The Dan Buettner Podcast

Episode: "AI and the Future of Healthcare"

Guest: Dr. David Agus

Date: August 21, 2025

Brief Overview

In this thought-provoking episode, Dan Buettner sits down with Dr. David Agus—renowned physician, cancer researcher, and head of the Ellison Medical Institute—to discuss how AI is revolutionizing medicine and longevity. The conversation dives into patient-doctor relationships, lessons from animal biology, actionable health strategies, and the near-future innovations that may extend human healthspan by a decade or more.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolving Role of AI in Healthcare

[00:02–01:55, 10:46–11:55, 21:42–22:37]

• Dr. Agus highlights how the explosion of AI has accelerated drug discovery, pattern recognition, and personalized medicine.
  • "In the last six months, I've been able to make four drugs. Wow. And so it's wild...I could design something that does [precisely what’s needed]." (Dr. Agus, 10:46)
• AI enables large language models to transform unstructured health records, revealing discoveries like how the shingles vaccine may halve Alzheimer's risk.
  • "They took this bag of words, which is electronic health records...and one thing that popped out was the shingles vaccine reduced Alzheimer's by close to 50%." (Dr. Agus, 11:57)

2. Choosing and Building a Relationship with a Doctor

[01:55–06:59]

• Dr. Agus stresses the importance of longitudinal, trust-based doctor-patient relationships, ideally with a generalist attentive to the whole system versus just specialists.
  • "[Health] is a team, and you need a team on it...You need a doctor who can have a discussion with you and make decisions together based on your value system." (Dr. Agus, 01:55)
  • "You want a doctor that can look at the whole, not just the part...We're a complex emergent system." (Dr. Agus, 05:46)

3. Feedback and Learning in Medicine

[03:24–04:57]

• Dr. Agus describes the unusual practice of conducting autopsies on patients to learn and improve, viewing error as essential to getting "slightly righter each time."
  • "I do autopsies on my patients when they pass away...every single patient says, yes, I'd like you to. Because I want you to get better for the next person." (Dr. Agus, 03:24)

4. Lessons from Animal Longevity

[07:06–10:13, 14:47–16:21]

• Longevity secrets from species like ants and elephants, including the ant colony's triage system and elephants' resistance to cancer thanks to multiple copies of the p53 gene.
  • "Queen ant... will live about 40 years, whereas the worker ant... six months. It's all risk and lifestyle." (Dr. Agus, 07:19)
  • "Elephants never get cancer...they have 20 copies of the p53 gene. So, block inflammation—that's the root of much of cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's." (Dr. Agus, 14:47)

5. Prevention Over Heroic End-of-Life Care

[09:35–10:20]

• U.S. healthcare spends the majority of dollars on the final years of life and little on prevention. Agus calls for a radical shift in focus.
  • "We spend a good fraction of our healthcare dollars...over 60% in the last two years of life...We need to focus our shift to prevention." (Dr. Agus, 09:35)

6. The Power of AI-Driven Vaccination Insights

[11:57–14:38]

• AI’s analysis of health data led to discovering the shingles vaccine's impact on Alzheimer’s.
  • "For decades and hundreds of billions of dollars, we were wrong...the shingles vaccine reduces Alzheimer's by close to 50%." (Dr. Agus, 12:33)

7. Animal Insights and Inflammation

[14:47–16:21, 38:25–39:51]

• Animals like elephants provide models for how to prevent disease by managing inflammation. Agus expands on the critical role of inflammation in chronic disease and aging.
  • "Block inflammation that can lead to this DNA damage." (Dr. Agus, 14:47)
  • "Any organ where there’s inflammation, there’s extreme cell turnover, and there’s a dramatically higher rate of cancer." (Dr. Agus, 38:43)

8. Reversing Aging and Extending Healthspan

[19:58–22:01, 57:01–62:30]

• Discussion of stem cell reactivation, “parabiosis” experiments, and organ-specific rejuvenation.
  • "There now are ways of potentially turning them [stem cells] back on...I do think we’re going to be at a point that we can actually reverse many of the maladies of aging." (Dr. Agus, 20:30)
  • "All of us—stay healthy the next two to three years, we could probably add on 10 to 15 years on our life for what's happening now [with AI & biotech]." (Dr. Agus, 21:42)

9. Dietary Guidance (Mediterranean & Personalization)

[34:17–37:19, 41:04–43:32]

• Dr. Agus cuts through diet dogma, favoring "moderation" and Mediterranean-style eating with regular meals, protein and fat at each sitting, and avoidance of processed foods and snacks.
  • "In almost every clinical trial, the Mediterranean diet...has won in everything. And it's moderation." (Dr. Agus, 34:17)
  • "I'm a two meal a day guy..." (Dr. Agus, 34:17)
• On fiber and protein: Real food trumps powders.
  • “Eat real food...Once you put it into a [protein] powder, it’s very different and goes into the bloodstream very quickly.” (Dr. Agus, 70:31)

10. The Power of Behavioral Economics & Leadership for Prevention

[30:37–31:36]

• True culture change in organizations and nations comes via education and behavioral nudges, not top-down mandates.
  • "Just by educating people, not telling them what to do, they actually started to make the right decisions." (Dr. Agus, 31:14)
• American system incentivizes treating illness, not health. Agus advocates for incentives and accountability (e.g., insurance discounts for healthy behaviors).

