How to Live to 100 (or Die Trying)

The longevity gold rush is underway and we hear about the latest reasons for optimism and cynicism from Steve Horvath, the developer of a 'biological clock' that is mostly used by researchers or, the curious, although some experts question whether such measurements are ready for prime time. Horvath explains the science behind his clock, the centenarian connection and the food he says can keep our...

After years of chatting with Dr. Sinha for the Star's Third Act series, we dig into his perspective on a good old age; the longevity secret he learned from a man who has already lived past 100 and how we can reframe the way governments think about growing old. GUEST: Dr. Samir Sinha, of Sinai Health and University Health Network and director of health policy research at the National Institute on A...

It is inevitable. Our fear of it can make it worse. Join us for an animated conversation on dying with two unlikely sources. Michael Brooke, a kid from Thornhill who ended up in the '90s LA skateboarding scene before a career in funeral homes and Ondi Timoner, who twice won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film festival and in 2022, she released her most personal film, called Last Flight Home,...

We all  love to nerd out on the advances in the science of exercise but here's a practice that never required wearable technology: Early human movement. Like, leaping from a predator. Or, crouching as a hunter. Here is a bonus thought: By using our bodies the way they were originally intended - for mobility, balance and play – it could be a lot easier to, say, jump out of an airplane in your 80s. ...

Where and how are we all going to live in our later years? It is the question of our times.  In our later years, some will live mortgage free. Others will need housemates to financially survive. For many, the shining holy grail of housing is both affordable and offers  health supports in case life goes sideways. We look at two options that work: the Golden Girls co-ownership and cluster care, with...

We're living longer than ever, but that doesn't always mean we're living better longer. The Toronto Star held a live virtual event, led by award-winning journalist and host of this podcast, Moira Welsh and special guests Dr. Samir Sinha (Geriatrician and Clinical Scientist, Sinai Health and University Health Network) and Laura Tamblyn Watts (CEO of Can Age). They discuss how the habits you commit...

Isolation and loneliness is the scourge of our later years but older men seem to have a profound struggle to create social connections and while there may be several reasons for this high suicide rate, some Ontario men aged 80 and older see no reason to live. We hear one man's personal experience and his discovery of Men's Sheds, an organization that helps men get socially connected. A PhD candida...

Hands up if you worry you'll outlive your money. Longevity is great - if the bills get paid and a lot of people in their 70s are still on the job because they need the money. The future of work is both perilous and potent, a chance to merge elders' crystallized intelligence with the incoming generations.  What happens when the CEO develops dementia and doesn't want to leave the C-Suite? Or, if you...

What if we all looked forward to growing old? Embracing age is a new trend among some millennials and really, why not? That cohort has already given us body positivity, so aiming high, in years, is surely the next trend. Unless it crashes into the wall of ageism. And ageism, dear listeners, is the happiness killer coming for us all. Ageism 101: It seeps into every aspect of our lives, from invisib...

The Toronto Star's Moira Welsh hosts How to Live to 100 or Die Trying, an uplifting, shocking, and illuminating conversation for all ages on growing older. You'll hear from a 40-something football star turned mobility mentor, a skateboarding impresario focused on death, but a good one. And a scientist who says he can measure biological age. But don't fear the reaper because he also shares a startl...