Podcast
The Happy Grownup
Hosted by Hal Rubenstein · EN
A podcast in celebration of New Aging. Award winning journalist Hal Rubenstein talks with men and woman embracing the opportunities, obstacles, elation and relevance to be discovered in life after 50.
24episodes
Episodes
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Dave Karger loves sitting in the dark
Nov 700:44:19Tap to summarizeMaybe the only person I know who loves movies more than me is Dave Karger, the host of Turner Classic Movies. His knowledge of film first surfaced as film savant for Entertainment Weekly and is now featured in his most recent book 50 Oscar Nights (Running Press, 2024). If you love movies, whether you watch them on the big screen in the dark (where you should be) or on the small screen from your couch (where probably are) you will relish Karger’s enthusiasm, insight and wit for movies both past and present. If you can recall, and have watched, such gems like Some Like it Hot, Gilda, Laura, and All About Eve, you are in for a treat. If you can’t, Karger will make you want to watch them after you hear him.
Transcribe →Ruth Reichl Knows How to Make Life Delicious
Oct 2400:45:59Tap to summarizeI’ve always thought that eating is the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Well, it’s not so bad with your clothes off either. But for as much as I’ve enjoyed and I’m grateful for a career writing about both food and fashion, food does something that fashion doesn’t. It engages all of your senses. I’ve never understood anyone who just eats to live. I mean, like, what’s wrong with you? For me, having a passion for what sustains and soothes us is just one of life’s great delights.And there is no one, absolutely no one, who writes about this big love with more relish, passion, warmth, insight, and more consistent and healing joy than Ruth Reichl. Though Ruth is probably best known to many as the former legendary and mysteriously dressed restaurant critic for the New York Times, and later as the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. You have to read Ruth when she is writing just feet from her kitchen or strolling through a green market to be swept away by her unabashed delight being inspired by the sight of a ruby red rhubarb or chopping up her own steak to make hamburger meat.It’s not just that her writing makes you hungry. She reminds you of the wonder of nature, of the incredible alchemy of cooking, of the immediate satisfaction of creating something delicious and then the magic that happens when you share it with others. Reading Comfort Me With Apples, Garlic and Sapphires, and Tender at the Bone. Damn, I even love the book titles. You can’t help but be seduced by her into believing that food is an endless and uplifting adventure. And if it results in any longing, it’s only because you are not sitting at her table when she serves you her carbonara. I am just tickled that she is here with me this week.
Transcribe →Linda Ellerbee
Oct 1000:44:40Tap to summarizeLinda Ellerbee is possibly the smartest, slyest, news journalist television has ever produced. Speaking with a strong Texas twang abetted by a wry, salty edge and just enough rasp you can imagine her singing Jazz in a cocktail lounge, Ellerbee’s superior storytelling, forthright delivery and wicked smarts made for riveting television on such landmark shows as Overnight and Nick News. Her fearless honesty and knowing insight into how to navigate daily life with logic and just enough humor to pull you though insured that her books, like the can‘t-put-down And So It Goes, would be best sellers. In no time, you realize you can trust her about everything, plus you wish you could meet her for coffeeEllerbee is retired now and that’s the media’s loss. However, we’ve been great friends for 40 years, and that’s my gain, so I want to share my good fortune with you Just listen to Linda’s illuminating attitudes concerning retirement, health, news, family, fun, joy, giving back, and best of all, why she doesn’t believing in wasting time because none of us know how much more of it we’ve got left. Prepare to be fascinated. Linda Ellerbee is this week’s guest on The Happy Grownup podcast.
Transcribe →Encore: Beth Ann Hardison shows us why independence is always in season
Sep 2600:48:37Tap to summarizeToday I opened Instagram to see Beth Ann Hardison, one of the first black models, agency owners, and prominent advocate for diversity looking spectacular and beaming magnificently at age 82 in her Gucci gown at the Gucci show in Milan, the label for which she is a brand ambassador.Beth Ann was one of our first Happy Grownup interviews, and listening again to her insight, wit. unapologetic arrogance and matter-of-fact-damn-she’s-smart attitude got me so excited, that those of you have not yet heard her need to stop whatever you are doing and get inspired by the most independent person I have ever met. Beth Ann no longer walks a runway, but baby, she still deserves a spotlight as maybe the Happiest Grownup I knowListen. Enjoy. Learn.
