Live Long and Master Aging

Steven Petrow: I will never get old

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Episode notes

We will all get old, if we are lucky. Aging is a privilege, but facing up to the inevitable lifestyle changes, could leave some of us in denial. Steven Petrow is an award-winning journalist and author, best known for his candid essays in the Washington Post and New York Times, focussing on what it’s like to grow old. In this LLAMA podcast interview, recorded at TEDMED, Steven reflects on the aging process through the eyes of his parents and his own aspirations. He also discusses the challenges posed by loneliness, declining mobility and old age for LGBTQ people.

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In this interview we cover:

• Lessons and stories from the way parents live and age.
• Family tensions and a father’s frustration at growing old. 
• Defiance over getting old.
• Like father, like son - shared traits as we age.
• Stupid things we won’t do as we get old.
• Illness denial and death denial.
• Acting our age. 
• Is death to be feared or is it just another stage of life. 
• Slow down and retire or turn 60 and speed up. 
• Multi-generational living, to stay young at heart.
• Staying busy and living long. 
• The scourge on loneliness. 
• Why the LGBTQ Stonewall generation is being forced back into the closet as they seek care in assisted living facilities.