The Not Old - Better Show

WINNING IN REVERSE - NASCAR'S Bill Lester The Not Old Better Show Interview Series, Black History Month Welcome to The Not Better Show.  I’m Paul Vogelzang and we’ll be talking to NASCAR winning driver Bill Lester today.  The amazing and dramatic story of Bill Lester, one of the most well-known NASCAR drivers in history—and a pioneer whose determination and spirit has paved the way for a new generation of racers. Bill Lester has written a new book on his life in NASCAR, Winning in Reverse, which tells the story of Bill Lester whose love for racing eventually compelled him to quit his job as an engineer to pursue racing full time. Blessed with natural talent, Bill still had a trifecta of odds against him: he was black, he was middle aged, and he wasn’t a southerner., and everything Bill Lester did in racing, he did in reverse! That, of course, is our guest today, author Bill Lester, reading from his new book, ‘Winning In Reverse,’ and in our conversation today with Bill Lester, we talk about how he rose above it all, as did his rankings, and how Bill Lester made history time and time again, becoming the first African American to race in NASCAR’s Busch Series, the first to participate in the Nextel Cup and the first to win a Pole Position start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Whether you are contemplating a late in life change, a career or lifestyle change, challenging social norms, or struggling against prejudice or bigotry, Winning in Reverse is a story for sports fans and readers everywhere about the power of perseverance in the face of adversity.  You’ll love Bill Lester’s story of determination and perseverance and is our feature Black History Month Moment on The Not Old Better Show. Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show via internet phone, NASCAR winning driver, and author of the new book, ‘Winning In Reverse,’ Bill Lester. My thanks to Bill Lester, author of the new book, “Winning in Reverse.’    My thanks to you my dear Not Old Better Show audience for your company today, and I hope you’ll join me next time.  Be safe, be healthy, and please practice smart social distancing, and remember, Let’s talk about better. The Not Old Better Show. Thanks, everybody. Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Local Democracy is Working - Mayor Sue Zwahlen The Not Old Better Show, Leadership Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show. I’m Paul Vogelzang. So great to be with you today, following another great week of talk, music, and community for our older adult audience.  We have an excellent show today, jam-packed for our Not Old Better Show audience.  Our guest today is Modesto California, Mayor Sue Zwahlen.  We’re talking about local government, its power, effectiveness, and what it means to govern in US cities today. Everybody in The Not Old Better Show audience who watched it remembers what Ronald Reagan did to Jimmy Carter in the closing moments of their 1980 presidential debate. Reagan stared straight into the camera and asked the voters a simple question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Enough of them answered in the negative to give the challenger Reagan a decisive victory over the incumbent Carter at the polls that November.   I was working in the House of Representatives at the time, for local congressmen Bernie Sisk, and then his successor Tony Coelho, and I remember that time, and that question well. It was a fair question. Most of us have a clear enough memory of the recent past to provide a meaningful answer, at least in regard to our own lives. But what if we ask ourselves about a much longer period of time -- say 40 years? Then many of us become unreliable witnesses. The warm glow of nostalgia begins to take over. The current period of widespread public discontent has made “are you better off?” into a more urgent question. The one thing I won’t say, and it’s clear “we are NOT better off,’ when it comes to the political process getting better. Conventional wisdom alone tells us differently. Unyielding partisanship, legislative gridlock, incessant name-calling, and the overall corrosion of public discourse give most people the impression that we have been living through a period of demoralizing decline.  But, what if we took a different view. What if the national political culture is just as bad as most of us believe, but another corner of the political system is steadily getting stronger? Our guest today, Mayor of Modesto California, Sue Zwahlen, will tell us just that, in so many words.  I’ll introduce Mayor Zwahlen in a moment, but for our national audience, Modesto, California is located in the Central Valley of California, a city, really of 219,000 people, a city built on agriculture, and famous as George Lucas’ hometown, while not filmed in Modesto, was based on Lucas’ life growing up there. Mayor Sue Zwahlen was elected Mayor of Modesto in February 2021 and is a former two-term member of the Modesto City Schools Board, who was first elected in 2009, re-elected in 2 Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Not Dead Yet - Barbara Ballinger & Meg Crane The Not Old Better Show Author Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show on KSCW/KCBP.  I’m Paul Vogelzang, so great to be with you today, following another great week of talk, music, and community for our older adult audience.  We have an excellent show today, very timely and thrilling for our Not Old Better Show audience here on KSCW/KCBP community radio. Life moves really fast these days.  With stresses all around us, health, unexpected emergencies, and everything else, we in The Not Old Better Show audience may feel like we’ve done so much living, but not had a full life, and we may not have a plan for the rest of our lives.  How do you find the time now to plan for your future so that when you get there, it’s there for you, too…a future? And a future you can really enjoy.  