Hyderabad: Tech millionaire and anti-aging advocate Bryan Johnson walked out of Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's podcast. Bryan's abrupt exit raised many eyebrows. Following a loud chatter on social media over his exit, Bryan clarified why he had to leave Kamath's show midway.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Johnson attributed his decision to leave the podcast midway to the alarming air pollution in India. The 47-year-old raised a point regarding the quality of air in India and the role of authorities. He stated that it was so bad to the extent that he found it difficult to make out Kamath sitting on the other side of the room. The American national said that though he put on an N95 mask, he found the situation unbearable inside a 5-star property.
The news of Bryan's exit from Kamath's show spread like wildfire. Speculations and theories started doing rounds on the social media as netizens enthusiastically dissected the incident. Following this, Bryan took to his X, formerly Twitter, handle and penned a lengthy note putting an end to wild speculations.
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.
— Bryan Johnson /dd (@bryan_johnson) February 3, 2025
Inside,… https://t.co/xTkpW567Xv
"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," Bryan began his post clarifying the sole reason for his exit. Giving a brief about his stay in India, he further wrote, "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. This was my third day in India and the air pollution had made my skin break out in rash and my eyes and throat burn."
The tech magnate also expressed his disbelief at how air pollution has been normalized in India. "No one even notices anymore despite the science of its negative effects being well known. 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."
His X post also questions 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." In the same breath, he questioned authorities in his country to address obesity which dubbed as "worse than air pollution in the long term." Bryan ended his post by posing a question: "Why wouldn't American leaders declare a national emergency on obesity?"
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