Specifically for Seniors

A Free ranging discussion of freedom of the press.Dictators hate a free press. Victor Orbán in Hungary built his own media universe while simultaneously dismantling the free press. The Nazis smashed printing presses of opposition newspapers. One of Trump's first actions was to dictate who would cover him in the White House and on Air Force One and refuse to allow the Associated Press admittance to press briefings. Social media and press giants like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk control or rather eliminate control over truthfulness of content placed on Facebook and X; Jeff Bezos, owner of the Washington Post, stated he will not print opinions that oppose his subservience to Donald Trump.My guest today on Specifically for Seniors is Rebecca Hamilton a Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law. Her research and teaching focus is on national security law, technology, international law, and criminal law. Her scholarship draws on her experience in the prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, as well as her journalism background, including work in conflict zones as a foreign correspondent for The Washington Post. She is the author of FIGHTING FOR DARFUR: PUBLIC ACTION AND THE STRUGGLE TO STOP GENOCIDE, which analyzes citizen activism and the effort to stop mass atrocities.Rebecca and I talk about the First Amendment, control of media by billionaires who wish to control thought, Trump and his efforts to interfere with public access to the news, the punishment of non-profits and universities, the constitution crisis we are experiencing, law firm, academic freedom and what we as citizens can do.Links to interviewshttps://www.justsecurity.org/107377/trump-control-us-media-information/https://www.justsecurity.org/109439/collective-law-firms-universities-media/ Also - on a different note - The joy that is becoming a hearing aid userhttps://slate.com/technology/2024/10/hearing-aids-loss-sudden-deafness-apple-airpods.html

A recent article in the Washington Post described the current administration's attempts to cancel leases for many National Park Service buildings saying that it could save taxpayers millions of dollars. This move came after the firing of about 1000 probationary workers.I wanted to learn more about the National Park Service and how funding cuts will affect visitors this summer, but more than that - about the cultural and historical background of our national parks and the politics affecting them.So I called on Alan Spears to help us out. Alan is currently the Senior Director of Cultural Resources in the Government Affairs department. He serves as the National Parks Conservation Association's resident historian and cultural resources expert. Alan and I talked about his experience when working on a clean-up project that necessitated a helicopter rescue. We discussed the totality of the National Park Service, the number of visitors each year, and how the extent of funding cuts will affect visitors' experience at the parks and the affect it is having on the park workers. We talked about the mission of the National Parks Conservation Association.We discussed the fact that recently there has been an attempt to rewrite and erase part of American history by an executive order to remove content that "disparages Americans". Trump issued an executive order entitled "Restoring truth and sanity to American History". The order directed the Department of the Interior to conduct a review of history monuments, memorials and other properties for "partisan ideology".We briefly touched on the treaty with Tribal lands, mining on public lands, climate change, air quality and what we, as citizens, can do.NPR Interview and Article: Trump wants to restore statues and monuments. Will that happen?https://www.npr.org/2025/03/28/nx-s1-5343613/trump-executive-order-smithsonian-monuments

I was 6 years old when Voice of America first broadcast during World War II. It was established in 1941 initially focused on countering Nazi and Japanese propaganda during World War II and later played a significant role during the Cold War broadcasting to communist countries. Very recently, however, the White House moved to close down Voice of America to "ensure taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda. "To get an up-close and personal view of what's happening at VOA, we asked Steve Herman to be a guest on the podcast. Steven Herman is the chief national correspondent for the Voice of America. From 2017 to 2021, Steve was senior White House correspondent and subsequently VOA's White House bureau chief. Steve is the author of five books, the most recent of which is His latest, Behind the White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist's Story of Covering the President — and Why It Matters, is a 2024 release from Kent State University Press.In our conversation, Steve and I discussed why the Voice of America was so vital and why it was supported by all American presidents for the past 80 years with the exception of the current president. We talked about the dedication and diligence of the 1300 employees of VOA who have been put on leave and the closure of VOA. Steve pointed out that since VOA was shuttered, the world now can only hear the voices of Moscow, Beijing Pyongyang and Tehran and the danger that causes. We discussed Steve's appearance on 60 Minutes and his book Behind the White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist's Story of Covering the President - and Why It Matters.Book Availability:https://a.co/d/6zaFTL8About the Bookhttps://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/behind-the-white-house-curtain/643228

The news that the Trump administration plans to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency's offices and the future implications of Trump's energy policies on the environment and climate led to my concern about how it will affect my children and grandchildren and yours. Because I didn't understand what all the implications could be and what we could do about it, I invited David Cain from the Citizens' Climate Lobby to talk with us about the organization, what it does, and how he became active in the CCL. We talked about what the Citizen's Climate Lobby is and its mission, its climate solutions and how to volunteer.Links:Citizens' Climate Lobbyhttps://www.citizensclimatelobby.orgPodcastshttps://www.youtube.com/@CitizensClimateLobbyMonthly Speakershttps://www.citizensclimatelobby.org/monthly-speakersWrite Congress to Protect NOAAhttps://community.citizensclimate.org/tools/protect-noaa#/152/Write Congress to defend the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) climate provisionshttps://citizensclimatelobby.org/get-loud-take-action/protect-climate-ira/

One cannot turn on the news on TV or read a newspaper without hearing the words - Constitutional crisis. There's so much confusion about whether we are in a Constitutional Crisis or not, Professor Alexandra Keyssar rejoined the podcast to help us understand what a Constitutional crisis is and whether we are in one.Alexander Keyssar is the Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy. An historian by training, he has specialized in the exploration of historical problems that have contemporary policy implications. His book, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States (2000), was named the best book in U.S. history by both the American Historical Association and the Historical Society; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. A significantly revised and updated edition of The Right to Vote was published in 2009. His 1986 book, Out of Work: The First Century of Unemployment in Massachusetts, was awarded three scholarly prizes. Keyssar is coauthor of The Way of the Ship: America's Maritime History Reenvisioned, 1600-2000 (2008), and of Inventing America, a text integrating the history of technology and science into the mainstream of American history. In addition, he has co-edited a book series on Comparative and International Working-Class History. In 2004/5, Keyssar chaired the Social Science Research Council's National Research Commission on Voting and Elections, and he writes frequently for the popular press about American politics and history. Keyssar's latest book, entitled Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? (2020), is published by Harvard University Press.

