I was so grateful when people were willing to talk about the death of my cat! I trust this community - so I was happy this was discussed here.
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“Shooting fish in a barrel” carries a specific nuance: it describes a task that is not just easy but almost unfairly so because the targets are vulnerable.
Yes, like shooting fish in a barrel, finding more “dirt” on Peter Attia is almost impossible to avoid.
To say he is a psychopath might be a stretch, but to say he is a narcissist is putting it mildly. He claims remorse, but where is the atonement?
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Cameron Sepha is a psychologist who has been famously critical of rapamycin, and Attia was famously critical of the groups like Sepah/Maximus who heavily pumped T-boosting across social media for quick profits.
Pot calling the kettle black…
Schadenfreude runs deep in the “social media influencer” world these days…
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Well, I never read his book, but I wouldn’t need to know that he was spending time with JE to call him a psychopath, if I knew that his son was in hospital almost dying and he wouldn’t go visit him because the important work he was doing. No work can be more important than 0.0000000001% (including saving humanity) than the health of my child. I guess, it goes on to show how we are all very different.
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His book didn’t really contain any advanced knowledge that the people on this forum didn’t already know. Good information for novices though.
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Never got the book… figured all the good stuff I could glean from it… already was stated in his Drive podcasts. Sounds like my instincts were correct.
Surprisingly though… I have come across a lot of people in the medical field that have read his book. If in conversation I go to the topic of rapamycin… some would say…oh yeah… I read some of that in Out Live.
Strangers in airport lines and such too. He sold a butt load of them. Just looked online sold 2 million globally. Damn!!
If I wanted… could probably pick up a cheap used one on Amazon books now.
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I happily downloaded the audible version of his book on day one. I thought it was really well done, and it reinforced all the things I was learning. (At this stage, I wouldn’t get a lot out of it, thanks to this group).
The last chapter is where he opened up about his personal struggles which was quite meaningful… now with the JE look back, it’s a little grotesque, but at the time it landed differently.
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The Longevity Bros Are Fighting
The internet’s most popular purveyors of podcasts and peptides—including Peter Attia, Bryan Johnson, and Dave Asprey—are having it out with one another.
February 3, 2026
Michael Houtz; Getty Images
Influencer tantrums. Back-stabbing biohackers. Epstein files. The meticulously monitored shit hit the fan over the last week as social media’s loudest longevity nerds threw their quantified selves into a battle royale that has ruptured the bro optimization internet and likely caused a collective cortisol spike that is surely not optimal.
Bryan Johnson vs. AG1
It all started last week, when longevity influencer Bryan Johnson got his hands on a 2024 study involving AG1—the nutritional supplement that sponsors popular podcasts that Johnson has not yet been on as a guest—and railed on the product’s ineffectiveness. “I’d cancel your AG1 subscription,” he began. “They just completed a clinical trial and the results show no clinical benefit.”
Obviously, AG1 had not just done anything. The study is over a year old. But it is worth noting, just for the record, that the study in question was not a wholesale discreditation of AG1’s value, as Johnson’s tweet implies. The clinical trial was focused primarily on gut health and safety, and set out to observe how well the body tolerated the supplement. AG1 actually improved levels of two gut probiotic strains in the clinical trial. And the product was found to cause no gastrointestinal distress or other adverse effects on digestive quality. In fact, it may have potentially improved it, albeit marginally.
It’s possible Johnson’s beef wasn’t simply with just the product itself. His tweet, which labeled the company as “an influencer heist,” came across as more of a subtweet against the likes of fellow longevity podcasting peers Andrew Huberman and Peter Attia, who have benefitted from the brand’s global success. And after AG1 schooled the influencer with a firm but fair “Bryan, this year-old study doesn’t say what you’re claiming,” he just came out and said it: “Let’s be real. You pay influencers $$$$ to promote. Not because it’s worth $79, but bc you all get rich.”
Little did Johnson know he would soon be pulled into his own online scandal. On Friday the US Department of Justice released a new batch of Epstein files, in which his name appeared several dozen times. The release revealed communications between Johnson and Epstein’s team, though the exchange appears to be mostly limited to the scheduling of a video call in October 2017, while Johnson was building his brain tech company Kernel.
