So Your Parents Are Old

So Your Parents Are Old

Journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis talks to friends, experts, and celebrities about the chaos of dealing with aging parents. From Medicaid nightmares to emotional meltdowns in storage units, it’s a brutally honest, often hilarious look at one of life’s most disorienting stages. Come for the catharsis, stay for the gallows humor and unfiltered conversations. If you’re currently the parent to your parents, this is your group chat in podcast form.

Episodes

Redefining Being a Provider with Chris Punsalan

January 13, 2026 • 45 mins
Musician and caregiving influencer Chris Punsalan talks with Vanessa about going straight from college to becoming his grandmother’s full-time caregiver. He explains the schedule, strength, and tenderness it took—and why gratitude became his North Star. Learn more about tendercare at trytendercare.com To connect with the team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at joincampside.com⁠. You can also find...
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It's a New Year! Get Ultra-Organized with Pamela Wilson

January 6, 2026 • 40 mins
If you’ve ever felt like you spend more time buried in paperwork than with your loved one, you probably do—and it’s exhausting. Caregiving expert Pamela Wilson walks Vanessa through the practical legal and financial steps every family caregiver should know. For more from Pamela, you can check out her website or pick up a copy of The Caregiving Trap: Solutions for Life’s Unexpected Changes. To connect with the team and gain ac...
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Our Producer Chats with Vanessa

December 30, 2025 • 14 mins
Producer Shoshi Shmuluvitz turns the mic on Vanessa to unpack the personal story behind So Your Parents Are Old—and to talk about what it’s been like turning the messiest chapter of life into a podcast. To connect with the team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at joincampside.com⁠. You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠TikTok⁠ & ⁠Youtube⁠. If you have questions you want Vanessa to try to answer...
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My Dad Was in the Mob with Barry Rothbart

December 23, 2025 • 36 mins
Vanessa is joined by Barry Rothbart, whose relationship with his father was fraught for many years. What do you do when your dad is both as bad as he seems, and worse—and you love him anyway? For more from Barry, listen to Searching for Allan Rothbart. To connect with the team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at joincampside.com⁠. You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠TikTok⁠ & ⁠Youtube⁠. If yo...
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Having It (Almost) with Corinne Low

December 16, 2025 • 38 mins
Economist Corinne Low maps the math of women’s time to understand why “having it all” isn’t really possible, especially when aging parents enter the equation. She gives practical advice on how to buy back time, outsource guilt-free, and make choices your future self will thank you for.  Read Corinne's bestselling book, Having It All: What Data Tells Us About Women's Lives and Getting the Most Out of Yours.  To connect with th...
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Roy Wood Jr on The Man of Many Fathers

December 11, 2025 • 35 mins
Origin Stories is a new podcast from Campside Media. In this episode, host Matt Shaer interviews comedian and author Roy Wood Jr. about his memoir The Man of Many Fathers. It's about his father, who died when Roy was 16, what he learned from the many father figures he had since, and it's about his own journey as a father. And... it's funny! You can listen to more episodes of Origin Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Visit...
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Living in a Time of 'Anti-Compassion' with Alissa Quart

December 9, 2025 • 32 mins
Journalist and author Alissa Quart joins Vanessa to talk about how to turn a parent’s art into a living legacy while navigating the impossible “third shift” of caregiving. They also zoom out to discuss the economics of aging in America and what it’s like to live in an “anti-compassion time.” Read Alissa’s books Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream and Squeezed: Why Our Families Can't Afford America. You can...
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Collin Moulton's Clean Comedy

December 2, 2025 • 29 mins
Collin Moulton’s parents hadn’t spoken in decades—until their failing health forced a reunion no sitcom could script. The comedian joins Vanessa to talk about the chaotic final years of his parents’ lives and what it means to truly grow up when your parents are old. Follow Collin on Instagram to find Collin’s tour dates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Singing To My Mom with Amara Walker

November 25, 2025 • 42 mins
Journalist and former CNN anchor Amara Walker opens up about her mother’s Alzheimer’s—how she found support in community, how she talks to her children about their grandmother’s illness, and how she arrived at the difficult decision to move her mother to a nursing home. Find out more about the Alzheimer’s Association on their website.  The book Vanessa read to her son is called Nana Nana by Nate Bertone and illustrated by Jam...
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Laughing Through Medicare Appeals with Kathleen Madigan

