Mortality
This hour of Radiolab: is death a disease that can be cured?We filter the modern search for the fountain of youth through personal stories of witnessing death -- the death of a cell, the death of a...
View ArticleMedicine's generation gap
In 30 years, as Baby Boomers retire, there will be as many people over 80 as there are under 5. And there's another disturbing trend: The number of students entering geriatric medicine is dropping. As...
View ArticlePhysicians weigh federal panel's suggestion to end prostate exams at 75
Guest: Tara Parker-Pope, The New York Times
View ArticleCalling all infants: National Children's Study begins 21-year health mission
The largest children's study ever undertaken in the United States kicks off in 2009. Researchers plan on tracking 100,000 kids from the womb to the age when they can legally crack open a beer....
View ArticleMy old man: The truth about men's biological clocks
Women have long battled with their biological clocks, but with men like Tony Randall cranking out kids in their seventies, many men don't really think about their biological clocks. In the wake of new...
View ArticleIs Fired the New Retired?
The latest unemployment numbers are out, and as expected they rose. The unemployment rate is now at 10.2 percent, and 190,000 jobs were lost in October. The numbers are surprising and reveal that the...
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Health Reform: Helping Pay the Costs of Elder Care?
We're talking about the costs of caring for Grandma, and whether they're going to get any cheaper with health care reform. The CLASS ACT– short for 'Community Living Assistance Services and Support' –...
View ArticleTech for the Elderly and the Risk of a Robot Takeover
In honor of all the silver foxes out there (and the people who love them), we dedicate this week's tech segment to assistive technologies for older people.Dr. Nick Terrafranca, medical director of...
View ArticleSetting Long-term Health Priorities: The Three And Half Things You Need to Know
Whether you’re worried about high blood pressure or diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis or heart disease, there are just four steps you need to significantly cut your risk and improve your health. (For...
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The Strange Science of Immortality
Immortality has always been a dream of humanity, though in movies and books, we are often told that our mortality is somehow integral to the human experience. If you could live longer – much, much...
View ArticleGay and Gray in America: Getting Older as a Gay Man or Woman
What is it like getting older when you’re part of the first generation of gay people to live fully out of the closet? And who cares for you as you exit the world?We explore these issues with Laurie...
View ArticleStay Hungry
Brian Delaney, president and director of the Calorie Restriction (CR) Society International and the co-author of the book The Longevity Diet, talks about calorie restriction as a means to a longer...
View ArticleIs It Worth Knowing Alzheimer's is Coming if There's Nothing You Can Do About...
We're following a new development about research into Alzheimer's treatment and prevention. On Tuesday, drug manufacturer Eli Lilly stopped two late-stage clinical trials of a treatment after...
View ArticleThe Many Roles of Martin Landau
Some people know Martin Landau as the debonair master of disguise in TV history — from his role on “Mission Impossible.” Some remember him best as the groundbreaking, sexually ambiguous henchman in...
View ArticleIs it Time to Cut Your Aging Parents Loose?
We frequently talk about retired people living on limited budgets. But what about their adult children?It turns out that many people with aging parents are struggling financially, and even facing...
View ArticleElder Abuse is on the Rise
The Jewish Association for Services for the Aged has noticed more than a twenty percent jump in financial abuse cases of elders over the past two years. City lawmakers and advocates say it's a growing...
View ArticleReverse Aging?
Dr. Ronald A. DePinho, director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and professor of medicine (genetics) at Harvard Medical School, talks about a...
View ArticleWalter Mosley: Deal with the Devil
Walter Mosley, author of literary fiction, science fiction, political philosophy, and two series of mysteries, discusses his new novel The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, which explores aging and loss...
View Article'Never Say Die': A Motto Americans Live By?
In her new book, "Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age," author Susan Jacoby sets out to debunk the myths that it's possible to avoid the hardships of old age. At the same time, she...
View ArticleHow We Age
Dr. Marc Agronin, adult and geriatric psychiatrist and author of How We Age: A Doctor's Journey into the Heart of Growing Old, explores what aging means today and how well we do - or don't - understand...
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