Kate Eckman - The Full Spirit Workout

The Not Old Better Show Fitness Friday Author Interview Series

I’m Paul Vogelzang and our packed show today includes this week’s Healthy Headline about new research which confirms that early risers get a lot more than the worm, but they get relief from depression, too, along with today’s guest, Kate Eckman, who’s written the new book, The Full Spirit Workout about mental fitness for the mind.    

So great to be with you today, and good morning and welcome to The Not Old Better Show on KSCW. I’m your host, Paul Vogelzang, and we’ve got a great show for you today on fitness, and a kind of fitness regimen for the mind.  

Our guest today is author, Kate Eckman.  Kate Eckman is an international TV presenter and model, motivational speaker, and author of Love Yourself, Love Your Life, and her book, The Full Spirit Workout, which is all about sharing inspirational stories about self-confidence, healthy aging, personal growth, beauty, and fitness. 

Just as strong physical fitness and strong muscles help you live more effectively, strong mental muscles can give you the power to navigate your internal world, as well as the external world. Just as physical fitness involves a strong core, mental fitness will help you develop a strong inner core. And just as consistent reps of exercise get the body fit, the reps and exercises in Kate Eckman’s new book, The Full Spirit Workout, will help you shed any self-doubt that holds you back from achieving the fun, fulfilling life we desire and deserve as we get better, not older!

Kate  Eckman earned a BA from Penn State University on a swimming scholarship and went on to earn her master's degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Kate Eckman worked as a TV news anchor and reporter for nearly a decade.  Kate is also a meditation teacher and course creator for Insight Timer, the world’s number-one ranked free meditation app.  I think from our interview today you’ll find, as I did, that Kate Eckman is a dynamic, high-energy and entertaining guest.  Kate Eckman has the innate ability to not only capture our Not Old Better Show on KSCW’s audience attention—but also your hearts. 

All this today on The Not Old Better Show on KSCW, but first our Healthy Headlines:

Waking just one hour earlier cuts depression risk by double digits

From the journal JAMA Psychiatry, and the University of Colorado, and Harvard, waking up just one hour earlier could reduce a person's risk of major depression by 23%!

As people emerge, post-pandemic, from working and attending school remotely, —and being just generally isolated, a trend has begun leading many to shift to a later sleep schedule-according to Dr. V. Dr. V’s team of researchers found that even one hour earlier sleep timing is associated with a significantly lower risk of depression. Here’s Dr. V:

"We have known for some time that there is a relationship between sleep timing and mood, but a question we often hear from clinicians is: How much earlier do we need to shift people to see a benefit?" "We found that even one-hour earlier sleep timing is associated with significantly lower risk of depression."

Previous studies have shown those night owls are as much as twice as likely to suffer from depression as early risers, regardless of how long they sleep. 

For all our listeners this morning, most of whom are early risers, is my bet, and who want to shift themselves to an earlier sleep schedule, Dr. V offers this advice:

"Keep your days bright and your nights dark,"  "Have your morning coffee on the porch. Walk or ride your bike  if you can, and dim those electronics in the evening."

Personally, “I love sleep because it’s like a time machine to breakfast”

And now, please join me in welcoming to the Not Old Better Show on KSCW, author Kate Eckman.

#547 Kate Eckman - The Full Spirit Workout

An Amazing Odyssey: A Congressman’s Solo Flight Around the World - Paul Glenshaw

The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Series

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show.  I’m Paul Vogelzang.  As part of our Smithsonian Associates Art of Living Series, our guest today, Paul Glenshaw has an unlikely story. Paul Glenshaw will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates, June 15, 2021, and the title of his presentation is An Amazing Odyssey: A Congressman’s Solo Flight Around the World You can find out more in our show notes. But Paul Glenshaw is our guest today and see if you can imagine this: a congressman risks his life for a self-funded world peace mission. The Smithsonian loans an airplane from its collection for a solo round-the-world flight. A pilot makes that flight and does nothing to exploit his achievement. Yet, as Glenshaw tells us, all these things happened, in 1951, to one Peter Mack.

In 1951, Peter F. Mack Jr., a 34-year-old U.S. congressman from rural Illinois, made an extraordinary journey for peace. He borrowed a single-engine airplane from the Smithsonian, rechristened it the Friendship Flame, and flew it around the world alone on a self-funded, self-directed goodwill mission. Along the way, without aides or security, he met ordinary citizens and dignitaries and extended his hand in friendship, and became the first person to fly across the Pacific Ocean alone.

