#248 ‒ OUTLIVE book: A behind-the-scenes look into the writing of this book, motivation, main themes, and more

After more than six years of research, planning, and writing, Peter’s book, Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, is officially available as of March 28th. In this episode, Peter sits down with co-author Bill Gifford to provide a behind-the-scenes look into the writing process, including the motivation for making it happen, how the book evolved over the course of the writing process, and why certain topics were chosen (and omitted). Additionally, they discuss how the book is structured and touch on a few of the book’s main themes to give potential readers an idea of what they can expect.

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We discuss:

The meaning of the book’s title and subtitle [3:00];
Finding the right art for the book cover [9:00];
Who is Bill Gifford, and how did he get involved in the book? [16:15];
How Peter’s writing evolved over the six years it took to write this book [25:00];
The structure of the book and what people can expect to learn [29:00];
How the writing of the book and the podcast interviews have shaped Peter’s thinking and approach to translating science [32:45];
Making the book stand the test of time despite the constant evolution of science and medicine [36:00];
Objective, strategy, and tactics [39:30];
Exciting possible progressions in science and medicine over the next decade [42:15];
What is holding back “medicine 3.0” from being the norm? [46:00];
How the book compares to the podcast in terms of technicality and readability for the layman [49:00];
Motivation to write the book and insights into challenges around the writing process [57:15];
Peter’s decision to be the reader for the audiobook [1:10:30];
The many painstaking last-minute changes and edits that brought the book together and made it better [1:19:00];
Peter and Bill’s favorite parts of the book [1:27:30];
The incredible team of people supporting the book [1:31:30]; and
More.

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Bill Gifford

Bill Gifford is a veteran magazine writer and editor who writes about extraordinary athletes and cutting-edge health science. After growing up mostly in Washington, D.C., he returned after college to become a staff writer for the legendary Washington City Paper, for a salary paid in beer, rice and beans. He then moved to Philadelphia to write and edit for Philadelphia Magazine for several years. Continuing north along I-95 to New York, he worked as features editor and then “editor-at-large,” the world’s best job title, for Men’s Journal. His freelance work has appeared in Outside magazine, where he is a longtime contributing editor, as well as Bicycling, Wired, Bloomberg Businessweek, Slate, and others, as well as in Best American Sportswriting. His first book, Ledyard, is a biography of the 18th-century explorer, writer, entrepreneur and bon vivant John Ledyard. His latest, Spring Chicken, is a personal investigation into the science of aging. [amazon.com]