The Agewyz Podcast

Dr. Pauline Boss on The Grief That Has No End

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced many residential care facilities to go on lockdown and implement “no visitor” policies.  As a result, family ...

Nancy Picard: Caregiving in a Crisis

26 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Like many adult children, psychologist Nancy Picard is determined to prevent her aging parents from contracting Covid-19.  But Nancy and her parents ...

Eugenia Zukerman: Like Falling Through a Cloud

12 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Renowned flutist Eugenia Zukerman has performed in concerts and recitals all over the world.  She was the artistic director of Colorado's Bravo! Vail...

Jason Resendez: LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's

27 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up in Alice, Texas, Jason Resendez didn't have any experience with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.   But more recently demen...

Leslie Gray Streeter: Black Widow

13 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Veteran writer Leslie Gray Streeter established a loyal readership through her Palm Beach Post column, "That Girl." Now a general entertainment colu...

Medication Overload: Time For An Action Plan

30 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the last two decades the number of people age 65 or older who are taking five or more medications has increased 300 percent. A problem that is much...

VIP Care Management With Sonja Kobrin

16 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Geriatric Care Manager Sonja Kobrin was in her twenties when she began caring for the grandparents who raised her. She had no help and was traumatized...

Deirdre Fishel on her documentary film “Care”

02 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning filmmaker Deirdre Fishel walked around in a state of rage during the making of her documentary film, “Care,” which delves into the w...

LGBTQ Sandwich Generation

12 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Brent Wright is one of 64 million sandwich generation Americans who has simultaneously cared for an aging parent and his kids, all under the same roof...

Autism Village Founder Topher Wurts

28 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

One in 68 children born in the US today is diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. The vast majority of them are being raised by single moms, and b...

Shaista Kazmi: Serving Elderly Ethnic Minorities

14 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Michigan resident Shaista Kazmi has firsthand knowledge of the isolation and guilt felt by millions of family caregivers. But as a Pakistani Muslim, s...

Suzanne Garber: Unraveling Global Healthcare

31 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Single Payer, Medicare For All, Universal Healthcare - as these phrases get tossed around the presidential debate stage we get real with Suzanne Garbe...

Cynthia Lim: Carving a New Path After Loss

17 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

LA resident Cynthia Lim, author of the book, "Wherever You Are: A Memoir of Love, Marriage and Brain Injury," returns to the show a year after our fir...

Elissa Altman on "Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing and Longing"

03 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when a gay, middle-aged daughter who has never gotten along with her makeup-addicted, former television singer mother is suddenly thrust ...

Millennial Caregiver Adrienne Glusman

19 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Adrienne Glusman always knew she would have to care for her mother at some point. It just happened 30 years sooner than she expected. An only child of...

Contemplative Caregiving with Dr. John Eric Baugher

05 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Pioneering educator and researcher Dr. John Eric Baugher was just eighteen years old when his mother was murdered.  Filled with rage, John felt he w...

Valerie Bourdain: Finding Shelter in the Storm of Cancer

29 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In a span of five years, Nebraska native Valerie Bourdain lost her daughter to adrenal cancer, her mother to lung cancer and her father to Chronic Lym...

Before It's Too Late

22 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 1996, Mike O’Krent became a volunteer interviewer for Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, the largest oral histo...

Janet Elsbach: Caring, Connecting & Building Community One Dish At A Time

08 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Janet Elsbach was raised by people who did a lot of cooking, but she didn't go to professional cooking school.  A home cook inspired by seasonal food...

What Would The Patient Want?

01 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when a family member or friend is incapacitated and they’re counting on you to make a healthcare decision for them?  Do you take the d...

Judith Henry: The Dutiful Daughter's Guide to Caregiving

25 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

When Judith Henry's parents became ill in 2007, not even her reputation as a pragmatist, a planner and responsible eldest sibling could prepare her fo...

Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After Stroke

18 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Being able to speak and write were central to Debra Meyerson's career as a tenured professor at Stanford University, where her work revolved around di...

When Is It Time To Stop Driving?

11 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Former Ohio state trooper Matt Gurwell spent 20-plus years delivering bad news to family members about accidents involving older drivers. Now instead ...

Author Liz O’Donnell on "Working Daughter: How to Care for Your Aging Parents While Making a Living"

27 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

THE AGEWYZ PODCAST IS CELEBRATING ITS FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY!THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN OVER THE YEARS!There are lots of books on the market about balanci...

