Welcome to this week’s edition of Simon Sees!
Inspired by our Future With Friends conversation with Michelle Newell, this week, we’re stepping into the shadowy – yet strangely illuminating – realm of death and dying. But not in the way you might expect.
From bringing long-extinct dire wolves back to life, to using a cheek swab to predict our mortality, and even creating new music from the brainwaves of a musician long gone – we’re seeing science, technology, and creativity reshape how we think about the end of life… and what might still be possible long after we’re gone.
In a world that often avoids talking about endings, we’re leaning into the uncomfortable to reimagine what the future might hold… in life and death.
Let’s begin.
NEOSCOPE
Musician Who Died in 2021 Resurrected as Clump of Brain Matter, Now Composing New Music
“Revivification is an attempt to shine light on the sometimes dark possibilities of extending a person’s presence beyond the seemed finality of death.”
9NEWS
Scientists help birth Dire Wolves 12,500 years after they became extinct
“A previously extinct wolf has been born for the first time in 12,500 years after a scientific breakthrough from the world’s first de-extinction company.”
NEOSCOPE
Fun New Mouth Swab Will Tell You When You’ll Die
“The fact that our epigenetic clock trained on cheek cells predicts mortality when measuring the methylome in blood cells suggests there are common mortality signals across tissues.”
And, in case you missed it… I had a baby.
Well, not a real one – it’s a podcast. And instead of a christening, it has just been launched (which, of course, you shouldn’t do with babies).
The Future With Friends is where we dive into the futures that matter – work-life balance, death and dying, even the future of friendships themselves. Each episode, I invite a friend to imagine a world (scenario) at least five years from now, exploring their hopes, fears, and the wild possibilities ahead.
Listen now at thefuturewithfriends.com or find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Curious how this all came about? Click here – otherwise, just hit play and enjoy!
Simon