Transcribe →Suzanne Lerner's Got it Togther
Sep 1200:38:01Tap to summarizeYou may not know this week’s guest, but after our podcast you’ll probably wish Susanne Lerner lived across the street. She’s a is smart, a savvy entrepreneur, and, even better, she is street smart – in Yiddish you would say she has “seichel." A savvy entrepreneur, who began her clothing company Michael Stars with her husband, and after her his passing has continued to run the 40 year old label on her own with clever ingenuity, energy and clarity that defy the date on her birth certificate. She is logical, she is pragmatic, fearless in a “why-don’t-I-just-do-that” kind of relatable way and has the gift that all New Agers should aspire to when venturing anywhere alone, she enjoys her own company. But what I admire most about her is that she has used her success to create platforms that mentor and inspire youth and organizations which empower women, expand voting rights and even elevate men. Maybe it’s the upcoming Jewish holidays that have me thinking this way, but she’s what I’d call a real “mensch”. She’s one of the good ones. I can’t wait for you to meet her.
Transcribe →The Will and Grace of David Kohan
Aug 2900:51:36Tap to summarizeHave you ever met anybody who doesn't want to be cool? I mean, you might as well be searching for a Wooly Mammoth. No such person exists.But what makes somebody cool? Well, you can have incredible style like Zendaya, incredible looks like Chris Hemsworth, or incredible talent like Bruce Springsteen. But for me, the coolest people have always been anyone who can make me laugh. Growing up, I didn't want to be an athlete like Sandy Koufax or a brooding idol like Montgomery Clift. I wanted to be Dick Van Dyke because I thought everything he did was funny without being a clown. I don't think there is any greater gift than to have that power, which is probably why I'm so enamored of today's guest, David Kohan.When I was on the board of Live Out Loud, an organization devoted to helping LGBTQ youth, I asked a quartet of students who were being awarded college scholarships to name the one person who had made the greatest difference in our culture. Almost all of them cited either a politician with a vision, back when we still had some of those, gay rights advocates or heads of charities. However, one student stood there wincing and bewildered by the response of his fellow honorees. Noting his apparent dissension, I asked his opinion, at which point he perked up with that knowing grin that people have when they're confident that everyone else has missed the obvious. Will and Grace, he replied, with a hint of ‘duh’ in his tone. Will and Grace made all the difference, not just because they made me laugh, but because that laughter helped save lives. Those two guys who created that show, they should get medals. The other honorees nodded in agreement because they knew he was right. David Kohan, along with his writing partner, Max Mutchnick, created Will and Grace.David and Max didn't just save lives. They changed our culture by creating a quartet of friends who were equally funny, clever, socially aware, romantically damaged, ever hopeful, often petty, occasionally jealous, but always loving and always loyal. Straight or gay, that's exactly how you want your life to be. Because it proves that regardless of the challenges from inside as well as out, with the right attitude and the right friends, everyone can be happy. Is it any wonder I'm crazy about David Kohan?
Transcribe →Not Every Ad Guy is a "Mad" Man (with Steve Pacheco)
Aug 2200:35:51Tap to summarizeWhat if sometime during the last season of Mad Men, Don Draper sorted out his life, gave up angst for more than just Lent, started to get off on his own cleverness and find satisfaction in the memorably creative commercials he created on the way to becoming an icon of the advertising industry. What if he actually became a Happy Grownup? What would he be like?He'd be like Steve Pacheco. Having embarked on his career path from the moment he watched his first 60 second spot on television, Pacheco’s long, varied and successful career, includes overseeing ads for two Fortune 500 companies and a dozen years of some of the most memorable Superbowl ads of all time.Now, as president of the American Advertising Federation, Pacheco is guiding this powerful industry in upheaval, faced ad blockers, declining attention spans and an AI revolution that could leave many creatives jobless, as well as figuring out how to reach multiple generations of customers and clients who have now splintered into niches, each with needs that are now more specific than ever. And yet, Steve Pacheco still loves the game, because he still retains the power to seduce, inspire, and acquire. Advertising is “about discovery,” says Pacheco. “A great ad that scores a direct hit as thrilling as ever” he says with a grin as wide as someone walking into a surprise birthday party. Don Draper never smiled this much in his entire life.
