Club Sandwich

Maggie Beer, cook, author and founder of the Maggie Beer Foundation, joins Sarah Macdonald to talk about food, ageing and why what's on the plate in an aged care home matters more than most families realise.  Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community.SEND US YOUR QUESTION: [email protected] In this episode:The Conversation: Maggie shares why aged care food is a wellbeing issue, not just a nutrition one, the physiology behind why older palates need more salt, sugar and flavour, and why leadership is the biggest predictor of whether a home's kitchen actually works for its residents. This Week's Hack: Before you choose an aged care home for a parent, go and eat a meal there yourself, without telling them you're coming. Send This To: Anyone touring aged care homes right now, or anyone who keeps dropping meals off to mum instead of cooking with her. Topics covered in this episode:- Why aged care food is a wellbeing issue, not just a nutrition one- The one-line test for touring an aged care home- How taste and smell change as we age, and what that means for cooking- Cooking with your parent, not just for them- Ageism, and the 80% of healthy ageing that's within our own control- Maggie's own philosophy on staying creative, positive and purposeful with age Featured in this episode: Sarah Macdonald — Veteran broadcaster and host. Maggie Beer AO — Cook, author, co-host of The Cook and the Chef, and founder of the Maggie Beer Foundation, which trains aged care kitchens nationally.Meet the regular Clubbers:Melissa Reader — CEO of Vera and expert on Australia's ageing crisis.Jo Lamble — Clinical psychologist specialising in guilt and family dynamics.Dr Ginni Mansberg — GP and women's health advocate who tells it straight.Dr Stephanie Ward — Geriatrician helping you understand when "old" becomes a crisis.Kerry Milligan — Gogglebox star bringing humour and honesty to the sandwich generation. This episode was supported by Australian Unity, home health and care services — australianunity.com.au/clubsandwich. Vera is your candid companion as you care for an ageing parent. Have a look at https://vera.guide. FACES (Families for Aged Care Equity and Support) is a family-led campaign asking for one honest count of the number of people waiting for their aged care funding and the people who die while they're waiting. Add your name at vera.guide/faces. Put The Kettle On — Vera's free conversation guide: the five questions worth asking your ageing mum or dad, at putthekettleon.com.au Credits:Sarah Macdonald – Host + Executive ProducerMelissa Reader – Commissioning Editor, Executive Producer + ClubberJustin McArthur – Executive Producer + Editor for P. Zinner Pods (https://pzinner.com.au)Thanks and kudos to Sean Wayland for our theme music Club Sandwich — hear more at https://seanwayland.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Natalie Siegel-Brown spent years holding the government to account for the funding, administration and regulation of Australia's aged care system as the Inspector General of Aged Care. She's also part of the sandwich generation herself, raising an 11-year-old while supporting her own ageing parents. Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. JOIN THE CLUB: Visit clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community.SEND US YOUR QUESTION: [email protected] In this episode:The Conversation: Natalie brings both her professional expertise and her own experience as a sandwich generation parent to unpack why a system built on compassion and dignity in law still fails the sandwich generation in practice — through year-long wait times, punishing co-payments, and a contested assessment algorithm. This Week's Hack: Get in early. Don't wait for a crisis to start the aged care assessment process — the wait itself is often what accelerates decline. Listener Letter / Send-this-to: Send this to anyone who feels gaslit by the aged care system and just wants to understand why it's this hard. Topics covered in this episode:- Natalie's own experience as a sandwich generation parent, alongside her expertise as the former Inspector General of Aged Care- The real cost of long aged care wait times, financially and personally- Co-payments, and how they hit pensioners hardest- The contested aged care assessment algorithm- What Denmark, Singapore and Thailand do differently- Australia's own hidden success story: the Veterans' Care Nursing Program Meet the regular Clubbers:Melissa Reader — CEO of Vera and expert on Australia's ageing crisis.Jo Lamble — Clinical psychologist specialising in guilt and family dynamics.Dr Ginni Mansberg — GP and