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Lost and Found: Caroline Topperman on Family, Identity, and the Search for Home

The Not Old - Better Show

Release Date: 04/07/2025

Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years show art Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years

The Not Old - Better Show

📊 Over 450,000 voices. One powerful message: dignity in aging matters. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Liz Pearce, Senior Living Product Director at U.S. News & World Report, on The Not Old – Better Show. Liz and her team help families across the country navigate one of life’s biggest transitions: choosing the right senior living community. 🏡 U.S. News’ 2025 Best Senior Living Ratings are more than numbers—they reflect real experiences from residents and their loved ones. Their input shapes how communities are recognized for outstanding care, safety, and...

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Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years show art Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years

The Not Old - Better Show

📊 Over 450,000 voices. One powerful message: dignity in aging matters. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Liz Pearce, Senior Living Product Director at U.S. News & World Report, on The Not Old – Better Show. Liz and her team help families across the country navigate one of life’s biggest transitions: choosing the right senior living community. 🏡 U.S. News’ 2025 Best Senior Living Ratings are more than numbers—they reflect real experiences from residents and their loved ones. Their input shapes how communities are recognized for outstanding care, safety, and...

info_outline
Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years show art Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years

The Not Old - Better Show

📊 Over 450,000 voices. One powerful message: dignity in aging matters. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Liz Pearce, Senior Living Product Director at U.S. News & World Report, on The Not Old – Better Show. Liz and her team help families across the country navigate one of life’s biggest transitions: choosing the right senior living community. 🏡 U.S. News’ 2025 Best Senior Living Ratings are more than numbers—they reflect real experiences from residents and their loved ones. Their input shapes how communities are recognized for outstanding care, safety, and...

info_outline
Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years show art Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years

The Not Old - Better Show

📊 Over 450,000 voices. One powerful message: dignity in aging matters. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Liz Pearce, Senior Living Product Director at U.S. News & World Report, on The Not Old – Better Show. Liz and her team help families across the country navigate one of life’s biggest transitions: choosing the right senior living community. 🏡 U.S. News’ 2025 Best Senior Living Ratings are more than numbers—they reflect real experiences from residents and their loved ones. Their input shapes how communities are recognized for outstanding care, safety, and...

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Riding with History: Jefferson, Madison, and the Journey that Shaped a Nation show art Riding with History: Jefferson, Madison, and the Journey that Shaped a Nation

The Not Old - Better Show

🐎 When Friendship Shapes Nations: The Untold Journey of Jefferson & Madison 🇺🇸 Ever imagine two founding fathers on horseback, pondering America's future as they ride through rugged landscapes, confronting pest infestations, cultural discoveries, and their own biases? Thomas Jefferson and James Madison did exactly that in their remarkable 1791 journey through Upstate New York and New England. 📚 , author, historian Louis Masur explores this intriguing chapter in his compelling new book, A Journey North: Jefferson, Madison, and the Forging of a Friendship. Their trip wasn't...

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🔥 Forget boring BBQs… it’s time to grill with flavor, joy, and purpose! - Kate Merker show art 🔥 Forget boring BBQs… it’s time to grill with flavor, joy, and purpose! - Kate Merker

The Not Old - Better Show

We’re talking grill season like you’ve never heard it before with Good Housekeeping's Kate Merker Good Better Best, The Not Old Better Show, Good Housekeeping Interview Series 🔥 Summer just got a whole lot more delicious — and more intentional. This week on The Not Old Better Show, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kate Merker, Chief Food Director of the Hearst Lifestyle Group and the culinary genius behind Good Housekeeping’s legendary Test Kitchen. We’re talking smart summer grilling — not just sizzling steaks, but heart-healthy, high-flavor meals that celebrate aging,...

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Resilience is Much More Than Grit! Jennifer Watson show art Resilience is Much More Than Grit! Jennifer Watson

The Not Old - Better Show

💥 “I thought I had to be miserable on the way to happiness.” 💥 Sound familiar? Former All-American 🏃‍♀️ turned healer and high-performance coach Jennifer Watson opens up about how pushing through pain nearly broke her—and how listening to her body changed everything. Now she’s on a mission to help YOU lead with purpose, ease, and joy—especially in your 50s, 60s, and beyond. 🎧 Tune in to this powerful episode of The Not Old Better Show for tools to reclaim your energy, reset your nervous system 🧠, and live a soul-aligned life 💖. ➡️ #MidlifeWellness...