WE AT SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIORS WILL CONTINUE TO JOIN AS MANY GROUPS AS POSSIBLE, MONITOR THEIR APPEALS TO THE PUBLIC. AND BRING THEM TO YOU IN WHAT WE LIKE TO CALL SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIORS ACTION CASTS. WE WILL PRESENT THEIR VIDEOS, SUMMARIZE THEIR THOUGHTS AND PROVIDE IDEAS FROM THESE GROUPS AS TO HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE. WHEN POSSIBLE WE WILL PROVIDE LINKS TO WAYS YOU CAN EASILY PARTICIPATE IN THE SHOW NOTES SO BE SURE TO CHECK THERE.WE WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THESE ACTION CASTS DROP, SO WATCH FOR THE NOTICE ANNOUNCING A SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIORS ACTION CAST. WE WILL PROVIDE LINKS TO WAYS YOU CAN EASILY PARTICIPATE IN THE SHOW NOTES SO BE SURE TO CHECK THERE.TODAY ON ACTION CAST FROM SPECIFICALLY FOR SENIORS A VIDEO FROM C.A.P - THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS, ATAMERICANPROGRESS.ORG - A PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH ABD ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION WHIUCH PRESENTS A LIBERAL VIEWPOINT ON ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ISSUES. CAP IS HEADQUARTERED IN WASHINGTON DC. THE ISSUE TODAY IS THE SAVE ACT. MORE INFORMATION IS IN THE SHOW NOTES AND AT CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS https://www.americanprogress.orgSHOW NOTESTHE SAVE ACTFROM https://www.americanprogress.org“This act would force every single American citizen to prove their citizenship status in person when registering to vote or updating their voter registration information. For the vast majority of Americans, this would mean presenting a passport or birth certificate at their local election office. This SAVE Act threatens to disenfranchise millions of U.S. citizens: 146 million Americans do not have a passport, and 69 million women who have married do not have a birth certificate that matches their new legal name. Working-class and low-income Americans would also be disproportionately disenfranchised if the bill became law, as the vast majority of these groups do not possess a passport. The only Americans who stand to benefit from the SAVE Act are out-of-touch politicians who are willing to trade Americans' right to vote for political points with the media and the administration. These politicians are trying to use claims of election integrity to trick us into making it harder for millions of eligible American citizens to cast their vote. Tell Congress to protect your rights by voting no on the SAVE Act.”CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESShttps://www.americanprogress.org

From Indivisible.org"The House and Senate are heading home for recess from March 15-23 -- and they are desperate to avoid you.Why? Because during the last recess, the few Republicans who dared to hold town halls got absolutely wrecked by their own constituents. People showed up. They demanded answers. They called out their Members of Congress for gutting Medicaid, slashing Social Security, and letting President Musk seize control of federal systems with zero oversight. In the days that followed, we saw those same Republicans start to get very nervous about their complicity and their plan to slash very popular programs like Medicaid.Republican leadership took notes. Now they're telling their members to dodge town halls altogether. They know that if voters see what they're actually doing -- selling out the country to billionaires while shredding programs that millions rely on -- it will be politically devastating."ACTION LINKS ⁠⁠Call Senate Republicans⁠⁠ -- If they're gutting Medicaid and Social Security, they should say it to your face. ⁠⁠Call House Republicans⁠⁠ -- They're looting the government for billionaires. Make them explain why. ⁠⁠Call Senate Democrats⁠⁠ -- They must hold the line against extreme MAGA cuts and demand real guardrails to protect against the Trump-Musk coup. ⁠⁠Call House Democrats⁠⁠ -- They need to hear from us. No deals. No blank checks. No business as usual.

There's an old Joke:What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?The answer: I don't know and I don't care.That pretty much sums up the way many of us feel right now.This podcast was recorded in mid- February, 2025 about a month after the inauguration of Donald Trump. In the few short weeks of his second term as president, he has fundamentally changed most of which we older adults have long considered the basis of our democracy - freedom of the press, birthright citizenship and three equal branches of government. He is attempting to cut off aid to foreign countries, drastically alter our concerns about climate change, pardon convicted insurgents , more than decimate the FBI and CIA, change the way we approach public health concerns, annex foreign countries, allow a select group of billionaires to make drastic changes to the way our government works and even wage war on paper straws.We re frustrated about our seeming lack of ability to do anything about it and to make our voices heard. So I invited Sam Daley-Harris, author of "Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen's Guide to Transformational advocacy" to help us learn how to make a difference.Throughout the last three years, Specifically for Seniors has attempted to bring conversations of interest, importance and just plain fun to you, our listeners. We have talked with artists, politicians, authors, physicians, historians, journalists, comedians, biologists, retirement experts, political activists and other podcasters.But in our more than 90 podcasts, we have never become actively involved in attempting to change our world. The current president and his sycophants, however, have forced Specifically for Seniors to change direction. We older adults must make our voices heard to create a better life for ourselves, our children, grandchildren and beyond.Specifically for Seniors hereby issues call to action, urging older adults to accept our responsibility as advocates to work toward transformational change in our communities, government , our world and in ourselves Important Links:⁠Sign Up to Stay in Touch or Learn More⁠⁠Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen's Guide to Transformational Advocacy⁠⁠Whitehouse Comment Line⁠⁠Indivisible⁠⁠Moms Demand Action⁠ ⁠Citizen's Climate Lobby⁠⁠Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)⁠⁠RESULTS.org⁠

To be honest I should have titled this podcast -Surviving the Podcast Guests.Tune in and you'll understand why I said this. Joel and Karmela Waldman are mother and son co-hosts of their True Crime podcast called Surviving the Survivor. Joel worked most recently as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent for Fox News, covering national politics from Capitol Hill. He has also worked as an investigative reporter for Fox 5 in New York City and for TV-news programs in West Palm Beach, Miami, and Tucson. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, Ileana, and his three children, Vida, Zizi, and Juda. Karmela is best known as Joel's mom (Joel wrote this). But, she's so much more! A graduate of the University of Geneva, Karmela went on to get her masters in Social Work at Rutgers University. She's both a licensed marriage therapist and Holocaust survivor. Hence, the podcast's name, Surviving the Survivor. Now from these guests you might have expected a pretty dry, uninteresting podcast, but it was one of those days everything went wrong technically - from inability to sign on to the recording program to improper syncing of voice and video and combined with Kamrela and Joel's senses of humor- leading to what I consider to be the best podcast we've ever done. Link to the book Surviving the Survivor: https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Survivor-Conversation-Holocaust-Therapist/dp/B0D3VMVM2T/ref=sr_1_1?crid=HXLB1GUAAM7X&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.JUU8BPhBhkLxg5vwvT2fAruoEoGn-l57lLdHMVnAETMQsSQ7ScF2PbT9hdoUxo2ouuqrfBt4U2qxsdzWIdtgD4WcN-eiOrcNB6glvQ9FvVhagapRw98HCQp09RnddDM4ytVnk3oy5RGEtYGD-JzaImD7uTKkMmkz1QVonWX8csRffNMWkQbqPHBZUz3GqZ3vXyssJMnlL5wFsD-JiC1LpR88VPOYBi8iEy_ZRvh3GBA.JK4_ie9MiSOqy3V-k8G8YH8eFWu3H4aQxQTPtmJrqEg&dib_tag=se&keywords=surviving+the+survivor&qid=1733420176&sprefix=surviving+the+survivor%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-1

We've just been through an historic election and so we asked Bob Levey, a prize winning journalist who has covered the Washington scene since the Johnson administration to talk with us about it. We talked about Bob's early years at The Washington Post and his currect column on the Senior Beacon Newspapers. Bob and I discussed the recent election, the job that both print and media did in covering the days up to the election, Bezos' refusal to endorse Harris and the problem with print endosements in general, the freedom of the press in the Trump administration and making peace with the election. On a lighter note, Bob talked about the game of bridge, folk singing and his novel, Larry Felder, Candidate.