As his constituent’s five and ten-dollar donations came in, Congressman Mack contributed $1500 of his own money, planned his route, and re-christened the plane Friendship Flame. On October 7, 1951, he took off from Springfield, Illinois on what he called the Abraham Lincoln Goodwill Tour.

After crossing the Atlantic, Congressman Mack toured Western Europe, Scandinavia, and the British Isles. He tried in vain to enter the Soviet Union. He flew through the Middle East, Iran, Pakistan, into South Asia, then Vietnam and Korea (where the war was in full swing), and finally Japan. 

He handed out what he called “friendship scrolls.” He met with dignitaries and ordinary citizens, assuring everyone he met that the people of the United States were interested only in peace.

Aviation historian Paul Glenshaw offers a fascinating snapshot of a troubled globe in the aftermath of World War II and the start of the Cold War as he uses original images, film, news reports, and audio recordings made during Mack’s epic odyssey to tell this inspiring story.

My thanks to Paul Glenshaw.  Paul Glenshaw will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates, June 15, 2021, and the title of his presentation is An Amazing Odyssey: A Congressman’s Solo Flight Around the World You can find out more in our show notes.   My thanks as well to the Smithsonian Associates team for all they do to support the show.  Of course, my thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience.  Please be well, stay healthy and vaccinated, and remember, let’s Talk About Better.  The Not Old Better Show.  Thanks, everybody.  

For more information, please click HERE>

https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/amazing-odyssey-congressmans-solo-flight-around-world

#548 An Amazing Odyssey: A Congressman’s Solo Flight Around the World - Paul Glenshaw

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show.  I’m Paul Vogelzang.  As part of our Smithsonian Associates Art of Living Series, our guest today is vocal coach extraordinaire, Denise Woods. Denise Woods will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates, June 16, 2021, and the title of her presentation is The Power of Voice: Vocal Coach Denise Woods on Making Yourself Heard.  You can find out more in our show notes. 

But Denise Woods is our guest today and  Denise Woods is one of the nation’s most sought-after voice and dialect coaches. In her new book, The Power of Voice: A Guide to Making Yourself Heard, Denise Woods shares the secrets, tips, lessons, and stories that have helped Hollywood’s biggest stars become confident, effective communicators.  Denise Woods even coaches me in this interview…and you’ll want to hear her insightful tutelage.  I have to not only find my voice but to powerfully express myself so others will listen!

One of the most sought-after vocal coaches in Hollywood, Denise Woods has worked with Halle Berry, Will Smith, Mahershala Ali, Jessica Chastain, Kirsten Dunst, Laurence Fishburne, Idris Elba, Ray Liotta, Taraji P. Henson, and Mike Myers, among many others, teaching them how to use their voice to enhance their art. Drawing on her new book The Power of Voice: A Guide to Making Yourself Heard, Woods shares proven, practical, and invaluable tools to change both how we communicate and ultimately how we see ourselves.
From America’s number-one most feared task—public speaking—to asking for a raise, establishing your presence in video meetings to a marriage proposal, we’re judged by our voice, our most crucial instrument of expression. Woods discusses how to develop your voice and be heard in everyday life, and also addresses topics such as how to be heard as a person of color and how to convey who we are by embracing our culture, region, and heritage.

In our conversation today on The Not Old Better Show Denise Woods traces her journey from a shy child in New York City to the successful performer, a teacher at the Julliard School (from which she graduated) and the California Institute of the Arts to her work with a host of stars to finding her origins.  

That of course is our guest today, Denise Woods reading from her new book The Power of Voice: Vocal Coach Denise Woods on Making Yourself Heard.   Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associate Denise Woods.  

My thanks to Denise Woods, Vocal Coach extraordinaire.  Denise Woods will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates, June 16, 2021, and the title of her presentation is The Power of Voice: Vocal Coach Denise Woods on Making Yourself Heard.  You can find out more in our show notes.  My thanks to the Smithsonian Associates team for all they do to support the show, and my thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience.  Please be safe, stay vaccinated, and remember, Let’s Talk About Better.  The Not Old Better Show.  Thanks, everybody.

