Our podcast offers a fresh way to stay connected with UMRA and the greater University of Michigan community. Whether through our many Seminar and Learn & Grow sessions, delivered by prominent faculty and inspirational community leaders, or intellectual discussions by our vibrant interest groups – UMRA Reads and UMRA Travels – we are certain you will find each episode engaging; fitting conveniently into your daily routines and busy schedules.
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Retirement Talk is a weekly podcast intended for seniors, boomers and retirees. We will examine all aspects of retirement: actions, ideas, memories, and plans. We will consider travel, life goals, family, community, exercise, relocating, housing, continuing education, friends, health, and end of life issues.
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RetireeRebels inspires and supports retirees to move beyond the limitations of past ageist stereotypes, to aspire and achieve new goals by reinvention. Carol Larson and Mary Helen Conroy discuss the other side of retirement, the side that considers the lifestyle of retirement.
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A week ago a vascular surgeon inserted a stent into my iliac artery and on up into the aorta. The aneurysm was big and could pop any time. The aorta was clear but just below that was trouble waiting to cut my time just a bit short at any moment. Symptoms?Av Del Lowery
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39,000 feet and feeling miserable. My eyes burn; my butt is numb. I'm scrunched; trying to be thin. Is there a secret to flying that I haven’t figured out?Av Del Lowery
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UMRA Reads: Says Who? A Kinder, Funner, Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words by Anne Curzan
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"A kinder, funner usage guide to the ever-changing English language and a useful tool for both the grammar stickler and the more colloquial user of English, from linguist and veteran U-M Professor Anne Curzan." "Our use of language naturally evolves and is a living, breathing thing that reflects who we are. Says Who? offers clear, nuanced guidance …
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My education and culture have taught me very little about the benefits of sitting still. Many of us approach retirement with the idea that we must keep busy. We must continue to be "active" and for us that means moving or traveling.Av Del Lowery
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"Individuals who have a strong sense of meaning and purpose generally have better health, recover quicker from illnesses, and typically live longer". This is a quote from one of the many health newsletters we receive. It is a publication from the Wellness Council of America.Av Del Lowery
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That’s the thing about working with your hands. When you finish the job you can run your hand along a smooth surface, take a picture of it, sit on it or put things in the drawers. You can even show it to other people and bask in momentary praise. It’s real.Av Del Lowery
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UMRA Reads: The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina
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The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World is a poetic novel about a real telephone booth in Otsuchi, Japan, a rural town decimated by the 2011 tsunami. Known as the “Wind Phone,” the disconnected rotary telephone allows grieving family members to speak, in a way, to loved ones who have passed on.Av University of Michigan Retirees Association
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The Health and National Security Risks of Drug Shortages
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Andrew G. Shuman, MD, FACS, HEC-C Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Chief of the Clinical Ethics Service in the Center for the Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine (CBSSM) Dr. Shuman is a cancer surgeon and bioethicist at the University of Michigan and the VA Ann Arbor Health System. He is internat…
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Years ago I came across some happiness advice that has never failed me. I liked it because it worked for me and I loved the name of the originator, Baruch de Espinosa: or, Spinoza. "Spinoza knowza", I used to tell my philosophy students.Av Del Lowery
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I knew that if I stayed there just a bit longer I would become the evening meal of some carnivore. Considering the absurdity of life I thought about it. Then I moved on. Hope is something else that is in our genes. All of our ancestors possessed that gene as well as the one that told them to look around.…
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Health issues become more and more personal as we move into and through retirement. Our interest and attention become very relevant individually. They have a way of grabbing our attention.Av Del Lowery
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UMRA Reads: Lost Horizon by James Hilton
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The story follows four Europeans stranded at a Tibetan lamasery for several months after their plane is hijacked and flown into the Himalayas. With time, they learn that not everything is as it seems at this Utopian lamasery. Hilton's magnum opus was a timely novel, written in the wake of WWI and amidst the Depression. It was a much needed escape f…
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Retirement is a time when a list might be as important as ever. As we enter the latter stages of life our time becomes more important. That is why we have a tendency to slow down. We don't want to rush life.Av Del Lowery
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Education Disruption and Transformation
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Dr. Elizabeth Birr Moje, Dean of the U-M Marsal Family School of Education, George Herbert Mead Collegiate Professor of Education, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the School of Education, and Faculty Associate, Institute of Social Research Faculty Affiliate in Latin/a Studies, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Dr. Moje will discuss the ch…