Remember the title of our guest’s book today, Not Dead Yet and all will be well… With people living longer, they are faced with decisions about finances, health, and emotional and social well-being. In the new book, which is really wonderful, titled  NOT DEAD YET: Rebooting Your Life After 50, Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane, and our guests today, are two long-time, seventysomething journalists, friends, and writing partners. They’ll share how they and all of us in The Not Old Better Show audience can navigate this new stage of their lives.  Filled with optimism, energy, humor, honesty, and compassion, NOT DEAD YET will take you through the journeys, decisions, failures, losses, and successes of people as they age and try to live joyfully. Whether sharing that shivas, wakes, and funerals might be good places to meet new friends and potential dates or sharing their riff on an imagined co-housing arrangement for their final years, Ballinger and Crane will make readers laugh, cringe a little, think hard, and realize they are not alone in figuring out life as they get older and become age-defiers.” Barbara Ballinger is an award-winning freelance journalist, author, and reporter.  Margaret Crane is a nationally known freelance writer focusing on business, food, wine, fashion, home furnishings, and real estate.  Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show via internet phone, Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane.   My thanks to NYT Best Selling authors Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane.  Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Mark Greaney - The Gray Man - 'Sierra Six' The Not Old Better Show Author Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show. So great to be with you today, following another great week of talk, music, and community for our older adult audience.  We have an excellent show today, very timely and thrilling for our Not Old Better Show audience.   As part of our Art Of Living, Author Interview Series, our guest today is Mark Greaney.  The Not Old Better Show audience will know Mark Greaney from his work in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan universe or his bestselling Gray Man series, and in the coming days and weeks,  a brand new Gray Man book, titled ‘Sierra Six’ will be available wherever you buy your books, read and enjoy great storytelling!    We’ll be speaking with our guest today is Mark Greaney, in a few moments, but Mark Greaney is a New York Times bestselling author, who first published THE GRAY MAN, in 2009 and it became a national bestseller and a highly sought-after Hollywood property. Now there are 11 novels in the NYT Bestselling Gray Man series, including ‘Sierra Six’  Netflix is developing the film adaptation for the series debut, The Gray Man, due this year, 2022!  Which we’ll be discussing.   In addition, Mark Greaney is the #1 New York Times bestselling author or co-author of seven Tom Clancy novels. Mark Greaney collaborated with Tom Clancy on three Jack Ryan novels before Tom’s death in 2013.  In research for his novels, Mark Greaney travels to dozens of countries, visited the Pentagon, military bases, and embassies, and trained alongside military and law enforcement. When I read a book, I’m looking for three things – entertainment, something fresh and to feel an emotional connection to the characters.  Mark Greaney’s new book, ‘Sierra Six’ nails all three. ‘Sierra Six’ is simply stupendous!  Some of the best writing of Mark’s career, and a couple of extended chase scenes that I’ve just never before read, keeping me turning every page with excitement.  And while it’s been obvious for a long time that Mark Greaney is inarguably one of the best authors in the genre, ‘Sierra Six’ elevates him to a higher plane of thriller existence that few authors are able to achieve in their lifetimes.   We will talk about all that and more, and please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show, author Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Century Lives Longevity and Aging - Ken Stern The Not Old Better Show Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show…today’s show is brought to you by Ritual.com. The Not Old Better Show name literally comes from this notion of longevity, happiness in later life, health, and wellness.  Our guest today, Ken Stern epitomizes all that and more. Ken Stern is the founder and chair of the Longevity Project which he founded in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity. He is the host of multiple podcasts, including When I’m 64. Ken joins us to talk about his personal connection to longevity and how both When I'm 64 and the Longevity Project got started. We’ll listen to a brief clip from Ken’s new show, Century Lives, and talk about upcoming episodes, tech for seniors and innovation. And we’ll answer questions about whether rules created when most people lived only to 50 or 60 still make sense when more and more people live to 100? Longer lives are, at once, among the most remarkable achievements in all of human history and the greatest challenge of the 21st century. How can we ensure that our lives are not just longer, but healthy and rewarding as well? From the Stanford Century on Longevity, Century Lives is here to start the conversation. In our first season, we ask how COVID-19 has changed the way we live...and how that impacts our longevity. Join us as we venture into the world of education, work, healthcare, and more to see how our future as a population of centenarians has already started. That of course is a brief clip from our guest Ken Stern and his new show, Century Lives available wherever you get your podcasts.  