For more information, please click HERE> https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/power-of-voice-vocal-coach-denise-woods-on-making-yourself-heard

#549 The Power of Voice - Denise Woods

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show. I’m Paul Vogelzang, and today’s show is wonderful and important, at the same time.  As part of our Lemonada Media series, we’re introducing a new show, No One is Coming to Save Us, from Lemonada Media.  Our guest today, Gloria Riviera, the ABC News correspondent, is host of No One is Coming to Save Us.  No One is Coming to Save Us is a limited, 4 part series on the important topic of child care in the United States of America today.  

The United States has long failed families when it comes to childcare, as many in our Not Old Better Show audience know well, it takes a village, as Hilary Clinton says, but even with multi generational families in place, the Covid-19 up-ending of our broken childcare system took things to an emergency crisis level – for parents, grandparents and child care providers alike.  

Access to high-quality childcare and early education determines so much of a kid’s future…and their family’s sanity. Laugh, cry, be outraged, and hear solutions in this four-part series that explains why child care is broken and how we can fix it. No one is coming to save us — we need to save ourselves.

Let’s listen as Gloria Riviera, who has reported from war zones,  shares an emotionally charged moment, and the compassion you’ll hear from Gloria Riviera on this subject is palpable, as Gloria Riviera describes her life as a reporter and what this issue means to her, trusting her child care with those who would give their lives…it’s just that important.  We’re all looking for someone, somewhere you trust with your child’s life.  That’s child care today.  

That of course is our guest today, Gloria Riviera talking about her life, the issue of child care, and her new series, No One Is Coming to Save Us.  

Child care is not an exact comparison to a war zone, but the toll taken on families is real, and Gloria Riviera along with Special Correspondent and actor Kristin Bell, together they cover child care issues, but do so in an uplifting manner.

As Gloria Riviera says, and then the pandemic hit, and what was just hard, became impossible.  It’s true, last year, everyone’s life fell apart, at least a little. If you were a woman — particularly a woman with children at home — your life likely fell apart a lot more. This spring, the Census Bureau estimated that 1.5 million America mothers have yet to return to the work force, with women of color affected disproportionately. The American child care crisis, the subject of “No One Is Coming to Save Us,” seems insoluble, but No One is Coming to Save Us offers some great solutions.

Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show via internet phone, Gloria Riviera.

My thanks to Gloria Riviera, host of the new podcast from Lemonada Media, No One Is Coming To Save Us. Find out more about Gloria Riviera and No One Is Coming to Save us at our website. My thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience.  Please be safe, be vaccinated, and remember, Let’s Talk About Better. The Not Old Better Show.  Thanks, everybody.

#550 Gloria Riviera, ABC NEWS - No One Is Coming to Save Us

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show.  I’m Paul Vogelzang, and as part of our Smithsonian Associates healthcare innovation interview series,  we have an excellent interview with Dr. Barry Gordon, founder of the Memory Clinic at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.  Dr. Gordon will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates program, June 22, and the title of his presentation is Making The Most of Your Memory.  More details are available on our website.

Are you worried about your memory or someone else’s? Do you want to understand more about how your memory works?  How you might help it work better, and stave off declines? Dr.  Barry Gordon, a nationally recognized expert on memory and memory disorders, explains how each of us has many different kinds of memories, our own individual patterns of strengths and weakness, and how we might better appreciate what these patterns are.

Dr. Barry Gordon tells us what memory and mental skills are likely to get worse with aging, which are incorrectly blamed on aging, and which may actually improve as we get older. Dr. Gordon describes useful memory and mental skills we should try harder to keep sharp, and Dr. Gordon suggests interventions and lifestyle changes that are most likely to help us to improve our ability to pay attention, to think, and to remember at any age.   

Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show, via internet phone, Smithsonian Associate, Dr. Barry Gordon.  

My thanks to Dr. Barry Gordon, and the team at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.  Hopefully today’s show will give you a sense ideas to keep in mind, and to memorize, about your memory, memory lapses, and how to improve.  My thanks to the Smithsonian team for all they do to support the show.  My thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience…be safe, and remember let’s Talk About Better.  The Not Old Better Show. Until next time, thanks, everybody.
For more information, please click HERE for the Smithsonian Associates website: 

https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/making-most-of-your-memory