November 18, 2025 • 42 mins
Comedian Kathleen Madigan has turned the trials of caring for her parents into some of her sharpest material. She joins Vanessa to commiserate about Medicare and creepy porcelain basement dolls—and to show how humor can help you through the hardest moments. Hear more from Kathleen on Madigan's Pubcast, and find tour dates on her website. Her new special, The Family Thread is available on November 21. To connect with the team ...
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My Mom Celebrated Life with Erika Christensen

November 11, 2025 • 36 mins
Actress Erika Christensen joins Vanessa to talk about her new film After All, where she plays a daughter caring for her ill mother. Together, they explore the unexpected intimacy of birth, death, and everything in between. To connect with the team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at joinparents.com You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠TikTok⁠ & ⁠Youtube⁠. If you have questions you want Vanessa...
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WTF is Hospice with Ann Neumann

November 11, 2025 • 33 mins
Most of us fear the word “hospice,” but author and hospice volunteer Ann Neumann wants to change that. From morphine spoons to lottery tickets, she shares stories from the bedside that show how hospice can help us reclaim an ancient, almost forgotten skill: caring for each other at the end. Read Ann's book, The Good Death: An Exploration of Dying in America. To connect with the team and gain access to behind the scenes content, ...
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When Your Parents Are Hoarders with Amanda Uhle

November 4, 2025 • 34 mins
Amanda Uhle, writer and publisher of McSweeney’s, joins Vanessa to talk about her new book Destroy This House. She reflects on her parents’ lifelong struggles with hoarding and the lessons she carried forward after clearing the home they left behind. To connect with the team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at joinparents.com You can also find us on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠TikTok⁠ & ⁠Youtube⁠. Learn more ab...
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Your Parents' Damn House with Tina Fallon

October 28, 2025 • 24 mins
A stunning 80 percent of Americans over 65 own their own home -- and now it's yours, or maybe your problem! Tina Fallon, a realtor with Realty Collective and founder of New York City’s 24 Hour Play series, and a realtor, discusses how to advise your parents on what they should do with their house. Find more from Tina at the Realty Collective and at The 24 Hour Plays. To connect with the team and gain access to behind the sce...
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Nobody Should Live This Long with Lewis Black

October 28, 2025 • 42 mins
This is an episode where we get mad! Comedian Lewis Black cared for his late elderly parents, who lived to 101 and 104. He talks about something nobody wants to even think about: what he'll do when he's too old to care for himself. Hear more from Lewis in his podcast, Lewis Black's Rantcast, or read one of his books. To connect with the team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at joinparents.com ...
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Self-Care While Letting Go with Leeza Gibbons

October 21, 2025 • 49 mins
Leeza Gibbons, the Emmy-winning television host and health advocate, joins the show to talk about her parents. She shares heartfelt stories about their influence, resilience, and love, and reflects on how their lessons continue to guide her both personally and professionally. Check out her work at Leeza's Care Connection. To connect with the team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at joinparents.com...
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Finding Strange Pockets of Time with Jo Piazza

October 21, 2025 • 51 mins
Bestselling author and podcaster Jo Piazza (Under the Influence; Everyone Is Lying to You) joins Vanessa to talk about juggling three young kids while moving her mom into Center City Philly. From au pairs to CVS purgatory, they get real about efficiency, boundaries, and multigenerational caregiving. For more from Jo, check out her newsletter, Over the Influence. To connect with the team and gain access to behind the scenes co...
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Introducing So Your Parents Are Old

August 14, 2025 • 2 mins
Have you ever filled several dumpsters with your dead mom’s junk? Found yourself googling how irrevocable trusts work? Or... had to reconstruct your mafioso dad’s identity after he went on the lam - just to get him on Medicaid? Well, So Your Parents Are Old - and this is the show for you. Hosted by longtime journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis, who’s in the thick of it herself, the show dives into everything from estate drama to emotiona...
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