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Maybe retirement is the time to become a magician. Or whatever else you dreamed of when you were a child. Or whatever you dream about now that you are retired. I'll bet with just a few years of practice most of us could learn to pull rabbits out of hats.Av Del Lowery
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"Picking a Fight" is not something our parents told us was a good thing to do. Perhaps we need to rethink this advice. Retirement might be the perfect time to look around and pick a fight with some bully.Av Del Lowery
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A good thing about vacations is that it shines a new light on the life we now live and the life we may want to lead. We can lay out plans, read travel logs, browse book stores and magazine racks, and have something to dream about when we take our afternoon nap.Av Del Lowery
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The bottom line remains firm. You just have to spend a bit less than you earn. You might be surprised by how much pleasure can come from a walk in the woods compared to a cruise in the Aegean.Av Del Lowery
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West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge takes you back to 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe and the world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes, who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes…
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How great are your needs? Do they expand with every paycheck or salary raise? Were we kidding ourselves about how much we loved our job and really were working for the money? I mean if we quit working and receiving a check do you suppose we would still go in every day and help out for free? We needed to answer all of those questions.…
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I feel like I must relate a few lessons learned on this winter trip. They might help you think about ramifications if you may someday consider taking off during the cold season.Av Del Lowery
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The Impact of Slavery and Systemic Racism: The Grace of Repair
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Dr. Earl Lewis, founding Director of the University of Michigan Center for Social Solutions and the Thomas C. Holt Distinguished University Professor of History, Afro American and African Studies, and Public Policy. Recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2023 awarded by President Biden. This talk centers on a handful of moments in world hist…
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"I Like Being Old", is the title of a book I recently came across. It is written by k. Eileen Allen. She is a 90 year old woman who is blind. She says she likes being old and I believe her.Av Del Lowery
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Some of us want to know what is around the bend. We want to move on. Perhaps it is just a simple case of the grass always being greener; the longing for that which we don’t have. It might pertain to our geographical location or our tasks or work at hand.Av Del Lowery
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UMRA Reads: Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichi
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"Ruth Reichl, world-renowned food critic and former editor in chief of Gourmet magazine, knows a thing or two about food. In Garlic and Sapphires, Reichl reveals the comic absurdity, artifice, and excellence to be found in the sumptuously appointed stages of the epicurean world and gives us - along with some of her favorite recipes and reviews - he…
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Nietzsche advised us to step out on the edge and take a chance. He urged us to do something different with our lives. "We need to break ourselves in two," he said. And then create an even greater self.Av Del Lowery
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Progress in Developing Clean, Cheap and Sustainable Energy through Solar Power
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Dr. Zetian Mi's is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan who is focused on the investigation of semiconductor nanostructures and their application in electronic, photonic, clean energy, and quantum devices and systems. A new kind of solar panel, developed at the U-M, has achieved …
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Beekeeping basics with novices Patty and Steve Bebee and experienced beekeepers Amy and Beau LaFleur. They provide a short overview of getting started as a hobbyist beekeeper and share our experiences getting started, hive components, life inside the colony, the different jobs of honeybees, and a year in the life of a beekeeper. Equipment, clothing…
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I recently read of a Barbie Doll who is connected to the Internet via wi-fi. It hears your voice and responds similar to Seri but it remembers everything and can thus personalize each response instantly. Imagine something similar to this in the hands of an isolated senior? A new best friend and listener may be as near as Best Buy.…
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864 Looking Forward - Looking Backward
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When retired we're allowed more time to choose different paths; to explore new roads. All we have to do is make up our mind as to which direction we want to go. We don't want to just sit in the middle of the highway and let life wiz on by.Av Del Lowery
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"You never want to let the weather dictate what you do with your life". That is a line I used to recite to the kids whenever we wanted to go hiking, biking, or skiing.Av Del Lowery
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It only seems reasonable that we should indeed do some preparation for a period of perhaps 30 or 40 years of living. We need to develop some expectations. I’m not sure they need to be "Great Expectations", but at least some might be wise.Av Del Lowery
