Zestful Aging

Would you give a kidney to your spouse? That's the question that this week's guest, Michael Small, answered. We originally connected around his podcast I Couldn't Throw it Out . Michael has performed in the NYC storytelling show "Tale", and his plays have been presented in the "New York International Theater Festival" and "The HOWL Festival". On each episode of I Couldn't Throw It Out , Michael te...

One of the great pleasures of podcasting is being able to connect with like minded souls all over the world that I would probably never meet in daily life. And even with all of its problems, FaceBook has introduced me to people I can't wait to connect with. Liezel Graham is an indie author, textile artist, and writing-for-wellbeing practitioner who considers beauty to be the antidote to many of li...

We are in an era marked by social, environmental and spiritual crises. As a psychotherapist I am seeing more and more people feeling lost and in existential despair. Many of you know that addiction rates and suicide are at record highs. What can we do to respond to these immense challenges with some grace and resilience? Renowned meditation teacher and author Oren Jay Sofer has created mindfulness...

Imagine being successful in all of the ways society defines success: the house with the ocean view, two successful sons, a kind and loving husband and a satisfying career. Yet something wasn't quite right. There was a longing that wouldn't go away. Right in the midst of middle age, Suzette Mullen admitted to herself that she was in love with her best friend of almost twenty years, a woman. Author...

If you've followed me, you know I am no fan of dieting and restriction, because we all know where that leads– in a shame cycle that erodes our relationship with ourselves. Caroline Drury is a transformational coach who focuses on, as she likes to call it, "the age of wisdom", meaning that her midlife clients have an abundance of life experience and wisdom that they haven't yet tapped into which ca...

For anyone who has ever feared water or wished they'd learn to swim, this episode is for you. I met our Susana Mueller at a podcasting conference I recently attended. She introduced herself and said she thought she knew me. A chemist originally from Cuba, now a resident of Florida, I don't think our paths ever crossed. But we talked about her podcast, On the Green Plantain, and I heard her captiva...

Enjoy this rebroadcast of my interview with Alua Arthur, death doula and now New York Times Best Selling Author of Briefly Perfectly Human . This book on the importance of thinking about our death has resonated with many of us, including top influencers from media outlets including The New York Times, NPR and CNN. Alua Arthur is the Founder of Going with Grace, an end of life organization, which s...

Maddy Dychtwald is recognized by Forbes as one of the Top 50 female futurists globally, for nearly 40 years. She has been deeply involved in exploring all aspects of the age wave and how it's fundamentally transforming our lives and the world at large. She is an internationally acclaimed author, public speaker, Wall Street Journal blogger, and thought leader on longevity, aging, the new retirement...

Anyone out there believe in synchronicity? Many of you know that I am walking part of the Camino de Santiago in May. I've been thinking, planning and talking about it alot. One night I was scrolling and I fell upon a group called Women of a Certain Age–WOACA. I was intrigued. Then I was surprised– more than 10k members. Comments stating how special this group is. They debated on the best walking s...

I was thinking about who would be a great guest for Earth Day. I wanted to talk with someone who is committed to nature, has a zestful attitude towards life and has shown resilience in her life despite dealing with painful losses. If she was an adventurous traveler that would be even better. Then I realized I knew just the woman! Irene Mazzocchi is retired from the Department of Environmental Cons...

Holly Greenberg is a professor of Art at Syracuse University specializing in printmaking. She's long been aware of how toxic some art materials are, but has recently realized how damaging the mining and production practices are that are used to create these art supplies. Since that realization, she's committed herself to stop using manufactured art materials. More recently, Holly became aware of i...

Rona Maynard found happiness at 65—a story she tells in her new memoir Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World. Rona capped a stellar career in magazines with a decade at the helm of Chatelaine, Canada's leading magazine for women. When she disclosed a struggle with depression, she helped kickstart a national conversation about mental health. After Chatelaine, Rona had to lear...

This episode looks at the difficulty of realizing that a loved one is experiencing cognitive decline.  I met Darlene Mahoney at a recent podcasting conference and was struck by her honesty and willingness to talk about her discovery that her father had Dementia. She tells the story of witnessing her father's strange behavior and how she couldn't–or didn't want to–see the writing on the wall. And w...

