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What We Know About What It’s Like To Live For 100 Years

Florence (top) and Lenny (bottom) are both over 100 years old. We ask them what they've learned over their last century of life.
Florence (top) and Lenny (bottom) are both over 100 years old. We ask them what they've learned over their last century of life.

We’re living longer than we ever have before. And people who are living to be older than 100 (aka centenarians) have experienced…a lot. A world war, to Y2K to…the COVID-19 pandemic.

For anyone, turning 100 is a remarkable achievement. But it’s becoming a less exceptional one. Right now, 70,000 Americans live long enough to mark this major milestone. That number is increasing — but are we ready for the “graying of America?”

We ask two centenarians, Florence and Lenny, about what they’ve learned after 100 years on Planet Earth. We also talk with two experts about what an increase in the aging population means for American life.

Copyright 2020 WAMU 88.5. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5.

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Avery Kleinman