Bryan Johnson has addressed reports of his abrupt departure from a podcast conversation with Nikhil Kamath. During the discussion, Johnson, who was wearing a face mask, joked about the poor air quality. When Kamath inquired about its severity, Johnson quipped, “I can’t see you over there.”
Clarifying his early exit on X (formerly Twitter), Johnson wrote, “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.”
He further pointed out, “The room’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was 130, with PM2.5 levels at 75 µg/m³ — equivalent to smoking 3.4 cigarettes a day.”
By his third day in India, Johnson said the pollution had caused his “skin break out in rash and my eyes and throat burn.” He also expressed surprise at how commonplace air pollution seemed, stating, “People would be outside running. Babies and small children exposed from birth. No one wore a mask which can significantly decrease exposure. It was so confusing.”
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.
Inside,… https://t.co/xTkpW567Xv
— Bryan Johnson /dd (@bryan_johnson) February 3, 2025
Johnson also underscored the severe impact of air pollution on public health. He wrote:
“The evidence shows that India would improve the health of its population more by cleaning up air quality than by curing all cancers.
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.
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.
In many contexts, obesity is worse than air pollution in the long term.
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.”
Johnson’s remarks have since gone viral, amassing over 2 million views.