Episodes

For Liz DiCarlo, 77, activism isn’t something separate from everyday life. It is how she lives—seeing a need, stepping forward, and working alongside others to create change. Now retired after a long career as a registered nurse and community organizer in central North Carolina, New Bedford, and throughout Cape Cod and the islands, Liz and her wife of 38 years, Bev Baccelli, are creating a new chapter together. Retirement has simply given Liz more time to continue the work that matters to her. ...

Ann Jones, 75, has never been afraid of change. Curiosity and courage have carried her from teaching on a remote Native American reservation to a demanding career with Andersen Consulting/Accenture, and later to gardening, real estate, and a new life in Asheville, North Carolina. That first teaching assignment, 90 miles from Gallup, New Mexico, taught Ann something important: she could handle hard things. Teaching wasn’t her calling, but the experience gave her the confidence to keep moving tow...

Founder and Executive Director Donna V. Werner’s humanitarian journey began in 2016, when she attended a conference in Toronto, Canada, as an international delegate from the United States. There, she met a gentleman from Kenya who had recently started a school and invited Donna to help support the children. She traveled to Kenya in June 2017 to see the needs firsthand. Upon returning she noted, “I am no longer the same person. Visiting Kenya changed me.” Donna soon established a 501(c)(3): Dorc...

What can we learn from older adults who maintain remarkable memory and cognitive health well into their 80s and beyond? Dr. Emily Rogalski invites us into the fascinating science of SuperAgers—adults over 80 whose memory performance is comparable to people 20–30 years younger. As leader of the SuperAging Research Initiative at the University of Chicago, Dr. Rogalski and her team study what allows some people to age remarkably well. She explains emerging findings in accessible language, includin...

At 93, Glennette Tilley Turner is still following stories—and still making history visible. For nearly 50 years, Glennette has researched and shared the stories of freedom seekers who traveled the Illinois Underground Railroad, illuminating a largely overlooked chapter of our nation’s history. An innovative educator, author, historian, consultant, speaker, and tour guide, she has brought these stories to audiences of all ages and has earned recognition from universities, historical societies, la...

Retirement has afforded Ann Stanford, age 75, “unbelievable luxury—the space and freedom to let things bubble up.” She savors this time to reflect on how she really wants to live and what it means to become fully herself. Always a writer, a former mentor to adult learners, and now a spiritual companion, Ann is committed to “telling my own truths”—and helping others express theirs. Psychoanalysis and contemplative practice have opened the door to “profound spiritual experiences,” helping Ann move...

At 89, Cynthia Goren is navigating a profound new chapter. Since the death of her husband last October after 67 years of marriage, she has become more aware of her own mortality—and more determined to live meaningfully. For Cynthia, that means continuing to learn, staying engaged in the things she loves, and, above all, helping others. “People need favors,” she says. “Physical help, someone to listen to their stories.” Listening and helping have been threads throughout Cynthia’s life. A lifelo...

For much of her life, writer Melinda Blau, 82, was curious about older women. Now she is discovering what it means to be one. Melinda began her career in educational publishing, where writers don’t have to worry about word count. Later, working on her first magazine piece for New York, her editor, T. George Harris challenged her: “You skip through life. Why are you lumbering on paper?” It was one of many lessons in a lifelong writing career—and a reminder that there is always something new to l...

As the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Paula, 77, understood early what it meant to live with absence. Her parents each lost their entire families eventually meeting after the war and emigrating to the United States with Paula. Paula read every book she could find about the Holocaust, asking herself: Why do people do this to one another? Her parents' understanding of history, trauma, and survival, as well as a distinct way of seeing the world, helped shape the direction of Paula’s life. Growi...

At 71, Terry Craig reflects on a life shaped by creativity, curiosity, movement, and reinvention. Growing up as the second of six siblings, Terry learned early how to resolve conflicts and bring people together. Her mother sewed clothing for the family, and Terry soon discovered her own love of sewing and creating patterns. Over the years, she expanded into quilting and fiber art, including painting with wool and learning wet felting. Always eager to try something new, Terry embraces projects t...

Recently, at 95, Ruby Hill spends time reflecting on her life. Two principles stand out: “I cared deeply about the needs of others, and the results were better than I could have imagined.” She also believes that much of her life was shaped by others, beginning with her father’s decision that pharmacy should be her career. Ruby married the young man who sat behind her in Dr. Paytash’s Chemistry 101 class, when classroom seats were assigned and attendance was taken by name. A year after earning he...

Drawing on decades of experience in psychiatric mental health and a wide range of health care settings, Maureen Rafa now runs her own business as an elder care coordinator. She also actively volunteers to improve coordinated care, build livable communities, and promote thoughtful end-of-life planning. In this conversation, she challenges common misconception about aging—from the fear of dementia to the expectation of simply “dying in one’s sleep”—and urges older adults, especially women, to reco...

