Club Sandwich

This week on  Agehood , we’re diving into one of the biggest, hardest, and most universal experiences we’ll ever face: death. But not in the way you might expect. Dr Hannah Gould is a cultural anthropologist and researcher at the University of Melbourne’s DeathTech Research Network who is reimagining how we mourn, memorialise, and find meaning in the end of life. Drawing on...

When Alex Lollback received a string of anxious late-night texts from her mum, she had no idea it would mark the beginning of a year that would upend every part of her life. As the executive producer of Ladies We Need To Talk and a mother of two, Alex was already stretched — but when her mum’s physical and mental health rapidly declined, she found herself thrust into the thic...

This week on Agehood , we’re joined by Kerry and Isabelle Silbery — the mother–daughter duo you’ll know from Gogglebox Australia . For eight seasons, they shared their lounge room (and lives) with the nation, alongside beloved family matriarch Emmie. A few weeks ago, Emmie passed away following a long journey with dementia. In this deeply personal conversation, recorded sho...

This week on Agehood, we’re having the conversation that matters most—but often happens least. Dr Kathryn Mannix is one of the world’s leading voices on dying well. As a former palliative care doctor, she's sat beside thousands of people at the end of their lives—and what she's learned might just change how you live yours. In this gentle and powerful episode, Kathryn shares...

Author and columnist Nikki Gemmell has never shied away from the hard conversations — and in this powerful episode of Agehood, she turns her lens inward. Nikki opens up about the painful, unresolved grief of losing her mother by suicide, and the emotional aftermath of not being part of her end-of-life experience. She shares the guilt she still carries, how that moment reshaped her think...

Australia is on the edge of a demographic cliff — and according to leading demographer Bernard Salt, we’re nowhere near ready. In this episode of Agehood , Bernard joins host Melissa Reader to unpack the numbers behind our aging population, the rising pressure on families, and the looming care crisis that will land hardest on women in their 50s and 60s. With his trademark clarity and i...

Journalist, author and broadcaster Sarah MacDonald has spent a lifetime telling other people’s stories — but in this episode of Agehood, she shares her own. Sarah opens up about losing her beloved father, a gentle obstetrician who championed women through birth but didn’t get the gentle death he deserved. She reflects on what it meant to become his advocate in a hospital sys...

Welcome to Agehood. The podcast  where we have the conversations that matter most but happen least often.  Over the next 12 weeks, host Melissa Reader will sit down with some of Australia’s most trusted voices — from beloved broadcasters to leading experts — to talk about caregiving, aging, grief, and the invisible load carried by the sandwich generation. But before we...

Dad’s had another fall. The kids are out of control. Your boss’s patience is wearing thin. No matter what you do, you feel like you’re letting someone down. And who is looking out for you? Welcome to Agehood. This is the show for all the people who are caught between caring for ageing parents, raising a family, and managing work—all while trying to live a good life. Li...