Tech millionaire and anti-ageing advocate Bryan Johnson abruptly ended a podcast with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath during his recent trip to India, citing severe discomfort due to the country’s notorious air pollution.
In a candid post on X, Johnson revealed, “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.”
Johnson didn’t hold back, detailing the grim air conditions inside the studio. “Inside, the AQI was 130 and PM2.5 was 75 µg/m³, which is equal to smoking 3.4 cigarettes for 24 hours of exposure,” he stated, adding that after just three days in India, “the air pollution had made my skin break out in rash and my eyes and throat burn.”
He expressed shock over how normalized air pollution seemed in India, saying, “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.”
Johnson also questioned the government’s inaction, writing, “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.”
Upon returning to the U.S., he compared India’s pollution crisis to America’s obesity epidemic. “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 Americans are obese,” Johnson noted, adding, “In many contexts, obesity is worse than air pollution in the long term.”
His post triggered mixed reactions online. One user snapped, “Bro, just chill out. Stop measuring the air quality everywhere you go and start enjoying the place.” Another countered, “With what you have stated… every Indian would have died by the age of 30 itself. Don’t over exaggerate!”
While some dismissed his remarks, others genuinely asked, “What steps are needed to improve the air quality, especially in metros?”
Watch the full podcast here: