Century Lives

The national motto in South Korea is “hurry, hurry,” and that’s what the country did as it turned its metropolitan areas into “lifelong learning cities.” Across the nation, adults of all ages now have access to free classes that help them keep learning—and connecting to each other. In this episode, Ken goes back to school, where he learns about the traditional art of teamaking, and meets a recent college graduate who is older than he is. Then we return to the United States to hear from an American who attributes her long lifespan—99 years and counting!—to lifelong learning.

You can’t go anywhere in Japan without running into older workers. They might be driving your taxi, serving your food, or selling you tickets at a tourist attraction. Japan has the highest percentage of older workers in the world. You might think this has to do with economic necessity and changes in pension rules. But when you look closely, you’ll discover the widely accepted belief in Japan that work brings you “Ikigai," which translates to a purpose in life that is critical to healthy and successful aging.  

In Episode 2 of Century Lives: The Century Club, host Ken Stern travels to Fukuoka, Tokyo, Ukiha, and Toyama to meet older workers who describe what they enjoy about working longer. And, he visits a company in Tokyo that is developing new adaptive technologies that will help people work into their 70s and 80s—that is, if they so choose. 

Americans are obsessed with youth. But instead of keeping us younger, that focus is proving detrimental to our health. Join us as we explore how the U.S. can reframe our government policies and social perspectives to help extend our lives. In the first episode of Century Lives: The Century Club, “The Fountain of Youth,” Ken searches for centenarians in Italy, drags his Gen Z son to Florida’s Fountain of Youth tourist attraction, and learns an interesting truth from the chronicler of the world’s long-lived Blue Zones.

Though attitudes about retirement are shifting rapidly, traditional notions of retirement still hold currency. In Episode 6, we meet Maria and Brendan D’Souza. Maria is a senior nurse at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, just a few years away from retirement. Her son Brendan is freshly minted from medical school, starting his career just a few floors away from his mother. They share a family bond, a career, and many of the same interests and passions, but for all that unites them, different perspectives and circumstances facing their generations are creating different ideas about retirement, caregiving and family commitments.

For some, work is a calling, and they can’t ever imagine giving it up.  In episode 5, we meet Michael Segal, and hear his incredible journey—beginning with being left for dead on the floor of a convenience store in Austin, TX and ending with his lifelong commitment to helping trauma victims survive and flourish in the trauma wards of Ben Taub Hospital.

For some, retirement is just the starting pistol for that next act. Whether it is a new business or an entirely new career, retirement is just an out-of-date term for starting something new. To this group, entrepreneurship is a big draw (older Americans are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs) but it’s really about the freedom to pursue an exciting new phase of life. In episode 4, we meet Tasha Mayweather, and are drawn into her vision for her next act: KBK Skating Palace. And that’s just the beginning.

Retire young: travel, spend time with family, perhaps tend to a nice piece of land in the country. It is the retirement that we all are supposed to want, but relatively few people get. In episode 3, we meet Carrie Nealis, a nurse in her late 30s who dreams of having the retirement her parents did. But she is challenged by the uncertainty of our times and the nagging belief that her generation will not share the same opportunities of their parents.

It’s a common story: approaching retirement with little or no savings, uncertain how far social security or savings will take you, dealing with climbing health care costs and the potential responsibility for providing financial support to adult children. Increasingly, retirement is a financial struggle for millions. In episode 2, we meet Genie and Burgess Etzel, both approaching the final year of their careers at Harris Health. Perhaps they have it made: two pensions, a house in a fashionable neighborhood, a loving family. All this is true, but as with so many Americans, it hides complex family dynamics and the challenging math of the new retirement. 

If there is a new vision of what “The New Retirement” should be, it is the “all of the above” retiree: stay healthy, stay involved in something you are passionate about, and be a dedicated caregiver to your future grandchildren. In episode 1, we meet Esmaeil Porsa, the CEO of Harris Health, to hear about his arduous and shockingly improbable road to the top of Harris Health, and what it means for the retirement that may not come as soon as his family hopes.

In episode 6, we explore an insidious epidemic, equivalent to the health effects of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It can cause inflammation, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. And it can cut our lives short by as much as 30 percent. It’s not Covid - or a virus - or a bad diet. It’s loneliness. More than 60 percent of Americans report feeling lonely and disconnected. And that number keeps going up. Today we’ll explore the health effects of loneliness. And our host Ken Stern comes up with an ingenious way to overcome his own feelings of isolation - as he sets out to make six new friends in his neighborhood.