This podcast was recorded during the part of the year in which the holiest of Jewish holidays takes place. It seemed appropriate to take some time to remember those of us who were lost during the Holocaust, but a part of the Holocaust many of us know little about, This podcast contains a film by John Pollick: (From the film's web page - https://www,beyondbabiyarmovie.com) "Babi Yar, or Babyn Yar, is a ravine in Kyiv, Ukraine. On September 29th and 30th, 1941, Nazis forced 33,771 Jews into it and shot them. The Nazis continued their campaign of mass shootings of Jews well beyond Babi Yar, extending through Ukraine, Belarus and other parts of Eastern Europe. This is how the Holocaust began. Although Nazis later engaged in industrialized killing, mainly in death and concentration camps in occupied Poland, an estimated 2.4 million, or 40%, of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust died by shooting. They lie in thousands of mass graves across Eastern Europe, most of which, to this day, are unmarked, unprotected and desecrated.    The mass shootings occurred primarily in Ukraine. In Ukraine alone, it is estimated that 1,500,000 to 2,100,000 Jews were shot at approximately 2,000 execution sites across the country. The majority of these sites are unmarked and neglected, and the names of nearly half of the victims in them are unknown.   John Pollick is a lawyer in Illinois. The families of his maternal grandparents, immigrants from what is now Ukraine, were among the shooting victims. In 2014, after decades of searching for the mass grave in his grandmother's hometown, he learned that an organization called Yahad-In Unum had located it. He also learned that it was one of five sites, among thousands, selected to be protected and memorialized through a project called "Protecting Memory". In 2015, he and his daughter attended the dedication of the memorial there. While there, he learned of the full extent of the mass shootings and the profound neglect of both the execution sites and the shooting victims themselves.   Returning home, Mr. Pollick found that, like himself before "Protecting Memory", Americans were not properly educated about the shooting victims and their neglected graves. In 2019, to address this void, he returned to Ukraine to make a film showing the reality of these forgotten victims and their graves, as well as the changing attitudes of Ukrainians regarding them. These changing attitudes include a growing willingness to remember and honor these marginalized victims, and bury them with dignity. The process of doing so, however, has barely begun. Hundreds, if not thousands, of execution sites across Ukraine and Eastern Europe will be forever forgotten, together with the Jewish victims in them, unless these efforts are greatly and immediately expanded.   The purpose of the film is to educate viewers about these forgotten Holocaust victims and their neglected graves, and inspire action regarding them. After 80 years, it is time to finally address this enormous historical and humanitarian injustice in an open and comprehensive way, and begin to restore to the millions of shooting victims the dignity and respect they have been so long denied." After the film, John and I talk about John's family's relationship to the killings, his involvement in making the film, and why he felt it was important to make the film. He also questions from members of the audience who viewed the film at Orchard Cove, a senior residence in the Boston area.

According to Senator Bob Casey, the ranking member of the special committee on aging , "The right to vote is one of the fundamental pilars of our democracy, but that right is under attack for millions of older Americans across the nation. Attempts to limit voting locations, the length of early voting periods, inaccessible voting locations, and new, strict voter identification laws threaten the hard won voting rights of older Americans." So we invited Attorney Joan Bondareff to be our guest on Specifically for Seniors today to explain what can be done to make it easier for older adults to register and vote. Attorney Bondareff is Special Counsel at Blank Rome Government Relations,LLC. She primarily focuses her practice on marine transportation, and environmental, regulatory and renewable energy legislative issues. Joan served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School and as an adjunct professor at American University/Washington College of Law and is a  member, American Bar Association Center for Excellence in Elder Law and Dementia. Joan and I discussed the importance of the senior vote, the barriers to voting, specific issues for seniors in nursing facilities, congressional actions and what we can do to help older Americans to vote.

We all get them - those momentary lapses when we can't recall someone's name, why we came into a room or where we left the car keys. We call them senior moments, but are these moments inevitable or limited to seniors? We'll learn more about these senior moments and how to work through them with our guest this week on Specifically for Seniors, Dr Stan Goldberg. Dr. Stan Goldberg is an expert in the areas of aging, human information processing, change, loss, and end-of-life issues. He is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at San Francisco State University, and his writing has received 26 national and international awards. We'll be talking with Stan about his thoughts on Preventing Senior Moments and How to Stay Alert into Your 90s and Beyond - which is also the title of his latest book. Book: Preventing Senior Moments and How to Stay Alert into Your 90s and Beyond Web Site: https://stangoldbergwriter.com Questions, comments, suggestions for future guests: Https://www.specificallyforseniors.com/voicemail

My guest today on Specifically for Seniors is Emmy winner, international acclaimed journalist, executive producer, food and travel lover, and creator of the beloved groundbreaking show Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, David Page takes us deep into the world of chefs, restaurateurs, and everything “foodie” on his new podcast Culinary Characters Unlocked, featuring incisive, entertaining and uninhibited conversations with culinary stars, future stars, as well as chefs and owners who run beloved local classics and mom-n-pop restaurants from coast to coast. The podcast, premiering August 27th on Apple Podcasts, You Tube, and all other all major platforms as well as on culinarycharactersunlocked.com, will drop twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. Among the first guests are: Dan Barber, multi-Michelin-starred chef at the forefront of the local food movement. Nancy Silverton, legendary Los Angeles Michelin-starred chef who has been a pioneer in the California cuisine and artisanal bread movements. Drew Nieporent, called by the New York Times, “the last old school restaurateur standing,” best known for partnering with Robert DeNiro on Nobu and the Tribeca Grill. Adrian Miller, an award-winning culinary scholar who is one of the country's leading authorities on Southern and African American foodways. Christine Nguyen, James Beard award winning chef whose restaurants run the gamut from Vietnamese to South American. Marvin Lender, who along with his brothers introduced non-New York America to bagels after figuring out how to mass produce and freeze them. Page, a two-time Emmy winner, is best known for creating the Food Network hit Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and executive producing the program for eleven seasons. His other entertainment/reality projects include syndicated and streaming series Beer Geeks, nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Culinary Program, and multiple Food Network series including Outrageous Food, Tailgate Warriors, Al Roker's Diner Destinations, and Al Roker's Country Fest. His prior television experience includes decades in network news at both ABC and NBC, covering some of the biggest stories on the planet (including walking through the Berlin Wall the night it opened) and control-room producing Good Morning America. Page is also an author, writing the award- winning book Food Americana about the creation of American cuisine from the foods of other countries and cultures.

My guests today on Specifically for Seniors caught my attention in an Opinion piece in the Washington Post.  Professors Ben Katz and Pamela Teaster urged “an objective, scientific conversation about mental and physiological aging - both for our leaders and for the rapidly aging populations around the world” realizing that these conversations are both difficult and obligatory. We're going to try to at least open that conversation here on Specifically for Seniors, today. Both Ben Katz and Pamela Teaster, are part of the faculty of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Tech Pamela Teaster is also director of the Virginia Tech Center for Gerontology and on the editorial board of the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect. She is a fellow of both the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. She is an active board member and former president of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.

My guest today on Specifically for Seniors is a practicing magician, but his story goes way beyond slight of hand and deceptions. Richard Hatch holds two graduate degrees in physics, but found it easier to apparently violate ther laws of physics than to discover them. Dick has always had a fascination with books on magic, but one book, in particular, led him a deeper understanding of the Jewish people during the holocaust. Dick discovered and translated, from the German, a book entitled DIE JUDEN IN DER ZAUBERKUNDST - Jews in Magic published in Berlin in 1933 wirtten by a Jewish author named Gunter Damman. Researching the book, Dick, who is not Jewish, came to a deeper understanding of the plight of the Jewish people during the holocaust which we talk about during the podcast. This is a story you have not heard about the holocaust and one that you must hear.

