In this episode, we will meet Susan McFadden, author of Dementia Friendly Communities: Why We Need Them and How We Can Create Them.  Susan shares her years of research in how communities in England and the U.S. have made life more manageable for persons with dementia, and their caregivers.  She shares many stories about strategies that work, how better to cope with this diagnosis, and how her community in Fox Valley, Wisconsin has adapted to better serve the needs of persons with dementia.  We also talked with her husband John, about how they have pioneered a concept they call, Memory Camp.

Palliative care is a team approach to supporting patients with serious illness.  In this episode, we meet Dr. Stacie Levine, who is the founder of the palliative care program at the University of Chicago Medical Center.  Dr. Levine explains the importance of palliative care in helping patients and their families cope with the the symptoms and emotional impact of serious or terminal illness.

How likely is it that you will need long term care in your future?  What are the factors that you need to take into consideration?  In this episode, we talk to Dr. Robert Applebaum, who is the Director of the Long Term Care Research Project, at the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University.  Dr. Applebaum talks about how long term care has changed, what the options are, and what are the issues to consider about covering the cost.

In this episode, we learn about the Threshold Choir movement.  Threshold Choirs help people during the transition between life and death, or during severe illness. We will meet Kate Munger, the founder of the Threshold Choir movement and hear from two women who are veteran choir members.

In this episode, we meet Elizabeth Lokon, founder of Opening Minds Through Art (OMA).  OMA, which is based at the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University of Ohio, provides a research based arts program for people with dementia.  This intergenerational program is being used in over 200 facilities across the U.S. and Canada.

In our second segment, we will visit the memory neighborhood at Trinity Community at Beavercreek, and hear about how OMA has impacted their residents.  Amy Kotterman, Director of Customer Experience for United Church Homes, tells the story.

Finally, we hear the story of Jenny Haack, an artist who did art with a person with dementia who was still at home.

In honor of Black History Month, we hear the story of Dr. John Fleming, who grew up during the 1960’s civil rights era, protesting at lunch counters and marching from Selma to Montgomery.  Early in life, he developed a dream of becoming a missionary in Africa.  After traveling to Malawi with the Peace Corps, John became disillusioned with the character of the missionary work he saw there.  He then went on to get his Ph.D. at Howard University, working with some of the top researchers in the field of Black history.  After 5 years of post-graduate work, he was recruited to start the National African American Museum and Cultural Center at Wilberforce, Oh.  This project led to him being recruited to start museums in Cincinnati, Mississippi and most recently the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville.

In this episode we meet Rev. Scott and Rev. Karen Griswold.  Scott talks about his diagnosis of Alzheimer's and the steps he and his wife Karen have taken to understand and prepare for his future.

In the second part, journalist Diane Chiddister talks with her friend Susan an author and poet about her poem, "Extra People in the House."  Susan's poem describes a sense of confusion she had one morning brought on by her short term memory loss.

In this episode, we look at a number of technologies that can significantly improve our lives.  First we talk to Debbie about her enthusiasm for Stitch.net – a website for people over 50, that she uses to make friends.  Then we hear from Frances about Nesterly, a new program that is being used in Boston and Columbus, to carefully match older people who have space in their home, with younger people who need a more affordable place to live.  John and Beth talk about food delivery apps such as Instacart, and transportation apps such as Uber and Lyft.  Next we hear how Allen uses his Apple Watch in multiple ways to make life safer, more efficient and fun.  And finally, we hear from Frieda about how she is helping to implement the use of smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo Dot, to improve the lives of older low income residents.