Health

How Dare Bryan Johnson Walks Out Leaving Nikhil Kamath Hanging!!

Bryan Johnson recently made news by walking out of Nikhil Kamath’s podcast in Mumbai, citing the city’s toxic air as the culprit.

Published

1 month ago

February 4, 2025

How Dare Bryan Johnson Walks Out Leaving Nikhil Kamath Hanging!!

This is the walkout that got everyone talking! On the WTF Longevity podcast, hosted by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, tech millionaire Bryan Johnson, known for his obsession with reversing ageing, abruptly left. The reason? Not tough questions, not lousy WiFi, but Mumbai’s air pollution. Despite sitting in a posh setting with air purifiers and wearing a mask, Johnson couldn’t handle the city’s toxic air and quit midway. His sudden exit has ignited a social media debate. Was it justified, or was there more to the story?

Bryan Johnson Leaving the Nikhil Kamath Podcast: What Exactly Happened

Johnson, known for his longevity experiments, had flown into India and was all set to discuss health, ageing, and longevity on Kamath’s WTF is Podcast. But what he wasn’t ready for? The air quality.

According to Bryan Johnson’s post on X, the issue was the air quality in the recording room. Despite bringing his air purifier, it was useless as the ventilation system circulated outdoor air. He claimed the indoor AQI was 130, with PM2.5 levels at 75 µg/m³—equal to smoking 3.4 cigarettes in 24 hours. Johnson developed a skin rash three days into his India trip, with burning eyes and throat.

What baffled him? No one else seemed to care. People jogged outdoors, babies breathed the same air, and masks were rare. He argued that India had normalised air pollution and claimed fixing it would have a bigger public health impact than curing all cancers. He even hinted at “money and power” preventing real change.

After Johnson’s walking out of the podcast became social media knowledge, Bryan Johnson took to X and cleared his stance.

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.
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.
Air pollution has been so normalized in India that 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.
The evidence shows that India would improve the health of its population more by cleaning up air quality than by curing all cancers.
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.
Bryan Johnson
Tweet

Bryan Johnson Balancing Act?

After citing air pollution, walking out of a podcast in Mumbai, and singling out the air pollution in India, Bryan, in the same X post, talked about obesity in America and why it should be declared a national emergency. How, in the long run, obesity surpasses air pollution in severity. One cannot help but wonder if Bryan brought in obesity in America while discussing air pollution in India to maintain a balance.

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 American are obese and because I was around it all the time, I had been mostly oblivious to it.
In many contexts, obesity is worse than air pollution in the long term.
Why wouldn’t American leaders declare a national emergency on obesity? What interests, money and power keep things the way they are but are really bad for the entire country.
Bryan Johnson
Tweet

Also Read: Ashneer Grover vs Salman Khan: A Masterclass on X in Staying Relevant?

The Internet Has Opinions! A Lots of Them

As expected, social media erupted. Some mocked Johnson, one advised him to increase his immunity. “Bro, just chill out. Stop measuring air quality everywhere you go,” one user wrote. Others pointed out that if the air were truly that toxic, “every Indian would have died by 30.”

But some agreed with him. They felt his points were valid and that the elephant in the room needed to be addressed. Another user commented, “Thank God you didn’t visit Delhi!” hinting that Delhi could have been the real shocker.

MP and President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee, Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, also tweeted, reacting to the podcast, that a long-term air pollution mitigation policy is needed.

A Different Story Emerges

Bryan Johnson Walks Out of Nikhil Kamath’s Podcast—Was It Just About Air Pollution?

And then came a surprising twist. Jitendra Chouksey, aka JC, is one of the guests on the Nikhil Kamath WTF. What is Longevity? The podcast, along with Bryan Johnson, had a different take. According to Chouksey, the founder of FITTR, Johnson’s departure had nothing to do with air pollution. Instead, he claimed that Johnson left because he had prior engagements.

Here’s what he revealed in a LinkedIn post:

I think there are a few posts doing rounds about how we weren’t taking AQI seriously during WTF podcast at Nikhil’s house.

This is wrong.

Nikhil had 4 big air purifiers installed. And the purifiers did manage to bring down the levels by almost 50%, i think it was about 280+ outside in Mumbai on that day during that time.

Bryan didn’t leave because of poor air quality, he left because he had prior engagements. He was in Mumbai during his PR tour prior to his Netflix release and did several podcasts around the time.

Rainmatter health is actively funding startups working on ground level issues right from clear air, clean water and clean food.

I’ve personally spoken about deteriorating air quality many times, if you’ve followed me, you know I don’t take any of these things lightly.

It was an awkward conversation as few of you already know my stance on Bryan. Nikhil did his best to keep it light hearted. It doesn’t mean he didn’t care about AQI. There’s an entire fund dedicated to helping Indians get access to clean air, water and food.

We’re breathing the same air as some of these guys who’re getting offended for no reason.
Jitendra Chouksey on LinkedIn

So, was air pollution the culprit, or did Johnson just need an excuse to leave early?

Chouksey made another crucial point—Nikhil Kamath and his team at Rainmatter Health actively fund clean air initiatives. They weren’t taking the issue lightly, and Kamath had gone out of his way to ensure a comfortable setting for the podcast.

Which brings us to the biggest question:

Was this a genuine concern about air pollution, or was Johnson just playing into a narrative that would get global attention?

So, What’s the Takeaway?

What makes this debate so interesting isn’t just Johnson’s reaction—but our own. The problem isn’t just air pollution, we’ve accepted it as part of life. If anything, this whole saga proves one thing: It shouldn’t take a foreign millionaire walking out of a podcast for us to start caring about the air we breathe. And now, the real question is—will this conversation actually lead to change?