Jay Perry: Journeying Through Cancer

20 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning Canadian photographer Jay Perry dodged burning cars in Haiti after the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake, he’s had Haitian rebel...

Aisha Adkins on Millennial Caregiving

13 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that Millennial caregivers make up nearly a quarter of America's 44 million family caregivers?  One of them is Atlanta writer and dement...

Photographer Robert Duron on "stages: 100 Over 100"

06 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that in the United States there are over 80,000 centenarians? Those are Americans who have made it to age 100 and beyond. They were born ...

A Grief That Has No End: Dr. Pauline Boss on Ambiguous Loss

30 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Pioneering educator and researcher Dr. Pauline Boss coined the term "ambiguous loss" to describe a form of grief that is common in caregivers of famil...

Military Caregiver Jill Armijo

23 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We celebrate this Memorial Day with the story of a military caregiver whose husband returned from active duty alive but mentally wounded. Jill Armijo’...

CareGiving.com Founder Denise M. Brown

16 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Chicago native Denise M. Brown founded CareGiving.com at a time when Google, Twitter, Facebook and Wikipedia didn't even exist.  Everyone told Denise...

Choosing Joy: How One Couple Reframed Alzheimer's

09 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A few months after their 50th wedding anniversary, Helene Berger's husband Ady was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. When the doctor gave him the ne...

Sky Dylan-Robbins: How Will Millennials Care For Their Parents?

02 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the next fifty years the population of Americans over age 65 will double. Where do millennials fit in? That's the question posed by filmmaker and v...

Trailer for The Agewyz Podcast

29 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Caregiving expert and author Jana Panarites engages with unsung heroes — people caring for family members, friends and relatives amid the demands of...

Gayle Kirschenbaum on her film "Look At Us Now, Mother!"

25 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you’re having a hard time caring for a family member or friend, chances are there are lingering wounds in the relationship.  But choosing the pa...

The Best Seven Years of My Life

18 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

George and Carol Shannon were on their last night of vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico when Carol had a stroke.  A day later, in a hospital back in ...

Medication Overload: America's Other Drug Problem

11 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We hear a lot about how the opioid crisis is destroying families and communities. But the scope and impact of medication overload is much bigger: in ...

Jaime Estremera-Fitzgerald: CEO of South Florida’s Area Agency on Aging

04 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jaime Estremera-Fitzgerald is a CEO on a mission. As head of South Florida’s Area Agency on Aging (known locally as Your Aging and Disability Resour...

Brian LeBlanc: Living Well with Alzheimer's

28 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

58-year-old Brian LeBlanc is an international Alzheimer's advocate who speaks at conferences, workshops, symposiums, and even on dementia-friendly c...

Ronni Bennett: Time Goes By

21 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

No one knows what it’s like to be old until they get there. That’s the view of Ronni Bennett, a former radio producer in her 70s who also spent ov...

Kalisha Bonds: African Americans and Dementia

14 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Much of the research on dementia in the United States has overlooked African Americans, but the prevalence of dementia in this population is more wide...

When Caregiving Is Rejected: A Mother and Her Son's MS

07 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Wanting to care for your child is a basic instinct for most mothers. All the more so when that child has a chronic condition, like the son of today’...

Kristi Horner: Supporting Mental Health Caregivers

28 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the U.S., as many as 8.4 million people act as caregivers to adults with emotional or mental health conditions. That’s according to a recent repo...

Tamesha Keel: This Is What Normal Looks Like

21 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Brooklyn-born attorney and empowerment guru Tamesha Keel was riding high in her career when her father died and she took on the role of sole caregiver...

Katherine Summers: From the Heart

14 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Florida native Katherine Summers stumbled into her career as a paid caregiver. She had some time on her hands, and friends from her childhood began as...

Alzheimer’s Advocate Lori La Bey

07 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Alzheimer’s Speaks founder Lori La Bey is driven to help people with dementia and their care partners live positive and purpose-filled lives. The wo...

John Leland: Happiness Is A Choice You Make

31 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 2015, award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of The New York Times to meet members of America’s fastest growing age group: people...

The Candia Shuffle

24 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Candia, New Hampshire residents Kathy and Ray MacDonald vowed when they got married that neither mother-in-law would ever live with them. Then Kathy’...

Kate Schutt: Nothing I Won't Bear

17 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer Kate Schutt was packed and set to leave for a gig in the Middle East when she learned that her mother had st...

Journalist Paula Span on The New Old Age

10 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Veteran journalist Paula Span has had personal experience with many of the issues explored in her twice-monthly column for The New York Times, “The ...

