Boldly moving from midlife to old age

What’s the experience of growing old(er) really like? Debbie interviews authors, experts, and exceptional individuals to reveal the truths, both positive and negative, about [b]oldly entering old age in an ageist society.

 

 

Artwork by Judith Poitras-Raynault

On the show Debbie delves into all the current topics related to growing old: the unretired (or non-retired) life, reinventing purpose, ageism, slowing down, physical deterioration, intergenerational collaboration, grandparenting, elderly parents, dealing with illness and debility, dementia, grief and widowhood, and more. As well as other stuff that piques her interest; for example, the craft of writing.

She asks the hard questions: how do you use the last stage of life to find meaning, to make a difference, and to create a legacy? How do you cope with illness and debility, if not yours then that of your parents or friends?

Now in Season 6! All the episodes from the first five seasons are below. Or listen here, on Apple Podcasts, or via your favorite podcast app.

Listen to [B]OLD AGE on:

Featured episodes

Season 4

Scroll down to see all the episodes

Season 4 started on Oct. 1, 2021.

We’ll focus on making the most of growing older. That includes reinventing life and work in your 60s and beyond, creating a post-career identity, living purposefully in order to find purpose, facing death in order to embrace life, and much more. As in previous seasons, you’ll hear from inspiring individuals as well as bestselling authors and experts.

Please subscribe via Apple podcasts or follow as they now call it. Or listen on StitcherSpotify, or Google Podcasts.

 

Season 3

Season 3 is about making the most of the collective gap year we’ve all been living through — the gap year we’ve been forced to take because of the pandemic. You’ll hear from ordinary individuals in midlife and older as well as from bestselling authors and experts like Nicholas ChristakisGuy Kawasaki, Daphne MerkinThomas RicksJuliette KayyemSeth Godin, Kerry Hannon, Chip Conley, Stuart Kestenbaum, and Marc Freedman. Her physician author husband Sam Harrington is a recurring guest. Topics include adapting to change and transition, confronting the fear of aging, making the most of an uncertain time — and things that Debbie cares a lot about (like writing and writers).

Season 2 

The term gap year symbolizes more than taking a time out. It is a frame for examining reinvention, a new purpose, aging with wisdom, trying new things, bucket list travel, a new approach to health and well-being, and more. Debbie’s guests in SEASON 2 were a mix of inspiring individuals who are taking or have taken grown-up gap years along with well-known authors and experts. SEASON 3 coming this fall!

Season 1

The first season of the podcast was about gap years for grown-ups. Why shouldn’t grown-ups be able to step out of their default life and take time to reflect on where they are, what comes next, and how they might like to live differently? The first episode is a conversation with Debbie’s three adult children on the student gap years they took. She was surprised to learn how they viewed the significance of their respective gap years as they looked back almost 20 years.

 

We are looking for a like-minded sponsor or podcast network.
If you are interested in reaching a smart and thoughtful audience of midlife GenX / Boomer listeners who are active, open to change and new possibilities, and who think differently about lifestyle, finances, and (non)retirement, contact Debbie Weil.

 

 

What Listeners are Saying

Raw, real and engaging: I love Debbie’s honesty, interviews and topics. Thanks for giving words to times that can be surrealistic at best. 🙂 – Aug. 5, 2021

Apple podcast reviewer

Listening to this podcast is like sitting with Debbie and her guests in her living room and hearing an intelligent conversation about issues I care about. Anything from fasting-diets to ageism to dealing with this “collective gap year.” But it’s more than that: I love the overall tone, her down-to-earth approach and the insights from both Debbie and her guests.  I met Debbie years ago at a conference and I’ve been observing her on social media, sometimes with envy, when I see the beautiful pictures from Maine she posts. This well produced podcast added a soundtrack to these pictures. – April 9, 2021

Emanuel Rosen

Debbie’s Gap Year concept was tailor-made for the Great Pause that has befallen us this year. Always some good ideas on how to approach reinvention, whether big or small, young or not. 

Reviewer on iTunes

Debbie’s podcast is interesting, timely (especially during a pandemic), and always very down to Earth.The topics and guests are worth listening to and learning from, and the host is a fine interviewer. Very personal too. Highly recommended for anyone trying to find themselves again in later life.

Reviewer on iTunes

So approachable and inspiring. I’m not yet 50 but I just love the approachable, inspiring advice this podcast offers. It makes me look forward to becoming increasingly inventive as I age.

Reviewer on iTunes

I love this show. As a 39 year-old dude, I am not the target audience. But I learn something in every episode. Debbie’s style as host brings out great specifics and details from her guests.

Reviewer on iTunes

Thanks to our media partners

Encore.org, our newest media partner, is an ideas and innovation hub tapping the talent of those 50+ as a force for good. Founder and CEO Marc Freedman is an award-winning social entrepreneur and author, most recently, of How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations. Looking for a great gap-year transition program? Check out Encore Fellowships, which match skilled, seasoned professionals with social-sector organizations in high-impact, paid assignments.

 

Modern Elder Academy is a program dedicated to navigating mid-life transitions. MEA, based in Baja California, Mexico, provides the place and the tools to start reframing your lifetime of experience. Grow whole, not old. Founder Chip Conley is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning hospitality entrepreneur and a rock star of the mid-life transition movement. His newest book is Wisdom @ Work: the Making of a Modern Elder.

 

Next For Me is an important new resource for the 50+ crowd focused on rewriting life. Taking a gap year or timeout may be the best way to figure out "what's next" when you're in this stage of life. Founder Jeff Tidwell explains, Next For Me "connects and inspires our generation to evolve our post-50 lives through new work, a new purpose, or a new social contribution."