Getting Real About Getting Older

Death, Sex & Money

Slate Audio

Careers, Sexuality, Business, Health & Fitness, Relationships, Society & Culture

4.6 • 7.7K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2020

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I don’t think that as a culture, we talk enough about getting older, and when we do, we don’t often do it well. It's time to have better conversations about aging—and we're going to do it with the help of veteran public radio anchor Jo Ann Allen. Jo Ann is the host of the podcast Been There Done that, a show about and for the Baby Boom generation. As she tells me, "I am 67 years old, and I am really into older people! [...] I love, without a doubt, up and down, over and under, in and out, being an older person and getting older." Over the next few weeks, Jo Ann is going to be stepping into the host chair and recording some interviews with older listeners in our audience about what it's like to be aging, and what questions are coming up for you—especially in this moment. I can't wait for you to meet her. Are you over 60? We want to hear from you! What's your life look like right now? How are you feeling your age differently this year compared to last year? You can send an email to us, at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. You can call us and leave a message, at (917) 740-6549. Or you can record a voice memo on your phone, and email it as an attachment to deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. And if you're not over 60, you can still help us by spreading the word, and sending this episode to someone in your life who is. And make sure to check out Jo Ann's podcast, Been There Done That. We particularly like the episode "Betty," in which she talks to her older sister about surviving coronavirus. Support Death, Sex & Money by becoming a monthly sustaining member. Follow the show on Twitter and Instagram at @deathsexmoney and Facebook at facebook.com/deathsexmoney. Sign up for the Death, Sex & Money newsletter at deathsexmoney.org/newsletter. And email us any time at deathsexmoney@wnyc.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Death Sex and Money from WNYC, I'm Anna Sale.
0:05.1	And for a moment, I want to go back a few years to an email that came into the Death Sex
0:09.6	and Money inbox.
0:11.5	The subject was,
0:12.8	The email was from a listener named Aiana Lo, who's 64 and lives in New York City.
0:23.0	She wrote in after she'd listened to an interview I did with model and actress Brooke Shields,
0:28.1	and she found that parts of it were lacking.
0:30.8	I wish Miss Sale asked Miss Shields to talk about getting older in depth.
0:36.9	How does it feel to be 50 years old in a world that celebrates youth?
0:42.0	How does Miss Shields cope with her changing body and the way people react to her?
0:48.5	These are the questions that my friends and I are struggling with.
0:52.3	My identity is shifting as I age, and I want more conversation about getting older.
0:58.2	The last taboo is ageism.
1:00.6	Please start talking about it Miss Sale.
1:04.1	These are great questions, and we know that Aiana is not the only one asking them.
1:09.2	Over the years, lots of you have written in to tell us what's hard about getting older.
1:14.2	Oh, the things that scare me, oh being alone.
1:17.4	The house?
1:18.4	The need to have more friends.
1:20.1	It is kind of falling down all around me.
1:23.2	I bet I'm not the only one in the world who is not having sex.
1:30.1	I mean, it's been 11 years.
	...

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