11. Physical Activity: Moderation & Regularity

[43:30–47:38]

• Endorses mix of aerobic, mobility, and activities with a fun/challenge component; discourages excessive endurance training and glorifies consistency over intensity.
  • "Our bodies were designed to move...movement during the day is critical." (Dr. Agus, 43:55)
  • "Running a marathon, you know, a couple times a year, probably a two or three. Yoga? Probably a nine or ten." (Dr. Agus, 71:30, 71:47)

12. Value of Feedback Loops and Wearables

[49:10–52:15]

• Self-tracking (e.g., with Oura ring) enables powerful behavior change through feedback.
  • “When I shifted dinner an hour, hour and a half earlier, I got about 8, 9 points on my sleep improvement.” (Dr. Agus, 52:23)
• Blue light blocking glasses at night, early caffeine cut-off, and regular sleep patterns are highlighted as actionable tips.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI's impact:
  "Six months ago we had this interview, I would say you're right [about the human ceiling]. But AI has changed everything…It's wild, absolutely wild." – Dr. David Agus (10:46)

• On choosing a doctor:
  "It's not a doctor to be a parent...It's to have a relationship with...you will only trust me if you have a relationship with me." – Dr. David Agus (01:55)

• On vaccines and AI-derived insights:
  "The shingles vaccine reduced Alzheimer's by close to 50%...Get the shingles vaccine. Now with this new data, it's damn. Get that shingles vaccine." – Dr. David Agus (12:33–14:30)

• On diet fads:
  "Everybody's selling something...In almost every single clinical trial, the Mediterranean diet has won in everything." – Dr. David Agus (34:17)

• On smoothies:
  "Through evolution, we weren't made to absorb everything at once and to have things into a blender...When you put something in a smoothie, it gets absorbed right away. Insulin peaks through the roof." – Dr. David Agus (67:41)

• On blue light:
  "When your brain sees blue light, it says, hey, listen, it's daytime, so you could be attacked by something. So, don't get deep sleep, it's not safe...I get about 15% more deep sleep [with blue light glasses]." – Dr. David Agus (53:18)

• On exercise:
  "The key really is what grandma said, moderation and everything...do things that challenge yourself." – Dr. David Agus (44:57, 47:10)

• On vulnerability and learning:
  "I am wrong many times, and I learned from it." – Dr. David Agus (03:48) "I probably didn't focus on my core like I should have for exercise...that really hurt me." – Dr. David Agus on his own health setback (66:23)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Time | Segment | |-------------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:02–01:55 | AI altering medicine and spending on end-of-life care| | 01:55–06:59 | How to choose the right doctor, importance of trust | | 07:06–10:13 | Animal secrets for longevity | | 10:46–14:38 | AI-driven drug development, vaccines, and dementia | | 14:47–16:21 | Elephants and anti-cancer lessons | | 19:58–22:01 | Stem cell activation and “reversing” aging | | 34:17–37:19 | Dietary advice, Mediterranean diet | | 38:25–39:51 | What is inflammation, how to avoid it | | 43:30–47:38 | Physical activity, moderation, challenge vs. comfort | | 49:10–52:15 | Wearables and feedback loops | | 53:18 | Blue light and deep sleep | | 66:23 | Dr. Agus's own health crisis and learning | | 67:41–71:50 | Health fads rated: smoothies, wine, protein powders | | 74:06–77:54 | Dan's heart event, lessons about risk and prevention |

Practical Takeaways

• Doctor selection: Prioritize long-term, trust-based relationships rather than “doctor-shopping” for specialists.
• Disease prevention: Vaccines (esp. shingles) and inflammation control through diet, sleep, and activity.
• Diet: Mediterranean or plant-forward, minimal processed foods, regular meal times, and minimal snacking.
• Activity: Daily movement, mix of aerobic, stretching, and challenging/different activities.
• Self-awareness: Use gadgets or simple diaries to establish feedback loops for sleep, exercise, and diet—track what works for you.
• Supplements: Skepticism toward most supplements/stem cell therapies; favor real food.
• Be proactive: Start preventive habits early; what you do in your 20s–30s impacts later life.

The Episode’s Tone

Casual, insightful, and conversational, Dan and Dr. Agus blend deep expertise with humility and humor. They balance scientific optimism (especially about AI), personal anecdotes, and actionable advice in a way that makes even complex medical debates engaging and relatable.

Summary prepared for those seeking the latest science-backed insights on health, longevity, and the future of personalized medicine.