Carpe diem.

If our days were not numbered but numberless, would that admonishment still make sense?

And if you could live forever — if technology made it possible — would you want to?

In the cover story of the latest issue of National Review magazine, Lionel Shriver, the acclaimed novelist and journalist, ponders the upsides and downsides of “life everlasting here on Earth,” a goal increasingly sought by titans of Big Tech.

The chances that mere mortals might find as-yet hidden pathways to immortality may be slim, and “proponents of intensive longevity research” may turn out to be “all hucksters or lunatics,” she writes. Even so, “imagining a world in which death is rare to nonexistent is a compelling thought experiment.” With her characteristic verve, Shriver undertakes it.

Perhaps the urge to find a way never to die is the result of “the waning of traditional religious faith in the West,” which has led people to become “spiritual cynics.” Whatever the cause, “nowadays, many of us assume that any bid for immortality will be a DIY job.”

Read the whole essay in the new July 10, 2023, issue of National Review magazine — if you’ll pardon the expression, it’s a matter of life and death.

As someone privileged to work with as fine a team of editors as you could hope to find, it’s my great pleasure to present all the contents of the new issue to you:

In every issue of National Review magazine, you can also catch up on, well, everything in “The Week” and enjoy Ross Douthat’s film reviews, the best in book reviews, musings by Richard Brookhiser and grammarian Bryan Garner, not to mention satire and poetry. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you. If you’re still thinking about joining up, carpe diem. (The bundle is the can’t-miss option — you get all of our content while supporting NR in the best possible way.)

Join us today, and be a part of a conservative tradition constantly reinvigorated by the best writers and thinkers.

Cheers,

Jessica Hornik
Associate Editor