But, we have Ken Stern today here on the Not Old Better Show…please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better show via internet phone, Ken Stern. My thanks to Ken Stern for his generous time today. Check out Ken Stern’s new podcast, Century Lives wherever you listen to podcasts and we’ll have links here in today’s show notes. My thanks to Ritual.com for sponsoring today’s show…please check out our show notes for links and resources to Ritual.com and support our sponsors!  My thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience.  Please be well Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Sabrena Jo New Year’s Fitness Show 2021 - 2022 The Not Old Better Show - Fitness Friday Interview Series, Sabrena Jo Welcome to The Not Old Better Show Fitness Friday edition, I’m Paul Vogelzang, and I want to wish you all a Happy New Year, and a Happy Fitness Year, too!  I love the start of the New Year! Our show today is part of our Fitness Friday series, and it’s another great one in our Fitness Friday programs.  We’ll be hearing from returning guest, Sabrena Jo.   While many people gained weight during the lockdowns, others have used the change in routine to eat better and exercise more.  On the Fitness Friday program, we talk with Sabrena Jo about exercise and fitness.  But, with the new year, our new year’s resolutions, after such a brutal 2020 and 2021, here’s to 2022, and it’s good to look forward and think about what’s better to come.   The upside to a couple of years of totally adjusting our sweat routines: We finally had the opportunity to reexamine what type of activity brings us happiness; peace of mind; an escape; or pure, fresh ambition. Maybe you tried a new virtual exercise class, took your typical sidewalk runs to the woods to switch things up, or bought yourself a kettlebell for the very first time. I always love speaking with Sabrena Jo, because of her research orientation.  Research, fact-based analysis, and outcomes orientation is critical to our Not Old Better Show audience.   Today we’ll be speaking about when the environment around you changes and your routine changes, too, you can use it as an opportunity to say, “I am going to treat myself better in these really rough times.”  We’ll talk about a fitness mindset, why it’s so important, and share some fitness trends.   So, stick with it, and please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show via interview phone, Fitness Friday guest Sabrena Jo.  My thanks always to Sabrena Jo, our Fitness Friday guest, for joining us today. Please check out our website for more great tips, resources, trends, and information. And to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience.  Let’s talk about better…the Not Old Better Show. Please keep your emails coming to me with show ideas, suggestions, and comments: @ info@notold-better.com.  Happy New Year everyone! Remember, stay safe everyone, practice smart social distancing, get the vaccine,  and let’s talk about better…The Not Old Better Show.  Thanks, everybody. Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Sharon Gless - Apparently There Were Some Complaints The Not Old Better Show - Art of Living Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show.  Today’s show is brought to you by Omaha Steaks (Achieve gifting greatness with Omaha Steaks! Incredible flavor, incredible value and 100% guaranteed.   Omaha Steaks dot com keyword NOB ) and Coinbase.  I’m Paul Vogelzang and we have an highly entertaining episode today with inspirational, delightful Sharon Gless. Our guest today is Emmy Award­–winning actress Sharon Gless tells all in this laugh-out-loud, juicy, and touching interview about her five decades in Hollywood, where she took on some of the most groundbreaking roles of her time. Anyone who has seen Sharon Gless act in Cagney and Lacey, Queer as Folk, Burn Notice, and countless other shows and movies, knows that she’s someone who gives every role her all. She holds nothing back in Apparently There Were Complaints, a hilarious, deeply personal memoir that spills all about Gless’s five decades in Hollywood. A fifth-generation Californian, Sharon Gless knew from a young age that she wanted to be an actress. After some rocky teenage years that included Sharon’s parents’ divorce and some minor (and not-so-minor) rebellion, Gless landed a coveted spot as an exclusive contract player for Universal Studios. In 1982, she stepped into the role of New York Police Detective Christine Cagney for the series Cagney and Lacey, which eventually reached an audience of 30 million weekly viewers and garnered Gless with two Emmy Awards. The show made history as the first hour-long drama to feature two women in the leading roles. Gless continued to make history long after Cagney and Lacey was over. In 2000, she took on the role of outrageous Debbie Novotny in Queer as Folk. Her portrayal of a devoted mother to a gay son and confidant to his gay friends touched countless hearts and changed the definition of family for millions of viewers. We’ll talk about everything including Gless’ new book, Apparently There Were Complaints which delves into Gless’s remarkable career and explores Gless’s complicated family, her struggles with alcoholism, and her fear of romantic commitment as well as her encounters with some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Our interview with Sharon Gless is brutally honest and incredibly relatable, as Sharon Gless puts it all out for us in the same way she has lived—never with moderation. Please join me in welcoming you to The Not Old Better Show on KCBP/KSCW, the a Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Songs From The American Songbook - Sara Lukinson The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates interview series.   