The EndGame

Photo by Dejan Zakic on Unsplash The EndGame is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Special notice to subscribers: Watch your inbox on Monday for an exciting announcement. My wife likes to take long walks on Saturday afternoons. Lately she has had her fill of neighborhood walks and prefers to do her walking in natur...

Gary Allen Foster, an executive recruiter and career transitions coach, thinks traditional retirement is a bad idea. At 80, he considers himself semi-retired, working as much as he wants and keeping his mind sharp and his body fit. In this interview he discusses his thoughts on a variety of topics related to the last stage of life: * His discovery that high achievers never stop creating. * How ret...

Just a few thoughts about the fight against distraction and life as a limited-time offer. Get full access to The EndGame at theendgame.substack.com/subscribe

Raymond Jetson, a church pastor, Harvard fellow, and former state legislator, founded Aging While Black to explore the unique experience of Black Americans, particularly how social, political and economic inequalities have a bearing on aging. As the driving force behind Metromorphosis, a social change nonprofit, he has developed an approach built on engaging and convening community stakeholders, l...

From her background in social work, Marie Gress understands older adults and how they interact with technology. In her current work advising mission-driven organizations on their communications, project management, strategic planning, and leadership, she finds that older adults would have fewer problems with technology if the devices were designed with them in mind in the first place. In this inte...

It’s summer’s end, and we are marking the occasion in all the traditional ways: grilling a burger, slicing a watermelon, and broadcasting a summer rerun. This is an oldie but a goodie. Ashton Applewhite is among the foremost activists calling attention to ageism in our culture and its harmful effects on old (and young) people. She is the author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism . She...

As the Chief Gerontology Officer at the American Society on Aging, Leanne Clark-Shirley is a passionate advocate for fighting ageism, wherever it appears (even if it shows up in our own thoughts). In this interview, she talks about three main area where ageism harms older adults: Healthcare, climate change, and public policy. Among her observations: * The medical community sees old age only as a t...

What would you expect a serial entrepreneur to do in retirement? Stop? No way! Carl Landau, a successful creator of niche magazines and an events planning company, had no intention to stop playing with new business ideas in his “unretirement,” so he created a podcast, “I Used to be Somebody,” started a newsletter for Baby Boomers, and wrote a best-seller about pickleball. He has a few more ideas o...

The groundbreaking works of Margaret Gullette have informed and inspired many present-day thinkers and activists fighting against ageism in American culture. In the second part of this interview, Gullette talks about: * What makes ageism a “violent” force in people’s lives * The connection between ageism and corporate profits * What it means to be a public intellectual - and why we need more of th...

Margaret Morganroth Gullette is resident scholar at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. She is the author of several groundbreaking books on ageism in America, including by Culture and Ending Ageism, or How Not to Shoot Old People. Her newest book, to be published next year, is American Eldercide . In this interview, the first of two episodes, she tells the tragic story of...

Instead of a guest interview, this podcast is a brief “Donologue” to bring loyal listeners up to speed on the latest in The EndGame newsletter and podcast. Among them: a redesign and a forthcoming book. Get full access to The EndGame at theendgame.substack.com/subscribe

My classmate Tom Arceneaux sacrificed a promising career as a retired elder to throw his energies into a campaign for mayor of his hometown. Now he’s Mayor, with all that job entails. In this interview, he discusses whether age has anything to do with fitness for office, what a typical day as mayor is like, and why he felt compelled to leap back into the fray at the end of a successful legal caree...

In their new book Dementia Prevention: Using Your Head to Save Your Brain, Emily and Mitchell Clionsky explain that we can control much of the risk of contracting dementia. Emily, a physician, and Mitchell, a neuropsychologist, offer important insights in this informative interview about things we can do to prevent dementia. Among the topics covered: * How to distinguish between normal aging and s...

Michele Maggiora, an artist, poet, feminist, mystic, and lifelong adventurer has lived among indigenous peoples and learned first-hand how elders are honored and revered in their cultures. In particular, she shares the true story of an event celebrating her entering her “ultima epocha,” or final stage of life. She shares her perspectives on what learning from other cultures could mean in the way A...

Berit Lewis has come to understand mindfulness on both an intellectual and an emotional level. In her new book, Ageing Upwards , the Danish author explains how she came to study mindfulness and what she believes it can do for everyone - and especially for older adults. In this interview, she discusses: * How she learned that she and her thoughts were not the same. * The difference between the true...

In her book Climbing Down the Ladder , Laura Black describes coming face to face with The Void - the great unknown once she had walked away from her company. Laura shares in this interview about: * The nearly simultaneous shocks of experiencing “retirement,” the empty nest, and the declining health of her parents. * “Who am I without a business card?” * A near-death experience that opened her to a...

Jennifer Rovet, owner of Retire Ready Canada, is among the youngest retirement coaches on the scene, and she thinks that her positive energy, excitement, and creative approaches to retirement are a definite asset. In this interview she discusses things that make the retirement transition difficult for some, the difference between coaching and therapy, and the value of planning ahead. You can read...

Author, speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur Isabel Alexander knows how difficult it can be to leave a familiar career for the unknown. As CEO of The Encore Catalyst, she draws on her own experience of building and then leaving a successful business to train others who are making a mid-life or late-life transition. In this interview, she shares a number of ideas, including: * The number one obstac...

Paul Long has created New Way Forward to spread his ideas about how older adults can approach the new realities of longer lifespans and changing demographics. In this interview, Paul talks about his lifelong desire to be a storyteller and how that caused him to make a major career pivot. We also discuss: * Why retirement is not for everyone. * The power of intention to bring about the changes we d...

Karen Midyet, a clinical psychologist, reinvented herself in her 50s (after a three-year “retirement”) as a retirement coach and specialist on older adults. With more than 45 year of experience as a counselor and coach, she shares some of her wisdom about a number of topics, including: * What makes the transition to retirement so difficult * How to incorporate structure in your life, while remaini...

Karen Carr has been coaching adults since 2001 to help them get better clarity about their lives and the possibilities open to them. In this interview she explains why retirement often forces change in marriage, in friendships, and other aspects of life. Among her observations: * In a way, we have to unlearn everything we’ve learned about living. * As Victor Frankl observed, our greatest fear is o...

Paula Marie Usrey, a former professor of speech communications and professional retirement coach, is the author of Refusing to be Invisible: Life Planning Empowerment Strategies for Women 50+. In this interview, she discusses: * How it feels to be “erased” - to be treated not as yourself but as an “old person” * How women 50+ can communicate strength, verbally and nonverbally * Why ageism and sexi...

Joanne Waldman, who coaches not only retirees but other retirement coaches, talks about what it takes to make a successful transition from work to retirement. In this interview she discusses: * The value of being creative with change. * Why going from working to not-working is not automatic. * Why it’s hard work to shed your work identity and find your “authentic self.” * The value of planning ahe...

Dr. Dana Burr Bradley is Dean of UMBC’s Erickson School of Aging Studies, one of only three such schools in the U.S. From her position interacting with aging adults, students of gerontology, and corporate care providers, she offers her thoughts on the current and future states of aging care, including: * Why there will never be enough caregivers to meet the need for services. * Industry’s new focu...

How can you live a happy, healthy, high-energy life? In this interview, Kit Cassingham (with additional input from her cat Mash) shares her philosophy and discusses: * Her formula for longevity. * Finding your “Why,” as opposed to values others instilled in you. * How much of health is genetic and how much is under our control. * Learning to alter your mindset. * The secret to stretching your comf...