Then take a deeper dive into the corrosive effects of ageism with Betsy Abramson, Executive director of the Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging. Betsy sees ageism as a full-fledged health crisis, and has the research to back that claim. And she has solutions, ways you can fight back against stereotypical comments and behaviors.…

Talk by Michael Lee Smith, a featured speaker at the 2018 Healthy Aging Summit presented by the Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging. Michael holds the view that sexually active “olders” are healthier and happier. But adds, that doesn’t necessarily mean sex, that intimacy is the real key. Lee Smith shares stories of his early research days at the …

FOR MORE INFORMATION on the programs Carol talked about, listen to this panel discussion from the 2018 Healthy Aging Summit: Emerging Interventions in Healthy Aging.

Lions and Tigers and Bears! The statistics on seniors’ health issues are frightening! In the US, it’s estimated that every second of every day an older adult falls, leading to disability and even death. BUT the numbers aren’t the whole story. In fact, there’s good news to share, new strategies that will help us stay upright and healthier as we age.…

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“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” These words from Winnie the Pooh came to me as I considered how I should say goodbye to you. I will be leaving Retiree Rebels and concentrating on my life as a coach and speaker and workshop presenter. My passions of being a life coach, a midwife for midlife and beyond, or speaki…

Practicing What We Preach Over the last 2 years, Mary Helen and Carol have talked a lot about following your dreams, your curiosity and your ambitions. Time for us to follow our own advice. So, for the next 6 months RetireeRebels.com will be on hiatus, while Carol collects suggestions and ideas from you for the next reincarnation of the website.…

Retirement can be an especially difficult life change for those who have served in the military. Of the 22 veterans per day who commit suicide, most are over age 55. After retiring, “the lid can come off” a veteran's memories, according to Navy Master Chief Dennis Behr (Ret.). Denny sat down with Mary Helen and Carol to talk about issues specific t…

That’s the dream of one senior center director. Paula Schutt envisions a day when today’s senior centers are transformed into intergenerational community centers, attractive to everyone who wants to learn and exercise and make new friends. Paula Schutt of Beloit, WI sat down at the Kitchen Table with Mary Helen and Carol to talk about how many seni…

Look What Can Happen! We may think we know what retirement is like, but the strangest things can happen! Like when two women sit down for coffee and a new idea starts to percolate. Two years ago --after that cup of coffee-- Mary Helen and Carol started the Retiree Rebels podcast, and offer their own story as an example of the wonderful things that …

How did I get here? Mary Helen answers that question as the Retiree Rebels celebrate their second anniversary. Looking back she reviews how she ended up being a podcaster. She offers tips on how you too can review your past to discover what your future may hold in your retirement days.You just might discover that you're not done yet either.…

The milestones in our lives —such as anniversaries-- are great times to reflect on "How In The World Did I End Up Here?” After marking 2 years of producing podcasts, Carol Larson looks back at the revelations in her life and retirement that helped bring about the birth of RetireeRebels.com

On her last day at work, and the last show of her career as Wisconsin Public Radio's morning show host, Joy Cardin asked the Retiree Rebels to share advice for her new life as a retiree. On this podcast, Mary Helen and Carol talk Joy through the top ten things all new retirees should know when entering this new and unscripted phase of life. A thank…

The tables were turned and Mary Helen was interviewed on the Insights with Dick Goldberg podcast. Having enough money and good health is not a guarantee for a happy retirement. A life of meaning, fulfillment and connection must also be achieved. Mary Helen shares her 15 tips from "No More Alarm Clocks" to "Leaving a Legacy". She shares tips beyond …

THE COURAGE WE NEED - Step by Step Life can throw us some real curveballs, and that doesn’t change with retirement. In fact, growing older often throws us tough situations that require a lot of courage. In this week’s podcast, Mary Helen and Carol discuss how age and retirement require courage to move forward, adapting to change, loss and rebelliou…

The Big Leap New retirees have high expectations. Free from work and the daily grind, many believe life will immediately be wonderful! But often, it’s not. In today’s podcast, Carol talks about how those high expectations can sometimes clash with the reality of this huge life transition.

