Elderhood in a Post-Election Era

Pulitzer Prize finalist Louise Aronson returns to the Commonwealth Club World Affairs stage to discuss the enduring themes of her New York Times bestselling book, Elderhood, and what to expect in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election. What are the practical and existential implications of aging in a political era defined by polarization and increasing instability? How can individuals look out for their health and families regardless of the election outcome? Aronson is joined by fellow writer Jenara Nerenberg, in a follow-up conversation from their first lively event together five years ago. Nerenberg is the celebrated author of Divergent Mind and a forthcoming book on the psychology of groupthink.

About the Speakers

Louise Aronson, MD MFA, is a leading geriatrician, writer, educator, professor of medicine at UCSF and the author Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, and Reimagining Life. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Aronson currently runs the integrative aging practice and age self-care integrative medical group visit program at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health. She has received the Gold Professorship in Humanism in Medicine, the California Homecare Physician of the Year award, and the American Geriatrics Society Clinician-Teacher of the Year award. Her writing credits include The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, JAMA, Lancet, and the New England Journal of Medicine, and her work in aging has been featured on NPR, NBC, CBS, and The New Yorker.

Jenara Nerenberg is the bestselling author of Divergent Mind, hailed as "extraordinary, jaw-dropping" by Library Journal; she is an Aspen Ideas Brave New Idea speaker and the author of a second forthcoming book on the psychology of groupthink. A celebrated writer covering the intersection of psychology and society, Jenara's work has been featured in the UC Berkeley Science Center's Greater Good magazine, Fast Company magazine, CNN, NPR, BBC and elsewhere. Nerenberg speaks widely on social science topics, including at universities, libraries, companies and organizations around the world. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the Harvard School of Public Health; she grew up in San Francisco and, as a millennial, can now be found on Instagram.

Organizer: Denise Michaud

A Grownups Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.

This program contains EXPLICIT language. 

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