Age-Reversing CEO Walks Out of Podcast Over ‘Bad Air Quality’ In Delhi Starred Hotel

Age-reversing CEO Bryan Johnson recently visited India to promote his book “Don’t Die". During his time in India, he was invited to a podcast by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. Johnson attended the podcast with a mask and an air purifier, but had to leave midway due to the “bad" air quality.

After returning to the US, Johnson shared the reason for leaving his podcast with Kamath midway in a social media post. “Nikhil Kamath 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," Johnson wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

He explained, “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. This was my third day in India and the air pollution had made my skin break out in rash and my eyes and throat burn." Johnson, who stayed in India for six days, said that air pollution had been largely normalised in the country, with people not wearing masks even at hazardous levels.

“Air pollution has been so normalised in India that no one even notices anymore despite the science of its negative effects being well known. People would be outside running. Babies and small children are exposed from birth. No one wore a mask which can significantly decrease exposure. It was so confusing," Johnson expressed.

He emphasised that air quality at such levels should be declared a national emergency. Johnson further stated that improving air quality in India would have a greater impact on public health than even finding a cure for all cancers.

The 47-year-old’s social media post was a response to a journalist’s claim that Johnson walked out of the podcast, held at a five-star hotel in Delhi, due to India’s poor air quality.