An unfortunate fact of life at our age is that sooner or later we are going to face a hospital admission whether due to an illness, an injury or pain, and that can be confusing and frightening. Many of us need help in preparing for an Emergency Room and/or hospital visit. Once in the hospital learning how to navigate hospital care and advocate for ourselves is essential So I called on Dr. Monique Nugent, author of Prescription for Admission: A Doctor's Guide for Navigating the Hospital, Advocating for Yourself and Having a Better Hospitalization for advice. Dr. Nugent is a praciticing hospitalist and Associate Director for the Division of Hospital Medicne at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, MA. She completed her medical school training and residency training at Loma Linda University Medcal Center in southern California and completed her Master in Public Health at the Harvard Schoo f Public Health. Dr. Nugent and I talk about what to do before you face a hospital admission and how to advocate for yourself once in the hospital. Her well-organized book is essential readng for older adults. Book is available everywhere books are sod and at Amazon. Prescription for Admission

My guest today on Specifically for Seniors is a practicing Rabbi and stand-up comedian.  Bob Alper has been seen on Good Morning America, Showtime, The BBC, CNN and was featured on Extra, TV's top rated entertainment program, immediately following a segment on the size of Jennifer Lopez's butt. Bob and I talk about how a Rabbi got started as a stand-up comedian, why he feels that humor is holy, hs 'gentle' humor, his book - Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than This - and how his father used to shower with the lady next door. Bob talked about performing and explained several of his programs - The Spirituality of Laughter and his Laugh in Peace Tour where he performs with Christian and Muslim comedians. Bob enlightened me on Albana's role in saving Jews during the holocaust and how Albania was in contention for becoming a Jewish state. We got serious at the end of the podcast about the war n Gaza, anti-semitism and the pro-palestinian protests in New York City. Books: Life Doesn't Get Any Better Than This: The Holiness of Little Daily Dramas Thanks I Needed That

I have a friend who just celebrated his 100th birthday. He was a bombadier during World War II. He is in great physical ad mental health, has written a play about his experiences and is trying to cast that play at the senior residence he considers home. This got me wondering if there was a way that more of us could live well into old age, so I called on Noelle Nelson, PhD author of “The Longevity Secret, How to Live Happy, Healthy & Vibrant Into Your 70s, 80s, 90s and Beyond” for the answer. Noelle has appeared on national and international radio, television and podcasts including CBS's “The Early Show,” ABC's “The View,” and CNN. She has been interviewed, quoted or written about in such diverse media as Parade,” “Living to 100 Club” Podcast, Inc., People, Woman's World, UpJourney and the Stories of Inspiring Joy. Dr. Nelson holds advanced degrees in clinical psychology from the United States International University, and sociology degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Noelle and i talked about the secret to living well and the one word that sums up her findings. To learn the secret, tune into this podcast.

One of the best parts of doing this podcast is that it gives me the opportunity to meet and talk with some remarkable people who've done exceptional things after retirement. Chad Richardson was a Detroit police officer who gave himself the gift of filmmaking when he retired from law enforcement. On today's episode of Specifically for Seniors takes us on his journey to fulfill his dream after retirement. Chad and I talk about his movie Bad Senator and the more than 200 seniors who volunteered in the film as well as the retirement community where it was filmed. Be sure to check out the film trailer for Bad Senator in the podcast.

Maggie Scarf is a former visiting fellow at the Whitney Humanities Center, Yale University, and a fellow of Jonathan Edwards College, Yale University. She was for many years a Contributing Editor to The New Republic and a member of the advisory board of the American Psychiatric Press. Maggie is the author of seven books for adults and two books for children. She s the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including a Ford Foundation Fellowship and a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism at Harvard. She has received several National Media Awards from the American Psychological Foundation. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, The New Republic and Psychology Today She has appeared on many television programs, including Oprah, Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS News, and CNN, and has been interviewed extensively on radio and for magazines and newspapers across the nation. Maggie's books include the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Unfinished Business: Pressure Points in the Lives of Women and Intimate Partners: Patterns in Love and Marriage. Body, Mind, Behavior (a collection of essays, most of them first published in The New York Times Magazine); Intimate Worlds: How Families Thrive and Why They Fail; Secrets, Lies, Betrayal: How the Body Holds the Secrets of a Life, and How to Unlock Them; and, most recently, September Songs: The Bonus Years of Marriage. Maggie and I talk about her life and career, her books, and the Supreme Court.

There is an organization in Massachusetts that is focused on caring for an aging population, that develops services that meet older adults' needs and preferences and advocates for us. I had not heard of this organization before so we invited Elissa Sherman, the President of LeadingAge Massachusetts. to explain it to us. Dr. Sherman has worked in aging policy for more than 30 years, beginning her career in state government as an analyst for the Massachusetts state legislature's Joint Committee on Human Services and Elderly Affairs and later working at the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Elder Affairs where she was involved in the development and implementation of regulations governing assisted living. She joined LeadingAge Massachusetts (then called MassAging) in 1998 as Director of Public Policy and has overseen the Association's public policy and government relations work since that time. During her tenure at LeadingAge Massachusetts, Dr. Sherman has brought the voice of not-for-profit aging service providers to the development of state policy through her work leading the Association's advocacy activities, and through her involvement on numerous state advisory boards. Dr. Sherman completed her PhD in Social Policy at the Heller School at Brandeis University and received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Vermont. Elissa. and I discuss Leading Age Massachusetts and the services it provides both for not-for-profit organizations and consumers alike.

Rick Mater is a longtime runner and Emmy-nominated TV executive living in Los Angeles. He was born in Pinner, England, and grew up in California, New Jersey, and Munich, Germany. A miler in high school, he lettered in cross-country in college and has run the Grand Canyon twice as a cardiac patient. A heart attack survivor, he has four stents in his left anterior descending artery and a defibrillator implanted in the side of his chest. He is the author of Six Hours: Running for My Life in the Grand Canyon.Rick and I talk about overcoming medical problems and facing the challenge of a 17 mile run in the Grand Canyon - twice. Rick's books: Beat - https://www.amazon.com/Beat-Richard-Lewis-Mater/dp/1736823019 Six Hours: Running for My Life in the Grand Canyon - https://www.amazon.com/Six-Hours-Running-Grand-Canyon-ebook/dp/B0BGQNPWMK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39ETR5NAJTFZ3&keywords=beat+by+rick+mater&qid=1707662706&sprefix=beat+by+rick+mater%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-1

