Century Lives
If there's one thing we know about life expectancy in the US, it's that wealthy communities have long life expectancies and poor communities have shorter life expectancies. That is true even down to the neighborhood level, where in some cities life expectancy can differ by as much as 30 years between neighborhoods just a few miles apart. The connection between wealthy communities and health is virtually ironclad but researchers have found much greater variability among poorer areas, where some communities far exceed their peers in terms of health outcomes and length of life. Experts will tell you that “place matters"—but they can’t tell you exactly why. In Season 3 of Century Lives, we hit the road, visiting poor and working-class communities that punch above their weight when it comes to healthy aging and life expectancy. In some ways, the communities have little in common—they are urban and rural; Black, White, and Latino—but they have all achieved longer life and better health. Join us to learn the stories and secrets of these communities—and how longer life can become more equitable across the United States.
Episodes
April 26, 2023 • 32 mins
In our last two episodes of the season, we explore the challenges of concentrated urban poverty—and the depressive effects it has on health and life expectancy. And we examine two different approaches that might remedy it.
In episode 6: a story about going. We reexamine Moving to Opportunity: a grand 1990s public housing experiment intended to improve the incomes of public housing residents. That didn’t work, and the program was in...
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April 12, 2023 • 35 mins
In our last two episodes of the season, we explore the challenges of concentrated urban poverty, and the depressive effects it has on health and life expectancy. And we examine two different approaches that might remedy it.
In episode 5, we tell a story about staying. We visit Woodlawn, a neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama, that is literally on the wrong side of the tracks. We learn how health improves when a community that long s...
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March 29, 2023 • 29 mins
Do the ladies of the Quilt Guild, the short order cooks at the City Pool Hall, and “Pumpkin Joe” hold the secrets to longer life? In episode 4 of Century Lives: Place Matters, we travel to Eastern Kentucky: a region marked by drug use, job loss, and life expectancy decline. But these folks live in Wayne County, a bright spot where life expectancy exceeds that of neighboring counties by four years. In this episode, we investigate th...
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March 15, 2023 • 34 mins
What could housing possibly have to do with life expectancy? Quite a bit, actually. In episode 3 of Century Lives: Place Matters, we travel to the Bronx: the least healthy county in New York. But an affordable, working class community there called Co-op City has among the highest life expectancies in the entire city. Co-op City is also the nation’s biggest NORC, or naturally occurring retirement community. Join us as we explore the...
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March 1, 2023 • 27 mins
If there's one thing we know about life expectancy in the US, it's that wealthy communities have long life expectancies and poorer communities have shorter life expectancies. But some poor communities far exceed their peers in terms of health outcomes and length of life. Experts will tell you that “place matters"—but they can’t tell you exactly why.
In episode 2 of Century Lives: Place Matters, we explore the recent history of life...
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February 15, 2023 • 39 mins
If there's one thing we know about life expectancy in the US, it's that wealthy communities have long life expectancies and poor communities have shorter life expectancies. But some poorer communities far exceed their peers in terms of health outcomes and length of life. Experts will tell you that “place matters"—but they can’t tell you exactly why.
In Episode 1 of Century Lives: Place Matters, we visit Presidio County, Texas. It’...
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December 28, 2022 • 18 mins
Do you own a smart device? You know: an Android, an Alexa, an Apple Watch? If you do, you’re a part of the Internet of Things—and you’re going to need computer scientist Bashima Islam. A 2022 recipient of Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science, she focuses on making batteries more energy efficient: crucial work as smart devices increasingly creep into our lives. In the final episode of Century Lives: the Next 50, Bashima sits down with host...
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December 14, 2022 • 19 mins
In Episode 4, we meet water engineer and environmental justice advocate Siddhartha Roy. Now a research scientist at the University of North Carolina’s Water Institute, Siddhartha was an integral part of exposing the Flint water crisis in 2015. He chats with host Ken Stern about growing up in India, the future of water equity, and his real-life fight with the Hulk.
Half of Generation Z—people who are now between 10 and 25 years old—...
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November 30, 2022 • 18 mins
Half of Generation Z—people who are now between 10 and 25 years old—could live to be 100. Their extended futures are shrouded by climate change, pandemics, and racial and social disparities. But according to recent polling from the Pew Research Center, Gen Z is the most optimistic generation yet. In “Century Lives: the Next 50,” host Ken Stern talks to inspirational leaders in their 20s and 30s about what they’ve learned from previ...
