The Spiraling List of Indignities

This week we're saying goodbye — not just to our stamina and our knees, but to an entire culture. Road atlases the size of a coffee table and AAA TripTiks bound by hand at the counter. Eight-tracks, mixtapes taped off the radio for a girl who didn't like them, CDs, iPods, and now nothing you own at all. Blank stares from 20 somethings when you mention key pop culture touchstones from your childhood. Chuck confuses transition and progressive lenses. Your references will be lost like teardrops in the rain. Including that one ;) PS. Sorry for the audio anomalies, we learned what MIC BLEED is after taping this episode

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Links from this week’s show:

• The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: how regulatory T cells keep the immune system from attacking the body: LINK
• FDA approves Tregzi (Orca Bio), the first Treg-based immunotherapy, for transplant patients with blood cancers: LINK
• Regrowing Cartilage
• Stanford researchers block an aging enzyme and regrow knee cartilage in mice and human tissue: LINK
• Why Norway doesn't keep score until age 13 — and how 93% of kids end up in sports clubs: LINK

The dental episode. We'd rather be talking about Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Band, but instead it's drilling, fillings, and all things teeth as if listening to this show wasn't already enough of a root canal for you.

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Links from this week’s show:

• CDC, Fast Facts: Tooth Loss: LINK
• American Heart Association newsroom: LINK
• Inside Dental Hygiene: LINK

Everybody knows you're supposed to keep moving as you age. Fewer people know that the kind of moving matters. This week we get into motor learning, and why learning complex movement may build cognitive reserve even in people our age. We look at what the research says about dance, tai chi, and juggling, and John explains what it's like to embarrass himself in front of a few hundred people at a dance recital every single year on purpose.

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Links from this week’s show:

• How Dance Promotes Brain Health — Brain & Life (American Academy of Neurology): LINK
• Exercise can boost your memory and thinking skills — Harvard Health Publishing: LINK
• Aging Brain Can Learn New Tricks — HealthDay: LINK
• Holz et al., "Subretinal Photovoltaic Implant to Restore Vision in Geographic Atrophy Due to AMD" — New England Journal of Medicine, Oct. 20, 2025: LINK

Remember when your brain just worked? You'd walk into a room and know why you went there. Names arrived on time. This week we talk cognitive decline — the normal "where are my keys" fog, the scarier stuff, and everything in between. We sort out the four tiers of cognitive aging, the usual suspects behind dementia, and the risk factors you can actually do something about: hearing loss, isolation, sitting on the couch, and the rest. Spoiler: the fix/mitigation is exercise, sleep, and staying social, same as always.

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Links from this week’s show:

• Journal (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2024): LINK
• Mass General Brigham press release: LINK
• Full article (JAMA Network Open): LINK
• Open-access version (PMC): LINK

It was easier to stay engaged and keep a circle of friends when you were young. School and your career put you in close proximity to lots of other folks. As you age it gets harder and requires some effort to stay connected. In this episode we talk about the loneliness epidemic and the importance of purpose, community and friends. Or, we could just stop trying and wander off to the elephant graveyard. ;)

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Links from this week’s show:

• Harvard Gazette (2023, isolation/lifespan): LINK
• Harvard Health: LINK
• Blog post: The British Museum blog post on the Lewis Chessmen: LINK
• 3D imaging library: The British Museum's Lewis Chessmen 3D model collection on Sketchfab: LINK

In this week's episode we observe the 50-something year old male's morning routine. It ain't pretty, but we're just happy to still be above ground. We hope you enjoy! NOTE: Apologies in advance for a few small audio problems in this episode. On the upside, they're very short, just a few seconds apiece.

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Links on this week’s show:

• New Yorker Rachel Aviv, "Mary Had Schizophrenia—Then Suddenly She Didn't," July 21, 2025 (print issue July 28): LINK
• NPR "Population decline means fewer caregivers for the elderly," November 2, 2025: LINK

Join us as we explore the nocturnal habits of the 50-something year old male, with all the indignities that this entails. A little depressing, sure, but it beats the alternative! :)

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Links from this week’s show:

• Nature lithium/Alzheimer's paper. Aron, L. et al. "Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer's disease." Nature, Aug 6, 2025. LINK Harvard Medical School write-up: LINK NIH plain-language: LINK
• Mouthwash/diabetes study: Joshipura KJ et al. "Over-the-counter mouthwash use and risk of pre-diabetes/diabetes." Nitric Oxide, 2017;71:14–20. DOI: 10.1016/j.niox.2017.09.004: PubMed: LINK British Dental Journal commentary: LINK
• Harvard isolation study. Analysis published July 15, 2026 in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — 11 pooled aging studies, 175,070 adults 50+, 18 countries. Loneliness linked to cognitive decline and earlier death independent of social isolation: LINK

Part 2 of pills, potions and palliatives. NOTE: I accidentally mangled the first version of this episode, this is an updated take with all of the segments included. :) In this week's episode you can hear about the fistful of supplements that Chuck is taking in hopes of delaying the inevitable. If nothing else, he can serve as an example of what NOT TO DO in your own life. We hope you enjoy!

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Links on this week’s show:

• Alleviation By Fisetin Of Frailty, Inflammation, And Related Measures In Older Women: LINK
• Fisetin is a senotherapeutic that extends health and lifespan: LINK
• Telomere Length and Biological Aging: The Role of Strength Training in 4814 US Men and Women: LINK

In our second episode you can be bored to tears while hearing about the pills, concoctions and duct tape we use to try to hold it all together. Less aches and pains? Probably not. Increased longevity? Doubtful. Expensive pee... guaranteed. Part 1 explores John's stack. Enjoy!

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Links on this week’s show:

• FDA Approves First Vagus Nerve Stimulation Device for Rheumatoid Arthritis: LINK
• Historical changes in the mineral content of fruit and vegetables in the UK from 1940 to 2019: LINK
• Declining Fruit and Vegetable Nutrient Composition: What Is the Evidence? LINK

Move or rust! In this first episode we dig into what we're doing, as 50 year old guys, to stay active. The goal is a thin veneer of fitness as we stumble into our dotage. Will we make it... probably not. If you're a 20 or 30-something year old all of this will be completely foreign to you and may make you sad. Enjoy!

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Links on this week’s show:

• FDA Approves Novel Non-Opioid Treatment for Moderate to Severe Acute Pain: LINK
• Vitamin B3 can help protect against skin cancer: LINK