As many of us age we develop physical problems, we have difficulty seeing, hearing and mobility. We require a walker, wheelchair or motorized device to get around. And we feel that our physicians don't understand our problems. So we asked Dr. Lisa Iezzoni to be a guest on the podcast to help us work through the challenges we face. Lisa I. Iezzoni, MD, MSc is Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and based at the Health Policy Research Center, Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research for the past 25 years has focused on improving the life experience of people with mobility disability. Dr. Iezzoni has conducted numerous studies examining the health care experiences of persons with disability. She has also explored home-based supportive services; her book Making Their Days Happen: Paid Personal Assistance Services Supporting People with Disability Living in Their Homes and Communities was published in 2022. During the 2022-2023 academic year, she was the Sally Starling Seaver Fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Dr. Iezzoni is a member of the National Academy of Medicine in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dr. Iezzoni and I discuss her disability and use of a wheelchair for the past 47 years, we talk about her career and research, the problems of independent living with a disability, health disparities, and the fact that many physicians are reluctant to trreat patients with a disability. We also discuss the problems of getting good dental care. We talk about the contents of her book - Making Their Days Happen: Paid Personal Assistance Services Supporting People with Disability Living in Their Homes and Communities. We close with a discussion of a phrase she used in a previous podcast - "OK, what can I do to make that person's life better? Book Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Their-Days-Happen-Communities-ebook/dp/B09KQ5LVML/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1GHX8CLXARWQA&keywords=making+their+days+happen&qid=1707093399&sprefix=makingg+their+days+happen%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-1

On today's podcast, it is my distinct honor to introduce MT Connolly to those of you who have never had the privilege of meeting her. M.T. Connolly is a leading national expert on elder justice and a MacArthur “genius” grant awardee. In issuing the award, the foundation said Connolly has “ devoted her career to laying bare the many forms of elder abuse: physical and psychological, as well as financial exploitation and wrongful deprivation of rights.” MT is the author of the 2023 book, The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life. She was the architect of the federal Elder Justice Act, founder of the Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative, and lead author of the Elder Justice Roadmap, shaping federal, state, and local research, policy, and practice. She is also co-designer of the community-based “RISE” model intended to introduce holistic, hopeful, and effective ways to empower older adults, reduce harms, and promote elder justice. MT Connolly talks wth me about what we do with the 30 additional years of life we've gained since the 1900's, geriatric medicine, the challenges older adults face, the federal elder justice act and her book The Measure of Our Age.

Elizabeth Keating is a professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in culture and communication. Her book, The Essental Questions: Interview Your Family to Uncover Stories and Bridge Generations, reached #1 on Amazon's “Movers & Shakers in Books” in the first week of publication, and was #1 in cultural anthropology the week after. The book takes an anthropological approach to finding out about your own family history, and will help you to uncover new sides of family members you've known all your life. Elizabeth's academic research and writing focuses on culture and communication and impacts of technology on communication. She's done fieldwork in several world areas including Micronesia, Europe, South Asia, and the U.S. She has presented talks and papers in 15 countries on a variety of topics in language and culture, and authored or co-authored over 50 publications. We at Specifically for Seniors, a podcast designed for a vibrant and diverse senior community, feel it is important to bridge the generational gap in our podcasts by bringing together representatives of a young generation and representatives of an older one. Dr. Keating's book, The Essental Questions: Interview Your Family to Uncover Stories and Bridge Generations, provided an opportunity to do just that. My granddaughter, Carmel Barsh, was invited to co-host the podcast to provide the viewpoint of the younger generation.

Our guest today on Specifically for Seniors, Dr. Rosanne Leipzig is internationally recognized in the field of geriatrics. Dr Leipzig is the Gerald and May Ellen Ritter Professor and Vice Chair, Emerita of the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Dr. Leipzig's latest book, Honest Aging: An Insider's Guide to the Second Half of Life, describes what to expect physically, psychologically, functionally, and emotionally as you age, what you can do to adapt to your new normal.She has been repeatedly named as one of the Best Doctors in America, America's Top Physicians, a New York Times SuperDoc, and one of New York Magazine's Top Doctors for Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Leipzig has appeared on The Today Show, CBS Evening News, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, and AARP Webinars, and has been published in TIME magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bottom Line Health, AARP The Magazine, and American Medical News, among others. Dr. Leipzig and I talk about the unique aspects of a geriatric physician's outlook, normal and abnormal changes as we age, the importance of exercise, medication use and the importance of establishing a health care proxy. Dr. Leipzig introduces us to a newsetter you might be interested in subscribing to and walks us through her book Honest Aging: An Insider's Guide to the Second Half of Life.Web Site: RoseanneMD.com Newsletter:RosanneMD.com/focus-on-healthy-aging Other sites of interest:MyHealthPriorities.org https://themesh.tv/2023/06/06/what-caregivers-need-to-know-about-the-loved-ones-second-half-of-life-with-dr-rosanne-leipzig/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/10/15/aging-guide-medication-exercise-alzheimers/ 30% Book Discount Visit www.press.jhu.edu/books and enter the promotional code HTWN when checking out.

Jonathan Alter is an award winning author, political analyst, documentary filmmaker, columnist, television producer and radio host. His most recent book is “His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life.” Jonathan is a former editor and columnist at Newsweek, politics analyst for NBC news and MSNBC. He has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Washington Monthly, the New Yorker, Bloomberg and the Daily Beast. He hosts a weekly Substack newsletter called “Old Goats, Rumination with Friends" - which features his conversations with accomplished people of wisdom and experience. Jon and I discuss his Substack Column -Old Goats. Rumination with Friends and Jon gives me some tips on how to interview guests effectively. We discuss his newest book - His Very Best: Jimmy Carter , A Life and how a second term in office for Jimmy Carter would have been different than what a second term for Donald Trump is likely to be. Jon discusses Trump's January 6 trial, and the dangers of a Trump second term. He offers suggestions on what everyone concerned about another Trump presidency can do. We conclude wth Jon's thought's on whether democracy would survive another Trump presidency. This podcast with a veteran journalist must be shared with all who might be considering voting for Trump and those who ask what we can do to prevent Trump from serving another term. Links:Substack - https://oldgoats.substack.com/p/norman-lear-he-kept-the-moment-goingBook - https://www.amazon.com/His-Very-Best-Jimmy-Carter/dp/1501125540/ref=sxts_entity_rec_bsx_s_def_r00_t_aufl?content-id=amzn1.sym.a36c3969-f821-4d5b-a8e8-be129cf4aa4a%3Aamzn1.sym.a36c3969-f821-4d5b-a8e8-be129cf4aa4a&crid=1P6WFGXOC2JPH&cv_ct_cx=jonathan+alter&keywords=jonathan+alter&pd_rd_i=1501125540&pd_rd_r=8169eb5d-9cb8-4c04-8f95-0196b9e291de&pd_rd_w=9KxDc&pd_rd_wg=5uJMk&pf_rd_p=a36c3969-f821-4d5b-a8e8-be129cf4aa4a&pf_rd_r=ZM15NHQG9HXTV0BGWMG1&qid=1703168939&s=books&sprefix=jonathan+alter%2Cstripbooks%2C80&sr=1-1-ef9bfdb7-b507-43a0-b887-27e2a8414df0

Book bans have reached a record high over the past two years. Books targeted have overwhelmingly been about people of color and LGBTQ individuals. And nowhere has that been more evident than in Florida. Our guest today on Specifically for Seniors, Tania Galiñanes had to face Florida House Bill 1467 head on as a school librarian in Florida. House Bill 1467, signed by Governor DeSantis on March 25, 2022, and effective July 1, 2022,requires school districts to be transparent in the selection of instructional materials and library and reading materials. This legislation preserves the rights of parents to make decisions about what materials their children are exposed to in school. And she's here today to tell us her story and why she had to leave a job she loved. My conversation wth Tania is one that you have not heard on television, she speaks frankly about the dangers and the kids it affects.

