| ARE YOU READY FOR LIFE THE 20-PART PBS SERIES THAT HELPS BOOMERS PREPARE FOR LIFE’S SECOND ACT |
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| Thursday, 21 January 2010 | |
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Second Season of Twin Cities Public Television-Produced Series, Hosted by Award-Winning Journalist Robert Lipsyte, Premieres September 13, 2009 (check local listings)Joy Behar, David Hyde Pierce, Martha Stewart, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Billie Jean King Are Among Guests That Share Their Perspectives on Life After 50They are 78 million strong, and as they hit their 50’s and 60’s, they are still a generational phenomenon, changing the way we as a country perceive growing older. Baby boomers are pushing traditional limits, like they always have, but this time, they are redefining ageing and everything associated with it. This new “old age” is the focus of the groundbreaking 20-part PBS series Life (Part 2), hosted by former New York Times columnist and Emmy Award-winner Robert Lipsyte. Launching its second season in the fall of 2009 (check local listings), Life (Part 2), produced by Twin Cities Public Television, celebrates the boomer generation’s fresh approach to aging. They are fitter, will live longer, will look better, will earn more, and will be more active than any generation before them. But are they ready for Life (Part 2)? Offering lively conversation from an eclectic mix of writers, thinkers, performers, and ordinary people, the series provokes, entertains, and educates boomers on how they can overcome the societal, physical and financial obstacles that come with aging to live a vibrant and fulfilling second part. Major funding for Life (Part 2) is provided by The Atlantic Philanthropies and MetLife Foundation.With wit, insight, and the experience of having made the passage himself, Lipsyte engages in candid dialogue with a wide range of guests from “boomer” celebrities like Joy Behar, Martha Stewart, Phil Donahue, Gail Sheehy, David Hyde Pierce, Billie Jean King, and Governor Mike Huckabee to such experts as former Ms. editor Suzanne Braun Levine (Fifty is the New Fifty: Ten Life Lessons for Women in Second Adulthood), Harvard professor Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot (The Third Chapter: Passion Risk and Adventure in the 25 Years After 50) and President of Yankelovich, J. Walker Smith (Generation Ageless). Offering their own amusing take in video essays are Barney’s Creative Director, Simon Doonan, Former New York District Attorney and author Linda Fairstein, author Maureen Orth, legendary editor Sir Harry Evans, among others... all of whom have one thing in common: they’re getting older and they refuse to accept the clichés that come with the territory.MetLife Foundation is pleased to support this PBS series that will help older Americans prepare for and enjoy the next phase in their lives," says Dennis White, president & CEO of MetLife Foundation. "The Life (Part 2) series provides an important voice and platform to discuss the pressing issues facing aging adults." The Atlantic Philanthropies are also dedicated to bringing about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. Atlantic focuses on four critical social problems: Aging, Children & Youth, Population Health, and Reconciliation & Human Rights.Says series host Robert Lipsyte, “Life (Part 2) is not necessarily better or worse than Part 1, but it is different. The series offers a tremendous amount of wisdom from a wide range of experts and fellow boomers to support you as you enter into Part 2… to make you brave!” Each week, Life (Part 2) tackles one of the many questions on the minds of baby boomers as they approach this latest stage of their journey. How can they overcome ageism and experience a financially secure second act... whether in retirement or in a new career? How do they balance their own financial needs with those of their grown children and aging parents? What are the secrets to relationships that last through the decades and what are the challenges facing newly single baby boomers when they start to date again? Can plastic surgery and eliminating the “boomer belly” renew their feelings of confidence and sexuality? How can boomers, who pride themselves on their youthfulness, cope with their body changes and the aches and pains of aging? How can they keep their brains in peak condition and distinguish between forgetfulness and early Alzheimer’s? In roundtable discussions, one-on-one interviews, and video essays, Bob and his guests offer their well-informed, but often conflicting, opinions on how best to live a physically, financially and emotionally fit Life (Part 2).“With the economy’s downturn, baby boomers have been particularly affected – with the shrinking of their life savings, loss of their jobs, and the ageism they confront when looking for a new career,” says Life (Part 2) executive producer Naomi S. Boak, who also produced the critically acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s. “This show is designed to inspire boomers’ own self exploration of how they can make a fresh start at any age… of how they can live 20 or 30 more years of vigor, engagement and impact, defying ageist stereotypes while still having a clear-eyed view of the challenges that come with this new territory.”Robert Lipsyte, host of the PBS series Life (Part 2) and a columnist with USA Today, has been an award-winning sportswriter for The New York Times and was the Emmy-winning host of the PBS public affairs show The Eleventh Hour. He is the author of 16 books including the best-selling young adult novel, The Contender, and the memoir, In the Country of Illness: Comfort and Advice for the Journey. He is the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring his lifetime contribution in writing for young adults. Life (Part 2) is produced by Twin Cities Public Television (tpt) and executive produced by Naomi S. Boak and Ron Fried. About Twin Cities Public Television Twin Cities Public Television (tpt), the PBS affiliate for Minneapolis/St. Paul, is a prominent producer of national programs for PBS. These programs have been honored with national Emmys, the DuPont-Columbia Commendation, Peabody Awards, an Academy Award nomination and awards at the Chicago, New York, and Tokyo Film Festivals. Their documentary DEPRESSION: Out of the Shadows was a Peabody winner in 2008. In both 2003 and 2004, tpt productions have garnered the national Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Nonfiction Special (Benjamin Franklin and The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s). Award-winning series from tpt include the kids’ science shows DragonflyTV and Newton’s Apple as well as PBS’s cutting-edge arts series, Alive From Off Center. Naomi S. Boak, Series Executive Producer Naomi S. Boak is a senior executive producer in National Productions at tpt. Ms. Boak was the executive producer of the critically acclaimed and primetime Emmy Award-winning The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s, which premiered on PBS in 2004 as well as FAT: What No One Is Telling You, which premiered on PBS in 2007. Boak was the executive producer of Snap Judgment the only daily comedy show on Court TV. She has written and produced Emmy Award-winning primetime children’s specials for CBS and was the executive producer for The Lifetime Medical Television Network. Ron Fried, Series Co-Executive Producer Ron Fried began working in television in 1979 at The Dick Cavett Show, which then aired on PBS, eventually producing Cavett’s CNBC series and has served as producer or executive producer of programs for USA Network, VH1, the History Channel, and others. He spent five years as Vice President and Executive Producer at Cablevision’s MetroTV where his work won five New York Emmy awards. More recently, Fried was Senior Producer for CNBC’s Topic [A] with Tina Brown. He is the author of two novels, My Father’s Fighter and Christmas in Paris, as well as Corner Men: Great Boxing Trainers. |
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