Claim OwnershipGracefully Radio
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What does it mean to grow old gracefully? Does it mean ignoring, even concealing your age–or running marathons into your eighties? Does it mean embracing the inevitable changes before us and morphing along with them, or, rather, forging ahead, age be damned?
I'm a public radio veteran, like you, are wrangling the same challenges as you: faraway elderly relatives; evolving bodies and states of minds; career and family responsibilities; our general place in the world.
Growing old in modern times poses new, previously uncharted issues. Join us as we wade through them by talking to people who have compelling perspectives on the changes.
Gracefully aims to show, through the stories we share, that while aging is inevitable, how we deal with it is a choice.
I'm a public radio veteran, like you, are wrangling the same challenges as you: faraway elderly relatives; evolving bodies and states of minds; career and family responsibilities; our general place in the world.
Growing old in modern times poses new, previously uncharted issues. Join us as we wade through them by talking to people who have compelling perspectives on the changes.
Gracefully aims to show, through the stories we share, that while aging is inevitable, how we deal with it is a choice.
38 Episodes
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Not very long ago, a child born to parents over 40 was a rarity. That ship has sailed. Still, practical matters are a consideration. Hollywood entertainment executive Norman Aladjem realized this when his first child, a daughter, was born. He was 45. What would he do, he thought, if something happened to him?
A New York Times reporter spends a year among the "oldest old," people over 85, and says it turned out to be the best year of his life. He writes about what he learned in a new book.
A new short film calls out Hollywood for perpetuating the last "acceptable" form of discrimination: Ageism.
Aliza feels that women over the age of 35 will provide the critical mass to steer cannabis to national legality and mainstream use. After all, it's women who make the majority of the health-care decisions in the home.
Liz Dubelman has never been afraid of technology. Now, she finds herself explaining it to people who aren't "digital natives." We talk about her work as a Digital Daughter, and what she's learning from interacting with elders.
...in my dreams, my mother--after years of taking care of other people, including and especially my dad, who'd been ill for a decade--would reward herself at this stage and trounce off to Tahiti. But I know better than that. And an expert on a crusade against ageism says good for me for not trying to tell her what to do.
This week in New York, the publishing industry hosted its annual convention, Book Expo. Meet Claire Baldry and others who aren't part of the mainstream publishing business. They're working to introduce new voices to the world of literature by self publishing.
Actress Marcia Gay Harden waxes poetic about her mother, and laments the loss of her to Alzheimer's disease.
This week, in honor of my beloved mother and the fact that she's been cooking for a crowd since she was a little girl in Prospect Park helping her mother tend to a large brood, I'm proud to share Jane Napoli's philosophy of meatballs. Try it at home-unless you're a vegetarian.
Anyone who has deigned to advise an older adult to “just get a smartphone” as they face the loss of their ability to drive knows how problematic this request can be. Many seniors are either reluctant or downright disinterested in adopting the new technology, and annoyed at the suggestion that purchasing a pricey new phone is the answer to this new diminished mobility.
"Aging is like frying bacon naked," one of my older neighbors is fond of saying. "You don't know where it's going to hit you." What I thought was an unpleasant nuisance turned out to help save me from something far more unpleasant.
What got actress Kathryn Leigh Scott through those difficult years of her husband's demise was a simple act of hospitality that might seem daunting to others serving as caregiver: Happy hour. Each day, they'd open their doors to friends and former colleagues, so they could stop in and visit in a warm, welcoming environment.
There's a trending post on LinkedIn right now titled, "How to beat ageism and get hired." More than 80,000 viewers have given it a gander. Basically, the post offers fortune cookie wisdom most savvy job-seekers of a certain age already know: Collapse your resume, or lob off years-ago jobs from it. Stay positive. And when you do land work, do a fantastic job. Umm, hello?
Where do you want to grow old? Many people in my generation, especially those of us who don't have children, and have had erratic incomes and job history, are asking that question.
Some families are awash in personal history, with photos displayed on every available surface at home; oft-repeated tales of days gone by; a keen awareness of the family tree and its roots. Among those of us who did not grow up in that kind of house is the writer and musician Chèrie Newman. Hear how she got her mother to finally tell her story.
Meet Amy Pickard. This friendly woman wants you to figure out who gets your belongings when you die, decide who is going to make decisions for you should you become incapacitated, and spell out exactly what you want done with your remains.
Most people don't want to move, especially as they get older. What, however, if they can't take care of themselves? There is no "app for that" when it comes to the delicate and thorny issues raised by eldercare.
At age 92, she runs three libraries.
What had happened for Lynn since we'd last been in touch was remarkable. She became a major figure on the LGBT performance circuit. One thing lead to another, and she'd become "America's most politically incorrect performer." Though really what she became was the public voice of the crusade for gay equal rights.
Meeting two women who are passionate about creating is inspirational at any age. These 90-year old artists, who I visited in one day, embody Gracefully.
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