That said, Johnson pushed for an in-person meeting, and this was well after Epstein’s 2008 conviction as a sex offender—something that Johnson said in a tweet that he was unaware of at the time. It’s possible that the man who meticulously tracks every fiber of his biology didn’t do a quick Google search before meeting with someone with as much influence as Epstein. But the internet is not convinced. Reached for comment by email, Johnson said, “It wasn’t part of my algorithm to run a background check on people introduced to me by acquaintances.”
If Johnson’s hurried response to the news is anything to go by, the man is doing his best to point our attention back to his regularly scheduled programming, placing the release of the files in a garbled scientific context: “The images, videos and emails activated our mirror neurons to physically experience the trauma. The brain registered these malefactors as threats but offered no reprisal other than wailing into the digital void.”
Johnson provided further comment the next day, tweeting that his Zoom meeting with Epstein was their final interaction. “Epstein seemed like a very dark person. I felt sick to my stomach,” he wrote. “I remember this so clearly because I knew nothing about him but weirdly, intuitively, something was deeply wrong. Being in his proximity felt dangerous.” Johnson reached out to Epstein’s office again in 2018 in an apparent attempt to raise funds. But, as Johnson clarified for GQ over email, this communication was actually sent to Epstein’s team because he was a subscriber of Johnson’s newsletter.
Peter Attia in the Epstein Files
Either way, Johnson might not have to spend much more time worrying about how much AG1 is paying Peter Attia. The podcast host was also named in the latest batch of Epstein files (over 1,700 times, to be precise), with hundreds of emails painting the picture of his personal relationship with Epstein.
In one email, Attia jokingly assures Epstein that “pussy is, indeed, low carb.” In another, he asks Epstein, “Have you decided if you’re interested in living longer (solely for the ladies, of course)?” And, in dozens more, despite Attia maintaining that he was not Epstein’s doctor, it’s clear that Attia served as a sort of consulting physician to him, with the two frequently discussing Epstein’s lab results, longevity, and off-label use of various medications.
In a lengthy statement posted to X, Attia asserts that he “never visited [Epstein’s] island or ranch, and I never flew on any of his planes. When I was at his home, it was either meeting with him directly, meeting with small groups of scientists, doctors, or business leaders, and once at a dinner in 2015 with a number of guests including prominent heads of state.”
The thing is, Attia seemingly did stay at one of Epstein’s apartments in New York in 2016. “I’m spoiled after staying in your great place,” he wrote to Epstein afterwards. And while he may not have visited Epstein’s ranch or island, Attia did plan to visit the ranch in 2015—his flights were booked—and he expressed a desire to visit the island. In Attia’s own words in another email, “I go into JE withdrawal when I don’t see him.” We reached out to Attia for further comment beyond his apology but, as of publication, have not received a response.
For the most part, the ongoing fallout of Attia’s deep and varied involvement with Epstein has taken most of the heat off of Johnson’s apparently limited interaction. (What’s that expression about escaping a shark attack—that you don’t need to be the fastest swimmer, just not the slowest?) But there’s blood in the water now, and the revelations have initiated an all-out feeding frenzy of condemnation and mockery against both Attia and Johnson from all corners of the self-optimization internet.
Dave Asprey Piles On
Within 48 hours of the files becoming public, even fellow longevity podcaster Dave Asprey entered the chat to take his first shot at Attia. “I invited Peter to come on my podcast before he started his show. It was an unimpressive interview with someone who seemed afraid of the longevity interventions that the leaders in the field use routinely and safely,” Asprey wrote in a caption accompanying an image of one of Attia’s emails to Epstein. “Zero credibility in the field. And now, zero credibility as a decent human being.”
By Dean Stattmann
Meanwhile David, the protein bar company where Attia served as chief science officer, announced that Attia had stepped down from his role and has removed the influencer from its website. (We reached out to the company for further comment.) Meanwhile—if there’s any consolation in this for Johnson—a rep for AG1 confirmed to GQ that “As of this week, Dr. Attia is no longer an advisor to the company.”
If the longevity bros plan to outlive us all, they should at least learn to live with one another.
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If anyone is interested in the PR/crisis management aspect of how he handled it, I found Molly McPherson’s podcast interesting.
I knew his tweet was not sincere based on the emails I read, but she points out things from a crisis mgt perspective that I hadn’t noticed. Just interesting
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Molly is good 
.
Tore apart Attia’s apology… shows it is still about me and saving my dynasty over real remorse.
