He recently gave a fascinating and entertaining talk in Woods Hole, MA. You can click here to read a report about it by my sister, Nancy Walbek. If you want to see a short video about his new book, Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging click here.
Two Interesting Videos on the Presidential Candidates
For a recent portrayal of the 2016 Presidential Debate from Saturday Night Live (SNL), click here
For a Frontline video episode showing historical moments in the lives of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton click here.
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Click here to see a trailer and read about this new PBS documentary film that premiers October 25, 2016.
Brain Benefits of Exercise Diminish After Short Rest
By Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times, September 28, 2016.
When formerly very active people stopped exercising for 10 days, the blood flow to their brains declined. Although their performance on cognitive tests did not decline, it is not known if it might if they were inactive for longer. Click here to read more.
The Art of Condolence
By Bruce Feiler, New York Times, October 1, 2016.
For a thoughtful discussion of how norms for expressing condolences have or have not changed click here.
Sleepy Hollow: Surrounded by History, and Legends
By Anne Mancuso, New York Times, October 2, 2016.
For an article from the Real Estate section of the Times, click here.
A Quest to Gather All My Medical Records in 72 Hours
By Ron Lieber, New York Times, October 1, 2016.
How hard would it be to gather our complete medical record? For one person's story, click here.
When a Spouse Dies, Resilience Can Be Uneven
By Jane E. Brody, New York Times, September 26, 2016.
Recovery may take two to three years. Three factors influence resilience: reliable comfort, social connectedness, and daily functioning. To read the article, click here.
What I Learned From a Stroke at 26: Make Time to Untangle
By Jonas Koffler, New York Times, September 25, 2016.
How an early stroke led one young person to reassess his life. Click here to read the article.
Want to Find Fulfillment at Last? Think Like a Designer
By Steven Kurutz, New York Times, September 17, 2016.
Prototyping, failure, and Odyssey Plans are some activities two Stanford professors use to teach how to build a satisfying life. Click here to read the article.
The Doctor Is In. In Your House, That Is.
By John F. Wasik, New York Times, September 23, 2016
Research shows some patients have better health outcomes at lower cost when doctprs come to them in their homes. Click here to read the article.
Feeling Their Pain
By Jason DeParle, New York Times, September 19, 2016.
This review of Arlie Russell Hochschild's new book, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, discusses what she has learned about why people support the Tea Party and are suspicious of almost everything the federal government does. Click here to read the review.
Jerusalem as a Place of Desire and Death, at the Metropolitan Museum
By Holland Cotter, September 22,2016, New York Times.
To read Holland Cotter's thoughtful review and see more photos of the show, click here.
Don’t Take Osteoarthritis Lying Down
By Jane E. Brody, September 19, 2016, New York Times
One of the biggest mistakes sufferers make is to limit movement of affected joints. Click here to read the article.
Immigration Reform: Disparate Ideas, Disparate Futures
By Eduardo Porter, September 20, 2016, New York Times.
An excellent comparison of the possible effects on U.S. population size and economy of Hillary Clinton's and Donald Trump's proposed immigration policies. To read the article, click here.
Helping the Elderly Downsize
By Kaya Laterman, New York Times, July 22, 2016.
Some move managers specialize in the delicate business of helping seniors downsize, divest, donate or simply declutter for safety's -- and sanity's-- sake. Click here to read the article.
Podcasts: What are they? Where to find them? How to listen to them?
This post addresses the above three questions with help from Trent Hamm’s useful article.
What are Podcasts?
According to Trent Hamm in “Everything You Need to know About Listening to Podcasts, My Favorite Free Form of Entertainment” (on www.thesimpledollar.com updated 2/19/15), “Podcasts are free audio programs distributed over the Internet. You can download them and listen to them as you please…. There are podcasts out there covering almost any topic that you can imagine….”
Where do you find them?
Click here to get to something called the Podcast Chart. It lists the top 200 Podcasts. Scroll down the page and you’ll see featured Podcasts in these categories: Arts, Business, Comedy, Health, Music, News & Politics, Science & Medicine, Society & Culture, and Technology.
If you're interested in the 2016 U.S. election, you may want to check out the New York Times podcast called The Run-Up. They produce new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Click here to listen. They're free but do contain ads.
How do you listen to podcasts?
You need something called a “podcast manager”. According to Trent Hamm, “There are a lot of podcast managers out there that you can use to listen to and subscribe to podcasts. Here are a few options. Click here to listen.
For Desktop Computers
Desktop programs allow you to download podcasts to your personal computer. These are the best options if you just use a single computer and perhaps sync that computer with a portable mp3 player.
iTunes(click on http://www.apple.com/itunes/) is easily the most ubiquitous podcast management tool. It works spectacularly well as a desktop podcast manager and allows you to easily find podcasts to listen to for free through the iTunes Store. It also has stellar integration with iDevices – iPhones, iPods, and iPads....
gPodder (click on http://gpodder.org/) is probably the best desktop alternative to iTunes. It also has an integrated podcast directory that makes it easy to find new podcasts to listen to with just a few clicks and integrates well with Android mobile devices.
For Mobile Devices (like smart phones or tablets)
If you listen to podcasts primarily or exclusively on mobile devices, here are two outstanding options.
Overcast (click on https://overcast.fm/) is easily my favorite podcast manager for iOS. It just works exactly as I want in my head. In fact, if they improved the web interface, it would be my only podcast manager. If you’re just listening using iOS almost all of the time and rarely listen elsewhere, this is my top recommendation.
Pocket Casts (click on http://www.shiftyjelly.com/pocketcasts), on the other hand, is my recommendation for Android users. It features a great interface, syncs well across multiple Android devices, and is very smart about downloading episodes when you’re around wi-fi instead of using mobile data.”
If you find a podcast you especially like, let us know and we’ll post a link to it here.
Failure to Improve Is Still Being Used, Wrongly, to Deny Medicare Coverage
By Paula Span, New York Times, September 12, 2016
Many Medicare patients are wrongly denied skilled care if they are no longer improving. Click here to read the article.
Writing a ‘Last Letter’ When You’re Healthy
By VJ Periyakoil, M.D., New York Times, September 7, 2016
A Stanford project aims to help minimize regrets at the end of life. Click here to read the article.
What Babies Know About Physics and Foreign Languages
By Alison Gopnik, New York Times, July 31, 2016.
Research tells us our kids don't need to be taught in order to learn. Click here to read the article.