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November 16, 2022 • 17 mins
Half of Generation Z—people who are now between 10 and 25 years old—could live to be 100. Their extended futures are shrouded by climate change, pandemics, and racial and social disparities. But according to recent polling from the Pew Research Center, Gen Z is the most optimistic generation yet. In “Century Lives: the Next 50,” host Ken Stern talks to inspirational leaders in their 20s and 30s about what they’ve learned from previ...
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November 2, 2022 • 19 mins
Up to 50% of Gen Z—people who are now between 10 and 25 years old—could live to be 100. Their extended futures are shrouded by climate change, pandemics, and racial and social disparities. But according to recent polling from the Pew Research Center, Gen Z is the most optimistic generation yet. In “Century Lives: the Next 50,” host Ken Stern talks to inspirational leaders in their 20s and 30s about what they’ve learned from previou...
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June 15, 2022 • 28 mins
People 55+ are reinventing life post-retirement, from its traditional image to a time for exploring second chapters and, especially, opportunities that bring meaning, purpose, and community. What does this new phase of the work experience look like and how can more of us find inspiration as we work longer?
People 55+ are remaking what it means to "retire" without following the traditional roadmap. Instead of rest and relaxation, th...
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June 8, 2022 • 30 mins
More than three-quarters of older workers experience ageism in the workplace, yet changing demographics and tight labor markets make this employee base increasingly critical to American businesses. We examine the obstacles faced by older workers and how some companies are trying to connect with them.
If longer careers truly are our future, then American business will need to overcome its aversion to older workers. Our demograph...
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June 1, 2022 • 29 mins
Over 100 million Americans - 62% - pursue careers without having a college degree; for them, landing good-paying, stable jobs has become increasingly difficult. What's behind employers' increasing demand for a diploma, what are new alternative pathways for these workers to secure employment and how do we ensure that they have more opportunities for longer, successful career equality?
When exploring longer lives and longer careers,...
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May 25, 2022 • 32 mins
Gig-based work has exploded over the last decade, accounting for almost all of America’s job growth. Is it a more flexible, personalized work experience or cost-cutting, exploitation tactic? And what should change so it’s fair to all?
Gig-based work represents virtually all of America’s job growth in the last decade. To some, it’s a solution for a more flexible, personalized work experience providing more time for other commitmen...
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May 18, 2022 • 31 mins
With job tenures declining and job search technology booming, the traditional career ladder has vanished. How the new culture of job-hopping has created challenges and opportunities for workers and employers.
The days of the decades-long single-employer career ladder are largely gone, a victim of factors ranging from aggressive job cutting by employers and the decline in union protections to reducing company loyalty and a thriving...
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May 11, 2022 • 30 mins
Why do Americans work so much - more than their counterparts in almost every other developed country - and with the pandemic sparking a national crisis of purpose, how can we redefine our work/life balance to be healthier?
Americans spend more than 90,000 hours working over a lifetime - 10% more than our Canadian neighbors and 25% more than workers in Germany. How did this happen, why did our national assumptions and beliefs arou...
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May 4, 2022 • 26 mins
What's the future of work if you're a college grad about to embark on a 60-year career? How to navigate the “big messy process” of charting a future in an uncertain world and the unique program that offers a strategic approach for all ages.
Longer lives means longer careers. The second season of Century Lives looks at the arc of the new work lifespan and how to make it better. In the new season's first episode, we’ll hear students...
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April 20, 2022 • 18 mins
In the final installment of our four-episode bonus series, we head to Germany to get a glimpse of America’s demographic future. Germany is now one of a small number of “super-aged” societies in which more than 20% of the population is 65 and older, but many other countries, including the US, are expected to join the ranks of the super-aged by the end of this decade. Many years ago, Germany recognized the coming “demographic time bo...
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April 6, 2022 • 20 mins
The math is unavoidable: an aging country needs to attract, support, and retain aging workers. But burdened by workplace ageism and an inconsistent response to the Covid criss, the U.S. is losing much needed older workers at a record pace. In the third installment of our four-episode bonus series, we tackle this problem head-on by looking at Singapore’s strategy for providing pathways for longer careers. We speak with Aubeck Kam, P...
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