A Silver Tsunami Is About to Hit U.S. Health Care

Retiring Baby Boomers Will Drown a Stressed System—or Save It

Every day between 2010 and 2029, 10,000 Baby Boomers retire. Some say that the aging of this massive generation—which makes up slightly more than a quarter of the U.S. population—threatens to break the health care system. As more people live longer, they will seek more treatment from a system already beset by critical professional shortages. In addition, Baby Boomers face epidemics of obesity and diabetes. The trustees of Medicare estimate the program will run out of money by 2030. Is it possible to build our health care infrastructure to accommodate …

April 25, 2016

Rock on, Grandpa

More Than Ever, Aging Bands Are Strapping on Guitars and Squeezing Into Leather Pants to Strut Back on Stage

By Mike Rowell | September 28, 2015

On a balmy evening last month, I sat on a beach in Santa Cruz and watched the five black-clad members of Blue Öyster Cult stride onto a stage and launch …

Want to Donate Your Body to Science? Call Me

For Three Years, I Had to Ask Next-of-Kin Uncomfortable Questions About the Deceased

By Whitney M. Woodworth | August 12, 2015

For over three years, I thought about death every day. This wasn’t some morbid obsession. It was my job.

A growing number of senior citizens—both permanent residents and part-time “snowbirds”—have …

California Needs More Old People

Let's Transform the Golden State Into a Global Destination for Retirees in Their Golden Years

by Joe Mathews | April 9, 2015

Florida Governor Rick Scott is traveling to California this weekend with designs on stealing away some of our state’s businesses. So why don’t we return the favor by developing our …

Dogs Get Dementia, Too

Our Canine Companions Are Living Longer—and Facing the Same Challenges as Humans

by Lee Harris | January 9, 2015

Zeigfield waddled, rather than walked, into my examination room. I had been seeing this obese Dachshund at my veterinary hospital for most of his 17 years, treating many of the …

The Call of Home at the End of Life

My Quanzhou-Born Father Needed to Say Goodbye to China Before We Said Goodbye to Him

by June Shih | December 16, 2014

“In his condition, you’ll have to take him home business class,” the doctor in Beijing had said. “Bring sleeping pills.”

As we boarded our flight back home to Washington, D.C., …

Get More Zócalo