Century Lives

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

If there is one thing we know about retirement, it’s that the rules are changing. Longer life, better health, changing work conditions, and challenging financial times mean that the new retirement will be different from the old. But how will it be different? In Season 5 of Century Lives, we explore the new retirement through the stories of eight different employees of Harris Health, the largest public health system in Texas. The employees are united by the fact that they share the same workplace, but they are divided by very different personal stories and goals – and very different financial situations. They are nurses, doctors, carpenters, CEOs, and security officers, and they are imagining very different retirements.

  1. The Kids Give Me Life

    OCT 9

    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
  2. Anti-ageism

    OCT 2

    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
  3. Die Making Love

    SEP 25

    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
  4. Hurry, Hurry

    SEP 18

    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
  5. Retirement as a Career

    SEP 11

    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
  6. The Fountain of Youth

    SEP 4

    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
  7. The Generational Shift

    FEB 21

    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
  8. I Will Never Retire

    FEB 14

    I Will Never Retire

    For some, work is a calling, and they can’t ever imagine giving it up.  In episode 5, we meet Michael Segal, and hear his incredible journey—beginning with being left for dead on the floor of a convenience store in Austin, TX and ending with his lifelong commitment to helping trauma victims survive and flourish in the trauma wards of Ben Taub Hospital.

    29 min
See All (47)

Trailer

4.8
out of 5
38 Ratings

About

If there is one thing we know about retirement, it’s that the rules are changing. Longer life, better health, changing work conditions, and challenging financial times mean that the new retirement will be different from the old. But how will it be different? In Season 5 of Century Lives, we explore the new retirement through the stories of eight different employees of Harris Health, the largest public health system in Texas. The employees are united by the fact that they share the same workplace, but they are divided by very different personal stories and goals – and very different financial situations. They are nurses, doctors, carpenters, CEOs, and security officers, and they are imagining very different retirements.

Information

  • Creator
    Stanford Center on Longevity
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2024
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Stanford Center on Longevity
  • Show Website
    Century Lives

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