#553 Making The Most of Our Memory - Dr. Barry Gordon

Great American Road Trips and Books to Go On the Road - Clay Jenkinson The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series Some good country road trip music for you today.&nbsp; And, that appropriate because we are going to be talking about Great American Road Trips.&nbsp; Welcome to the Not Old Better Show.&nbsp; I’m Paul Vogelzang, and as part of our  Art Of Living interview series, we have an excellent interview with Award-winning historian, author, and public humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson.&nbsp; Clay Jenkinson will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates via Zoom on June 29, and the title of Clay Jenkinson’s presentation is  Just in time for summer, and post-pandemic, we are all in the mood for travel, and road trips are so popular, particularly in the US. We’ll talk to Clay Jenkinson about why we love road trips, some great road trips, that are less traveled, why we are so restless a society, and what is so compelling about travel stories, what do we learn about history, culture, and society through the road trips and travel, along with a suggested ‘post pandemic’ travel schedule like?&nbsp; Where do you want to go, and who will you take along?&nbsp; This will be a fun show, with some great ideas for you. Award-winning historian, author, and public humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson introduces us to his themes and structures of the literature of the road trip ideas, and .&nbsp; We’ll examine passages from several road classics, and explores the theme of restlessness in American history. Clay Jenkinson has traveled the Lewis and Clark Trail by plane (including an F-16 jet), by canoe, and by automobile, and he twice hiked the entire length of the Little Missouri River between Devils Tower and central North Dakota. My thanks to Clay Jenkinson.&nbsp; Clay Jenkinson will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates via Zoom on June 29, and the title of Clay Jenkinson’s presentation is &nbsp; Hopefully, today’s show will give you some ideas to keep in mind when thinking about summer travel road trips. &nbsp; &nbsp; My thanks to the Smithsonian team for all they do to support the show.&nbsp; My thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience …be safe, and remember let’s Talk About Better.&nbsp; The Not Old Better Show.&nbsp; Thanks, everybody. For more information and ticket details for Clay Jenkinson, Smithsonian Associates on Zoom, click here&gt;

#554 Great American Road Trips and Books to Go On the Road - Clay Jenkinson

8 Tips for Eye Health - Dr. Paul Karpecki The Not Old Better Show Interview Series Welcome to The Not Old Better Show.&nbsp; I’m Paul Vogelzang and as part of our science and healthy living series, today’s guest is Dr. Paul Karpecki, and we’re discussing a healthy vision for all, but focused on those of us over 60. Did you know that nearly&nbsp;65% of US adults complain of headaches, neck/shoulder pain, and eye strain&nbsp;when using digital devices, reading or doing detail work? Digital Vision Syndrome (DVS) is here and affecting thousands of us. We are at an unprecedented and critical point when it comes to the impacts of increased screen time. As our lifestyle shifts more to work from home, it puts increased pressure on near vision demands, optometrists are reporting record numbers of patients seeking a solution. In a recent study of over 110,000 patients, nearly two-thirds experienced painful symptoms often associated with eye misalignment. More than 55% of them experienced these symptoms on a daily basis.&nbsp;Optometrists across the nation are seeing an uptick of vision issues related to DVS including eye strain, which can lead to headaches, pain around the eyes and pain behind the eyes, as well as neck pain and other related problems. Our guest today is Dr. Paul Karpecki, who has over 20 years of experience running some of the largest dry eye clinics in the United States. Dr. Paul Karpecki is a noted educator and author of over 1000 papers on the subject of Dry Eye Disease.&nbsp; Dr. Karpecki currently serves as the Chief Clinical Editor for Review of Optometry, the most read journal in the profession.&nbsp; Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show via internet phone, Dr. Paul Karpecki. My thanks to Dr. Paul Karpecki.&nbsp; Hopefully, today’s show will help you understand and consider the effects of Digital Vision Syndrome.&nbsp; Remember to check out our website for more details about Dr. Paul Karpecki and Digital Vision Syndrome. &nbsp; My thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience…be safe, and remember let’s Talk About Better.&nbsp; The Not Old Better Show. Until next time, thanks, everybody.&nbsp; Check out our new show on KSCW Radio, 103.1 FM Phoenix AZ every Saturday morning at 8:15 AM/PST, and, again, you can find links to listen to the show on KSCW on our website. https://suncitywestradio.com/our-shows/&nbsp; &nbsp;

#555 8 Tips for Eye Health - Dr. Paul Karpecki

Our Deceptive Universe - Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi

The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Inside Science Series

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show.  As part of our Smithsonian  Associates Inside Science Interview Series, we are talking to Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, about his amazing life as an astrophysicist, cosmologist, inventor, educator, science communicator, actor, and author of the new book, A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars

You’re going to love this interview, and Dr. Oluseyi’s book is amazing.  