Using a medley of filmed performances, documentary filmmaker and cultural historian, and our guest today  Sara Lukinson traces how some of our favorite love songs from the American songbook came to be and how re-imaginings by different artists, unexpected arrangements, and changing times transformed them into something more. As a matter of fact, we’re listening to Smithsonian Folkways recording of “Someone to Watch Over Me,” by Bill Floyd, and The King of Organs, from 1957. Sara Lukinson will be appearing at the Smithsonian Associates series via Zoom, and you’re all invited. January 20, 2022.   The title of Sara Lukinson’s Zoom presentation at Smithsonian Associates is ‘More Stories From the American Songbook.” Please check out our website, NotOld-Better.com, or the Smithsonian Associates website for more information and ticket details….all of which is in our show notes today. Sara Lukinson, who has won three Emmys and seven Writer’s Guild Awards, now teaches at NYU and the 92nd Street Y. Her personal essays have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine. Songs of Love and Yearning: “My Funny Valentine” and “Someone to Watch Over Me” Written for Broadway musicals in 1926 and 1940, these songs outlasted their shows, and hundreds of versions later—from the simple to the soaring, the delicate to the sensual—they are the ones that turn our yearnings for love into the words and music we dream to. Please join me in welcoming you to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates interview series via internet phone, Emmy Award winner and Smithsonian Associate, Sara Lukinson.   My thanks to Sara Lukinson, who will be appearing at the Smithsonian Associates series via Zoom, and you’re all invited. January 20, 2022.   The title of Sara Lukinson’s Zoom presentation at Smithsonian Associates is Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Led Zeppelin: The Biography - Bob Spitz The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates interview series.   I’m Paul Vogelzang and we have a really fantastic show today with one of my favorites, returning guest Bob Spitz, telling us all about his new revealing Led Zeppelin biography! Yes, it’s THAT Bob Spitz, the NYT best-selling author of THE BEATLES: THE BIOGRAPHY comes the definitive biography of LED ZEP.   Bob Spitz will be presenting at Smithsonian Associates, Wednesday January 19, 2022, and the title of his upcoming presentation is A Whole Lotta (Crazy) Love: The Led Zeppelin Story You can find more details on our website, NotOld-Better.com or the Smithsonian Associates website, both of which are in our show notes today, but we have Bob Spitz right now, and we’re talking about one of my favorite bands, Led Zeppelin! It has been 50 years since Led Zeppelin’s legendary rock hit “Stairway to Heaven” was released. The story of how virtuosic London sophisticates Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones came together with Midlands wild men Robert Plant and John Bonham to form the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin is one for the rock-history books. New York Times bestselling biographer Bob Spitz draws on his own book, Led Zeppelin: The Biography, to tell the band’s definitive story.  It was one of the most successful (and certainly one of the most notorious) bands of all time, selling more than 300 million albums worldwide. From the opening notes of their first album in 1969, Led Zeppelin was something different: a collision of grand artistic ambition and brute force, of English folk music and African American blues. Bob Spitz will pull back the curtain today with us on Led Zeppelin’s creative process, from dress rehearsals to creative breakthroughs. For his book, he conducted more than 150 interviews with friends, colleagues, executives, and even groupies who shared detailed inside accounts of Zeppelin’s exploits, from who really stole the money at the Drake Hotel robbery, to th Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Jerusalem’s Buried History - Andrew Lawler The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates interview series! Owe have another great show for you, featuring our interview with Science writer, correspondent, and author ANDREW LAWLER.  ANDREW LAWLER will be appearing at the Smithsonian Associates program titled Jerusalem’s Buried History,  Tuesday, January 18, 2022.  ANDREW LAWLER is author of the new book Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City and is our guest today. No other city evokes as much emotion and provokes as much violence as Jerusalem. But how did the famous City of Peace become so contested? Our guest today, ANDREW LAWLER will answer that question and says much of the answer lies underground. ANDREW LAWLER tells us that for more than a century and a half, treasure hunters, clerics, and archaeologists have sought to uncover remains of Jerusalem's biblical past—from the Ark of the Covenant to the site of Jesus's crucifixion. This effort, linked to the expansion of European empires as well as an intense desire to corroborate scripture, proved an essential ingredient in the controversy that continues to roil the Middle East and the world. The story of Jerusalem is the tale of how science, politics, and religion meet in its shadowy subterranean spaces. Science Journalist, author, correspondent Andrew Lawler traces that buried history as he discusses with us the early explorers who navigated sewage-filled passages; follows the European, American, and Israeli archaeologists who made stunning discoveries beneath the city; and explores how these finds became essential elements in the battle to control the Holy City. Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show via internet phone, Smithsonian Associate ANDREW LAWLER. My thanks to ANDREW LAWLER for his generous time today.  Andrew Lawler’s new book Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City will be the subject of his upcoming  Smithsonian Associates program titled Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on Radio & Podcast! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.