What if aging could become a time of deeper meaning, connection, and personal transformation? Writer and baby boomer Abbie Rosner explores that possibility in her new book, Psychedelics and the Counterculture of Aging. Drawing on hundreds of clinical studies, authentic stories, and an overview of safe practices and the evolving legal landscape, she examines how psychedelics are being used to support the psychospiritual journey of becoming an elder. Abbie emphasizes that maturity matters: yesterd...

Lifelong traveler, Barbara Winard, 78, has been exploring the globe since she was in her twenties. She loves traveling independently and has taken 8 trips as a solo traveler with Road Scholar— the not-for-profit world leader in educational travel for older adults. Barbara travels to learn, so Road Scholar’s focus on educational travel has been a perfect fit for her. “Discovering new things in your life is wonderful,” she says. “All travel expands your world and helps you understand other people....

Visionary. Connector. Builder. Those words describe Katina Strauch, 79. When we spoke with Katina, she was recovering from a broken leg, talking with us from her bed on her smartphone. Despite the setback, she remains what she has always been: an active writer, researcher, lifelong learner, and trusted consultant to the Charleston Conference—the influential global gathering for the scholarly communications community that she founded more than four decades ago. What began as a meeting of just 2...

Writing has been a guiding force in Nancy Morgan’s life, woven together with her love of language, travel, and cross-cultural learning. Across a career in teaching, curriculum design, media production, and study-abroad leadership, writing has remained at the heart of her work. Now retired, Nancy has turned more deeply to writing as a way to explore life’s complex and difficult questions. Drawing on personal experience, she writes fictionalized accounts about the impact of dysfunction, homelessn...

Kathy Bresler, founder of ALTAR Community in Chicago, has created a welcoming space where women of all ages come together to be seen, heard, and supported. ALTAR is a third space for women centered around meaningful gatherings, conversation, creativity, reflection, and authentic connection. Through conversation, reflection, and shared experience, women discover what feels most true and meaningful in their lives and often experience profound personal transformation. Grounded in curiosity, creat...

At 80, Regan Burke is still organizing, advocating, and speaking out. But her path to becoming a respected activist, columnist, memoirist, and political influencer was anything but straightforward. Before she found sobriety in her twenties, drugs and alcohol shaped much of her daily life. She attended five different high schools, searching for direction until one perceptive nun recognized her talent and changed the course of her future by encouraging her to write. That spark ignited a lifelong...

For nearly fifty years, Sybil Kolon has devoted herself to protecting 79 acres of family land in Michigan’s Irish Hills. Originally owned by her grandparents, the property was placed under option with Legacy Land Conservancy in 1976 with the hope that it would someday become a nature preserve. Now 72, Sybil spent her childhood exploring the farm’s woods and fields, developing a lifelong love of nature. After attending Michigan Tech and Michigan State University, she returned to live on the land...

Author and artist Jill G. Hall, 71, joins us with her luminous new novel On a Sundown Sea, inspired by the mysteries surrounding the visionary woman who built Lomaland—a utopian community near the home Jill grew up in. Fascinated since childhood by the stories whispered throughout her neighborhood, for more than a century, Hall spent five years researching the extraordinary life of Katherine Tingley, tracing her journey from Massachusetts roots to her profound spiritual and artistic influence on...

For more than six decades, Sandra Sokol has devoted her life to building stronger, more equitable communities. Although she once imagined a career teaching in schools serving children of color her path evolved into groundbreaking volunteer and public service work focused on education, housing, and economic development. Many of the initiatives she helped launch grew into lasting organizations that continue to serve their communities today. Her leadership eventually carried her into local governme...

Joan Greene, 84, trained to be a teacher but found her true calling as a social worker and innovative advocate for older adults. In New York State, she helped create programs from the ground up—from nutrition services and Meals on Wheels to case management and family support. When her accomplished daughter was diagnosed with severe mental illness, Joan’s work took on new urgency and personal meaning. In this conversation, she reflects on key turning points in aging, gerontology, and mental healt...

This episode, first released in 2021, is a reminder that Mental Health Awareness Month requires all of us to tell our stories. We checked back in with Mindy and learned that, even though she is now retired, she continues to advocate for reforms in mental health, policy, and affordable housing. “I love being retired; I can activate for anything I want.” She is married for 55 years and retired for sixteen. Her son continues to receive the help he needs. "There is no way we are going to have a bet...

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re revisiting a powerful earlier conversation with Ilene Dillon (Episode #148). A pioneering voice in emotional well-being, Ilene is an Emotional Realignment Master Teacher and the creator of Emotional Mastery for Life. Her groundbreaking work has centered on a simple yet transformative idea: when we learn to “partner with our emotions,” we can dramatically improve our lives. Rather than resisting or suppressing feelings, Ilene invites us to un...