Beyoncé, Beauty and the Pursuit of Youth

The trend for expensive age-defying treatments is 'an insult to youth itself' says Zoe Strimpel, as she argues against treating youth as a commodity that can be bought.After admiring the seemingly ageless beauty of 41-year-old singing superstar Beyoncé at her recent stadium show in London, Zoe reflects on her own experience of getting older - and the people desperate to avoid it. She hones in on 45-year-old American tech mogul, Bryan Johnson, who is attempting to transform his body into that of a teenager in a highly scientific quest for youth. His mission is to regain the body of an 18-year-old - albeit with the help of 30 doctors and experts, extreme diets (exactly 1,977 vegan calories a day), gruelling workouts and an array of medical procedures.While an extreme case, Zoe reflects on how the possibilities of looking and feeling younger are intensifying with each new development in cosmetic technology or the science of diets. She argues that however distasteful we might find such projects, what is more unsettling 'is the thieving, plundering nature of this quest - the insult to youth itself - as if it is nothing but a product to be had at any time, rather than a transient stage of life, whose splendour is in that very transience.'Producer: Adele Armstrong Sound: Peter Bosher Production coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith