The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

Does your retirement planning include how you think? Positive views and negative views on aging matter. Yale professor Dr. Becca Levy’s ground-breaking research shows how age beliefs can benefit the aging process, including the extension of life expectancy by 7.5 years. Today’s culture brings a steady stream of negative messages on aging, but you can challenge those messages and cultivate positive age beliefs.

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How can science help you develop and maintain strong relationships? Eric Barker shares counterintuitive insights he’s gleaned from the research that can help you build better friendships and get closer to others.

Eric Barker joins us from Los Angeles.

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Eric Barker is the creator of the blog Barking Up the Wrong Tree, which presents science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life. H...

Why wait until the end of the year to recap the best episodes of this retirement podcast? In 2022, it’ll be quarterly. I know you’re busy and can’t catch all the conversations. But you won’t want to miss any of these.

A lot of ground was covered in the first quarter of the year, including:

What did you once love to do that you put aside as you advanced your career? Is retirement a second chance to pursue those dreams? Your interests and your talents may be different from my guest today, but his story may inspire you to reconnect with your earlier interests. My guest today is John P. Weiss. He’s a fine artist, cartoonist, photographer and author of two books. A former police chief and 26 year law enforcement veteran, ...

If you’re still working, you may be pondering a few questions. Should I work longer? Can working remotely help me retire later? Should I create a second act career? If you’re retired, you may also be contemplating a few questions. Should I unretire and jump back in? Can I get work doing something different on a part-time basis? Can I retire happy without some version of “work” in my life? Author and expert Kerry Hannon has insights...

What if there was an approach to behavior change on exercise and healthy eating that fit the realities of day-to-day life? Good intentions and a sound plan don’t always stand up to the inevitable changes that pop up and get in your way. Sustainable-behavior-change researcher and lifestyle coach Dr. Michelle Segar discusses her new book The Joy Choice, which introduces a new brain-based solution that’s flexible – and fun. Her beha...

Planning for retirement is essential. But what if your retirement planning is upended by events beyond your control? Imagine if one day you lost your job as an executive after almost thirty years at a multibillion-dollar company. How would you react? When it happened to my guest today, he decided to walk – more than twenty miles home. He shares the experience in his book The Long Walk Home: How I Lost My Job as a Corporate Remora F...

The number of adults who live alone is growing. Even those who have children cannot count on their help. The number of older adults who live within 10 miles of a relative has fallen significantly. When my guest Carol Marak was working in technology she returned home to be a caregiver for her parents. And she got a wake-up call. Who, she wondered, would help to care for her when she grew older? The struggles Carol’s parents faced we...

Have you ever thought about retiring and writing a book? Bill Thompson did just that as a second act career and he’s written 22 novels over 11 years and has won numerous awards. But caregiving taught him was was most important in life.

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Bio

Bill Thompson became a corporate entrepreneur early.  At age 12 he started a company to buy and sell coins.  By age 25 he had started an insurance agency that ultimately...

We’re quick to notice ageism. But sometimes we harbor ageist assumptions about growing older that we may not be fully aware of. Dr. Tracey Gendron, author of Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It, argues that there’s a healthier perspective on aging as a new developmental stage of life.

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If you have children and/or grandchildren, how can you help them be smart about financial decisions? And if you’re helping them financially, how do you stay on track with your own financial planning for retirement? Our guest today is Bobbi Rebell, CFP, author of the new book Launching Financial Grownups: Live Your Richest Life by Helping Your (Almost) Adult Kids Become Everyday Money Smart. 

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It’s time to move! Spring is here and its a great time to get more movement in your day-to-day life. Science journalist Caroline Williams shares insights from research on movement and the mind-body connection; why exercise is good, but not enough; and practical tips on ways to move more.

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The seeds of a satisfying retirement are planted before it begins. And the disruption of the last two years have underscored the importance of several things that perhaps we took for granted. Our guest today, Dr.Maggie Mulqueen, shares her insights on how to navigate the transition to retirement well in challenging times.

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Maggie Mulqueen, Ph.D., is a writer, commentator, and psychologist in Brookline,...

In this third installment of The Retirement Roundtable, previous guests Michelle Pannor Silver (author of Retirement and Its Discontents, Ted Kaufman, and Bruce Hiland (co-authors of Retiring? Your Next Chapter Is about Much More Than Money) return to discuss the challenges of retirement – and the work it takes to prepare well to overcome them and create a fulfilling next chapter.

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Dr. Michelle Pannor...

It’s wise to look back before you go forward. William Damon, one of the world’s leading developmental psychologists, shares insights from an unexpected life review sparked by information on the father he never knew. His new book A Round of Golf with My Father: The New Psychology of Exploring Your Past to Make Peace with Your Present illustrates how a life review can shape your future and sense of purpose.

William Damon joins us fro...

What’s the bigger picture context for your retirement? Demographics and scientific advancements in longevity are changing the way we live. Demographic futurist Bradley Schurman, author of The Super Age, joins us to talk about what these megatrends mean for your retirement.

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Are you thinking big enough about your retirement? The traditional one-size-fits-all retirement isn’t the right fit for many people today. You can create a version that’s best for you. Dr. Grace Lordan, author of Think Big, Take Small Steps and Build the Future You Want explains how findings from behavioral science can help you do just that, by overcoming cognitive biases and other obstacles. Many of my favorite books for retiremen...

How are you approaching the second half of life? There are inevitable declines to deal with. But there are gifts that emerge that, if you’re attuned to them, can create greater meaning, renewed purpose, and happiness as you retire. Arthur Brooks, Harvard Professor and happiness columnist in The Atlantic, joins us to discuss his new book From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of L...

Your expectations and beliefs matter. Science journalist David Robson, author of The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World highlights research showing how negative views on aging impact how someone actually ages, and other ways expectations influence you.

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