We spend billions of dollars a year on anti-ageing, but nothing will change the simple fact that we are all growing older. Is it time we re-thought what that means?
Meet our guest
Revd Professor John Swinton is a Scottish theologian, academic, and Presbyterian minister.
He works at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland where he is the Chair of Divinity and Religious Studies and Director of the Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability.
He is an internationally recognised expert in the fields of pastoral care and counselling, with a particular focus on the elderly and mental health.
He’s published many works on today’s subject, including the paper Christianity and Disability: Re-imagining Personhood: Dementia, Culture and Citizenship, and the book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God.
Links
Special thanks to our season sponsor Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions
A transcript of this episode is available here. Please note, that due to software not not all exchanges between guests will be completely accurate.
A special thanks to our “phone a friend’s” for this episode: Jean Ireland of BaptistCare, and of course, John’s darling Buff.
You can find John Swinton’s work with the Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability here
Check out these helpful links below for more info on what was discussed in this episode.
The diagram of what constitutes long life in so-called “Blue Zones”. Read more about it here
To Read
- Here’s the OECD paper we referenced regarding spending on aged care
- Fortune Business Insights also has this fascinating breakdown of the anti-ageing industry
- The debate around access to euthanasia for non-serious illnesses is intensifying. Here’s a paper breaking down the discourse
- Like it or not, our world is just … getting older. Here’s the World Health Organisation breaking it all down
To Watch
- Here’s the trailer to The Kominsky Method, which we heard up the top of the show
- You can find John Swinton’s lectures on spiritual care here
- Here’s the trailer for the thriller Sci-Fi cult classic OLD – tell them Director Mark sent you
- And here’s the trailer for Blue Zones, the Netflix show that tracks people in certain parts of the world who seem to live longer
- Researchers around the world are working hard to reverse ageing. While we’re not convinced, check it out for yourself
To Listen
- Here’s John Swinton, speaking on the Everything Happens podcast with Kate Bowler about being present with people dealing with disability (among other things)
- Listen to John here speaking on Identity, Faith, and Being Human at St Paul’s Cathedral
- And here he is on the Premier Unbelievable YouTube channel, discussing supporting people with mental health challenges
- We covered related territory on Undeceptions episode 76 ‘Against Euthanasia’ – check it out here
… and finally
- Ever wondered what you might look like in your wise old age? This AI app is here to do the job for you
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