Only in America
In this poignant, personal essay, WSJ writer Katie Roiphe details the beauty and banality of having her nearly 90-year-old mother move in with her. She notes that only in America would this decision be considered shocking, unlike “in India say or Italy, where generations crowd together into a single household.” Roiphe tenderly describes a universal fear/truth of aging in America. Well worth a read.
MIT Age Simulation Suit Replicates the Effects of Aging
AGNES, which stands for Age Gain Now Empathy System, is a suit designed by MIT AgeLab to teach people how to prepare for what it’s like to grow older. Not likely to hit the fashionista lists, the suit features weights and other components that mimic what it feels like to lose muscle mass, range of motion and mobility, balance, and even vision.
What We’re Watching
“No Country for Old People: a Nursing Home Expose” is a harrowing, heartbreaking, and haunting account of the abject failure of the nursing home care system. Filmmaker Susie Singer Carter chronicles her mother’s last six months in a facility and draws on experts and advocates to shed light on why the system is failing. The three-part docuseries is available on Amazon Prime. Watch a news clip about the film at the link below.
7 Challenges Facing America's Aging Population
At the 2025 meeting of the Population Association of America, aging experts identified 7 major trends impacting the health and lifespans of older Americans. Three that stood out to us: 1. More Americans are living with chronic diseases later in life, despite advances in healthcare. The solution may involve focusing on wellness in early childhood and adolescence. 2. Robust social networks are absolutely critical to lifespan. 3. Climate crises and extreme weather disproportionately impact older adults, increasing physical, social, and financial vulnerability.
The speakers also specified several promising areas for future research.
We’re In This Together
Eleven women, all single and aged 60-80, have banded together for company, community, and caregiving. The Bird’s Nest, located in East Texas, is an intentional village of individual tiny homes, along with common gathering areas. As we age, this type of compound, reminiscent of college culture, is a popular topic among many of our female friends. Although in our version, boys may be allowed, too.
Leveraging Aging
Forbes 2025 “50 Over 50” list celebrates women who are seeing their greatest impact in the second half of their lives. The annual roster features innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and inventors. As Forbes notes, these women “are using the wisdom and confidence earned from age to leave the world better than they found it.” See who’s on the list.
Learn about the Strategies that Lead to Happiness in Later Years
Tomorrow! Join the Stanford Center on Longevity for “A Conversation with Kerry Burnight,” author of “Joyspan. The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half.” The webinar will take place August 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM Pacific Time. Register through the link below.
What We’re Watching
Caregiving, a documentary produced by Hollywood star Bradley Cooper, shines a light on the often unsung role of everyday heroes—family caregivers. The two-hour film shares the powerful and profound stories of six caregivers tending to the aging, the dying, and the chronically ill. Streaming now on PBS.
Reconciling Lifespan and Healthspan
Emily Rogalski quoted in the University of Chicago Magazine article, “Aging against the odds. The brains of aging outliers hold lessons for neuroscientists”:
‘“We’ve gotten good, as a medical community, at extending lifespan, but our health span is not keeping up. … We’re still extending this period of unhealthiness at the end,” she says. Superagers “really represent that better balance between lifespan and healthspan. It would be great to have a future where more people achieve that.”’
Aging Outliers Offer Valuable Lessons
Emily Rogalski, a University of Chicago scientist, studies both superagers (whom she defines as people over age 80 with memory performance at least as good as an average 50- to 60-year-old), as well as individuals at the other end of the aging spectrum—those with PPA, a disease that renders people unable to speak beginning in middle age. She believes these two extreme, and extremely rare groups, offer lessons in both brain resiliency and brain vulnerability.
The Joy of Living
When you add the terms lifespan + health span (the length of time a person spends in good health) the sum is the concept of joyspan. Coined by gerontologist Dr. Kerry Burnight, joyspan refers to a deep sense of well-being and fulfillment, particularly during the second half of life. It allows one to thrive, and not merely survive, while growing older. Burnight offers four “non-negotiables” for cultivating and lengthening your joyspan: grow, adapt, give, and connect. Read more about what each action means in the NYT “Well” column.
Clickbait or Clueless?
The San Francisco Chronicle today launched a new editorial project chronicling the rapid aging of the Bay Area’s population. The title of the lead article? “This is the real doom loop. It will change everything about life in the Bay Area.” Credit to the Chron for exploring this topic and its impact on all aspects of daily living. But the article’s headline feeds into the negative narrative around aging, and exacerbates the cycle of ageism. C’mon editors, do better!
Some Fitting Tarnish on the ‘Golden Bachelor’
The 66-year-old Golden Bachelor star, Mel Owens, is catching flak for saying he wouldn’t consider any female contenders over the age of 60. As Page Six reports, Owens told his producers that he wanted to “try to stay away from the artificial hips and the wigs.”
Chuck D and Flavor Flav Take On Ageism
In a new album that just recently dropped, Chuck D and Flavor Flav of the band Public Enemy set their sights on the irrationality of age discrimination and the dark side of tech. Read more on Spin about what inspired the new album.
Getting Into a Rhythm
Researchers confirmed the relationship between the body’s circadian rhythm and metabolic health. Getting into a rhythm is also critical to exercise performance and benefits. A new study found that working out early in the day, and maintaining consistency, achieved the best results. Read more about the findings at the link below.
Creatine on the Brain
Everyone’s talking about creatine these days. It’s become a popular supplement among women looking to build strength, particularly those in perimenopause and menopause. And, the findings of a recent pilot study show a potential positive link between creatine and brain function. Researchers stated that the results, while preliminary and limited in scope, indicate that creatine supplements can improve brain health among Alzheimer’s patients. More about the study can be found by following the link below.
Coffee’s Surprising Perk
Coffee drinkers expect a quick, short-term boost from their cup of joe, but a new study suggests that drinking coffee may have long-term health benefits as well. Researchers tracked the diets of more than 47,000 female nurses for multiple decades beginning in the early ‘70s. A positive correlation was found between the amount of caffeine the women consumed (typically from coffee) between the ages of 45 and 60 years, and the probability of aging well. Read more in the New York Times.
A Long-Term Plan for Aging
Experts predict a crisis in long-term care as demand grows and the number of available workers decreases. The industry is facing multiple challenges, including a rapidly aging population, the potential for an even more pronounced labor shortage due to punitive immigration policies, and cost-of-care increases equaling as much as 10 percent for some services. Furthermore, according to a recent poll, significant numbers of adults have misconceptions about long-term care coverage, and only a small percentage have an assisted living plan in place. How do you assess the likelihood of needing long-term care, and what options are available to you? The NYT offers some thoughts.
Read the Script
Become a Citizen Archivist! If you’re of a generation that can read cursive (a vanishing skill as penmanship is no longer taught in many schools), the National Archives Catalog needs your help. Millions of documents written in longhand—ranging from JFK assassination records to case files on UFO sightings—need to be transcribed and tagged. Learn more, and how to get started at the link below.
What We’re Reading
Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity, by Dr. Eric Topol, explores the burgeoning study and science of longevity. Topol, a cardiologist and molecular scientist, initially posited that genetic makeup was the key to a longer lifespan. However, further research found that lifestyle factors—including diet, exercise, and social connection—had a far greater impact on longevity. This revelation is welcome news, suggesting we all have some control when it comes to healthy aging. Read a review of the book at the Wall Street Journal.