight saving effect: why losing just one hour of sleep raises heart attack risk by 24% and what that reveals about chronic sleep loss
• How insufficient sleep hijacks your metabolism so that 60% of weight lost during a diet comes from muscle, not fat
• Why sleep exists in every species despite being evolutionarily absurd and what that universality tells us about its non-negotiable importance
• How dreaming functions as overnight therapy, processing difficult emotional experiences in a brain state completely stripped of stress chemistry
• Why sleep regularity — consistent wake times — predicts mortality more strongly than total sleep duration, and how to make it your single most powerful sleep lever
• The truth about genetic short-sleepers: why they're rarer than being struck by lightning, and why you almost certainly aren't one

Dr. Walker's research has been published in over 100 scientific studies, and he has been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, National Geographic, BBC, and NPR. He is one of the most cited and recognized sleep scientists in the world.

If you've ever wondered whether 5 or 6 hours is enough, or felt like you're doing everything right for your health but not seeing the results — this conversation will fundamentally change how you think about the one-third of your life you spend asleep.

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list
The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/

Timestamps: 
00:00 – How Matthew became a sleep scientist
06:18 – Why sleep is the foundation of health (the 60% muscle loss study)
12:59 – One bad night: 70% drop in cancer-fighting killer cells
15:45 – Daylight saving: losing one hour spikes heart attack risk 24%
19:24 – Is the perception of sleep finally changing?
29:30 – The gold standard day for sleep: Matthew's full protocol
30:07 – Why wake-time regularity predicts mortality more than duration
36:42 – Daylight within 60 minutes of waking
40:04 – Strategic caffeine use: the half-life rule
46:47 – Exercise timing and your chronotype
49:08 – How to find your chronotype (the MEQ test)
52:49 – The evolutionary reason night owls exist
59:08 – What to do when you can't sleep
01:04:32 – The wind-down: sleep is like landing a plane
01:07:24 – Melatonin: what it actually does
01:12:46 – White noise and brown noise
01:16:50 – Sleep, cognition, and the aging brain
01:19:07 – Sleep's three roles in learning and memory
01:22:52 – How dream sleep builds creativity
01:24:49 – Athletic performance and motor skill improvement
01:36:22 – Poor sleep and emotional regulation (amygdala vs. prefrontal cortex)
01:38:24 – Quick-fire: controversial beliefs, underrated tools, advice to younger self
01:43:24 – Genetic short-sleepers: rarer than being struck by lightning
01:45:43 – Advice for aging parents: it's never too late
01:47:19 – Final message: "Sleep is your life support system"

Episode References

Dr. Walker's book
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

TED Talk 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MuIMqhT8DM

MEQ Chronotype Quiz
 https://reference.medscape.com/calculator/829/morningness-eveningness-questionnaire-meq

Decibel Meter
https://decibelpro.io/

5 Techniques to fall asleep: 
Meditation, Box Breathing, Body Scan, Mental Walk & Sleep Stories

Connect with Dr. Walker: https://www.instagram.com/drmattwalker

Connect with our host Chris Wharton: https://www.instagram.com/chriswharton1

What if the real reason millions of women struggle with desire isn't hormones, and the solution isn't a pill?

For decades, the conversation around women's sexual health has been shaped by the male model: desire first, then arousal. But what if that model is fundamentally wrong for most women?

Dr. Lori Brotto, PhD, a UBC professor, Canada Research Chair in Women's Sexual Health, and registered psychologist joins The LIVING Room Podcast to share why female sexual desire remains one of the most misunderstood, underfunded, and undertreated areas in modern medicine.

In this conversation, Dr. Brotto explains why 43% of women experience clinically significant sexual dysfunction, yet less than 10% seek help compared to 80% of men. She unpacks the mind-body disconnect that makes female physiological arousal rarely match subjective arousal, why the two FDA-approved drugs for women deliver mediocre results at best, and how mindfulness — present-moment, non-judgmental awareness — directly addresses both the inhibitory and excitatory sides of desire in ways medication cannot. 

