Extra-marital affairs are everywhere. We see them in the movies and we hear about friends whose relationships have ended because the husband became involved with someone else. How common are these affairs? What can a woman do to keep her husband from straying? Marie H. Browne, RN, Ph.D, and her attorney daughter, Marlene M. Browne, have written a book, “You Can't Have Him, He's Mine: How to Affair- Proof Your Relationship".

Marlene Browne is a women’s divorce attorney and her mother, Marie, is a therapist who counsels women going through divorce. Between them they’ve heard all the stories, worked all the scenarios and know almost all there is to know about the infidelity of husbands in these relationships. They discuss the things you don’t know or realize about men’s infidelity, such as: less men cheat than you think; more men are willing not to stray if they find contentment at home; men cheat for emotional connection, much as women do; men will equate sex with intimacy, so if a wife or long-term partner holds out on sex she’s preventing him from expressing intimacy in a typical male way. They then move on to things you don’t know or understand about affair-proofing your relationship. Listen to this podcast for the critical information you absolutely need to know.

The topic of religion has elicited powerful, passionate responses throughout history. So it’s not surprising that Dr. Kenneth Pargament’s latest study, which suggests that religious anxiety could increase the risk of death in the elderly, has garnered international attention.

Pargament, a professor of psychology who has taught at Bowling Green State University since 1979, has been interviewed by the Washington Post, New York Times, BBC and media from Norway and Japan since the controversial study was published in August.

“A number of studies have shown that religious involvement can help extend life expectancy,” says Pargament, who is also an adjunct professor at Boston University.

“This is the first one that found certain types can be a risk factor for health and mortality. This just kind of shows the other side of religion, that religion can raise fundamental questions for people and pose difficulty for people who get stuck in their struggle.”

Pargament was among the researchers who surveyed 596 elderly hospitalized patients in 1996. Patients who wondered if God had abandoned them, questioned God’s love or thought the devil had a role in their illness were more likely two years later to have died than patients who did not hold such beliefs.

“Having questions about God is not an automatic death sentence,” Pargament says, reiterating a point he has made in all those interviews with the media.

As a psychiatrist himself, Aging Gratefully’s co-host, Dr. Peter Brill, studied at one of the best universities with the one of the broadest perspectives in the country. However, nowhere in his training was spirituality ever mentioned or accepted. And yet there were clear sacred moments that occurred when souls touched in therapy. Often these were the most important moments of all. Subsequently, it has become clear that spirituality is essential to life in the Third Age. Dr. Kenneth Pargament has spent his career working to integrate spirituality and psychotherapy. His new book is called Spirituality Integrated Psychotherapy: Understanding and Addressing the Sacred.

Should you lose your virginity after 40? How do you remain vital, sexy and alive? Our guest today, Sunny Hersh, author of Is it Hot in Here or am I just Hot? says midlife is “no time to play the blushing virgin.” She says “this is the time to live with the passion and pleasure you’ve been putting into everyone else’s life.” How do you do that?

Sunny Hersh is a wellness educator, journalist , workshop leader, editor of the e-newsletter Boomer Bites, and author of two books: Midlife Mamas on the Moon and Is it HOT in here, or am I just HOT? Sunny helps women overcome the negative expectations they have about aging, and starts them on the path to transforming their lives. She has a PhD in Laughter, a Black Belt in shopping.

Some of the things Sunny discusses with Peter and David:

How does a 40-plus woman lose her virginity?

Is there any truth to the urban legend about sex-starved older women?

You know, Mrs. Robinson, Stifler’s Mom, that type?

You call Viagra “the big blue elephant in the bedroom?” Why?

There’s been a lot of bad press about hormone replacement.

Should women ever consider HRT?

Why do men hate going to the doctor, and what can their partners do about it?

Don’t be afraid to listen – it’s only your sex life we’re talking about.

I see that your books advise women to “Lose your virginity – the second time around!” What does that mean?

How does a 40-plus woman lose her virginity?

Is there any truth to the urban legend about sex-starved older women?

You know, Mrs. Robinson, Stifler’s Mom, that type?

You call Viagra “the big blue elephant in the bedroom?” Why?

There’s been a lot of bad press about hormone replacement.

Should women ever consider HRT?

Why do men hate going to the doctor, and what can their partners do about it?

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· Dirty, dirty vices we love

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Staying on the High Road: A Lifetime Program of Vision and Laughter

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Become Best Friends for Life — with your husband, your parents, and your kids

91 million people are over the age of 50 in America. As this enormous number of people reach retirement age are we simply going to waste their talents and energy. In that age group, 94% of those who were surveyed think it is important or very important to find ways to keep older Americans engaged in society either working or volunteering. We have two guests today who are doing something about it.

Harris Wofford is currently the spokesman of Experience Wave, a national campaign to widen opportunities for older Americans to stay engaged in work and volunteering. Mr. Wofford was a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995. Since helping to launch the Peace Corps in 1961, Mr. Wofford has been at the forefront of the nation's service movement. He played a key role in both crafting and working to pass the trailblazing legislation that created AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National Service.

George Ruznak came to the US as an immigrant in 1957. Eight years later at age 26 he wasthe President of a computer company. After 10 years in industry, he became a management consultant with clients in over 20 countries.He started his retirement in 1993 after the sale of the firm and now works with the organization SCORE which uses the talents of retired executives to help younger entrepreneurs. Two very powerful and experienced guests on a topic close to all of us.

Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, MAPP, Assistant Professor Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medicine-Geriatrics at the University of Chicago. Dr. Lindau is one of the fastest rising young stars in the field of aging research. In this show we find out how Third Agers’ social networks contribute to their longevity and health. What kind of diseases women face as they age. How sexually active people are as they age. And how you can best stay healthy.

