Untrained Wisdom

A few years after being introduced to Girls on the Run of Eastern Iowa at a fundraiser, Nancy Hale become a volunteer coach for the organization in retirement. In this interview, she talks about her experience with exercise from childhood to young adulthood, why GOTR is important for girls, and how being involved with young people has impacted her life.

Find a GOTR council near you or learn how you can start one in your area.

Nancy's Recommendations:
- Books by Louise Penny
- Scotland Highlands
- BritBox and AcornTV

Shuva's Recommendation:
- The Mandalorian Behind-the-Scenes

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Welcome to Season 2 of Untrained Wisdom, a podcast in which you'll hear from people 55+ who are redefining the paradigm on what it means to become older, and learn from industry professionals whose guidance helps seasoned generations live more fully.

Season 2 consists of 12 interviews - released each Tuesday starting Sept. 15, 2020. Conversations were conducted online with guests in 5 U.S. states - Iowa, New York, California, Texas, and Maine, and Washington, D.C. - as well as internationally in Toronto, Canada, a rural village in eastern France, and Mumbai, India.

Host Shuva Rahim introduces you to the season's guests through audio previews from their respective interviews (:59 to 7:26.15). Check out the transcript for details.

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In the months leading up to the New Hampshire First In The Nation primary on Feb. 11, 2020, Pat Provencher, at 89, was an enthusiastic volunteer for the Pete Buttigieg presidential campaign. Her energetic spirit, donned by a jacket covered in Pete campaign buttons and a straw cowboy hat adorned with a patriotic-styled scarf as the band, captured the attention of national and international media. In addition to her home state of New Hampshire, Pat campaigned in North and South Carolina. Her daughter, Patsy Dullea, was her mom's photographer, social media manager, and right-hand gal. In this interview, which was recorded shortly after the 2020 coronavirus pandemic shutdown in March, mother and daughter reflect on the highlights of the campaign experience and their hopes for a new administration.

Check out this video from October 2019 of former South Bend, Ind. Mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg hugging Pat Provencher as he makes his way to the Statehouse office to officially have his name on the primary ballot.

Click to view a downloadable link to this episode's transcript.

Pat's Recommendation:
- Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future by Pete Buttigieg

Patsy's Recommendation:
- Joe Biden

Shuva's Recommendation:
- Chasten Chats

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After retiring as a public school educator, Roberta Kelinson began a new career as a prenatal yoga instructor in the Quad City area (a region of southeastern Iowa and northeastern Illinois). Her love for empowering women to connect with their bodies during pregnancy has allowed the grandmother of two to carve a niche based on her yoga training, as well as her own pre- and post-natal experiences. Through her business, Born to Breathe, Roberta's teaching spaces include the local YWCA and an OB/GYN clinic. Triggered by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Roberta began online classes - thus allowing students from across the U.S. to learn from her.

Looking for a prenatal yoga instructor near you? Do a filtered keyword search on the Yoga Alliance website.

Click to view a downloadable link to this episode's transcript.

Roberta's Recommendations:
- Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
- Birthing From Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation by Pam England and Rob Horowitz
- Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered by Rebecca Dekker
- The Business of Being Born documentary

Shuva's Recommendation:
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

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Najma Sharif has created art since she was a young child, drawing or painting whenever she could - even when discouraged by her parents to do so. However, in recent years, the Halifax, Nova Scotia-area retired economics professor has been capitalizing on her talent by doing live wedding paintings in Canada. In this interview, Najma – who shares her work regularly on Instagram – talks about how she got into doing live wedding paintings, her process of creating an art piece at an event, and why her work stands out.

Click to view a downloadable link to this episode's transcript.

Najma's Recommendation:
- Books by Jane Austen

Shuva's Recommendation:
- Peggys Cove Lighthouse

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Craig Mosher's interest in leading group discussions about death stems from a family loss he felt could've been handled differently. After being involved in a group in Decorah, Iowa called Doing Death Differently, Craig moved to Iowa City, Iowa where he now leads a similar monthly gathering at the local Senior Center called Death Cafe. Through facilitation of the worldwide "social franchise" Craig encourages normalizing conversations about death and dying among our loved ones.

Click to view a downloadable link to this episode's transcript.

Craig's Recommendations:
- Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
- When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Shuva's Recommendation:
- Bonaventure Cemetery Tours in Savannah, Ga.

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After Kelly Sedlacek saw her grandmothers transition in their levels of dependency, she decided in 2015 to create Everyday Helper with the goal of offering senior companion care. The Coralville, Iowa-based small business has grown in staff and services, but working with the senior population remains Kelly's favorite. In this interview, Kelly talks about what companion care means, why it's important to have this service, and how the coronavirus pandemic impacts how she and her staff interact with seniors.

Johnson County Livable Community is a local resource Kelly recommends, but is a valuable site for anyone looking for general information about senior care. 

Click to view a downloadable link to this episode's transcript.

Kelly's Recommendation:
- Calm, an app for meditation and sleep

Shuva's Recommendation:
- Unlocking Us podcast by Brené Brown

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Lindsay Thul was only 28 when she was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer, a rare and aggressive disease. She died 10 months later at age 29 at her Davenport, Iowa home. Her mother, Diane Koster, talks about this difficult journey – much of which is chronicled in a book released in spring 2020 she co-authored with her daughter called Lindsay's Legacy: A Mother's Memories. Lindsay's contribution to the book derives from dozens of GoFundMe posts she wrote to help pay for medical expenses as well as raise awareness about the disease.

Since the book's release Lindsay's Legacy Fund was established through Genesis Health System, which serves a 17-county, bi-state region of Iowa and Illinois. The fund's purpose is to help IBC patients who are burdened by the expense of tests, treatments, consultations, and travel. A portion of annual funds may also be directed to IBC research.

Go to The IBC Network to learn more about Inflammatory Breast Cancer.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is a leading facility for IBC research.

Click to view a downloadable link to this episode's transcript.

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For Shelley Oglesby, improving her health meant more than losing weight. Driven by a desire to want to grow old well and not be a burden on anyone, she began incorporating Pilates into her life a few times a week in 2012. Her enjoyment of the controlled movements that define this exercise form led her to progress from student to teacher. Nowadays, Shelley is part of the staff at Rivercity Pilates, where she leads mat and Tower classes at the North Liberty, Iowa studio.

Shelley's Favorite Pilates Exercises:
- Open Leg Rocker
- Boomerang

Pilates Method Alliance is the professional association for teachers of this movement form.

Looking for a Pilates instructor near you? Do a search by one or more filters on the Nationally Certified Pilates Teachers website.

Click to view a downloadable link to this episode's transcript.

Shelley's Recommendation:
- Return to Life Through Contrology by Joseph H. Pilates

Shuva's Recommendation:
- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

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Miriam Kashia has always loved the outdoors. But the North Liberty, Iowa woman became aware of the impact climate change is having on the planet long before most people, and felt compelled to do something about it. Now in her late 70s, Miriam describes herself as a climate action warrior. In this interview, she talks about walking across the U.S. to raise awareness about the climate crisis, protesting the DAPL project, her arrest record, and more.

Click to view a downloadable link to this episode's transcript.

Groups referenced in this interview are: 100 Grannies for a Livable Future, MoveOn, 350, and Pachamama Alliance

Miriam's Recommendations:
- The Race to Save the World
- We Rise to Resist: Voices from a New Era in Women's Political Action

Shuva's Recommendation:
- Blue Planet and Blue Planet II

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