Anyone else need an adventure? Here in Upstate NY it's been grey as usual, and I need something to look forward to. Today we're going to talk about the benefits of traveling with Jeannie Ralston, the co-founder and CEO of NextTribe, which started life as a digital magazine for women over 45 and has now morphed into a travel company. Jeannie believes that this is the best age to explore the world a...

Over the past 40 years, Dr. Ken Dychtwald has emerged as a foremost visionary and original thinker regarding the lifestyle, marketing, health care, economic and workforce implications of the age wave. Ken is a psychologist, gerontologist, and best-selling author of 19 books on aging-related issues. He also released a memoir in April 2021. During his career, Ken has addressed more than two million...

Kim Rahir is a 60 year old mother of three who was diagnosed with MS 10 years ago and was in a wheelchair. She ignored her doctor's advice and slowly began lifting weights. This year she became European Champion in Masters Weightlifting in her age and weight category. Kim's journey inspired her to leave her career in journalism in her 50s and become a health coach for middle aged women - with a bi...

I think we all are searching for a more meaningful and joy filled life, but don't quite know where to start. Many of my clients experiencing empty nest and all of the accompanying over 50 challenges tell me they feel totally lost and paralyzed. They are asking the proverbial "What now?" Wouldn't you love a blueprint to figure out how to be your most vibrant self in this phase of life? This week's...

Twins Cynthia and Edwina Bringle are 84 year old artists and legends at the renowned Penland School of Craft in North Carolina.  The new documentary, "Bringle: A Tale of Two Makers", was written and directed by artist E. Vincent Martinez a Cuban-born, Atlanta-based mixed-media artist, filmmaker and educator. He was originally a student at Penland and returned to interview his mentors. Martinez als...

Claire and James Davis are the British dynamic duo of midlife health and well being. They are experts in, among other subjects, menopause and hormones. They are also multi award winning coaches, co-authors of a bestselling book, regular speakers and press commentators and podcasters, in the 1.5% of listenership. Their travel company was included in the New York Times list for best fitness retreats...

She was uninspired, out of shape, and longing for the younger version of herself. She thought a hip hop dance class might solve some of her problems. Valentine's Day greeted her with the flu, thousands of notifications on her Facebook account, and hundreds of messages from strangers. Her immediate assumption? She'd been hacked. But she was wrong. A random social media post made of her hip hop danc...

Dog Mountain is set on 150 acres on a private mountaintop spot in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. The grounds are always open to people and their dogs. Artist Stephen Huneck and his wife, Gwen, bought the property in 1995 and turned the barn into studio space. After Stephen's unique visionary experience, the Dog Chapel soon followed. The Dog Chapel opened its doors Memorial Day weekend of 2000. The unspoi...

We've all heard midlife reinvention stories, and I've got a special one for you. I've wanted to interview this guest for years, and I finally got to meet her recently at a public radio shindig. Her life story illustrates the bittersweetness of life–also known as "life is Brutiful", a phrase coined  by Glennon Doyle.  Diane Jones is a composer, musician, and host on WCNY Classic FM in Syracuse.  Af...

Mary Bryant Shrader is the host of "Mary's Nest", a Youtube channel with over a million subscribers. She teaches the simple pleasures of cooking highly nutritious and affordable foods from her Texas kitchen. A native New Yorker, Mary learned cooking from her mom and began cooking "in a sliver of a kitchen." She thinks preparing a beautiful roast chicken, soup or bread can be its own kind of therap...

There's been a lot of buzz about the new weight loss drug like Ozempic. Celebrities are singing their praises. But are they appropriate for midlife women who are frustrated by their menopause midsection weight gain? Do they work? Are they safe?  I had a very eye opening conversation with Peg Doyle, an expert in the field of nutrition and lifestyle. Peg is committed to the vital link between food a...

After a particularly painful break up and the death of his father, artist Day Schildkret began using materials in nature to make designs–what he calls "morning altars" by gathering stray twigs, flowers, pinecones and leaves, and turning them into beautiful works of art. He calls his technique "Impermanent Earth Art". He's developed a curriculum to teach this technique to people all over the world...