Tech millionaire Bryan Johnson has explained the reason why abruptly exited Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's podcast, saying that he faced severe discomfort due to the air pollution in his surroundings.
Johnson, known for his anti-ageing research, walked out of a recent podcast recording with Kamath for his show "WTF". The podcast was being recorded at a five-star hotel with air purifiers. Even though he was wearing an N95 mask, Johnson left the conversation midway, citing the poor air quality.
In a candid post on X, the millionaire said that he “did end this podcast early due to the bad air quality”.
“@nikhilkamathcio was a gracious host and we were having a great time. The problem was that the room we were in circulated outside air which made the air purifier I'd brought with me ineffective. Inside, the AQI was 130 and PM2.5 was 75 µg/m³, which is equal to smoking 3.4 cigarettes for 24 hours of exposure,” he said.
Johnson stated that the air pollution had caused his skin to break out in a rash and resulted in a burning sensation in his eyes and throat.
He said that Indians do not even notice the existence of air pollution anymore and it had been normalised way too much, despite the science of its negative effects being well known.
When in India, I did end this podcast early due to the bad air quality. @nikhilkamathcio was a gracious host and we were having a great time. The problem was that the room we were in circulated outside air which made the air purifier I'd brought with me ineffective.
February 3, 2025
Inside,… https://t.co/xTkpW567XvThe 47-year-old also took a jibe at India's leaders.
"I am unsure why India's leaders do not make air quality a national emergency. I don't know what interests, money and power keep things the way they are but it's really bad for the entire country," he said.
Johnson also compared India's pollution issue with the obesity epidemic of the US.
"When I returned to the U.S., my eyes were fresh to see what is normalized to me. I saw obesity everywhere. 42.4% of American are obese and because I was around it all the time, I had been mostly oblivious to it," he said.
The businessman termed obesity as worse than air pollution, further lashing out at the US leaders.
“Why wouldn't American leaders declare a national emergency on obesity? What interests, money and power keep things the way they are but are really bad for the entire country,” he said.
During the podcast with Kamath, Johnson was asked about India's air pollution situation.
“I can't see you over there,” he had remarked at the time.
Last month, Bryan Johnson shared insights on combating air pollution in India. In a post on X, he emphasised that addressing air pollution in India could save more lives than curing cancer.
India would save more years of life by solving air pollution than curing cancer.
January 5, 2025
Here's what you can do in polluted environments. pic.twitter.com/2wRbC3UlwFBryan Johnson shot to social media fame with his ambitious plans to reverse the impact of ageing on his body. The millionaire, who is on a mission to reverse his biological age to 18 reportedly spends $ 2 million annually on medical diagnostics and treatments.
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