What Do You Believe? Scientists love to measure things, and lately they’ve been researching how much ageist stereotypes affect our health. The answer is “a lot.” In this podcast, Carol Larson reflects on a few of the latest studies about how our attitudes toward age can determine the length and quality of our lives.…

Do you wake up in the morning feeling like you have an important role to play in the grand scheme of things? During those early months of retirement, folks often try to figure out what their purpose is now that they're not working. They wonder if they matter. Mary Helen views mattering through the lens of popular culture and the literature of trans…

The quote is from the 1940s, said by the incomparable Bette Davis, and she was right, “Growing Older is NOT for Sissies.” But nowadays it’s true of retirement as well. In this Kitchen Table Talk, Mary Helen and Carol talk about the stress and tensions that come with retirement today, and how acknowledging the difficulties and planning for them can …

Joy Cardin, host of the Wisconsin Public Radio Ideas Network program, The Joy Cardin Show interviewed the Retiree Rebels co-founders August 7, 2017. Retirement may be a time for taking it easy after a lot of hard work during the career. However, instead of enjoying leisure, some may find themselves bored. We talk with guests from the podcast, Retir…

At age 74, Ellen Millar thought her life was over. Her physical problems had stolen her energy, her mobility, and her quality of life. Then she took her first yoga class. At age 78, Ellen is now a yoga teacher instructing other students in “The Wonder of Yoga,” the name of her new business. She teaches at Perennial Yoga Studio in Fitchburg, WI as w…

For the nearly and newly retired, you don't need another to-do-list hanging over your head. You're retired. Mary Helen proposes that instead of that bucket list of things to do before you die, you change your mindset and become curious. She offers five great tips on keeping your mindset flexible and being as curious as a 5-year old. Change that old…

What do you do when your life and all your plans for the future explode? Any number of things can happen, an accident, a death in the family, job loss or retirement. For Jerry Huffman, it was a stroke. At age 55, Jerry was forced to reinvent who he was and how to make a living. Now six years later, he sat down with Mary Helen and Carol to talk abou…

How do you define time well spent? It is an individual judgement call for each of us. As Mary Helen and Carol discovered, how we define “time well spent” can be a great help in figuring out what we want to do during our bonus years. When we know what activities are satisfying, and feel like time well spent, then we have a measuring cup for what mak…

Mary Helen talks of the remembering we need to do in retirement to help ourselves and our families continue to understand the legacy we will leave. Using her favorite holiday of July 4th she shows how remembering can make our past take focus in telling our stories.

Retirees learn early that reinventing yourself is part of this new stage of life, transitioning from what you once were to who you are now, incorporating all the latest changes. But over and over again? Unfortunately, yes. As Carol Larson recently found out –much to her disappointment.

Retirement is really a transition. Mary Helen reviews her five tips that help to create your exit strategy from the workplace and lead to stepping into your life. From planning to reinvention each of the five steps provides you options for reaching the position as CEO of your life.

Mary Helen has been asked by many clients this year about the affect retirement and aging have on adult children. Just as retirement has changed for the baby boomers so has how to have parents aging changed for children. The picnic table has been turned upside down as children start seeing that their parents aren't getting any younger. Join in the …

The best time to retire is when you're ready. Absolutely! Mary Helen also thinks the best time just might be summer as well. Making friends, getting out and enjoying nature are three keys to a successful retirement. She proposes some great ways to do just that. Wait till you hear her summer games to retire with joy and fun.…

This Memorial Day week Mary Helen remembers those veterans that have lost their lives in service to our country. It reminds her that many of the nearly and newly retired also want to remember their lives by writing a memoir. She presents 5 outrageous tips for those who wish to begin the process of writing their story, their life legacy.…

With nearly 46 million adults over the age of 65, what began in 1963 as a month to celebrate the "Older American", has become a celebration of the Retiree Rebel spirit. Mary Helen chats about three ways seniors can engage in their own plan to celebrate this year's theme, Aging Out Loud. Mary Helen encourages each of us to Be Seen, to Be Heard and t…

Retirement is meshing our outside life choices with our inside emotions. Poets communicate that process so much better than we can. Carol and Mary Helen in this episode of Kitchen Table Talks celebrate National Poetry Month and pick some of their favorite poems to share. Celebrating ourselves, becoming existential, realizing retirement is a journey…

With a nod to comedian Joan Rivers, Retiree Rebels ask, Can We Talk? Because talking about your retirement is important. Talking can even save lives. In this Kitchen Table Talk, Mary Helen and Carol talk about talking, and how hard it is for retirees to speak the truth about their lives, especially if they don’t fit the stereotype of the blissful c…

Spring suggests growth and being able to SEE and HEAR around you are keys to creating your bonus years' spurts. Mary Helen talks about how honing your senses, dealing with new people, and as we age being seen for the fabulous people we are. How will your garden grow this spring?