Transcribe →Love, the Second Time Around (with Teri Agins and Paul Hands)
Jul 31, 202501:09:07Tap to summarizeI met my husband online about 28 years ago on America Online, not AOL mind you, but America Online – when you didn't tell anyone about such searches because trolling the internet was a primary example of looking for love in all the wrong places. Well, guess what they were wrong, so wrong in fact that we should have been invested because of our foresight.There are now over 8,000 dating sites around the globe. You name the category. Farmers, sea captains, Christian singles, Jewish singles, Asian singles, geeks, gays, those who are vegan, gluten-free, furries, Trekkies, ridiculously wealthy, bearded, and believe it or not, haters. And with more than 30% of those over 50 being single, there are now countless sites for us New Agers.I have known Terry Agins since I started sitting in the front row at fashion shows more than 30 years ago. She's a feisty one. Boisterous, wicked smart, funny, opinionated with a singular energy I have always found fascinating. What also intrigued me about her is that unlike most women in fashion, she didn't travel in a pack. She wasn't part of a clique. In fact, she was often on her own. And then suddenly, about seven years ago, she wasn't. There was this tall, striking, white-haired dude, always by her side. Where the hell did Paul Hands come from? And how come he is still around? Well, that's because Terry and Paul are now married, very happily married, I might add. So for all of you new agers currently searching for companionship, and for those who are hopeful or hopeless romantics, we are going to find out why love is lovelier the second time around.
Transcribe →Mario Cantone
Jul 17, 202500:45:30Tap to summarizeFor two decades now, Mario Cantone has become instantly recognizable as Anthony Marantino on Sex and the City, And Just Like That as Charlotte's boisterously loud, kind of in-your-face, very savvy, grounded gay confidant and guardian angel. But when he is on The View or Turner Movie Classics, Mario Cantone is, well, he's still loud, kind of in-your-face, yet savvy and fairly grounded.Oddly and surprisingly, Mario is probably most like himself as a cabaret performer, where he is a marvelous storyteller, an engaging singer, a brilliant impressionist, and frankly, an unapologetic romantic. I wish Netflix would record him at the Cafe Carlyle in New York or give him a special so that the rest of you can discover this softer and very winning charm of his. But in the meantime, Mario Cantone, thanks to Hot Fellas Bakery, is going to have to deal with the fact that he is a sex symbol at age 65. We should all have such problems like that at this age.
Transcribe →Shawn Henderson
Jul 11, 202500:44:03Tap to summarizeHe’s successful, he’s handsome. And I really like his taste. But what I like most about Shawn Henderson is that his mission seems to be in direct opposition of so many of his colleagues in the AD (Architectural Digest) 100. When I look at their realized visions I am impressed by so much overt ingenuity, stark drama, and distinct personality. Very often I no longer have to read the caption, I know who designed that space. But when you open the door, so to speak, Shawn Henderson’s rooms, they don’t scream ‘hey look at me,’ as much as they whisper softly, ’You’re home now. Why don’t you relax?’Being surrounded and bombarded by tumult on an hourly basis, having somewhere you can exhale and collapse in comfort has never seemed more desirable. Yet design is in a tumultuous state. People got used to being at home. Many are still working from there. Family room flat screens on the weekend are often as likely to have on HGTV as football these days. Lots of folks are investing in DIY projects, adapting to innovation and technology, to design extremes and innovation. The price of furniture, custom work, and construction has skyrocketed and promises only to increase. How do we, especially New Agers who want a refresh, create an environment that reflects a shift or an evolution in our lives?For me, Shawn is the perfect interior designer to speak about this because his head isn’t spun around by every new phase or fad that shows up. And for New Agers how nice to know that he isn’t terrified if you have acquired a lot of ‘stuff’ (But only to a point). Fashion can be fast, easily used and discarded within months. I’ve learned to be good with that. But I’m not redesigning my home every season. And neither is anyone I know. You want a home that functions, that reflects you and gives you room to shake your shoulders. Listen to Shawn Henderson. This is the guy who can open the door to that oasis. That’s why he is this week’s Happy Grownup podcast.
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