Aging isn’t a slow fade—it’s a remix. New York Times reporter John Leland joins Ron Roel to explore what longer lives make possible: a 90-year-old’s first bar mitzvah, blind tennis in downtown Manhattan, why “act your age” is terrible advice, and how gratitude and purpose can outshine loss. We also dig into lifelong learning, bending (not breaking) career timelines, and the stakes of losing local journalism. If you’re rethinking what the second half of life can look like, this conversation will give you frameworks, stories—and a nudge to try the thing you “can’t.”

Guest: John Leland — author of Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old


Host: Ron Roel — 45 Forward Contact & Links

• John Leland: [email protected]
• John’s NYT byline archive: search “New York Times John Leland byline”
• Ron: [email protected] — newsletter & show notes at 45Forward.org
• Ron’s book: The Caregiving Navigator (Amazon)



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