A conversation with James Chappel, author of 'Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age'

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Due South

A conversation with James Chappel, author of 'Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age'

By Leoneda Inge,

Rachel McCarthy

Published December 18, 2024 at 10:20 AM EST

James Chappel photo and book cover image — James Chappel

What鈥檚 your vision of how you鈥檒l spend your 鈥済olden years鈥�? While the specifics differ from person to person, there may be something distinctly American about our society鈥檚 framing of aging, how our expectations around aging have evolved, and how that vision is being reimagined in the current economic and social landscape.

From the social movements underpinning Social Security and Medicare to the hit TV show "The Golden Girls," James Chappel takes Due South on a journey through American aging, and what the future of aging in our country might look like. His new book is Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age.

Guest

James Chappel, Gilhuly Family Associate Professor of History at Duke University and author of Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age

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Due South Aging

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of 瓜神app's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at 瓜神app as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda鈥檚 work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital 瓜神app Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

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Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at 瓜神app as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

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