Episodes
July 25, 2022
Bringing the Force of Friendship to Places Across the World
At a time of sharp political and cultural divisions, many of us yearn for earlier days when we had a vision for peace and understanding across the world. Despite daunting obstacles, there are thousands of people who continue ...
July 18, 2022
Life Lessons from Both Sides of the Teacher’s Desk: Chapter 2
Today’s 45 Forward episode is Chapter 2 of a unique, 3-part conversation, focusing on of a fascinating book, What Went Right: Lessons from Both Sides of the Teacher’s Desk, by the co-authors Roberta Israeloff and George McDer...
July 11, 2022
High Inflation, Lower Stocks: A "New Normal" for Retirement?
July has always been a pivotal month of the year, the halfway point when we look back at the events of the last six months and look ahead to the potential for the second half. In a way, it’s a snapshot of our theme for 45 For...
June 27, 2022
After the Pandemic: Can We Redesign a Hybrid Office for Everyone?
For many decades, the words “work” and “office” were virtually synonymous. But after two years of COVID-induced remote and hybrid work, one thing seems abundantly clear: The future of work is likely to be very different from ...
June 20, 2022
The End-of-Life Journey: How to Honor Our Final Transition
As we look around us today, there’s no question that this is a time of great transition. For baby boomers like me, it’s the inevitable transition to the end of our generation’s presence and influence, a passing of our lives, ...
June 13, 2022
A Former Teacher and Student Reflect on a Lifetime of Lessons
As we get older, one of the most important ingredients to healthy aging, experts say, is lifelong learning—a self-motivated pursuit of new ideas, skills and knowledge, particularly in the second half of life. But today, we’re...
June 6, 2022
Planning for Eldercare Today? You Need a Team of Advocates
Taking care of an elderly loved one—or yourself, for that matter, as you age—can be a complicated challenge. Analyzing the medical options of the healthcare maze, on top of elder law and estate planning, can be confusing and ...
May 23, 2022
Time to Move to a Smaller Home? First, Talk to Sheri Koones
As we get older and become empty nesters, one question naturally arises: “Should we downsize to a smaller house?” It’s clear we don’t need all that space—or the continued expense and time it takes to maintain a large family h...
May 16, 2022
With the Vibrancy of May, Let Us Celebrate Older Americans Month
Each May, we commemorate Older Americans Month—ever since President John F. Kennedy issued a formal proclamation in 1963 asking the nation to encourage and recognize the countless contributions that older adults make to our c...
May 9, 2022
Searching for the Origin of Today’s Technology in the Middle Ages
Over the last half century, we’ve witnessed a blizzard of technological advances that have had a profound impact on our daily lives. But if we take the time to reflect for a moment, and look around at the commonplace devices ...
May 2, 2022
How Digital Technology Is Aging Us—and What We Can Do About It
With the relentless march of digital technology over the last few decades, we’ve seen a contemporary society increasingly focused on making life faster, easier, convenient, more comfortable. But there’s an underside to this p...
April 18, 2022
In Today’s Anxiety Society, How Can Alleviate Stress and Trauma?
We may be recovering—slowly, tentatively—from this long pandemic, as the number of COVID cases decrease, masking requirements are relaxed, and in-person meetings cautiously resume. But there’s little sense of comfort in this ...
April 11, 2022
The Heart of Caring: Stories from a Passionate Life in Pediatrics
Pediatrician Mark Vonnegut has spent nearly 40 years treating children for coughs, fevers, ear infections, and sometimes more serious medical conditions. Over that time, he has seen the U.S. health care system change in ways ...
March 28, 2022
Ok, We Got Through COVID. But Are We Ready for the Next Crisis?
After two trying years, we appear to be making a fitful transition from a tumultuous pandemic to an almost normal endemic—at least for now. But what lessons have we really learned from this crisis? Do we have effective strate...
March 21, 2022
“Are We There Yet?” How to Manage Impatience in Our Daily Lives
Americans are a famously impatient people—young or old. Because achievement is so recognized and rewarded, many of us have become addicted to fast accomplishment and quick wins. We want to gain wealth or lose weight in 30 day...
March 14, 2022
A Gerontologist’s Journey, from GlamourGals to ‘Generativity’
Many aging experts become focused on the field of gerontology when they become, well, older. Not so with Carly Roman. Carly’s interest was first piqued as a high school student on Long Island, when she founded a local chapter...
March 7, 2022
“Intuitive Eating”: Good Nutrition Means More than Healthy Food
America has become a “foodie” nation, with a constant stream of information and debate about diets and nutrition, the latest studies, opinions and prescriptions about what we should be eating—or not. In today’s episode, nutri...
Feb. 28, 2022
Is There Unexpected Treasure Amid the Clutter in Your House?
If you’re downsizing your lifestyle, or retiring and moving to a new community—or simply trying clear out clutter to give yourself some breathing space—you’ve probably wondered if there are unseen treasures amid all the stuff...
Feb. 21, 2022
Unraveling the Continuing Confusion over COVID-19
Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, some experts believe that we are transitioning into an endemic, headed—hopefully—toward more normal times. And yet, we’re still at a loss; we’re confused. Where are we with CDC recommen...
Feb. 14, 2022
Yoga & Mindfulness: Offering Calm During the Covid Storm
Almost two years into this shapeshifting pandemic,the disruption of our daily lives seems to be finally easing—and yet, we still feel anxious and stressed out, dealing with cumulative impact of the virus on so many aspects of...
Feb. 7, 2022
An Unparalleled Collaboration in Photography and Painting
They met through social media—as seniors, not millennials. Holly Gordon, a fine arts and documentary photographer, and Ward Hooper, a watercolor painter, were introduced by a writer and mutual friend, who noticed distinctive ...
Jan. 31, 2022
How to Build Personal—and Community—Resiliency in Times of Trauma
These are challenging times of stress, high anxiety and trauma across our society. On top of a confusing pandemic and ever divisive politics, we’re coping with a constant litany of natural and man-made disasters, climate chan...
Jan. 24, 2022
How Interior Design Can Change Aging-in-Place to Living-in-Place
As we reach our middle ages, most people say they want to continue “aging in place,” living in their current house as long as possible. And as we enter the third year of this unpredictable pandemic, many families who have spe...
Jan. 17, 2022
Looking Back at a Year of “45 Forward”— And What a Year It Was!
This month marks the one year anniversary since host Ron Roel launched 45 Forward, with a mission each week to help listeners, from Los Angeles to Long Island, make their second half of life even better than the first. In tod...