Prolonged old age, the sandwich generation and biohacking—the realities of an aging Australia
5/8/202647 min
Australians are living longer and longer, which is on one hand a beautiful thing. But on the other, prolonged old age is wreaking havoc. So how might we respond to this new demographic situation we find ourselves in?
Lucinda Holdforth is a writer who specialises in looking at what makes good societies flourish, everything from manners to politics and equality.
Most recently, she's set her sights on the unintended negative consequences following the extraordinary increase in life span around the world, particularly in Australia.
In the past 50 years, human life expectancy across the globe has jumped from 46 years old to 73, and in Australia that number is even higher -- an Australian born today is likely to live until they are 84 years old.
On the surface, living longer is a very good thing. It means more time spent with our loved ones, looking at the stars, feeling the sun, living.
But prolonged old age can also be very lonely and painful, and, as Lucinda argues, it is costing society as a whole in many ways.
She has seen this firsthand, as a daughter who supported her own parents in their long old age, and has some surprising suggestions about how we could do things differently to ease the impact on our economy, our medical system, our elderly and our youth.
GOING ON AND ON: Why our longevity threatens our future is published by Simon & Schuster.
This episode was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.
It explores the sandwich generation, carers, women caring for parents, the elderly, dementia, Alzheimer's, Bryan Johnson, biohackers, Blue Zone, how to live longer, Mediterranean diet, tech bros, longevity, muscle mass, aging, deterioration, aged care, death, grief, how to live well, writing, books, old age, diseases of the elderly, tax, taxation, ageism, voting rights, voting age, lower the voting age.
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Clips
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First 90 secondsSarah Kanowski· Host0:00
ABC Listen, podcasts, radio, news, music and more. Everywhere around the world, people are living longer and longer. In the past half a century, human life expectancy across the globe has jumped from 46 years to 73. That's especially the case in societies like ours. On average, Australians are now living until they're 84 years old. And a shout-out right now to my own mum, who's 91, and my dad, who turned 96 on Anzac Day. On the surface, all this living longer seems to be a very good thing. Most of us want more life. We want to have as much time as we can to enjoy our loved ones, to look at the stars, to feel the sun. But prolonged old age, as is more and more common, can be a lonely, unhappy, and painful time. Not the rich end note to a life well-lived, but a bitter diminishment. Our living longer is also costing society as a whole in many ways, and the price is highest for our youngest citizens. Lucinda Holdforth is a writer who specializes in looking at what makes societies flourish, everything from manners to politics to equality. Now, after supporting her own parents in their long old age, Lucinda has