Your Call

On this edition of Your Call, we discuss Dear Audrey, a documentary about filmmaker Martin Duckworth who cares for wife, Audrey Schirmer, as she faces the final stages of Alzheimer’s. Dear Audrey is screening at this year's online Legacy Film Festival on Aging, through January 15.

We’ll also discuss the latest research on Alzheimer’s and the first randomized controlled trial to determine if the progression of early Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment may be stopped or reversed by a comprehensive lifestyle medicine program, based on pilot data as well as other relevant studies of less-intensive interventions.

What causes Alzheimer’s and will it take to find a cure?

Guests:

Martin Duckworth, Canadian documentary director and cinematographer, and subject of the documentary Dear Audrey

Dr. Dean Ornish, founder and president of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute, Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSF and UCSD, and author of seven books, including Undo It! How How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases

On this edition of Your Call, we continue of our conversation about elders struggling to make ends meet and the documentary, Duty Free. After 75-year old Rebecca Danigelis was fired from her hotel housekeeping job after 40 years, she embarks on a bucket-list adventure to reclaim her life with the help of her son filmmaker Sian-Pierre Regis.

Duty Free is featured in this year's 11th annual Legacy Film Festival on Aging, and is available to watch online through January 15.

Older workers left the labor force at higher rates than all other groups during the pandemic, and senior poverty rates are at an all time high. An estimated 25 million elders won’t have enough money to get through retirement. What policy solutions would you like to see?

Guests:

Rebecca Danigelis, subject of the film Duty Free and activist working against ageism and workplace discrimination

Sian-Pierre Regis, director and producer of Duty Free

Tracey Gronniger, managing attorney for the economic security team at Justice in Aging

Ramsey Alwin, president and CEO of the National Council on Aging

On this edition of Your Call, we'll rebroadcast our discussion with Dr. Dana Cohen and Gina Bria about their book, Quench: Beat Fatigue, Drop Weight, And Heal Your Body Through the New Science of Optimum Hydration.

Some doctors say 75 percent of people living in the US are dehydrated. Living in a chronic state of dehydration can cause many problems, including fatigue, headaches, poor sleep, and even Alzheimer's. What are the best ways to stay hydrated? Can proper hydration help fend off infection from Covid-19 and other diseases?

On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss some of the most important climate developments in 2022 and what we should look for in 2023.

From the floods in Pakistan and the Great Barrier Reef suffering its fourth mass bleaching to record heat and deadly hurricanes, the destructive impacts of climate change became more visible. What climate and environmental stories do you want us to cover in 2023?

Guests:

Sammy Roth, climate and energy reporter at the Los Angeles Times and author of the paper's weekly Boiling Point newsletter

Mark Hertsgaard, executive director of Covering Climate Now, environment correspondent for The Nation, and author of Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth

We discuss coverage of the new Congress and the Republican Party's far-right faction’s efforts to block Kevin McCarthy from becoming the next Speaker of the House.

On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing the latest information about Northern California's "bomb cyclone."

California declared a State of Emergency on Wednesday to support storm and recovery efforts. The storm knocked down trees, flooded roads, caused mudslides, cut power to nearly 170,000 residents, and killed at least 2 people in the Bay Area. Some areas, including in Santa Cruz County and along the Russian River, have been issued evacuation warnings. Winds gusted up to 85 miles per hour in parts of the Bay Area.

Warming and emergency centers opened across the Bay Area for unhoused residents and others displaced by the storm.

How have you been impacted by this devastating storm?

On this edition of Your Call, we discuss the 11th annual Legacy Film Festival on Aging, which entertains and educates intergenerational audiences about the variety of later life experiences, including the triumphs and the challenges.

We'll discuss a number of films, including Duty Free. After his 75 year-old mother Rebecca Danigelis gets fired from her job as a hotel housekeeper in Boston, filmmaker Sian-Pierre Regis documents the ageism and despair in her struggle to find another job and takes her on a bucket-list adventure to reclaim her life.

Other films focus on caregiving, creativity, transitioning, community, Alzheimer’s and resilience. The films will be available to watch online from January 6-15.

Guests:

Sheila Malkind, executive director of the Legacy Film Festival on Aging

Rebecca Danigelis, subject of the film Duty Free and activist working against ageism and workplace discrimination

Sian-Pierre Regis, director and producer of Duty Free

On this edition of Your Call, we speak with plant-based doctors about healthy living. We’ll discuss how to add more healthy food to your diet and the links between diet and chronic disease.

Nearly 60 percent of adult Americans have at least one chronic disease, according to the CDC. A plant-centric diet can lower the risk of certain diseases, including heart disease and stroke, according to a number of studies.

What will it take to ensure healthy food is accessible and affordable?

On this edition of Your Call, we're opening the phone lines and taking your show ideas for 2023.

Which shows stood out to you in the past year? What books, articles, documentaries, or stories would you like us to feature?

In the upcoming year, we'll continue to focus our attention on important issues like the climate crisis, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and money in politics. What ideas do you have for our show?

On this edition of Your Call's One Planet series, we rebroadcast our conversation with biology Professor Dave Goulson about his book, Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse. He asks, what will happen when the bugs are all gone?

Goulson explores the intrinsic connection between climate change, nature, wildlife, and shrinking biodiversity. Insects are vanishing at an alarming rate, but Goulson says it's not too late to save the day.

He writes, "Most have not yet gone extinct, and if we just give them some space they can recover swiftly, for insects can breed fast. Insects live all around us: in our gardens, parks, farmland, in the soil beneath our feet and even in the cracks in a city pavement, so we can all get involved in looking after them, and ensuring that these vital creatures do not disappear. We may feel helpless in the face of many of the environmental issues that loom on our horizon, but we can all take simple steps to encourage insects."