Alastair Henry retired at 57, shed his possessions and went to live with a First Nations band in the Northwest Territories. Alastair and I talk about his life-changing 2 years in a fly-in community in northern Canada, his life in Lutsel K'e, the cultural differences and challenging environment. Alastair explains how his experience there led to learning a larger purpose in life. Alastair will return for a second podcast with more adventures and how he endured a double lung transplant.

This episode's guest on Specifically for Seniors is Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Medical DIrector of Hebrew Senior Life's Wolk Center for Memory Health and co-author of "A Guide to Cogntive Fitness." This podcast introduces a series of six additional podcasts throughout the year that discuss ways to maintain our cognitive health.

Correction: In our introduction on the podcast we mistakenly minimized the number of published articles and patents attributed to Dr. Pascual-Leone. He has authored over 900 scientific papers and several books. He holds 20 issued patents for various methods for noninvasive brain stimulation and modulation. Thomson Reuters has recognized him as one of the “World's Most Influential Scientific Minds”. Research.com has recognized him as a “Best Scientist” and “Neuroscience Leader” ranking #10 world-wide and #6 in the US.

LINKS:

A Guide to Cognitive Fitness
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/a-guide-to-cognitive-fitness

Wolk Center for Memory Health

https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org/services/health-care/wolk-center-memory-health

Sorell Schwartz, PhD is Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center, Senior Pharmacology Advisor at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has had advisory appointments at the National Library of Medicine, the FDA, the EPA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the FTC, the U.S. House of Representatives, OSHA, the Department of Defense, the FBI and WHO.

Dr. Schwartz explains the confusion between the FDA and CDC and their roles, the importance in taking our medications as directed, the interaction among our mutiple medications, the difference between side effects and adverse effects, the efforts toward deprescribing, the proper way to stop a medication and the current thinking about Mifepristone and Misoprostol.

This is a podcast you cannot miss. Your life could literally depend on it.

Dan and I chat about ChatGPT, AI uses and abuses, the future of AI, what it can and cannot do, benefits for seniors. Dan wrote three books using Chat GPT and tells how and why. Dan introduces an app for grandparents that uses AI to create bedtime stories. It's available for iPhone on the App store - the app is called Tall Tales - Bedtime Stories.

Jane Caro - author, novelist, social commentator, award winning columnist, broadcaster, documentary maker, TEDX speaker, feminist and self-proclaimed troublemaker speaks out on the issues of ageism, feminism and sexism, topics close to heart. And then she and I talk about America's issues with abortion legislation and guns and how we appear to the rest of the world.

Dr. Giannobile and I discuss the importance of dentistry as an integral part of overall health and the integration with physicians as part of the healthcare team. We talk about the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and the training that students receive that differs from other dental schools. Dr. Giannobile and I then address specific needs of senior adults and the problems dentists can encounter when dealing with older adults. We also chat about what the future holds for dentistry.

Marty and I discuss all aspects of a senior move whether they are managing the move for themselves or for aging parents. We talk about the psychological and physical moving process including downsizing, organizing and the actual move itself. We discuss the extra problems when a member of the move has dementia or a physical infirmity. Marty clarifies the role or a move management company.

For those who are wishing to age-in-place, Marty presents tips on how to safety-proof and organize for convenience.

Whether you planning a move yourself or helping another in their move, this podcast will make things easier.

This is the story of three remarkable women - a 79 year old champion weight lifter and body builder, an 88 year old holder of the Guinness Book of World Records for the oldest working female comedian and a 103 year old blue ribbon prize winnng baker.  Each woman has a different story to tell but each will serve as an inspiration and will share their secrets for a long, health and active life.   So sit back, relax, and get ready to be inspired by the wisdom and resilience of these incredible women.

We promise you will have some laughs and come away with a new prespective of what being older than 75 really means. Despite their ages, these women continue to challenge stereotypes about age, break multiple ageism tropes, and prove that it's never too late to pursue one's passions, achieve one's dreams and live life to the fullest.

Whether you are an older adult looking to stay active and independent or simply interested in learning more about balance, mobilty and fall prevention, this is the podcast for you. Dr. Rose discusses  the importance of fall prevention  and balance assessment and training as part of a broader overall fitness regime. She has developed a program that provides a multidimensional approach to the assessment and treatment of balance-related problems called the Fallproof Balance and mobility Program. And provides some special information for senior adults who are considering taking up pickleball.     

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Talk Just For Us

Andrew Budson, MD and Elizabeth Kensinger, PhD are the Authors of the newly published book "Why We Forget and How To Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory". In easy-to-understand layman's terms, the doctors discuss how we create and store memories and why we forget things. We discuss normal age-related forgetfulness and how to distinguish between that and forgetfulness associated with diseases like Alzheimer's and that associatd with various medications. They offer simple suggestions on how to improve our memories, remember names and the importance of sleep.

This podcast and their book are essential listens/reads as we age.