As mentioned by others… not sorry for my choices… just sorry I got caught. Very Scarlet O’Hara!
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Right, @Agetron, wasn’t that well done!?
I’ve been following this story because human behavior fascinates me, and it’s interesting to see how many people seem to focus on him not being board certified or sending crude emails… and not laser focused on the fact that it’s simply not ok to be friends with a pedo, PERIOD.
I have seen some valid comments that sending crude comments about women to a known abuser shows a level of acceptance that is different than sending those same notes to a regular person…one is just infantile har har har, but the other is giving air cover. After that was pointed out, that does actually make a lot of sense to me.
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I struggle to find anything comparable to the predatory behaviour of JE—a man who stripped young women of their dignity and exploited them simply because he had power and could “own” their lives and do whatever he wanted to them. That is not someone anyone should be close to. Human nature reveals itself in the behaviours we see throughout history and what is revealed through the actions that end up being tried in courts today.
The world has always contained predators and psychopaths. Human nature is full of flaws, and throughout history people have committed acts of cruelty and exploitation.
Human dignity is not an automatic truth; it is a social construct that must be upheld by strong institutions and by the collective awareness of the population, where a majority agrees that certain actions and behaviours are unacceptable and punishable. I think that is what we are doing in this thread.
It is also worth reflecting on how often exploitation and cruelty have been accepted as a natural way of life and therefore institutionalised. Consider the fact that Saudi Arabia and Yemen abolished slavery only in 1962. The United Arab Emirates followed in 1963. Oman abolished slavery in 1970. Mauritania formally abolished slavery in 1981, but it did not become a criminal offense until 2007, when owning or trading enslaved people finally became punishable by law. None of these changes would have happened without earlier abolitionist movements in places like Great Britain and the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries.Pioneers who raised global awareness of human dignity and insisted that no human being should ever be owned.
These historical shifts can happen when we acknowledge that human nature is flawed and capable of cruelty, and when we insist that human dignity and individual freedom must be protected. Since these values depend on strong institutions and a shared moral awareness, discussions like this matter. One important way societies uphold their values is by punishing those who break the rules—not because punishment transforms offenders into better people, but because of the signal it sends to the community. There is real social value in awareness and in this kind of conversation.
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@Curious that was eloquently and perfectly expressed. I could never say it as well.
It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”
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There are only two groups I sympathesize with on heels of this scandalous debacle:
- His family who must be going through hell!
- The entire longevity community: many will question the credibilty of entire longevity establishment.
Beyond that this thread has not much place on this forum!
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Now this: He’s not dead yet 
@Beth and @medaura do something about it, Call Bari Weiss LOL
Longevity guru Peter Attia keeps CBS News role despite showing up in Epstein files
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HA, well I do know people who know people, but unfortunately no one I associate with would ever admit to knowing her 
And duh, her wife was in the files, as late as 10/18, so of COURSE she is not wanting to get caught up in the Epstein frenzy! That would make dinner conversations a little tense!
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At least the Interventions Testing Program now has a chance of being covered on CBS…
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Many of us took note that when he went on CBS he said he was not taking rapa… suspected it was so he was not promoting anything experimental on such a big platform… so, along those lines, I’m not confident that anything he does on CBS will be helpful to us… for the general public, definitely
I’ve been following JE on twitter… have spent more time there this week than I’ve been on cumulatively in all the years . there are some raving lunatics over there! To that note, someone noticed some files from Attia are being removed… among others as well.
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As the article says… even if not cut… he won’t appear on the show… no paid sponsors would touch him… when his own start ups dropped him.
So yeah… they don’t need to do anything really. Mostly now are the credibility questions of his career path and ability to advise as he is not board-certified in any medical specialty nor is a Ph.D. Researcher. Some critics argue that his lack of formal residency completion and board certification, combined with his high-fee business model, means he functions more as a “health influencer” rather than a traditional, practicing physician.
His authority has a pretty big hole. He is great at gathering information and presenting it. And, a lot of us benefitted from that ability.
Again, I personally appreciate what I gained from Attia… but feel the heavy lifting was often from Kaeberlein and other specialists in the podcasts.
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CNN is struggling but we should be careful what we wish for. No one will benefit in the long run from diminished sources of news.
Love Gupta and Buttigieg. Pete is likely to be the smartest and most capable guy in any room.
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