Specifically for Seniors - A New Direction

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