Be advised: Adult language is used during this podcast Those of you who are fans of the TV show -Amerca's Got Talent - will recognize my guest this week. Maureen Langan was a semi-finalist on Season 18 of AGT where her performance landed her a standing ovation and four "Yeses" from the judges. Maureen is an internationally acclaimed standup comedian, broadcaster, Tedx Talk speaker and corporate event host. She has performed with entertainment, literary and cultural icons that include Robin Williams, Jay Leno, Rosie O'Donnell, Jack Canfield, Joy Behar, Gloria Steinem, Danny Glover and Gladys Knight ­– and she roasted comedy royalty Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. As a broadcaster, Maureen created and hosted Bloomberg Television and Radio's award-winning entertainment programming, where her most memorable moments were interviewing Joan Rivers and George Carlin. Her astute observations and interviewing style earned her the title of “Best Female Commentator” by the Newswomen's Club of New York. Her TEDx Talk, “The Business of Fun,” is inspired by her time performing in South Africa at the first ever Johannesburg International Comedy Festival. Maureen's message of inclusion had 600 people on their feet when first presented at Monmouth University. Maureen and I talk about her broadcasting career, her solo show "Daughter of a Garbageman", her Tedx Talk, what it's like being talent on AGT, her comedy tour "Don't Make Me Hate You", hosting corporate events and a TV pilot she'd like to make. Sit, relax and enjoy the story behind appearing on AGT and the differences between what you say on TV and in a comedy act.

Adam Mansbach is a novelist, screenwriter, cultural critic and humorist. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Go the F**k to Sleep, which has been translated into forty languages, named Time Magazine's 2011 "Thing of the Year," and sold over three million copies worldwide. Mansbach's novels include Rage is Back, The End of the Jews (winner of the California Book Award), and Angry Black White Boy, which is taught at over a hundred schools and was adapted into a prize-winning stage play in 2008. and his most recet novel - The Golem of Brooklyn. Adam's debut screenplay, for the 2016 Netflix Original BARRY, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and an NAACP Image Award. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times Book Review, Esquire, The Believer, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, The Moth Storytelling Hour, and This American Life. Adam and I talk about being multi-genre author, the rise of antisemitism, public figures and anti-semitism, Adam's book - The Golem of Brooklyn and why the Golem learns English from watchng Curb Your Enthusiasm and the danger of Elon Musk's ownership of a social media platfform and a whole bunch of satellites.And no podcast with Adam Mansbach would be compete without the back story of Go the F**k to Sleep. Watch for Adam's commercial for the upcoming presidential election - he promised to do one at the end of the podcast. This is one podcast you want to watch and share! Link to The Golem of Brooklyn purchase on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/Golem-Brooklyn-Novel-Adam-Mansbach/dp/059372982X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZPIDO5M5857J&keywords=the+golem+of+brooklyn&qid=1701025577&sprefix=the+goem+of+brooklyn%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-1

An hour without notes and a script. We talked ice cream sandwiches, Death Wish and Red Barn coffee, the pandemic, a life in Improv and teaching, Batman, super heroes, radio and ImprovBoston. If you want to spend an hour listeninhg to a pleasant, no-stress conversation about things that really matter very little, get connected. It's like a version of Jerry Seinfeld without Larry David.

Today on Specifically for Seniors, we're going to do something just a bit different. We have three guests who are here to tell you three completely different stories about parts of their lives. You've met two of them on previous podcasts, but they didn't have the time to tell you the rest of their stories. The third is new to Specifically for Seniors, but it's the story of a part of American history that our generation cannot forget. So make yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let these three men tell you about a part of each of their lives. Those of you who are regular listeners to specifically for seniors will recall Alistair Henry from our May, 2023 podcast. Alistair retired at 57, shed his possessions and went to live with the First Nations band in the Northwest Territory, then left Canada's North to volunteer, working with local NGOs. Those are nonprofit organizations in Bangladesh. He and his wife enjoyed budget pack packing for four months at a time in Central America and Southeast Asia in their sixties. In 2020, Alistair endured a double lung transplant. Alistair is back today to talk about the transplant and the work he is now doing as a Trillium Gift of Life advocate. On November 22nd, 1963, a 26 year old junior duty officer was on duty at Bethesda Naval Hospital when the casket containing the body of Jack Fitzgerald Kennedy arrived from Dallas. You met that naval officer on this podcast on May 3rd, 2023. Sorel Schwartz today is a professor emeritus of pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center, and Senior Pharmacology advisor at the FDA Sorel is with us today as we near the 60th anniversary of JFK's assassination. My third and final guest on today's podcast is Robert Norris. Robert's story is one that many of us who were draft aged during the Vietnam War era will have faced in one way or another. Robert is a Pacific Northwest, native Vietnam war, conscientious objector who served sometime in a military prison, an expat resident of Japan since 1983. He's the author of The Good Lord Willing, and The Creek Don't Rise. But, but let me let Robert tell you his story. We're talking to Robert from his home in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan. Book Availability: The Good Lord willing and The Creek Don't Rise https://www.amazon.com/Good-Lord-Willing-Creek-Dont/dp/180100000X

It was just a few months ago that Neo-Nazis and white supremacists paraded in front of Disney World in Orlando spreading antisemitic messages, more recently an outbreak of antisemitism on college campuses, war in Israel after a deadly Hamas attack on Jewish settlers and amidst all that Yiddish language is making a comeback due to our guest today on Specifically for Seniors. Avi Hoffman was recently awarded Congressional recognition, was invited to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis and was inducted into the Bronx Jewish Hall of Fame for his lifetime work advancing Jewish culture, Yiddishkayt and Holocaust awareness through the charity he founded - Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc. (YILoveJewish.org). As an actor, he was nominated for a NY Drama Desk Award for his Yiddish language portrayal of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. He is best known for his Too Jewish Trilogy: Award winning one man shows. On TV, he was featured as Sid Raskin in the Starz TV series Magic City, as well as on Netflix' Bloodline, A&E's The Glades and on the NBC series Law and Order. He recently starred in the Film Festival favorite: You Will Not Play Wagner and the International Award winning short Yiddish Films: Shehita, BOXED and the motion picture – The Imported Bridegroom. He was seen in the PBS documentary They Came For Good: A History of the Jews in the US. Avi has performed all over the world, has numerous acting and directing credits and has received multiple awards and nominations. Avi and I discuss his childhood, his acting background, antisemitism, but, most of all, the comeback of Yiddish Website and Books: https://yilovejewish.org/product-category/books/ Links to interviews, articles: https://yilovejewish.org/yilove-jewish-live/

Our guest on specificallyfor Seniors this week, MT Connolly unfortunately had to cancel her podcast at the last minute but MT wIll be on later in the year. MT Connolly is the architect of the federal Elder Justice Act, founder of the Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative, a MacArthur “genius” grant awardee, and author of the 2023 book, The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life But we thought it would be fun to revisit a very early podcast from March, 2022 with comedian Robert Klein. This podcast was originally recorded and played only in audio but we found the recording and will rerun it for the first time with the original video We all know Robert Klein from hir more than 80 appearances on the Johnny Carson Show, and his more than 79 film and TV credits. He hosted Saturday Night Live twice and was in the original Cheeseburger Sketch with John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd. Robert was the frst comedian to have ab HBO SPecal and went on to star in 8 more. He's been nominated for 2 Emmy's, 3 Grammys and 1 Tony. His most recent film, Befre I Go , is a sometimes funny, but always moving experience. You will get to know Robert as a person as he and I talk about his career, medicine and dentistry, Johnny Carson, SNL, his family, quitting smoking, politics, health and even the picture on the wall behind him..