Dr. Lindau's research and clinical work focuses on health of women throughout the life course. Her teaching and mentoring efforts emphasize geriatrics education and research predominantly in the areas of ethics, sexual health, and primary care of older women. She is also working on several projects aimed to advance the health and life quality of older women and women living with chronic illness.

Some of the research she discusses:

The percentage of those surveyed who said they were sexually active declined with age: 73% of the 57-64 age group reported they were sexually active, compared with 53% of the 65-74 age group and 26% of the 75-85 age group.

Older women were less likely to report being sexually active than older men, and were less likely to be in intimate relationships. But women, also, were more than twice as likely to be widowed as men. Here's the breakdown:

-Ages 57-64: 62% of women and 84% of men reported sexual activity in the last year

-Ages 65-74: 40% of women and 67% of men reported sexual activity in the last year

-Ages 75-85: 16% percent of women and 38% of men reported sexual activity in the last year

Don’t miss this fascinating discussion.

A lot of us wonder whether religion and spirituality lead to better health, happiness and longevity. Can prayer cure illness? Can we pray for people and make them better? What are the benefits of meditation? Today we have someone uniquely qualified to answer these questions.

Harold G. Koenig, MD, is on the faculty at Duke as Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Associate Professor of Medicine. His research on religion and health has been featured on The Today Show, ABC’s World News Tonight, and Good Morning America as well as NPR and the BBC. He’s written many books, among “Spirituality in Patient Care” and “Spirituality and Medicine.”

Some of the questions Dr. Koenig answers are: 1) Why do deeply religious people recover from depression more quickly? 2) How does mindfulness meditation make people feel more peaceful? 3) Are people who just want to be “spiritual” not getting the healthful aspects of religion?

This generation of retirees will live longer, be healthier, have more choices and more knowledge, and potentially experience this stage of life in fantastic new ways. Now there is a whole channel on TV devoted to information and entertainment directed specifically toward those who are retired. It includes everything from how to use electronics, a dating game, health advice and a myriad of interesting talk shows. On our show today we are very fortunate to have the network’s two founders, Charles Hirschhorn and Brad Knight, to tell us about this exciting new medium.

Charles Hirschhorn, Retirement Living TV’s Chief Executive Officer, created G4 Television, helped create the Fox Network, returned the Wonderful World of Disney to television, and has produced and developed over 20 major motion pictures.

Brad Knight, President of Retirement Living TV, is the driving force behind the network’s success in reaching more than 30 million homes.

Among the network’s lineup of shows is the AARP Magazine Show; The Art of Living; Health and Wellness Hour (everything from Alzheimer’s to Indian sweat lodges); and Daily Café (2 hours of news and interviews starring Florence Henderson).

Loss and grief permeate the Third Age. Normally, we lose our parents, we lose our friends and one of the couple will lose their spouse and partner. How can we best cope with it? How much should we lean on our friends, and what can we expect over the years?

Dr. Pamela D. Blair is the co-author of the bestselling, award-winning book on grief entitled, “I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye.” Dr. Blair is a holistic psychotherapist, spiritual counselor and life coach with a private practice in Hawthorne, NY. A frequently invited guest on TV, cable and radio talk shows, Dr. Blair has appeared several times as an expert on CBS TV. Her book is considered a classic in grief recovery. Dr. Blair’s current book is “The Next 50 Years: A Guide for Women at Midlife and Beyond.”

Some things Dr. Blair talks about are: how sudden death complicates the survivor’s life with unresolved regrets; how survivors replay the traumatic event over and over and how to stop it; and how to deal with PTST. This interview is a must for the sandwich generation.

Sooner or later everyone has to make a decision about when they retire, what it looks like, and where they want to spend their retirement. Our guest today, Jan Cullinane, is co-author of the book, “The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide To The Rest of Your Life.” Her book tackles the basic questions of what to do in your retirement and is especially thorough in exploring where you should spend it. Cullinane and Fitzgerald, her co-author, give a report card to each community they recommend, grading them on climate, cost of living, health care, transportation and things to do. As you might expect, Florida’s coastal communities rank among their favorites but so do Reno (perhaps you’ll find a new career at its professional bartending school!) and Asheville, North Carolina. The interview also addresses the questions, how do you know if you’re really ready for retirement and what are the secret ingredients for a great retirement.

Jan Cullinane has a B.S. and M.Ed. from the University of Maryland and she’s the Retirement Expert for the NABBW (National Association of Baby Boomer Women). She is a regular contributor to “Ocean Breeze” and “Let Life In” magazines.

Ever wonder if organic foods are worth their high price? Are the marketing claims true? Are organic foods really more nutritious, safer, and better for the environment? Do the benefits of organic farming really outweigh the benefits of conventional farming? Can you handle the truth? If you’re an organic food devotee, get ready to be enraged.

Alex Avery is the author of the controversial book, “The Truth About Organic Foods.” He is the Director of Research and Education at the Center for Global Food Issues, a project of the Hudson Institute. Since joining the Center in 1994, Avery has spoken to a wide variety of national and international audiences and has represented the Center at the United Nations World Food Summit in Rome.

In his book he challenges widely accepted notions that organic food is better for your health. A university study comparing the amount of bacteria on conventionally-grown and organically-grown produce found that the level of the common bacteria E. coli on certified organic produce was "not statistically different from that in conventional samples." Avery has attacked the researchers for their pro-organic "bias." In this podcast he passionately takes on all dissenters.