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Menopause, Aging and Food Freedom: Taylor Wolfram, MS, RDN, LDN show art Menopause, Aging and Food Freedom: Taylor Wolfram, MS, RDN, LDN

The Not Old - Better Show

🚨 Menopause, aging & food freedom! 🚨 Diet culture tells us to shrink, but Taylor Wolfram says it's time to thrive. 🌱💪 Tune in for a fresh take on nutrition & well-being! 🎧👇. Sponsored by Acorns: Head to or download the Acorns app to get started! 🚨 What if health wasn’t about shrinking your body, but about thriving in it? 🚨 For decades, we’ve been told that aging means slowing down, gaining weight, and fighting an uphill battle to stay "healthy." But what if we’ve been looking at it all wrong? Taylor Wolfram, RDN, is flipping the script on diet culture and...

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Heart & Soul: Kenny Vance, Singer, Songwriter, Film Maker show art Heart & Soul: Kenny Vance, Singer, Songwriter, Film Maker

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Heart & Soul: Kenny Vance, Singer, Songwriter, Film Maker The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series "They were my heroes. And then they became my friends.” In this moving new episode of The Not Old Better Show, we’re honored to welcome musician, producer, and doo-wop preservationist Smithsonian Associate Kenny Vance—a voice behind Jay and the Americans and the filmmaker behind Heart & Soul: A Love Story. Kenny shares a deeply personal account of his lifelong connection to the music of the 1950s and '60s—harmonies sung on street corners, friendships formed...

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Heart & Soul: Kenny Vance, Singer, Songwriter, Film Maker show art Heart & Soul: Kenny Vance, Singer, Songwriter, Film Maker

The Not Old - Better Show

Heart & Soul: Kenny Vance, Singer, Songwriter, Film Maker The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series "They were my heroes. And then they became my friends.” In this moving new episode of The Not Old Better Show, we’re honored to welcome musician, producer, and doo-wop preservationist Smithsonian Associate Kenny Vance—a voice behind Jay and the Americans and the filmmaker behind Heart & Soul: A Love Story. Kenny shares a deeply personal account of his lifelong connection to the music of the 1950s and '60s—harmonies sung on street corners, friendships formed...

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More Episodes

Lost and Found: Caroline Topperman on Family, Identity, and the Search for Home

The Not Old Better Show, Family History, Genealogy Interview Series

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show on radio and podcast. Today’s show is brought to you by Acorns. The Not Old Better Show. Acorns. ..I’Acorns makes it easy for everyone to start saving and investing

What does it mean to belong? Is home a place, a language, a history—or something else entirely?

Caroline Topperman thought she knew. She grew up speaking Polish, knowing her family’s deep roots in the country, and believing that moving there with her husband would feel like coming home. But instead of familiarity, she found disconnection. Instead of certainty, she found questions. The result of that search is her stunning new book, Your Roots Cast a Shadow: One Family’s Search Across History for Belonging.

Caroline’s story is not just about her journey—it’s about the generations before her who crossed borders and survived wars, about ancestors who built roads in Afghanistan, fought political battles in Poland, and escaped the horrors of World War II. It’s about what gets passed down through family stories, and what gets lost in translation.

She uncovered letters, documents, and even an entire book her grandfather wrote—one referenced in The Holocaust Museum and Stanford’s Hoover Institution. But she also found the gaps, the missing voices, the untold truths. And through it all, she wrestled with a question so many of us face: Do we ever truly find a home, or do we create it?

This is an unforgettable conversation about identity, history, and the invisible ties that connect us to our past. If you’ve ever wondered how much of your family’s story shapes who you are today, this episode is for you.

Let’s welcome to The Not Old – Better Show, writer, entrepreneur, and world traveler, Caroline Topperman.

And now, your host, the award-winning Paul Vogelzang.

My thanks to Acorns for sponsoring today’s episode. Acorns.  Acorns makes it easy for everyone to start saving and investing—my thanks to Caroline Topperman

and her time and patience and willingness to answer our questions.  My thanks to you our wonderful audience here on radio and podcast.  Be well, be safe, and Let’s Talk About Better™ The Not Old Better Show on radio and podcast. Thanks, everybody, and we’ll see you next week.