One of the most common problems that older adults have is hearing loss and the inability to hear conversations clearly in a group setting especially when there is a lot of background noise even when they are wearing their hearing aids So we asked Brian Taylor, AuD, the senior director of audiology for Signia to come on Specially for Seniors to talk about the problem and the solution.Brian is the editor of Audiology Practices, a quarterly publication of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology, and an adjunct instructor at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Taylor has been an American Academy of Audiology member since 1991. Brian and I discuss the social implications of hearing loss, diagnosis and tyes of hearing loss and a new type of hearing aid by Signia.

This podcast is a must listen for both you and your family's well-being. The stories that Diane Dimond tells about senior guardianship can happen to anyone. Journalist Diane Dimond and I discuss the problems that can occur what happens when a system designed to protect goes horribly wrong. Using stories gleaned from years of research, Diane illustrates how unscrupulous guardians can drain resources designed to allow those incapacitated by mental and physical disability to live comfortable lives and robs family of their inheritance. We're Here to Help, When Guardianship Goes Wrong is must reading for families who have become caregivers. Diane Dimond has enjoyed an award winning career in radio and television news.She is the recipient of theAmerican Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award. Perhaps you know her from her coverage of some of the nation's biggest stories - including the murder of JonBenét Ramsey, the Michael Jackson case, the O.J. Simpson Murder Case and the Bush-Gore election recount in Florida- in a career that has included NPR, CNBC, Court TV, MSNBC and the "Today" show.

Are you looking for ways to improve your brain health and cognition? Look no further than the latest episode of "Specifically for Seniors" podcast, where Dr. Jennifer Brinckerhoff and Jodi Bornstein discuss the link between quality sleep and brain function. From the importance of deep sleep to tips for improving sleep habits, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to boost their brainpower.  Jennifer Brinckerhoff, M.D. is medical director at Orchard Cove's Wellness Center. Dr. Brinckerhoff received medical degree from the University of Virginia School Of Medicine AND completed her residency in internal medicine with a primary care focus and a fellowship in geriatrics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Brinckerhoff is certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine with a certificate of added qualifications in geriatrics. Jodi Bornstein is an Occupational Therapist with Hebrew Senior Life's Therapy House Calls program. Jodi has published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and for the last 6 years has been a guest faculty member at the Massachusetts General Hospital's Institute of Health Professions. 

Courtney Hogenson, is a Registered Nurse, Advanced Legal Nurse Consultant, Patient Advocate and Life Care Manager with more than ten years of experience in elder care and healthcare worker empowerment. She is also the founder of Call-Light, an innovative healthcare platform that enables patients and nurses to directly negotiate private in-home care engagements anytime, anyplace. In our discussion, Courtney and I tackle the difficult problems involved in elder care including advocacy for hospitalized patients, home care beyond what a family member caregiver or aide can provide and the costs involved. We talk about Courtney's company Call-Light (www.call-light.com) and how to find nursing home care wherever it is needed. Contact: Web Site: https://www.call-light.com Phone: 1-800-476-6523 Patient Advocacy: http://www.aginglifecare.org Contest Information: Text Number : (781) 613-0393 Contest Rules: https://www.specificallyforseniors.com/p/contest-rules/ Your Story Link: https://www.specificallyforseniors.com/p/your-story/

Priscilla Long is a Seattle based writer of science, poetry, creative non-fiction, fiction and history and a longtime independent teacher of writing. Her awards include a National Magazine Award, ten of her essays have been honored as “notable” in various editions of the Best American Essays. She wrote a science column for The American Scholar online. Priscilla has an MFA from the University of Washington and grew up on a dairy farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, USA. Priscila's book, Dancing with the Muse in Old Age, is about thriving in old age. It reflects the new ways of looking at old age as a potentially dynamic, happy, and productictive time. Priscilla and I chat about ageism and creativity and her concept that old age is a time to begin creative work. We talk about "models" - people who in their later years were creative and productive. We consider the meaning of the word "retirement" and share our thoughts on whether that word should not be used any longer. We talk about the advantages and challenges to being an oder creator and her feeling about how we should shape a new sort of old age.

Dr. Robert Krim is a leading expert on the factors that have driven and continue to drive Boston (and Massachusetts) to be the most innovative city in the US.. He Co-authored Boston Made: From Revolution to Robotics: Innovations that Changed the World. His revelations about Boston have been made into a permanent exhibit at Boston's Logan Airport Terminal C - From Massachusetts to the World: Four Centuries of Innovation which draws millions of visitors each year. Most recently he co-founded the Innovation Trail a 2- hour guided tour through Kendall Sq and Downtown Boston of 21 sites of innovations which originated here and changed the nation or the world. Boston Magazine awarded the Trail tour as “the Best Walking Trail” In Boston in its Best of Boston July '23 special edition. Bob taught for a decade at Clark University and became a tenured professor at Framingham State University. Now, a semi-retired professor at Framingham State, He teaches Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and founded the “co-working” Entrepreneur Innovation Center. Bob is the author of Boston Made: From Revolution to Robots: Innovation That Have Changed the World. He headed up a 20+ year long study of moree than 450 inovations that originated in Boston and changed the nation and the world. He worked with hindreds of organizations, universities and companies to tell the story. Please take a moment to take this brief survey, submit the results to https://www.specificallyforseniors.com/contact. Thank you. Question 1: Would you like to see more presentations like this one? Question 2: Would you be interested in watching and listening to a live, streaming podcast in which you couuld ask questions of the guest while the podcast was in progress? Question 3: Would you be interested in participating in a podcast club in which participants would watch a podcast and then discuss?

"Best If Used By" is a new play about aging and ageism inspired by, and performed by, 2 senior-citizen actors beloved on the North Shore. Written by North Shore writer/actor Doug Brendel (DougBrendel.com) the world premier is presented by Firehouse Center for the Arts and Ipswich Art Association with performances October 12-15,2023 at Firehouse, Newburyport. We talked with the author, Doug Brendel and director Kristina Grundmann as well as the two actors in the play Rebecca Axelrod and Barbara Bourgeois who shared their views on the play, their lives and presented a brief sketch from the show.

