Facing 80: Keeping an Ancient Language Alive

When she was growing up in New York, Gloria Ascher was eager to learn Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language her parents brought from Izmir, Turkey. “Teach me that song,” Ascher would say to her mother, who didn’t encourage the language that she told her d… Continue reading

A Fascinating Course on the Literature of Retirement

What does it mean to retire? And who are you if you’re retired — a retired person, a former (fill in the blank) or someone very different from before? John Watkins, an English professor at the University of Minnesota, is not only wrestling with those q… Continue reading

Facing 70: Finding Peace in Being ‘Real’

(Editor’s Note: This is the first in an occasional series of features about people facing a new decade (50-90) who reflect on their past and share what energizes them about life today.) Sixty-nine hit me like a tornado, fast-moving and whipping up emot… Continue reading

The Government Program Funding Startups for Older Adults

The clamoring need to help solve big thorny problems like Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related issues is growing more urgent. But it’s often hard for entrepreneurs to raise money to develop products and services. That’s where a novel, little-known… Continue reading

How the Longevity Project Is Reimagining Our Longer Lives

As life expectancies are growing and the 100-year-life is becoming more common, how can Americans, the U.S. government and employers best prepare for the challenges and opportunities of longevity? Meet the Longevity Project, the new initiative designed… Continue reading

Does Our Blood Hold the Secrets of Our Longevity?

(Editor’s note: This article is part of an editorial partnership between Next Avenue and The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), a national nonprofit whose mission is to support and advance healthy aging through biomedical research.) Are you… Continue reading

Neuroscientist David Levitin Shares His Keys to Aging Well

(Editor’s Note: This video and transcript were previously published by PBS NewsHour.) Christopher Booker: Daniel Levitin — a neuroscientist and professor emeritus of psychology at McGill University — has written extensively about the brain. Also a musi… Continue reading

OPINION: It’s Time Society Got Over Denial About Aging

For many of us, denial plays a key role in how we view aging. While this is significant in its own right, it becomes even more telling when viewed from the standpoint of a recent Next Avenue article by Paul Hogan, chairman and co-founder of Home Instea… Continue reading

What Whales Have Taught Me About Aging

With age comes wisdom. Also, a Medicare card. “What’s the big deal? I filled out your AARP paperwork for you,” my husband Marc says. He’s being practical, trying to fix things the way guys like to do, while I’d rather talk about my feelings. I’m sure t… Continue reading

The 4 Poignant Questions Older Men Ask Themselves

(We’re always interested in new research and insights about growing older in America and the new book by Thomas Cole, Old Man Country: My Search for Meaning Among the Elders, has them in spades. Cole traversed the country interviewing men in their 80s … Continue reading