Science  Write  Now

Brain preservation. It sounds like science fiction, right? Neuroscientist and author Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston is determined to prove otherwise in his recent, game-changing book, The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death.

This week on the SWN podcast, we chat to neuroscientist, author and passionate advocate for brain preservation, Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston. Over at Monash University’s Neuroscience of Consciousness Lab (MoNoC), Ariel is investigating the ways in which we characterise the nature of consciousness, or what it is like “to be”— from the decline, preservation and rescue of cognitive function at different stages of the lifespan, through to comparing our conscious embodied experience. This line of enquiry, of course, passes through the chasm of life and death.

But should we accept the natural, inevitable way of things? Or is there another path our future could take?

The Future Loves You makes the medical, scientific, philosophical and ethical case for how we can preserve the dying to enable their future revival. Contributing to cutting edge research in the field, Ariel clarifies the neurobiological, cognitive, and emotional basis of what it is to be alive, and he hopes to accelerate the development of the medical infrastructure that will help prevent him and everyone else from dying.

Join Ariel and SWN host, Bianca Millroy for a fascinating tour of the brain: our source of self, memory and consciousness, and how our understanding of it is radically redefining death.

Show notes:

Ariel's book, The Future Loves You is available now in hardback, ebook and audiobook format.

Connect with Ariel and find out more about his research on his website (including supplementary material for the book). Follow him on Bluesky @arielzj and Substack @Preserving Hope.

Listen to Ariel speak on ABC's Conversations with Richard Fidler, and on All In The Mind with Sana Qadar live at World Science Festival Brisbane!

During this episode, we also discussed further reading and resources such as The Brain Preservation Foundation, and the Foresight Institute's blog on existential hope, featuring a list of reading recommendations. Here's Ariel's article published by the British Psychological Society (which mentions the 'Human Library' quote), and a fantastic write-up on Ariel's research in Science Illustrated.  

Content note: This episode discusses topics such as death and terminal illness, as well as descriptions of biological function and medical procedures.

This episode was recorded in Meanjin/Brisbane and Naarm/Melbourne: a place steeped in history, culture, community, and storytelling. We acknowledge the Jaegara and Turrbal People as the traditional custodians of these lands, the first scientists and storytellers, and we pay our respects to Elders, past and present. Always was, Always will be Aboriginal Land.

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We’ll be back with another episode soon!