This is the fourth episode in Specifically for Seniors podcasts in conjunction with Hebrew Senior Life and Orchard Cove's kseries on cognitive fitness, In the first episode we spoke with Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone on Brain Health and Cognitive Fitness. In the second episode of the series, we reviewed the relationship of physical exercise and brain health, in the third we discussed challenging your brain and learning new things. John Ralston has been the Director of Culinary Services at Orchard Cove Senior Living Community in Canton Massachusetts for 14 years. He previously held similar positions with Hilton and Marriott Hotels. Tina Reilly is the Clinical Nutrition Manager at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center. Previous to this position, Tina was the Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Kindred Hospital, Boston. Her experience includes being a dietician at several Boston hospitals, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Tina has a B.S. in Clinical Dietetics. Link to Mind Diet Component Servings and Scoring: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KY0qeZFyxgPypQFJGjbl4jLd2M2JGnF3/view?usp=share_link

Alexander Keyssar is the Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy. An historian by training, he has specialized in the exploration of historical problems that have contemporary policy implications. His book, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States (2000), was named the best book in U.S. history by both the American Historical Association and the Historical Society; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. A significantly revised and updated edition of The Right to Vote was published in 2009.  Prof. Keyssar chaired the Social Science Research Council's National Research Commission on Voting and Elections, and he writes frequently for the popular press about American politics and history. Keyssar's latest book, entitled Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? (2020), is published by Harvard University Press. problem for President Biden than Donald Trump,

Judy Kugel currently is a columnist at The Boston Globe, writing regularly on issues related to aging.  JUDY Retired AS Associate Dean of Students at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She has helped people to make life choices since 1970 when she co-founded the Boston Project for Careers, one of the first organizations to promote job-sharing for professionals. Her personal essays and travel articles have appeared in major newspapers, magazines and on several websites and on her twice-weekly blog at www.70-something.com  Her latest post was her 1,627th. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Political Science, she holds an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from Boston College and  is the author of 70-Something:  Life, Love and Limits in the Bonus Years. Judy and I talk about whether we older adults are our own worst enemies when it comes to ageism, and how our perception about age changes as we get older. We talk about eating healthfully, exercising and training our brains, her blog and her book 0-Something: Life, Love and Limits in the Bonus Years. Judy advises us to wring the most out of every day and be grateful .

Robert Krim, author of Boston Made will be presenting alive discussion at Orchard Cove, a senior living facility in Canton, MA on September 7, 2023. The presentation will be recorded and played as a podcast in early September, 2023. This is a promotional video for that podcast. Video of Bob Krim on Innovation Trail Courtesy of Sam Seidel, Unplanned Podcast

If you are a fan of Netflix's hit show Jewish Matchmaking this episode is one you do not want to miss. We chat with Aleeza Ben Shalom from Israel about becoming a professional matchmaker, the differences in dating in the 50's and 60's and now, the show itself, her computer database, how she met her husband, breaking up with ChatGPT and more. Aleeza is an American-Israeli matchmaker and dating coach, known for her expertise in helping Jewish singles find love and form lasting relationships. She is also a popular speaker and author, having written several books on relationships and personal growth. Instagram: @aleezabenshalom Books: Get Real Get Married: Get Over Your Hurdles and Under the Chuppah https://www.amazon.com/Get-Real-Married-Aleeza-Shalom/dp/148004590X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1XEEUXQYRV0MI&keywords=aleeza+ben+shalom&qid=1690740139&sprefix=aleeza+ben+shalom%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-1 Virtual Dating: Your Guide to a Relationship in a Socially Distanced World https://www.amazon.com/Virtual-Dating-Relationship-Socially-Distanced-ebook/dp/B08NCXYYTB/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1XEEUXQYRV0MI&keywords=aleeza+ben+shalom&qid=1690740139&sprefix=aleeza+ben+shalom%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-2

A man, his beanie and Harry Potter glasses, an umbrella and a sign that reads "Free Advice Offered and Accepted". That's George Vaill's story as he sits in Harvard Square offering advice to all who pass. Al Roker and so many Harvard students drop by to chat.

This is the third episode in Specifically for Seniors podcasts in conjunction with Hebrew Senior Life and Orchard Cove's series on cognitive fitness. In the first episode, we spoke with Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone on Brain Health and Cognitive Fitness, in the second episode of the series, we reviewed the relationship of physical exercise and brain health with Tim Parke and Chris Young. In this episode, Specificaly for Senors wecomes Jodi Bornstein and Melissa Day for a discussion on challenging your brain and learning new things. Jodi Bornstein is an Occupational Therapist with Hebrew Senior Life's Therapy House Calls program. Jodi has published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and for the last 6 years has been a guest faculty member at the Massachusetts General Hospital's Institute of Health Professions. Melissa Day has been a Speech Language Pathologist for more than 30 years working in home care for the last 20 years. Both Jodi and Melissa have an interest in brain health and have been working with a dynamic interdisciplinary team at Orchard Cove, a senior living facility near Boston on optimizing the pillars of brain health in the daily lives and culture in senior living. Links: AARP - STAYINGSHARP.AARP.ORG  COMPUTER BASED PROGRAMS  - BRAIN HQ (BRAINHQ.COM) -LUMOSITY (LUMOSITY.COM) -WORDLE (NYTIMES.COM/GAMES/WORDLE/INDEX.HTML) -SPOT THE DIFFERENCE (SPOTTHEDIFFERENCE.COM) -LANGUAGE APPS -DUOLINGO (DUOLINGO.COM) -BABBEL (BABBEL.COM) -WORDSEARCH (THEWORDSEARCH.COM)

Ageism, according to the World Health Organization, refers to how we think, feel and act towards others or ourselves based on age. It affects people of all ages and exists in our institutions, our relationships and ourselves. Many of us have experienced the effects of Ageism when it comes to older adults in the workplace, in hospitals, in public, in nursing homes, and in both the media and the entertainment industries.  Kyrié Carpenter was trained as a therapist and works as a facilitator and public speaker, specializing in ageism and dementia. She is the editor of the Changing Aging blog, author of Healing Dementia, and is adjunct faculty at USI and Pacifica Graduate Institute, Ryan Backer is an age activist, public speaker and self-proclaimed old person in training. Ryan was a fellow with Boston University's Center for Antiracist Research's Antibigotry Convening. Ryan does care work, organizes interage events and groups, writes zines, and sits on the board of two community-based nonprofits .Ryan has an undergraduate degree in Gerontology with a minor in Black Studies from York College, City University of New York. Old School curates, creates, commissions and disseminates free resources to educate people about ageism and how to end it; hosts and facilitates spaces where age advocates around the world can connect; collaborates with other pro-aging organizations; and shows up for other social-justice movements. Old School is working towards a world where everyone has the opportunity to live long and to live well. We are advancing the movement to dismantle ageism, and we are leveraging the fact that everyone ages (and experiences age bias) in order to address the intersectional nature of all oppression—and of all activism.

Rob Surette's speed painting performances and fine art creations are a testament to his exceptional talent and passion for the arts. Through his dynamic speed painting displays, he brings art to life in a way that captivates audiences and leaves them in awe. His fine art pieces, on the other hand, offer a glimpse into the creative depth and technical mastery that define his work. Rob Surette's contributions to the world of art are nothing short of extraordinary, reminding us of the boundless possibilities that can be achieved through artistic expression. Rob Surette's motivational messages are an integral part of his artistic journey. He believes that art has the power to ignite positive change, to uplift spirits, and to inspire transformation. THE CHALLENGE Rob and I challenge you to create something new - a photograph, a poem, a story - and send it to me larry(at)specificallyforseniors.com. (Use the @ to substitute for (at), of course) with your name, email address, and title for your work. We will pick about 10 entries to be featured on another podcast with Rob. And just maybe youwill be able to tell your story of creativity on the podcast in person.