She challenges the myth that desire must be spontaneous, introduces the concept of responsive desire, and explains why separating sexual health from overall health is a mistake with real consequences for research funding, clinical care, and how women understand their own bodies.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why 43% of women experience sexual dysfunction, and why less than 10% seek help while 80% of men do
• The mind-body disconnect: why women's physiological arousal rarely matches their subjective experience, and why "not feeling in the mood" is often a brain problem, not a body problem
• How mindfulness — not meditation apps, but specific clinical techniques like the body scan and raisin exercise — directly improves sexual desire and response
• Why responsive desire, desire that emerges in response to arousal, is normal and expected, especially in long-term relationships, and why waiting to "feel horny first" is a losing game
• The two FDA-approved drugs for female sexual dysfunction, why their efficacy is modest at best, and why mindfulness outperforms them without side effects
• Why sexual health research receives less than 7% of national health funding, and what that underinvestment means for women's health and wellness
• What men can be doing to foster more moments of intimacy in a relationship

Dr. Lori Brotto, PhD, is a professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada Research Chair in Women's Sexual Health, and a registered psychologist. She is the author of Better Sex Through Mindfulness and has spent over two decades researching the intersection of mindfulness and female sexual health, running one of the world's leading psychophysiology labs studying sexual response and arousal.

Book: Brotto, L. A. (2018). Better sex through mindfulness: How women can cultivate desire. Greystone Books: https://www.loribrotto.com/

eSense digital program  esensehealth.com 

Melinda French Gates Is Donating $215 Million to Women’s Health

Want more? Each month, we send a newsletter curated by our scientific council on what's 

actually advancing the science of human longevity — and what isn't. Subscribe at https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list 

The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/  

On The LIVING Room, host Chris Wharton sits down with Brad Schoenfeld, PhD, Professor of Exercise Science at Lehman College and one of the world's most influential resistance training researchers, to unpack what decades of evidence actually say about building muscle, maintaining strength, and aging well.

They explore the minimum effective dose of strength training, why effort matters more than volume, the truth about protein timing and daily protein intake, why cold plunges immediately after lifting may blunt muscle growth, how GLP-1 medications affect lean tissue, the supplements that actually work, and why it's never too late to start, even if you've never lifted a weight before.

Whether you're trying to build muscle, improve performance, lose fat, or simply maximize your chances of remaining strong and independent into your 80s and 90s, this conversation is packed with practical, evidence-based advice you can apply immediately.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why resistance training may be one of the most important interventions for healthy aging, and how it helps protect against frailty, falls, hip fractures, and the loss of physical independence
• Why as little as two challenging 30-minute strength sessions per week can deliver meaningful health and strength benefits
• How to build a "bone bank" before menopause and help preserve bone density as estrogen declines
• The truth about women and "bulking"—including training volume, rep ranges, and what the science actually says about muscle growth
• Why soreness isn't proof of an effective workout—and why training to failure isn't always necessary
• How resistance training and higher protein intake can help preserve lean tissue during weight loss, including while using GLP-1 medications
• What the latest research says about creatine, protein timing, cold plunges, sauna use, and some of the biggest myths surrounding strength training

Want more? Each month, we send a newsletter curated by our scientific council on what's actually advancing the science of human longevity — and what isn't. Subscribe at https://www.thewndrlab.com/mailing-list. 

The WNDR Lab: https://www.thewndrlab.com/  

• RIR (Repetitions in Reserve) — perceived number of reps left before failure
• RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion) — 1–10 scale of perceived training intensity
• DEXA scan — used to measure lean tissue/body composition
• Anabolic window — the (now largely debunked) ~45-minute post-workout protein timing window
• GLP-1 receptor agonists — referenced broadly (e.g., Ozempic-class drugs), not a specific named product
• Creatine — supplement discussed at length as the only muscle-building supplement with strong evidence

Studies: 

High-Intensity Strength Training in Nonagenarians: Effects on Skeletal Muscle 

Brad Schoenfeld, PhD, CSCS-D, CSPS-D, NSCA-CPT-D, FNSCA

LinkedIn: @bradschoenfeld

Website: lookgreatnaked.com

Most Popular Books: 

Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy

Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy (New Edition) - preorder available

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