In this fascinating episode of Levity, neuroscientist and author Dr. Ariel Zeleznikow‑Johnston dives deep into the science, philosophy, and radical possibilities of overcoming death. A research fellow at the Neuroscience of Consciousness Lab in Melbourne and author of The Future Loves You, Zeleznikow‑Johnston argues that death—understood as the loss of personal identity—is not inevitable. 

Key Points:

Neuroscientist Ariel Zeleznikow‑Johnston explores radical strategies to outwit death through brain preservation and connectome theory. He challenges cultural taboos around ageing and argues that death might one day be a solvable problem.

• What Really Makes “You” You?: Zeleznikow‑Johnston argues that personal identity isn’t tied to our physical bodies but to the brain's connectome—a unique pattern of neural connections encoding our memories, personality, and consciousness.
• Ageing as Learned Helplessness: He critiques society’s passive acceptance of ageing and death, likening it to learned helplessness—our failure to act despite potential escape routes being available.
• Why Death Is Not “Natural”: Challenging traditional philosophies that romanticize death, he introduces the concept of "palliative philosophy," which he says masks existential discomfort with resignation.
• Jonathan the Tortoise and the Case for Longer Lives: Through the metaphor of a long-living tortoise named Jonathan, Zeleznikow‑Johnston presents the idea that, in the absence of disease or decline, most people would choose to keep living.
• Brain Preservation as a "Backup Plan": For those unlikely to benefit from near-future anti-ageing treatments, he proposes radical but plausible alternatives like chemical brain preservation or “vitrifixation” to halt decay until revival is possible.
• Beyond Cryonics: Vitrifixation and Biostasis: Unlike traditional cryonics, vitrifixation—a chemical fixation followed by cold storage—offers superior preservation of the brain’s microstructure, possibly safeguarding the connectome more effectively.
• Digital Resurrection and Mind Uploading: The episode touches on the possibility of scanning and digitally emulating the brain’s connectome, creating a version of the person that could persist in software—a controversial but increasingly discussed idea.
• What Counts as Survival?: Zeleznikow‑Johnston discusses complex identity dilemmas, including teleportation thought experiments and whether a digital or biological replica would still “be” you—raising philosophical and ethical questions around continuity and personhood.