Great round-up as always Bryan. I especially liked the section on how 80 doesn't look like 80 anymore, nor should it. These "pioneering" baby boomers are helping us throw out the old concept of 80 = you must be feeble and sitting in a rocking chair. Thank goodness!
In terms of hiring needing a rewrite, you make a great point on the system being skewed against 50+ workers. I recall being expressly asked to take out certain requirements in job descriptions for a prior employer when I was doing some recruiting for open positions to make them more inclusive for those who might not have had as equal a chance at obtaining certain credentials, inclusiveness should work for those 50+ too.
Last thing, I saw you mention that a lot of femtech and digital health in women's health is focused on fertility and early motherhood, but a red hot area of VC $ and company formation in digital health is serving the midlife menopausal and post-menopausal population. There are several well-established players in this space so I would have to disagree that this is missing. I manage digital health partnerships for my day job and they are knocking on my door quite often :)
Powerful framing on infrastructural barriers versus individual shortcomings. The observation that 40% of Boomers lack retirement savings while simultaneously being told to adapt feels like the quiet cruelty of policy lag catching up to demographic reality. What hit hardest was the notion that home equity has become the de facto pension system, which basically means housing policy IS retirement policy now. The piece on hiring filters screening out older workers before applications even get reviewed shows how automated bias compounds age discrimination. Really sharp collection overall tho.
What I appreciate here is how aging is framed not as a problem to solve but as a systems question we’ve been avoiding. Across connection, care, work, health, and culture, the common failure isn’t individuals falling short; it’s environments and tools designed for a life course that no longer exists. The insight that isolation is often about fewer chances to be seen rather than felt loneliness feels especially important, and quietly indicting. This is a reminder that longevity isn’t just biological, it’s infrastructural, social, and narrative-driven. Designing for aging well means designing for reality, not nostalgia.
I’m helping my 89 year old dad navigate some medical issues right now - most people when they meet him think he’s in his late 70s not his late 80s! I’m meeting more and more people like this - they live on their own, are active in their communities - they have chosen to not be old
Great round-up as always Bryan. I especially liked the section on how 80 doesn't look like 80 anymore, nor should it. These "pioneering" baby boomers are helping us throw out the old concept of 80 = you must be feeble and sitting in a rocking chair. Thank goodness!
In terms of hiring needing a rewrite, you make a great point on the system being skewed against 50+ workers. I recall being expressly asked to take out certain requirements in job descriptions for a prior employer when I was doing some recruiting for open positions to make them more inclusive for those who might not have had as equal a chance at obtaining certain credentials, inclusiveness should work for those 50+ too.
Last thing, I saw you mention that a lot of femtech and digital health in women's health is focused on fertility and early motherhood, but a red hot area of VC $ and company formation in digital health is serving the midlife menopausal and post-menopausal population. There are several well-established players in this space so I would have to disagree that this is missing. I manage digital health partnerships for my day job and they are knocking on my door quite often :)
Powerful framing on infrastructural barriers versus individual shortcomings. The observation that 40% of Boomers lack retirement savings while simultaneously being told to adapt feels like the quiet cruelty of policy lag catching up to demographic reality. What hit hardest was the notion that home equity has become the de facto pension system, which basically means housing policy IS retirement policy now. The piece on hiring filters screening out older workers before applications even get reviewed shows how automated bias compounds age discrimination. Really sharp collection overall tho.
What I appreciate here is how aging is framed not as a problem to solve but as a systems question we’ve been avoiding. Across connection, care, work, health, and culture, the common failure isn’t individuals falling short; it’s environments and tools designed for a life course that no longer exists. The insight that isolation is often about fewer chances to be seen rather than felt loneliness feels especially important, and quietly indicting. This is a reminder that longevity isn’t just biological, it’s infrastructural, social, and narrative-driven. Designing for aging well means designing for reality, not nostalgia.
I’m helping my 89 year old dad navigate some medical issues right now - most people when they meet him think he’s in his late 70s not his late 80s! I’m meeting more and more people like this - they live on their own, are active in their communities - they have chosen to not be old