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Season 4: Episodes 50-61
Should There Be Age Limits for Politicians?
A Panel Discussion
Amidst the ongoing debate over whether Presidents Biden and Trump are “too old” to run for president again, our season 4 premiere offers a compelling panel discussion. At the crossroads of healthy aging, anti-ageism, political science, and principles of democracy, this episode revisits a thought-provoking conversation originally aired on President’s Day 2024. Explore with us the the extent to which age should impact your decision-making at the 2024 ballot box.
Perspectives by: Karrin Anderson, moderator and Professor of Communication Studies; Manfred Diehl, University Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies; Christine Fruhauf, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies; Lucas Brady Woods, State Capitol Reporter at KUNC; and Nick DeSalvo, ASCSU president and political science student.
Season 4: Episode 50
Shifting Dynamics of Long-Term Care
Featuring: Dr. Greg Gahm
Dr. Greg Gahm – a geriatrician, Corporate Medical Director for Vivage Senior Living, and an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at CU Anschutz – discusses the long-term care industry over the decades, including the different types of long-term care available, standards of care provided, and the impact of the pandemic on cost dynamics and staffing structures. If you’re just getting introduced to long-term care, this is the episode for you.
Season 4: Episode 51
Supporting Caregivers
Featuring: Dr. Meara Faw
Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Dr. Meara Faw explores the complexities of caregiving, including statistics on its prevalence, the challenges faced by care partners, and the unique needs they encounter. Faw shares insights from her research on improving caregiver and care-recipient well-being, including interventions like B-Sharp and the performing arts. Also discussed is the 2023 Surgeon General’s report on loneliness and its impacts on health.
Season 4: Episode 52
Health Care Access with HHS Regional Director
Featuring: HHS Regional Director Lily Griego
Regional Director Lily Griego from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services discusses recent initiatives impacting adults in Colorado, including the HHS’s mission to address maternal care, mental health destigmatization, and rural health care accessibility, along with the Inflation Reduction Act’s role in reducing health care costs for older adults.
Season 4: Episode 53
Skin Care and Aging
Featuring: Dr. Saranya Wyles
Dr. Saranya Wyles, a dermatologist from the Mayo Clinic, delves into the science of skin aging and the reasoning behind common age-related skin concerns, like wrinkles, age spots, and skin thinning and sagging. She shares a basic skin care routine (with just three products!) that everyone should use to maintain skin health with age – as well as her advice for navigating cosmetic procedures to reverse signs of aging. The episode ends with the next generation of skin care: regenerative dermatology, exosomes, and 3D bioprinting to create models of skin aging.
Season 4: Episode 54
Myelin and Memory
Featuring: Dr. Aga Burzynska
Aga Burzynska, an associate professor in CSU’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies and director of The BRAiN Lab, shares her latest research, published in Neurobiology of Aging, which studied 141 adults aged 20 to 80. Burzynska’s team found that myelin, the protective insulation around nerves, peaks in our 40s and 50s before gradually declining. This decline, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, is linked to reduced memory performance with age. We delve into these findings and what they mean for understanding the aging brain and neurocognitive decline.
Season 4: Episode 55
Intergenerational Learning
Featuring: Dr. Grace Borlee
Dr. Grace Borlee, an assistant professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, describes an intergenerational learning project in which MIP students were paired with older adult volunteers to complete a lab experiment. The pilot project explores the benefits of intergenerational learning for both students and older adults, how students can practice communicating their science, and some learnings on how to recruit community volunteers for research participation.
Season 4: Episode 56
UTIs, Delirium and Cognitive Decline
Featuring: Dr. Julie Moreno and Dr. Amanda Latham
Assistant Professor Julie Moreno and recently graduated Ph.D. student Amanda Latham of CSU’s Toxicology program join to discuss the surprising cognitive impacts of urinary tract infections. This episode explores how UTIs can lead to delirium and neurodegeneration, the role of the brain’s immune cells in this process, and why the Dunklin Hartley guinea pig is an ideal model for studies of the aging human brain. In spring 2023, Moreno’s lab received a pilot grant from the Center for Healthy Aging to conduct this research, and the preliminary results are shared today.
Season 4: Episode 57
Life After Caregiving
Featuring: Dr. Julie Silver Seidle
Assistant Professor Dr. Julie Silver Seidle, an occupational therapist specializing in older adulthood, shares insights from her 2020 dissertation about the emotional and physical challenges caregivers face during bereavement. She also explores resilience and finding identity and purpose post-caregiving.
Season 4: Episode 58
Addressing the Home Health Workforce Gap
Featuring: Nancy Murray, Larimer County Economic Development Specialist
Nancy Murray, an economic development specialist with Larimer County, joins to discuss an Opportunity Now grant aimed at addressing Colorado’s caregiver shortage. With over 684,000 annual openings projected nationwide for home health aides, Murray explores challenges of low wages and high turnover while sharing her vision for the transformative CareCorps program. Tune in to learn how you can support this local effort in Northern Colorado.
Season 4: Episode 59
Bubble Wrap is for Packages, Not People
Featuring: Dr. Anita Bundy
Dr. Anita Bundy, an occupational therapist at CSU, discusses the vital role of play throughout life – from childhood to older adulthood. She explains how “risky play” helps children develop physically, cognitively, and emotionally, and how play remains important for older adults. Through sports and social activities, play helps adults and caregivers balance the “dignity of risk” with the “duty of care,” offering opportunities for achievement, competition, and successful aging.
Season 4: Episode 60
Climate Change and Population Aging: Season 4 Finale
Featuring: Dr. Mick Smyer, Founder and CEO of Growing Greener
Michael “Mick” Smyer, former provost and emeritus professor of psychology at Bucknell University, is now the founder and CEO of Growing Greener, an initiative dedicated to mobilizing older adults to take action on climate change.
In this season 4 finale, we discuss strategies for navigating conversations about climate change with those around you. We also examine why older adults are particularly vulnerable to climate change and the importance of intergenerational engagement on this critical issue. Smyer introduces Growing Greener and how it empowers individuals to shift from climate anxiety to meaningful action.
Season 4: Episode 61