women's health advocate who tells it straight.Dr Stephanie Ward — Geriatrician helping you understand when "old" becomes a crisis.Kerry Milligan — Gogglebox star bringing humour and honesty to the sandwich generation. This episode was supported by Australian Unity, home health and care services — australianunity.com.au/clubsandwich. Vera is your candid companion as you care for an ageing parent. Have a look at https://vera.guide. FACES (Families for Aged Care Equity and Support) is a family-led campaign asking for one honest count of the number of people waiting for their aged care funding and the people who die while they're waiting. Add your name at vera.guide/faces. Put The Kettle On — Vera's free conversation guide: the five questions worth asking your ageing mum or dad, at putthekettleon.com.au Credits:Sarah Macdonald – Host + Executive ProducerMelissa Reader – Commissioning Editor, Executive Producer + ClubberJustin McArthur – Executive Producer + Editor for P. Zinner Podcasts (https://pzinner.com.au)Thanks and kudos to Sean Wayland for our theme music Club Sandwich — hear more at https://seanwayland.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

" I always find that there's part of me here, and there's another part of me swimming with the fish in the sea at the same time." In this episode, Indira Naidoo joins Sarah to talk about her new role with the  Sydney Theatre Company, spending time under her tree, and the importance of creativity in her life. They reflect on rediscovering play and creativity in midlife, the limits of journalism in changing narratives, and how crafts, gardening, and making art can calm anxiety and restore balance. Indira shares her approach to ageing as a natural cycle, prioritising presence and family time after years of night work, and learning from nature and finding joy.  Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you.JOIN THE CLUB: Visit clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community.SEND US YOUR QUESTION: [email protected] Meet the regular Clubbers:Melissa Reader — CEO of Vera and expert on Australia's ageing crisis.Jo Lamble — Clinical psychologist specialising in guilt and family dynamics.Dr Ginni Mansberg — GP and women's health advocate who tells it straight.Dr Stephanie Ward — Geriatrician helping you understand when "old" becomes a crisis.Kerry Milligan — Gogglebox star bringing humour and honesty to the sandwich generation. This episode was supported by Australian Unity, home health and care services — australianunity.com.au/clubsandwich. Vera is your candid companion as you care for an ageing parent. Have a look at https://vera.guide. FACES (Families for Aged Care Equity and Support) is a family-led campaign asking for one honest count of the number of people waiting for their aged care funding and the people who die while they're waiting. Add your name at vera.guide/faces. Put The Kettle On — Vera's free conversation guide: the five questions worth asking your ageing mum or dad, at putthekettleon.com.auCredits:Sarah Macdonald – Host + Executive ProducerMelissa Reader – Commissioning Editor, Executive Producer + ClubberJustin McArthur – Executive Producer + Editor for P. Zinner Podcasts (https://pzinner.com.au)Thanks and kudos to Sean Wayland for our theme music Club Sandwich — hear more at https://seanwayland.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"I'm alright, sweetheart. No, I don't need help." Every one of us has heard it. Prue Bowden runs home care for 50,000 Australian families, which makes her the person everyone corners at parties to ask about a parent who won't accept a thing. Today, she's in the chair talking about what to actually do next.  Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. Content note: this episode covers ageing parents, dementia, hospital decline and loneliness. For support: Carer Gateway 1800 422 737. My Aged Care 1800 200 422 (myagedcare.gov.au). Dementia Australia's National Dementia Helpline 1800 100 500, 24/7 (dementia.org.au). Lifeline 13 11 14, 24/7.JOIN THE CLUB: Visit clubsandwich.community to join the tribe, access resources, and find our private Facebook community.SEND US YOUR QUESTION: [email protected] In this episode:The Conversation: Prue Bowden, Group CEO of Home Health at Australian Unity, joins Sarah Macdonald to talk about what actually keeps a parent at home — starting with her own mum and dad, in their late seventies, still sailing and still walking the dog, and the conversations she and her sister are already having about flat landings and handrails. From there: the loneliness hiding inside "we want to keep her at home", now the banks