Century Lives

Look around you: Our communities are filled with people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s, doing things that would have been unthinkable at their age a generation ago. By 2030, the entire Baby Boomer generation will be 65 and older.  By mid-century, more than 80 million Americans will be over the age of 65.  By any prevailing definition, the United States will be a country full of older adults.  But what does it mean to be old in an era of much longer life?    Welcome to Century Lives: The New Old, from the Stanford Center on Longevity! I’m your host, Ken Stern. In this season, we interview six extraordinary people who are challenging the way we think about aging—and inspiring new ways we can live our supersized lives. Today: Margaret Cho. She is a Korean-American comedian, actress, musician, advocate, and entrepreneur. Most of us know her from her stand-up, where she pokes fun at topics like race, sexuality, body positivity, and politics. Decades after her network debut, she’s still using comedy as activism.

Look around you: Our communities are filled with people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s, doing things that would have been unthinkable at their age a generation ago. By 2030, the entire Baby Boomer generation will be 65 and older.  By mid-century, more than 80 million Americans will be over the age of 65.  By any prevailing definition, the United States will be a country full of older adults.  But what does it mean to be old in an era of much longer life?    Welcome to Century Lives: The New Old, from the Stanford Center on Longevity! I’m your host, Ken Stern. In this season, we interview six extraordinary people who are challenging the way we think about aging—and inspiring new ways we can live our supersized lives.Today: Billy Collins. He is one of America’s best-known poets, whose poems are beloved for their conversational and accessible style and for their humor. Billy Collins was the Poet Laureate of the United States for two terms, from 2001-2003. He talks here about his new collection of poems about dogs, and about a lifetime of observing the world around him and finding the right words to describe it. He also discusses mortality, which he says is one of poetry’s most common topics. And he reads several of his poems for us!

Look around you: Our communities are filled with people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s, doing things that would have been unthinkable at their age a generation ago. By 2030, the entire Baby Boomer generation will be 65 and older.  By mid-century, more than 80 million Americans will be over the age of 65.  By any prevailing definition, the United States will be a country full of older adults.  But what does it mean to be old in an era of much longer life?    Welcome to Century Lives: The New Old, from the Stanford Center on Longevity! I’m your host, Ken Stern. In this season, we interview six extraordinary people who are challenging the way we think about aging—and inspiring new ways we can live our supersized lives. Today: Diana Nyad. Her name is synonymous with courage, endurance, and the relentless pursuit of possibility. From Diana's record-breaking swim from Cuba to Florida at age 64, to her trailblazing career as a journalist and motivational speaker, to her latest passion authoring children’s books, Nyad continually redefines what it means to test one’s limits. She shares her story as a woman whose perseverance has inspired millions to “never, ever give up.”

Look around you: Our communities are filled with people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s, doing things that would have been unthinkable at their age a generation ago. By 2030, the entire Baby Boomer generation will be 65 and older.  But what does it mean to be old in an era of much longer life?    Welcome to Century Lives: The New Old, from the Stanford Center on Longevity. In this season, we interview six extraordinary people who are challenging the way we think about aging. Today: Nina Totenberg. Her voice is one of the most famous in broadcasting. Nina Totenberg is the legal affairs correspondent at NPR, a job she’s held since 1975. She talks here about why she continues to work into her 80s, with no plans to retire. And she regales us with stories about her early career, when there were few women journalists. She also discusses some of her most famous reporting, including her breaking news story about Anita Hill’s accusations against then-nominee to the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas.

Look around you: Our communities are filled with people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s, doing things that would have been unthinkable at their age a generation ago. By 2030, the entire Baby Boomer generation will be 65 and older.  But what does it mean to be old in an era of much longer life?    Welcome to Century Lives: The New Old, from the Stanford Center on Longevity. In this season, we interview six extraordinary people who are challenging the way we think about aging. Today: Jacynth Bassett. She is one of the leading anti-ageism activists in the world, and yet she is only in her early 30s (and has already been fighting ageism for a decade). Jacynth Bassett is the founder and CEO of a campaign and a global community called “Age-ism is Never in Style”. She is also the founder and CEO of a women’s fashion brand called “Bias Cut” that proudly, loudly declares itself an “age-inclusive” brand.  She tells the story of how she chose this cause, and explains that ageism can affect the young as well as the old, and is the one form of discrimination we will all experience. She also discusses the ways that ageism can damage our health and the economy.