Exploring The Struggles - And Successes - Of Retirement Joy Cardin, host of the Wisconsin Public Radio Ideas Network program, The Joy Cardin Show interviewed the Retiree Rebels co-founders April 10, 2017. Carol Larson and Mary Helen Conroy discussed the issues surrounding retirement for this amazing group of new baby boomers. Joy lead the discussio…

Ever thought about writing your memoirs? Or do have a rip-snorting thriller in you? But do you think -or have been told- you’re too old to start on such a big creative project? Hogwash! Three Madison authors presented their best arguments for writing at any age. Well-known author Jerry Apps, mystery author Peggy Williams, and new memoir author RJ M…

'Garbage in, Garbage out’ is the saying about how computers operate, but it’s also true of your brain. If you believe it when people say you’re old and done, you will be. In this edition of Ask Mary Helen, she talks about changing the “input" to your brain, and how it's the first step to changing your attitude about aging, and what you personally c…

Boomers are on the other end of the generation gap now, often scratching their collective heads about the behaviors of young people. Writer and speaker, Sarah Gibson travels the world helping employers and elders work with the Gen-Xers and Millennials. In this Kitchen Table Talk, she sat down with Mary Helen and Carol to explain how Retiree Rebels …

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? It’s time to ask that question again. What are your goals for the next 10, 20 or 30 years? Without a goal, how will you know what steps to take in the future? In this edition of Kitchen Table Talks, Mary Helen and Carol talk about how dreaming new dreams now is both different and the same as when you were yo…

What about your work did you enjoy the most? Knowing exactly what gave you an adrenaline charge may help you manage those first rocky months of retirement. In this edition of Ask Mary Helen, she introduces us to four personality types and what about those different working styles could help you decide what to do with yourself after the retirement p…

Bored to Death? You spent all this time and effort getting to retirement, just to take it easy for a change. Suddenly you realize you're bored. How'd that happen? Maybe the old model of retirement doesn't suit you because it's BORING. Worse yet, that old model can make you sick, even kill you.

Know someone who just retired? It might be time to check in and find out how they're coping. January may be a logical time to retire, but it can also be the worst time. For that reason, we combined 4 podcasts for newbies to inform them of the new realities of retirement, both the lows and the unexpected potential. So pass on this link if you know a…

Mary Helen has hit the big age milestone of 65! Time to wish her the best.. or is it? Birthdays can be fraught with emotional overtones and societal expectations. In this Ask Mary Helen essay, our Retiree Rebel co-founder ruminates on the meaning of 65 ("No, I'm not dead yet") and how to turn societal expectations of her imminent demise on their he…

Even people who research and plan out their retirements --like our guest Barbara Boustead-- can be surprised by the reality of their new life. To deal with the unexpected demands made on her time and energy, Barbara devised The Power of Three, a rule for setting boundaries. She shares her new found philosophy with Mary Helen and Carol on this editi…

Got Confidence? Maybe not. Any big life transition can undermine a person's confidence in themselves and in their path in life. Dolores Kokinos of The Empowerment Cafe has studied confidence, and divided that essential trait into five building blocks: Belonging, Acceptance, Respect, Purpose and Security. In this KTT, Dolores talks with Mary Helen a…

What the psychologist Carl Jung called “The Afternoon of Our Lives” (retirement) is finally being recognized by the American media as a new active stage of life. Wow! In this Kitchen Table Talk, Mary Helen and Carol review news reports from 2016 to discuss hopeful trends for retirees in 2017, ranging from the many people learning music to finding n…

It’s that time of year, isn’t it? A time to remember, and so I do. But this year, my approach to the holidays is to remember not to act my age as a grown up, with all the rules of the holiday, but to act my shoe size and remember what the holiday is about. What will you remember with your shoe size holiday? Try this ‘game’ with the folks you’ll sha…