have closed and the shopping has moved online; the eighteen-month-to-two-year wait for home care support and why you start the assessment before you think you need it; what care workers actually notice when they're in the house; why superannuation was designed to be spent; and what she'd say to a stretched, guilty listener, one carer to another. This Week's Hack: Start the assessment before you think you need it. The wait for home care support runs 18 months to two years, so the time to get on the list is while your mum or dad is still well and still saying they're fine. And if they won't hear it from you, get the GP on side — a clinician saying it often lands where a daughter saying it doesn't. Send this to: the sibling who keeps saying "she's fine, she'd tell us if she wasn't" — and anyone who's been told "I'm all right, sweetheart" one too many times. A moment that stays: Sarah tells Prue she's the doctor at the party — the one everyone corners about a bad back, except it's always a parent who won't accept help. Prue's parents, meanwhile, are in their late seventies and doing their weights. "Everyone's doing weights." Meet the regular Clubbers:Melissa Reader — CEO of Vera and expert on Australia's ageing crisis.Jo Lamble — Clinical psychologist specialising in guilt and family dynamics.Dr Ginni Mansberg — GP and women's health advocate who tells it straight.Dr Stephanie Ward — Geriatrician helping you understand when "old" becomes a crisis.Kerry Milligan — Gogglebox star bringing humour and honesty to the sandwich generation. About Prue Bowden: Group CEO, Home Health at Australian Unity, leading the team supporting around 50,000 home care customers around the country. Topics covered in this episode:- What to do when a parent refuses help, and when to accept that no means no- The loneliness that comes with ageing at home, and why it's rising alongside dementia- Preparing the family home early — flat landings, handrails, the flat way in- The 18-month to two-year wait for home care support, and starting the assessment early- What home care workers actually notice, and why they're the first to know- Superannuation, means testing, and the families caught in the middle- Staying at home with dementia, and why institutional care can't be the only answer- Lifespan versus healthspan, and why strength training in your seventies matters This episode was supported by Australian Unity, home health and care services — australianunity.com.au/clubsandwich. With thanks to NSW Trustee and Guardian — search NSW Trustee and Guardian, or call 1300 10 20 30. Vera is your candid companion as you care for an ageing parent. Have a look at https://vera.guide. FACES (Families for Aged Care Equity and Support) is a family-led campaign asking for one honest count of the number of people waiting for their aged care funding and the people who die while they're waiting. Add your name at vera.guide/faces. Put The Kettle On — Vera's free conversation guide: the five questions worth asking your ageing mum or dad, at putthekettleon.com.auCredits:Sarah Macdonald – Host + Executive ProducerMelissa Reader – Commissioning Editor, Executive Producer + ClubberJustin McArthur – Executive Producer + Editor, for P. Zinner Podcasts (https://pzinner.com.au)Thanks and kudos to Sean Wayland for our theme music Club Sandwich — hear more at https://seanwayland.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode, Sarah Macdonald is joined by Kerry Milligan and Melissa Reader to discuss representations of the sandwich generation on screen. Ageing parents? You've got them. We've got you. This episode was supported by Australian Unity, home health and care services — australianunity.com.au/clubsandwich. With thanks to NSW Trustee and Guardian — search NSW Trustee and Guardian, or call 1300 10 20 30. Vera is your candid companion as you care for an ageing parent. Have a look at https://vera.guide. FACES (Families for Aged Care Equity and Support) is a family-led campaign asking for one honest count of the number of people waiting for their aged care funding and the people who die while they're waiting. Add your name at vera.guide/faces. Put The Kettle On — Vera's free conversation guide: the five questions worth asking your ageing mum or dad, at putthekettleon.com.auCredits:Sarah Macdonald – Host + Executive ProducerMelissa Reader – Commissioning Editor, Executive Producer + ClubberJustin McArthur – Executive Producer + Editor, for P. Zinner Podcasts (https://pzinner.com.au)Thanks and kudos to Sean Wayland for our theme music Club Sandwich — hear more at https://seanwayland.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.