Before Einstein published his theory of special relativity, Isaac Newton’s view from centuries earlier was accepted as fact: that we live in a “clockwork universe” where time and space are constant. What Einstein first imagined, and what quantum physics later formulated, is the possibility that we operate in a multiverse—potentially an infinity of universes where different versions of our lives are playing out in ways both imaginable and unimaginable.

Our guest today, astrophysicist Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi dives into this mystery—and why the universe we perceive is not the universe that actually exists. In trying to understand our deceptive universe, he examines spacetime, the illusion of mass, the large-scale structure of the universe, dark matter, and dark energy.  But, please don’t let the ‘quantum physics’ element here sound too deep because Dr Oluseyi explains the ideas with simple ease so all of us can understand, plus we talk about Dr. Oluseyi coming of age life, overcoming obstacles…crime, poverty, addiction, and work as a janitor, all to succeed beyond expectations.

Including the fact that Dr.Oluseyi recently served as the space science education lead in the Space Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he provided strategic leadership and management for the directorate’s investments in science education and communications.

Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show on KSCW, Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi.

Hakeem’s new book, A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars (Ballantine Books) is available for purchase at Apple Books.

Find out more about Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi’s upcoming Smithsonian Associates presentation HERE:

https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/our-deceptive-universe

#558 Our Deceptive Universe - Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi

Spark - Claudia Kalb

The Not Old Better Show, Science Interview Series

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show.  I’m Paul Vogelzang and it is so great to be with you today, following, of course,  another excellent Community Chat with Gary Cohen, and good morning and welcome to The Not Old Better Show on KSCW, and our guest today is New York Times best-selling author, and Newsweek Magazine Science writer, Claudia Kalb.  

Claudia Kalb is a New York Times bestselling author and journalist who writes about science, psychology, and human behavior. She is the author of the new book, Spark: How Genius Ignites, From Child Prodigies to Late Bloomers.

This will be a fun interview, and Claudia Kalb has graciously agreed to read a passage from her new book today.  Through engaging storytelling and historical, biographical, and scientific research, Claudia Kalb unravels the relationship between brains, talent, passion, creativity, willpower, and imagination. Claudia Kalb will tell us what propels some individuals to reach extraordinary creative heights in the earliest years of life while others discover their passions decades later? Claudia Kalb will answer our questions about whether prodigies are imbued with innate talent? And, for our Not Old Better Show on KSCW audience, how often are late in life inspirations triggered by propitious events, like Julia Child's first French meal at the age of 36? Do late bloomers reveal their talents because their skills require life experience and contemplation?  Pay attention…we’ll have fun and answer some important like knowing when you’ll know what you want to be, and more Not Old Better questions.

That of course is our guest today, author Claudia Kalb, reading from her new book, ‘Spark.’  Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show on KSCW, via internet phone, New York Times bestselling author, Claudia Kalb.

My thanks to Claudia Kalb, and her new book, ‘Spark.’   Hopefully today’s show will give you a sense of ideas to keep in mind, and how to generate your spark.  My thanks to the Smithsonian team for all they do to support the show.  My thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience…be safe, and remember let’s Talk About Better.  The Not Old Better Show. Until next time, thanks, everybody.

#559 Spark - Claudia Kalb

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show.  I’m Paul Vogelzang and as part of our Newsmaker Briefing Interview Series, our guest today is David Andelman.  

David A. Andelman is a veteran foreign correspondent for CNN News, author and commentator who contributes frequently to CNN on global affairs. A member of the Board of Contributors of USA Today, David Andelman served for more than seven years as Editor & Publisher of World Policy Journal. David Andelman was executive editor of Forbes.com; a domestic and foreign correspondent for The New York Times in New York, Southeast Asia bureau chief, based in Bangkok, and East European bureau chief, based in Belgrade. David Andelman then moved to CBS News where he served for seven years as Paris correspondent. Andelman followed as a Washington correspondent for CNBC, news editor of Bloomberg News and Business Editor of the New York Daily News. In the course of his career he has traveled through and reported from more than 85 countries.
  

