Century Lives

Stanford Center on Longevity
  • 4.8 (38)
  • SOCIAL SCIENCES
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Century Lives

It’s a well-known fact that women live longer than men. But less well known is the fact that women live a larger percentage of their lives in poor health than men do. In Century Lives: The 51%, we explore the failures that have contributed to women’s health disadvantage for centuries: shortcomings in healthcare, research, education, policy, and social norms alike. And we tell the stories of the visionary leaders, doctors, and innovators working to level the playing field today.

  1. Overlooked and Underfunded

    JAN 22

    Overlooked and Underfunded

    During its first hundred years, the National Institutes of Health, the world’s premiere medical research institution, used only male subjects in its clinical studies, completely ignoring the anatomy and physiology of half of humankind. But that began to change in 1990 - a turning point for women’s health in the United States, one brought about by the growing power of women in Congress and the field of medicine. We talk with Senator Barbara Mikulski, who along with a small band of members of Congress, demanded change at NIH, and Dr. Vivian Pinn, a trailblazing pathologist who became the first head of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at NIH.

    42 min
  2. The Kids Give Me Life

    10/09/2024

    The Kids Give Me Life

    The United States has been described as the “most age-segregated society that’s ever been." In the final episode of Century Lives: The Century Club, Ken travels around the globe to explore how other societies make intergenerational connections. He gets serenaded by the oldest and youngest Spaniards and witnesses the world’s most comprehensive effort to build an intergenerational society in Singapore. And as Ken wraps up his trip, he realizes that he found his ikigai.

    26 min
  3. Anti-ageism

    10/02/2024

    Anti-ageism

    It may not come as a surprise, but fixating on someone’s age can affect how you think about them—and even how they think about themselves. And the health implications are dramatic. People who have a negative view of aging live on average 7.5 fewer years than those who have a more positive view, even holding constant for other health and social factors.   In this episode, Ken travels to some of the longest-lived countries in the world to find societies that put real thought into the needs of older adults. We'll see a fashion show in Singapore, go to a beauty school in Japan, and meet a street photographer in South Korea to discover a kind of longevity advantage that stems from cultures that encourage a positive attitude towards aging.

    25 min
  4. Die Making Love

    09/25/2024

    Die Making Love

    It’s been said that you are what you eat, and Italians are aging like the fine wine that makes them famous. As older Italians retire and leave their careers behind, an astonishing number of them are beginning new chapters as volunteers. In this episode, Ken travels across Northern Italy to explore its vibrant new culture of volunteerism. Along his journey, he gets the best advice about aging he’s ever heard.

    26 min
  5. Hurry, Hurry

    09/18/2024

    Hurry, Hurry

    The national motto in South Korea is “hurry, hurry,” and that’s what the country did as it turned its metropolitan areas into “lifelong learning cities.” Across the nation, adults of all ages now have access to free classes that help them keep learning—and connecting to each other. In this episode, Ken goes back to school, where he learns about the traditional art of teamaking, and meets a recent college graduate who is older than he is. Then we return to the United States to hear from an American who attributes her long lifespan—99 years and counting!—to lifelong learning.

    24 min
  6. Retirement as a Career

    09/11/2024

    Retirement as a Career

    You can’t go anywhere in Japan without running into older workers. They might be driving your taxi, serving your food, or selling you tickets at a tourist attraction. Japan has the highest percentage of older workers in the world. You might think this has to do with economic necessity and changes in pension rules. But when you look closely, you’ll discover the widely accepted belief in Japan that work brings you “Ikigai," which translates to a purpose in life that is critical to healthy and successful aging.      In Episode 2 of Century Lives: The Century Club, host Ken Stern travels to Fukuoka, Tokyo, Ukiha, and Toyama to meet older workers who describe what they enjoy about working longer. And, he visits a company in Tokyo that is developing new adaptive technologies that will help people work into their 70s and 80s—that is, if they so choose.

    22 min
  7. The Fountain of Youth

    09/04/2024

    The Fountain of Youth

    Americans are obsessed with youth. But instead of keeping us younger, that focus is proving detrimental to our health. Join us as we explore how the U.S. can reframe our government policies and social perspectives to help extend our lives. In the first episode of Century Lives: The Century Club, “The Fountain of Youth,” Ken searches for centenarians in Italy, drags his Gen Z son to Florida’s Fountain of Youth tourist attraction, and learns an interesting truth from the chronicler of the world’s long-lived Blue Zones.

    21 min
  8. The Generational Shift

    02/21/2024

    The Generational Shift

    Though attitudes about retirement are shifting rapidly, traditional notions of retirement still hold currency. In Episode 6, we meet Maria and Brendan D’Souza. Maria is a senior nurse at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, just a few years away from retirement. Her son Brendan is freshly minted from medical school, starting his career just a few floors away from his mother. They share a family bond, a career, and many of the same interests and passions, but for all that unites them, different perspectives and circumstances facing their generations are creating different ideas about retirement, caregiving and family commitments.

    24 min
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4.8
out of 5
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About

It’s a well-known fact that women live longer than men. But less well known is the fact that women live a larger percentage of their lives in poor health than men do. In Century Lives: The 51%, we explore the failures that have contributed to women’s health disadvantage for centuries: shortcomings in healthcare, research, education, policy, and social norms alike. And we tell the stories of the visionary leaders, doctors, and innovators working to level the playing field today.

Information

  • Creator
    Stanford Center on Longevity
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Stanford Center on Longevity
  • Show Website
    Century Lives

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