So Your Parents Are Old

Journalist and author Alissa Quart joins Vanessa to talk about how to turn a parent’s art into a living legacy while navigating the impossible “third shift” of caregiving. They also zoom out to discuss the economics of aging in America and what it’s like to live in an “anti-compassion time.”

Read Alissa’s books Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream and Squeezed: Why Our Families Can't Afford America. You can also check out her NY Times Op-Ed, My Mother, the Artist, Discovered at 90, her most recent Guardian article, or see some of her mother’s art @barbaraquartpainter or in this photo inventory. Learn more about the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, or send them a pitch. 

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

Collin Moulton’s parents hadn’t spoken in decades—until their failing health forced a reunion no sitcom could script. The comedian joins Vanessa to talk about the chaotic final years of his parents’ lives and what it means to truly grow up when your parents are old.

Follow Collin on Instagram to find Collin’s tour dates.

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

Journalist and former CNN anchor Amara Walker opens up about her mother’s Alzheimer’s—how she found support in community, how she talks to her children about their grandmother’s illness, and how she arrived at the difficult decision to move her mother to a nursing home.

Find out more about the Alzheimer’s Association on their website. 

The book Vanessa read to her son is called Nana Nana by Nate Bertone and illustrated by James Claridades.

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

Comedian Kathleen Madigan has turned the trials of caring for her parents into some of her sharpest material. She joins Vanessa to commiserate about Medicare and creepy porcelain basement dolls—and to show how humor can help you through the hardest moments.

Hear more from Kathleen on Madigan's Pubcast, and find tour dates on her website. Her new special, The Family Thread is available on November 21.

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

Actress Erika Christensen joins Vanessa to talk about her new film After All, where she plays a daughter caring for her ill mother. Together, they explore the unexpected intimacy of birth, death, and everything in between.

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

Most of us fear the word “hospice,” but author and hospice volunteer Ann Neumann wants to change that. From morphine spoons to lottery tickets, she shares stories from the bedside that show how hospice can help us reclaim an ancient, almost forgotten skill: caring for each other at the end. Read Ann's book, The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America.

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

Amanda Uhle, writer and publisher of McSweeney’s, joins Vanessa to talk about her new book Destroy This House. She reflects on her parents’ lifelong struggles with hoarding and the lessons she carried forward after clearing the home they left behind.

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

A stunning 80 percent of Americans over 65 own their own home -- and now it's yours, or maybe your problem! Tina Fallon, a realtor with Realty Collective and founder of New York City’s 24 Hour Play series, and a realtor, discusses how to advise your parents on what they should do with their house.

Find more from Tina at the Realty Collective and at The 24 Hour Plays.

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

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This is an episode where we get mad! Comedian Lewis Black cared for his late elderly parents, who lived to 101 and 104. He talks about something nobody wants to even think about: what he'll do when he's too old to care for himself.

Hear more from Lewis in his podcast, Lewis Black's Rantcast, or read one of his books.

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

Leeza Gibbons, the Emmy-winning television host and health advocate, joins the show to talk about her parents. She shares heartfelt stories about their influence, resilience, and love, and reflects on how their lessons continue to guide her both personally and professionally. Check out her work at Leeza's Care Connection.

To connect with the team, find us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Youtube⁠, or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We want to hear from you! 

Our production team is Shoshi Shmuluvitz, managing producer and editor; Lily Houston Smith, senior producer; Ashley Warren, production manager; Yi-Wen Lai-Tremewan, studio recordist; and music by Mark McAdam and Amber Devereux.

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