Interestingly, David A. Andelman has joined the Center on National Security as a visiting scholar and director of its Red Lines Project.  The project’s conception arose from President Barack Obama’s failure to enforce a red line in Syria when the dictator Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons on his own people, killing more than 1,400. Obama’s cabinet disagreed strongly with his decision to walk away from the red line without military action to remove al-Assad from power. 

David Andelman has that mindset, as does the Red Lines Project, as we try to better understand this very important global security issue, we need to do so right now.

This will be a fascinating interview and we’ll talk about the Red Lines Project, cyber-security, the world in a post pandemic state, Biden, Putin and heart health.  You’ll love this interview.  

Please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show, CNN’s David Andelman.




My thanks to CNN’s David Andelman.   Hopefully today’s show will give you a sense of world events, national security, our place here and what’s going on.  My thanks to the Smithsonian team for all they do to support the show.  My thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience…be safe, and remember let’s Talk About Better.  The Not Old Better Show. Until next time, thanks, everybody.

#561 CNN's David Andelman - post COVID, Heat Waves in Pacific Northwest, Putin and Ukraine

Elizabeth Barrett Browning: A Reinvented Life - Fiona Sampson

The Not Old Better, Smithsonian Associates Show Art of Living Interview Series

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, Art of Living Series with Smithsonian Associates.  Our guest today is author Fiona Sampson, who’ll be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates, August 17, and more details are available on our website.  The title of Fiona Sampson’s presentation at Smithsonian Associates is Elizabeth Barrett Browning: A Reinvented Life.  Fiona Ruth Sampson, a Member of the British Empire, and is a British poet and writer. Fiona Sampson has authored 28 books of poetry and nonfiction, including the acclaimed In Search of Mary Shelley.  Fiona Sampson’s new book titled ‘Two Way Mirror,’ the Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Britain’s most famous female poet.  

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” With these words, Elizabeth Barrett Browning has come down to us as a romantic heroine, a recluse controlled by a domineering father and often overshadowed by her husband, Robert Browning. But she defied cultural constraints—a modern figure whose life is a study in self-invention.

Born in 1806 when women were denied property, a university education, or the vote, Barrett Browning seized control of her private income, overcame long-term illness, eloped to revolutionary Italy with Browning, and achieved lasting literary fame. A feminist icon, political activist, and international literary superstar, she inspired writers from Emily Dickinson to George Eliot, Oscar Wilde, and Virginia Woolf.

That of course is our guest today, author Fiona Sampson, reading from her new book: ‘Two Way Mirror,’ the Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  We’ll be discussing Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s extraordinary life, her prolific writing, and feminist icon.  

Join us today with our guest, acclaimed writer and poet Fiona Sampson for a nuanced, comprehensive portrait of Britain’s most famous female poet, a woman who invented herself and defied her times.

Please join me in welcoming you to The Not Old Better Show, Art of Living series, Smithsonian Associate Fiona Sampson.

My thanks to our guest today for her generous time and expertise, Fiona Sampson. Fiona Sampson will be presenting at the Smithsonian Associates, August 17, and more details are available on our website.  The title of Fiona Sampson’s presentation at Smithsonian Associates is Elizabeth Barrett Browning: A Reinvented Life. My thanks to the Smithsonian team for all they do to support the show, and my thanks to you, my wonderful Not Old Better Show audience.  Please be safe everyone, wear your masks when needed, encourage those who haven’t to get vaccinated, and let’s Talk About Better.  The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates series.  Thanks, everybody.

#566 Elizabeth Barrett Browning: A Reinvented Life - Fiona Sampson

Paul Taylor Vogelzang is an award-winning blogger, podcaster, writer, producer and style fanatic, known for his down to earth accessible reporting and advice for men and women 50 + age, and their families. Paul was one of the founding editors of MommyCast & MommyCast Latina, the wildly popular, very first mom podcasts in audio and video, and its producer from 2004 to 2009. Paul’s current, but also award winning podcast, The Not Old - Better Show launched in 2014. Paul continues to share vibrant, focused, entertaining content on the show, and writes frequently about the subjects of fashion, grooming and the “senior man.”  Paul lives just outside of Washington DC, with his lovely wife, Gretchen (also a MommyCast founder), and where the two of them are active in many arts, business and philanthrophic organizations, love to feed the Northern Wren, and are the parents of two sons.


#553 Making The Most of Our Memory - Dr. Barry Gordon

The Not Old - Better Show ✅