Dr. Nicole Rochester: Your GPS Doc

20 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Nicole Rochester has known she wanted to be a pediatrician since she was about eight years old. A Washington, DC native whose dad was a Redskins s...

Steve Burrows and Ilan Arboleda on "Bleed Out"

13 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When Steve Burrows’ mother, Judie, fell into a coma after a routine hip surgery, he was afraid she would never wake up. Questioning Judie’s care d...

Lois Perelson-Gross: Reimagining End of Life

06 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Talking about death can be difficult. But Lois Perelson-Gross believes people are eager to find a way in and begin to feel comfortable talking about t...

It's A Minefield: Vivian Stamatopoulos on Youth Caregivers

29 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Toronto-based researcher Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos was 26 years old and laid off from a job when it fell to her to care for her grandfather, who had pr...

Aging Together With Grace

22 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Fox has been called a sugar baby, a gold digger and a kept man more times than he’d care to remember. But his relationship with his partner Ga...

Dana Walrath: Through the Looking Glass

15 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dana Walrath refers to her work as a border-crossing blend of creative writing, anthropology and art. The daughter of refugees from the Armenian genoc...

The Mitzvah

08 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When aging parents need care, the way they’ve lived their lives up to that point often factors into whether their adult children are willing to help...

Wherever You Are

01 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Cynthia Lim thought she had the perfect life: a loving husband who was also a successful lawyer, her own fulfilling career, two sons thriving in high ...

Caring for Dad at 32

25 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

New Yorker Jennifer Levin talks about how becoming a caregiver for her father at age 32 changed her and why she wrote about her experience in Cosmopol...

From Ragged Edge to California Cool

18 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When her husband proposed a month’s vacation in Mexico, Susan Reid hesitated - fearful of being away from her elderly parents for so long. Susan’s...

Aging in Place with Designer Dale Miller

11 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nine months after she helped move her parents from New York to Florida, Certified Aging in Place Specialist Dale Miller learned her mother had a brain...

LGBTQ Chaplain Cliff Alburger

04 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For many lesbian, gay bisexual or transgender (LGBTQ) older adults the thought of moving into a long-term care facility means denying your identity an...

Ann Campanella on "Motherhood: Lost and Found"

27 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Writer Ann Campanella was 33 years old and hoping to become a mother when her own mother began showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease. As her mother d...

Sharon Rosenzweig: Drawing Through Grief

20 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For the past six years cartoonist Sharon Rosenzweig has been making comics about her mother and what Sharon refers to as their “adventures with Alzh...

SquadCare With Sherri Williams

13 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Self-care gets a lot of play in the media, but the truth is we’re all connected and the practice of care involves many people, especially in times o...

Rx4good with Ann Moravick

30 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Rx4good President Ann Moravick expands on her piece for Forbes digital magazine titled, “What’s Love Got to Do with It? When Caring for a Business...

Marissa Moss: Last Things

16 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning author and illustrator Marissa Moss is best known for her popular “Amelia’s Notebooks” series. She took a radical departure from t...

The Wide Circumference of Love

02 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Best-selling author Marita Golden talks about her novel “The Wide Circumference of Love,” in which the real-world impact of Alzheimer’s disease ...

Leaving Whidbey

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Maxine Borowsky Junge, artist, psychotherapist and co-author of the book, “Dear Myra, Dear Max: A Conversation About Aging,” returns to the sh...

Joe Carella: Creating Unlimited Options For Aging

12 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Executive Director Joe Carella of the Scandinavian Charitable Society of Greater Boston talks about how his accidental placement in a geriatric hospit...

Jay Perry: Journeying Through Cancer

28 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Canadian photographer Jay Perry was thirty-one years old when his father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Jay’s business was just taking off...

Facing Cancer

21 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Licensed Clinical Social Worker Jennifer Schosheim is one of America’s low-profile but critical pieces of the healthcare puzzle delivering person-ce...

The Caregivers: Social Practice Art

14 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Director and Creator Nell Bang-Jensen talks about her play “The Caregivers,” created in collaboration with Philadelphia-area home health aides, ho...

Frank Morelli: No Sad Songs

07 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In his new Young Adult (YA) novel, “No Sad Songs,” author Frank Morelli explores youth caregiving through the character Gabe LoScuda, an eighteen-...

Being There

24 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Why are conversations about death so hard? And how can we learn to say goodbye in a healthy way? Author Julie Saeger Nierenberg explores these and oth...

