Writers have strived to survey the landscape of old age since Shakespeare wrote King Lear. But the Bard’s iconic image of the dying and raging patriarch is hardly a contemporary portrait. Today, when writers, like all of us, are living and working into… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of the book Lifespan: Why We Age — and Why We Don’t Have To, by David A. Sinclair, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. In the book, published in September 2019, Sinclair explains his theo… Continue reading
With the next Democratic presidential candidates’ debate on television tonight (CNN at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 pm CT), it’s worth noting something missing from the earlier debates — questions and answers about aging in America. (There have been more than enough q… Continue reading
In 1994, Mary Pipher wrote Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, a groundbreaking, bestselling book examining the complicated lives of teenage girls. It was the result of her work as a clinical psychologist with this age group. And i… Continue reading
Hospitality entrepreneur Chip Conley coined the term “modern elder” when he jointed Airbnb at 52 as a strategic adviser and was twice the age of the average employee there. In the last year, he has opened the Modern Elder Academy, a boutique resort for… Continue reading
When he ran for governor of California in 2018, Democrat Gavin Newsom pledged that if he won, he’d create a Master Plan for Aging for the state and its residents. One reason: the Golden State’s 65+ population is projected to grow almost 90% by 2030, to… Continue reading
Later life is an adventure with both light and dark moments, says Sheila Malkind, 80. And fittingly, she promotes that philosophy each year at the Legacy Film Festival on Aging, which she founded in 2011 and has directed ever since. Some of the films a… Continue reading
It’s an issue we can’t ignore: The fastest-growing age group in our population needs our help, and we’re failing them miserably. For the first time in the history of the developed world, there are more of us over age 60 than under age 5. Women who reac… Continue reading
U.S. economic growth has been underwhelming for some time, averaging around 2% these days. In recent months, economic commentators have intensified their search for the underlying reason why the economy can’t kick into higher gear. They’ve landed on th… Continue reading
Aging in place is an appealing idea to many of us: the ability to continue living in the homes we cherish as we age into our 70s, 80s and 90s, rather than move. There are just two problems: many homes aren’t designed for health issues that can come wit… Continue reading