Personal Stories

There’s little about getting older that is generalizable- the changes that come can sometimes be subtle, or stark, and the experience is often different depending on who you are, where you come from and what systems of support envelop you. For four students at the Columbia University Graduation School of…

If you’ve ever watched a TED Talk, you’re prepared to be engaged and stimulated by the speaker, no matter what the topic. But perhaps you’ve never seen a TED Talk quite like the recent presentation of Emily Levine, who excels at both deep thinking and stand-up comedy, all in a…

If you’re a reader of The New York Times, you no doubt remember photographer Bill Cunningham. Chronicler of all things fashion and style for the paper, Cunningham was a ubiquitous man around town with his blue coat and bicycle, captured so wonderfully in the 2010 documentary Bill Cunningham: New York. Having passed…

Listening to the news these days you’d think the only people getting involved in civic and political activism are high school or college students. However, it turns out that older people are also taking to the streets, either for issues that affect them personally or for concerns about the future…

May in New York City is known for The Met Gala, an annual premier fashion event. And now, just in time, comes a new documentary about one of fashion’s most iconic figures, André Leon Talley. The Gospel According to André tells the life story of 69-year-old André Leon Talley, the larger-than-life fashion figure who grew…

It’s common to see older people belittled or betrayed in popular culture, especially in movies. But there are two new documentaries that portray a more realistic, and positive, reflection of what life can be like in your later years. First, you should take a look at Lives Well Lived, a new…