Empathy for the optimizers

Victoria Song Technology 10 Jul, 2026 Americas

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here. Bryan Johnson, best known as the man who wants to live forever, has an incurable aut...

Bryan Johnson, founder and chief executive officer of Kernel Holding SA, during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. The event brings together individuals with the capital, power, and influence to change the world and connects them with those whose expertise and creativity are reinventing health, finance, technology, philanthropy, industry, and media.

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.

Bryan Johnson, best known as the man who wants to live forever, has an incurable autoimmune disease. The internet's most famous biohacker made the announcement on June 30th, sparking a barrage of takes.

If you've never heard of Johnson, the CliffsNotes are that he's made it his personal mission to never die. That's not hyperbole - there's an entire Netflix documentary about how the man spends a veritable fortune turning himsel …

Read the full story at The Verge.