Ben Lecomte: Swimmer

Ben Lecomte has set off from Japan aiming to become the first person to swim 5,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean. He plans to swim for eight hours a day for more than six months as he heads towards San Francisco.

We chatted about the challenge ahead, including the dangers of swimming in swarms of jellyfish.  He is hoping to raise awareness for climate change with a team of scientists conducting research during the swim.

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Original broadcast, May 28, 2018, BBC Radio 5 Live

Felice Gersh: Nurturing the body clock for optimum longevity

Episode 61: Live Long and Master Aging: 

What makes us tick? Our in-built clock – the circadian rhythm – plays a huge role in human longevity. 

Getting an appropriate amount of sleep while the sun is down has tremendous positive effects on our bodies, according to Dr. Felice Gersh, gynecologist and founder of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine in Southern California. Sleeping in the dark keeps our body’s 24-hour internal clock on track and helps regulate our hormones and metabolism. Still, many people wind up staying up later than they planned, while others work night shift hours, which disrupts our internal clock. 

In this LLAMA podcast interview with Peter Bowes, Dr. Gersh describes what we can do to regulate our master clock when it is thrown off by lack of sleep or unconventional routines; why it matters for healthy aging and how our meal times could be the solution to night shift fatigue.

Michael Datcher; Author

Michael Datcher is a professor of English at Loyola Marymount University and the author of Americus, a powerful story examining the "recurrent intersection of race and violence" in East St. Louis, Missouri. 

In this BBC Radio 5 Live interview, with Rhod Sharp, we discuss Michael's book and pay tribute to the author Tom Wolfe. 

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Originally broadcast, May 15th, 2018, BBC Radio 5 Live.

Zuri Hall: Entertainment anchor

The Royal Wedding - Harry and Meghan - a Los Angeles perspective from E! News Daily journalist Zuri Hall who joined me and Rhod Sharp on BBC Radio 5 Live to the build up and unprecedented excitement! 

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Broadcast: BBC 5 Live's Up All Night with Rhod Sharp  - May 15, 2018

Tracy McCubbin: Clutter expert

Clutter - and how to deal with it - is something we all battle with, at some point in our lives. It is an endlessly fascinating topic and one which I discussed at length with Tracy McCubbin, founder of dClutterfly. Described by one of her clients as a "therapist for our things," Tracy is also the author of the upcoming book, The Clutter Code.  

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Broadcast: BBC 5 Live's Up All Night with Rhod Sharp  - May 8, 2018

Larry Senn - 82-year old triathlete and culture-shaping guru living a purposeful life

Episode 60 - Live Long and Master Aging:  

Dr. Larry Senn, an 82-year old businessman, often completes a sprint triathlon on Saturday, as part of his training regime. He took up the sport at the age of 70.

The founder of the global culture-shaping firm, Senn Delaney, he believes that to be a good leader, you first have to take care of yourself. He practices what he preaches, although Larry shares his wisdom with a twinkle in his eye and is far from preachy in his approach.  Sometimes referred to as the Father of Corporate Culture, Larry works with Fortune 500 companies and business leaders around the world, improving mindsets and creating high-performance teams. 

In this LLAMA podcast interview, with Peter Bowes, Larry discusses his new book, The Mood Elevator, describes a lifestyle that embraces a full working week, regular daily exercise, long-distance travel and an active family life. He even finds time to go skydiving with his 18-year old son.

Paul Dergarabedian: 2018 summer box office

Box office guru Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, joined me and Rhod Sharp on BBC Radio 5 Live for our annual summer movie preview. With much to talk about in a year that's already smashing records, we started with the blockbuster performance of Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War - the biggest cinematic opening of all time, in April 2018.

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Eileen Crimmins - Study shows people aging more slowly than two decades ago

Episode 59: Live Long and Master Aging

We may not have completely mastered aging just yet, but we might be in the process of truly delaying it, according to Dr. Eileen Crimmins. 

The AARP Professor of Gerentology at the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology studies health and mortality rates and global aging. 

After analyzing national health data in the US, Dr. Crimmins and her colleagues concluded something quite inspiring - Americans are biologically younger now than they were 20 years ago. “The biological age has dropped remarkably,” she says.

Heart-disease deaths have significantly decreased and cancer rates are beginning to fall. However, there is much to be done if you'd like not just a longer life, but a healthier one.

In this LLAMA podcast interview, with Peter Bowes, Dr. Crimmins outlines what lifestyle changes are most likely to have a real, positive impact on the quality and length of your life, and what behaviors likely improve nothing at all.