The Third Act is a series of stories about the lived reality of older people.
In our youth-obsessed culture, a stigmatizing fear of aging has produced a whole slew of inaccurate assumptions about what an old person is like: Asexual. Physically weak. Mentally impaired. Pitiful. Isolated. Uncomfortable. Depressed.
But aging is also a universal experience. Revising our assumptions of what getting older is like can be of benefit to all of us, not just those who are currently elderly. How do we change our notions of old age?
This series takes on the most common stereotypes of aging, and challenges them with stories of individuals whose lives represent the vast range of experiences of growing older.
In her book This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism, writer Ashton Applewhite captures the goal of this series neatly:“... looking at older people instead of past them, remembering they were once our age, seeing resilience alongside infirmity, allowing for sensuality, enlarging our notion of beauty, and acknowledging that an apartment or room or even just a bed can be home to an internal world as rich as ours and very possibly richer.”
What We Learn From the Long Lives of Nuns
for KQED’s The California Report
A documentary about a community of elderly nuns in the Bay Area, and the way their approach to getting older turns our notions of “successful” aging upside down. Listen here. (This piece was produced with the support of a journalism fellowship from The Gerontological Society of America, Journalists Network on Generations and the Silver Century Foundation.)
The Show Goes On
for KQED’s The California Report
A story about an octogenarian stand-up comic whose sex life is the source material for her comedy routine. Listen here.
Suzie, the Accountant
for Pop-Up Magazine
A story about Suzie, a patient at Glenner Town Square, an “Alzheimer’s Village” in the San Diego area that employs a technique called “reminiscence therapy,” designed to help people with memory issues tap into the moments they recall from their early lives. Co-produced with reporter Francesca Mari. Learn about Pop-Up Magazine, and read Francesca’s print version of the story here. (Pop-Up Magazine’s stories are presented live in theaters around the U.S. and are not recorded. This story was part of the Spring 2019 tour, which was performed to audiences in Oakland, CA, Los Angeles, New York City, Austin, TX, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, GA.)
Sex After Loss
for PBS’s Next Avenue
A story about later-in-life sexuality, and older people’s sexual lives after the loss of a long-term partner. Read here. (This article was written with the support of a journalism fellowship from The Gerontological Society of America, Journalists Network on Generations and the Silver Century Foundation.)
The ‘Old Gays’ of TikTok Make Aging Fun
for The New York Times
A story about the alternative vision of aging that the ‘Old Gays’ TikTok account presents, and the community that the gentlemen behind it formed together in Cathedral City, CA. Co-produced with reporter Charley Locke. The audio version of the piece is in The New York Times new audio app, which is still in closed Beta testing. You can read the print version of the story here.
Hello, Neighbor
for NPR’s Rough Translation
A story about the unusual way one community went out of its way to care for its elderly residents in the midst of COVID lockdown, and what that can show us about the importance of community ties as one grows older. Listen here.
This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.
Get in Touch → tina.antolini@gmail.com