Podcast Summary: Tony Mantor’s Almost Live… Nashville

Episode: Susie Singer Carter: From Hollywood to Healthcare Advocacy

Release Date: July 23, 2025
Host: Tony Mantor
Guest: Susie Singer Carter

Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, veteran music producer Tony Mantor welcomes Susie Singer Carter—a multi-award-winning filmmaker, writer, director, producer, actor, podcast host, and passionate healthcare advocate. Together, they trace Susie’s journey from a childhood in the entertainment industry to her acclaimed films (notably, "My Mom and the Girl" with Valerie Harper), passionate Alzheimer's caregiving, and her crusade to expose and reform systematic neglect in nursing homes via her award-winning documentary "No Country for Old People." The episode offers aspirational and sobering discussions about creative evolution, eldercare advocacy, and the responsibility of artists to drive change.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Entertainment Roots and Evolution (02:24–08:44)

• Family in Entertainment: Susie describes how growing up in Los Angeles with parents in the music industry shaped her early exposure to storytelling and the arts.

  • “My dad was in the music industry and so was my mother… I grew up in the music industry as well.” (Susie, 02:32)

• Early Career in Journalism and Radio: Attending UCLA, Susie initially aspired to be a journalist and radio announcer but found the reality uninspiring, ultimately steering her toward creative work.

  • “I started that career in Ridgecrest, California, with my own show. And it was boring as hell...I don't think I was using it right.” (Susie, 03:20–03:44)

• Music Collaborations: Susie recounts her foray into music, including being part of the duo "Two Chicks," produced by Chuck Lorre (before his TV fame) and their kitschy '80s music video.

  • “We had a song called Bad Dreams in Hollywood that Chuck Lorre wrote… If you want to Google it on YouTube, it's there, folks. But it's so kitschy and fun.” (Susie, 07:01)

• Scriptwriting and Producing: Transitioning into writing, Susie worked on children’s programming (CBS Saturday Morning, "Bratz" movie) and co-produced "Soul Surfer," the story of champion surfer Bethany Hamilton.

  • “It's a movie of resilience and fortitude and faith and all those great things.” (Susie, 08:45)

2. "My Mom and the Girl"—Joy Amid Alzheimer’s (09:04–10:43)

• Collaboration with Valerie Harper: Susie reflects on working with the legendary Valerie Harper on a personal, Oscar-qualifying short film about caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s, noting the value of showing joy even amid illness.
  • “I really wanted to show this beautiful story… an unexpected story… I took the stigma and my fear of this disease and it taught me so much.” (Susie, 09:08–09:37)
  • “We called it A Joyous look at Alzheimer's... It was her last performance. Man, she just did an incredible job.” (Susie, 09:47)
  • “When you're doing something that helps others, it has a feeling of accomplishment that the other work just doesn't have.” (Tony, 11:09)

3. "No Country for Old People"—Healthcare Crisis and Advocacy (11:19–28:31)

Inspiration & Production

• Caregiving and Crisis: Susie details the harrowing experience of her mother’s final months in a five-star nursing home during the pandemic, exposing the stark reality of eldercare neglect.

  • “I was literally in a crisis situation, playing whack a mole, trying to advocate for my mom in a system that I had no idea was broken… I have learned that is the standard of care in our country for the most part.” (Susie, 12:23–13:03)

• Systemic Issues: Susie describes systemic abuse tied to corporate greed, lack of oversight, and widespread suffering.

  • “It's criminal. It's based on greed… There’s a lot of egregious, needless suffering going on.” (Susie, 13:26)

• Personal Encounters: Details of neglect are shared—including deprivation of oral gratification, improper feeding, severe bedsores, and chemical restraint with Depakote, a drug improperly used to restrain residents.

  • “Stage four bed sores… it is the cause of horrible, horrible things in the body.” (Susie, 18:09)
  • “My mother was put on Depakote and I didn’t know for months… when I got her off of it, I got some of her cognitive ability back, but never her ability to walk or to be continent.” (Susie, 19:42)

Broader Impact & Community

• Connecting with Advocates: Through the support of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care and former federal prosecutor Rick Mountcastle, the film was produced with rigorous fact-checking and advocacy collaboration.

