Three Not-So-Bad Things on Aging and Longevity
A Weekly Newsletter
There’s no denying it: we are constantly bombarded with bad news. A pandemic, climate change, inflation, war, political discord—the list goes on. Here at the Longevity Project, we understand that bad news can be enough to take years off your life, so we want to do our part (however small) to balance the scales.
At the end of the day, though, we’re realists. Good news is hard to come by, no matter how hard you look. So we’ll aim a little lower and without further ado, we are pleased to share our first weekly newsletter: Three Not-So-Bad Things on Longevity and Aging. Feel free to share with others and send us items you want to see included. With some luck, you will see this newsletter (and some more not so bad news) every Wednesday.
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AUGUST 27, 2025
1. Slava Ukraine.
They’re pretty busy in Ukraine these days, what with all that fighting off an invasion and trying to keep the cities intact from Russian drone attacks.
Which makes it even more remarkable that amidst the chaos, the Ministry of Social Policy has issued a new Active Longevity strategy for people 45+. At the core of the strategy is an effort to help keep older Ukrainians active and employed, by reducing barriers in the workplace to older workers and creating training and upskilling opportunities for those who wish to remain employed.
Perhaps some of this, one might speculate, is caused by the demographic damage being done by the war, as a generation of Ukrainians are being killed and wounded in battle, but it is nonetheless a forward thinking vision of a future Ukraine, where older people are more integrated and welcomed into the workplace – and where, hopefully in peacetime, they stay active, engaged, and healthier as a result.
2. If We Could All Just Stop Shooting Each Other and Read a Good Book Instead.
The odds of humankind learning not to shoot each other seem vanishingly small these days, and unfortunately so does the notion that we might do more reading instead.
A new study from the University of Florida and University College London has found that the share of people who reported reading for pleasure on a given day fell to 16 percent in 2023 from a peak of 28 percent in 2004 — a drop of about 40 percent. Reading rates have declined around 3 percent each year over those two decades.
The size of the drop is particularly jarring because the research measured reading not just in traditional physical form, but also reading of newspapers and other pleasure reading on digital platforms. The researchers did not report on the causes of the drop, but it is hard to avoid the speculation that reading has been displaced by other forms of entertainment, such as scrolling on Instagram or watching all three seasons of Ted Lasso over a long weekend – though of course we don’t know anyone who has ever done that.
It's a shame for many reasons, not least of which is that reading reduces stress, slows cognitive decline, and even has been shown to positively correlate with longevity.
Shameless Self Promotion #1.
Reading is also quite good for authors, who would be in a pretty bad place if everyone gave it up. Fortunately, we’re not quite there yet, and to keep it that way, we’re offering an ongoing 20% discount using code HEALTHY20 on pre-orders of my new book, Healthy to 100: How Strong Social Ties Lead to Long Lives. Apparently, if you read it, you will live longer. That’s just science.
3. Or Better Yet, Read a Book by Maryland Native Edgar Allen Poe.
And a tip of the TNSB cap to Governor Wes Moore, Secretary of the Department of Aging Carmel Roques and, what the heck, the entire state of Maryland for good measure for the launch of Longevity Ready Maryland, its first action plan for an aging state. Maryland is not the first state to promulgate a Master Plan for Aging – California started that ball rolling in 2021 and a half dozen states have jumped in since – but we are somewhat partial to the Maryland effort as many of its “epic goals” are framed in the context of ensuring that older Marylanders have the chance to stay socially connected, purposeful, and contributing to the civic and economic life of the state.
Among the specific goals are:
Enhance a culture of social connection.
Increase the number of Maryland employers that promote sustainable career opportunities using age-inclusive policies and practices.
Create pathways for workers age 40 and over to upskill, reskill, and pursue career changes to in-demand occupations, such as health care, education, and information technology.
Maximize the benefit of older volunteers across sectors.
It’s a far-sighted vision, practically Ukrainian, of a society in which older adults are increasingly significant contributors to economic and civil life. Of course, it requires more than government edict to get there: businesses, nonprofits, and society more generally need to both contribute and shift attitudes to make this happen – but hopefully Longevity Ready Maryland can be a catalyst for that change.
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