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"In my early 40s I decided to develop a spreadsheet of activities and interests I had (or was interested in learning) that would keep me physically fit, keep my brain active and provide me with the much needed social connections."Av Del Lowery
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Preserving the Legacy of Song: The University of Michigan’s Gershwin Initiative
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Dr. Mark Clague -- Associate Dean for Collaborations and Partnerships, Professor of Music and Director of the U-M Gershwin Initiative and Co-Editor-in-Chief MUSA -- talks about the University of Michigan Gershwin Initiative is an ongoing scholarly examination of the Gershwins' music, in which U-M scholars in collaboration with peers from across the…
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Sometimes we wish we could change. Change our life. Change our habits. But change just doesn't come easy for some of us. These stories illustrate the power of habits and any attempt to change them.Av Del Lowery
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UMRA Reads: My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places by Mary Roach
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New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach was a hit columnist in the Reader's Digest magazine, and this book features the articles she wrote in that time. The quirky, brilliant author takes a magnifying glass to everyday life, exposing moments of hilarity in the mundane. Insightful and hilarious, Mary explores the ins and outs of the modern wor…
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Our experiences in life can become a treasure chest from which we can share. We can keep alive the bond between Elders, wisdom and nature.Av Del Lowery
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Ever had a breathing problem? I have. Now I find that a new cause of the problem may lie with electronic screens: phones, tablets, television, or gaming screens of any sort.Av Del Lowery
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"As I lie idly drifting on Walden Pond I cease to think and begin to be". When does that happen? Trouble is; we wake up. We look at the front page of the paper, we talk to our kids or our grandchildren, we know that even though our days might be numbered for people we care about, life goes on.Av Del Lowery
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"Who made the rule, anyway?" We retired folks need to ask that question about a lot of things. We have a lifetime of experiences to guide us in decision making.Av Del Lowery
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UMRA Reads: Dawn of Detroit by Tiya Miles
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Tiya Miles is the recipient of a 2011 MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" and is a professor at the University of Michigan in the departments of American culture, Afro-American and African studies, history, women's studies, and in the Native American Studies Program. She lives in Ann Arbor. "Extracting seemingly lost lives from sparse records to re…
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Complexities of China-U.S. Relations
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Professor Mary Gallagher is the Amy and Alan Lowenstein Professor of Democracy, Democratization, and Human Rights, Professor of Political Science and Director of the International Institute in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts at the University of Michigan. She is also a Research Associate Professor at the Center for Political Studies…
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Staying informed isn't easy. Our forefathers had to rely on word of mouth or the slim pamphlet that might circulate among the masses at the speed of a slow horse. Today it’s instantaneous. Electronics flash news across the screen as it is happening.Av Del Lowery
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This podcast has tried to avoid the topic of politics. It has not been easy. Politics is a topic that retired people have plenty of time to discuss. From this time on politics will be fair game. It is a big part of retirement.Av Del Lowery
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Modern societal demands have moved children far away from parents, cousins away from cousins, and sometimes, brothers and sisters away from each other. The nuclear family is not an exaggeration in any way. Family gatherings on holidays have been one of the casualties. What to do?Av Del Lowery
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UMRA Reads: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
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The Thursday Murder Club is an intelligent mystery about a group of senior citizens who find themselves in the center of a murder investigation.Av University of Michigan Retirees Association
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One question that people getting close to retirement always ask is, "How much money do I need? How much is enough?" There seems to be no hard and fast rule. What is a person to do?Av Del Lowery
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Learn & Grow: Preparing Your Gardens for Winter
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Janet Macunovich, owner, author, and landscape architect at Gardens A - Z in White Lake, Michigan, talks about the best techniques, and timing, as well as the do's and don'ts, as you begin your fall gardening chores. You will also learn how to protect your plantings, and at the same time create fall/winter landscapes that are visually enjoyable unt…
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Camping and biking. The memories and stories they produce are priceless. And they don't have to end with retirement.Av Del Lowery
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UMRA Reads: The End of Miracles by Monica Starkman
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The End of Miracles is a twisting, haunting story about the drastic consequences of a frustrated obsession. This emotionally gripping novel is a suspenseful journey across the blurred boundaries between sanity and madness, depression and healing.Av University of Michigan Retirees Association
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