  • “I couldn’t have been luckier because I had this incredible person who had been in the trenches, the government side and understanding really the business model and could vet everything.” (Susie, 20:43)

• Validation and Outreach: The documentary garners standing ovations from advocates, caregivers, and ombudsmen, with stories flooding in from families experiencing similar crises.

  • “We got a standing ovation and a room full of tears saying, ‘thank you, thank you, thank you for showing the truth.’” (Susie, 22:26)

• Personal Cost and Fulfillment: Susie channels her grief into activism, finding solace in helping others and inspiring collective action for eldercare reform.

  • “Part of this process has helped me to come to terms with her not being on this earth... What better way to use your talents than to create a better world?” (Susie, 22:53)

• Ripple Effect of Advocacy: The impact of the film transcends the U.S., with international listeners finding hope and reference in her work.

  • “This is a woman in Canada... she said, you have saved me in so many ways...if this documentary does the same for anybody else, then hallelujah.” (Susie, 24:21)

4. The Power of Stories, Community & Action (25:06–28:31)

• Unexpected Support: An Academy Award-winning sound mixer volunteers to work below his rate, moved by the project’s importance.

  • “There are projects that come and go, but this project needs to happen and I want to be a part of it.” (Susie, 25:06)

• Art as Advocacy: Discussion on the lasting effect of purposeful projects compared to transient commercial work.

  • “There's a difference between just working on something and knowing that working on something has an opportunity to make a change.” (Tony, 26:04)

• Collective Strength: Susie underscores the importance of community—“You are not alone”—and the power of uniting for advocacy.

  • “There is a lot of gaslighting that goes on in the system… when you talk to other people and you find out, oh, no, they've had the same story… I'm not alone. I'm not crazy.” (Susie, 26:57)
  • “We are powerful as people. We need to band together. That's our currency, is our collective. We can't do it alone.” (Susie, 27:32)

5. Getting Involved & Next Steps (27:43–28:31)

• How to Connect: Susie invites listeners to join the “ROAR for Long Term Care Reform” movement (Respect, Outreach, Advocacy and Reform) at nocountryforoldpeople.com.
  • “If anybody's out there that wants to join me in this sisterhood, brotherhood, come to the website, go to the movement tab and let me know where your strengths are. And let's do this thing.” (Susie, 27:43)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You continue to find new purpose that makes sense to the stage of life that you’re in.” (Susie, 07:42)
• “When you're doing something that helps others, it has a feeling of accomplishment that the other work just doesn't have.” (Tony, 11:09)
• “People don't want to die, and they deserve to live the way that they should live to the best of their ability until they decide to go.” (Susie, 14:35)
• “Everything we did is incredibly comprehensive, corroborated, and fact.” (Susie, 20:49)
• “You are not alone.” (Tony, 27:26)
• “We are powerful as people. We need to band together. That's our currency, is our collective. We can't do it alone.” (Susie, 27:32)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Entertainment Roots, Radio, and Songwriting: 02:24–08:44
• On Valerie Harper and “My Mom and the Girl”: 09:04–10:43
• Nursing Home Crisis and “No Country for Old People”: 11:19–21:10
• Systemic Failings & Advocacy Collaboration: 13:26–22:26
• Personal Impact and the Power of Platform: 22:53–26:16
• Community, Empowerment & Getting Involved: 26:57–28:31

How to Get Involved

• Website: nocountryforoldpeople.com
• Movement: ROAR for Long Term Care Reform
  • Respect, Outreach, Advocacy, and Reform
• Contact: Join the newsletter, view the trailer, support the movement, or share your story directly via the website.

In this episode, Susie Singer Carter’s journey from Hollywood to fierce healthcare advocate is both deeply personal and universally resonant, reminding listeners that storytelling can be a bridge to social change, and that collective action—rooted in empathy and truth—holds the power to reform broken systems.