Sky Dylan-Robbins on Millennials Stepping Up

17 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Filmmaker and visual journalist Sky Dylan-Robbins talks about her documentary short for NBC Left Field, “Millennials Stepping Up: How Will We Take C...

Find Your Tribe

10 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In 2007, television, film and social media producer Jen Vargas made a short film for Relay for Life, the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer ...

Dear Max: Dr. Maxine Borowsky Junge

03 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

80-year-old Dr. Maxine Borowsky Junge explains why she co-wrote “Dear Myra, Dear Max: A Conversation on Aging” with her friend and colleague Dr. M...

What You Make Of It

26 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump’s nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, Dr. Ronny Jackson, just withdrew his name from consideration. But as the VA remai...

Dear Myra, Dear Max - Dr. Myra Levick

12 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In an era when women were often defined by the work of their husbands, art psychotherapist Dr. Myra Levick earned three degrees, she helped found the ...

Grammy

05 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Los Angeles-based writer Lauren DePino has always had a soft spot for older adults. The death of her beloved grandmother hit her especially hard, but ...

Millennial Caregiver Lisette Carbajal

29 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Lisette Carbajal was sitting in her dorm room at the University of Virginia when her mother called, crying as she told her Lisette’s father had been...

Twilight Wishes

22 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

James Ciervo is the Regional Chapter Director (New York) of the Twilight Wish Foundation, a national organization in the business of making older adul...

The Last Poker Game

15 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

“Abe and Phil’s Last Poker Game” is the rare Hollywood movie that explores the subject of aging through characters that are neither pitiable nor...

Ronni Bennett: Time Goes By

08 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Not one of us knows what it's like to be old until we get there. So says 76-year-old Ronni Bennett, a former radio producer who also spent over 25 yea...

The Legacy

01 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to aging parents, working daughters often feel they have to choose between being a good employee and being a good daughter. After her fa...

Explaining Dementia To Children

15 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Canadian author and illustrator Kathryn Harrison created her picture book “Weeds in Nana’s Garden” to help children who have family members with...

Learning How To Dance In The Rain

08 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The challenges of his political career were nothing compared to the steep learning curve faced by former Wisconsin Governor Martin J. Schreiber when h...

Dr. Samuel Harrington on his book "At Peace"

01 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Samuel Harrington's father had a vision of how he wanted to experience the last days of his life. That vision led Dr. Harrington and his sisters t...

Nell Bang-Jensen: The Caregiver Project

25 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Theater artist, writer and educator Nell Bang-Jensen believes that instead of staging big shows on a main stage, theater producers might better serve ...

Life After Caregiving

18 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After ten years of caring for three different family members who died four months apart, Andrea McMillan woke up to the realization that she was no lo...

Iris Waichler: Role Reversal

11 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In her new book, “Role Reversal: How To Take Care Of Yourself And Your Aging Parents” author Iris Waichler combines practical advice for caregiver...

Anything For That Smile

28 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Loretta Veney’s greatest fear is that her mother will outlive her money. Her great grandmother lived to age 107 and her grandmother to age 98. Neith...

Joy Loverde: Creating A Quality Old Age

21 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years ago, when author Joy Loverde began thinking about writing her new book, “Who Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old?” the timing wasn’...

Matt Gurwell: Beyond Driving With Dignity

14 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Former Ohio state trooper Matt Gurwell talks about his organization Keeping Us Safe and the Beyond Driving With Dignity self-assessment program he cre...

Peter Rosenberger: Caregiver With Hope

07 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

As the Trump administration rolls out its plan to deal with the opioid crisis, author and radio host Peter Rosenberger wants to know why caregivers ha...

Grown-Up Pains

30 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

When her mother was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease, 29-year-old writer Melissa Bilchik had to decide whether she too should be tested: there wa...

Getting Covered

23 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

It’s open enrollment season in the United States, so if you need to sign up for an individual health insurance plan through the Affordable Care Act ...

The Wide Circumference Of Love

16 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Writing “The Wide Circumference of Love” turned best-selling author Marita Golden into an Alzheimer’s activist. In today’s show she tells us w...

The Weight Of Honor

09 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

During the making of her documentary film, “The Weight of Honor,” which profiles the caregivers of military veterans, Director/Producer Stephanie ...

CareGiving.com Founder Denise M. Brown

02 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Google, Twitter, Facebook and Wikipedia didn’t even exist when Chicago native Denise M. Brown started exploring the idea of launching a website for ...