Sarah Macdonald, Bernard Salt & Geraldine Doogue in new podcast on Australia’s caring crisis

Image: Supplied

As Australia faces an accelerating ageing crisis, a new podcast launches next week, featuring some of the country’s most trusted voices.

With the number of people turning 85 projected to surge in the coming years, Agehood confronts the realities, complexities and unexpected beauty of ageing, caregiving and the last chapters of life through raw and intimate conversations.

Guests include Sarah Macdonald, Bernard Salt AM, Geraldine Doogue AO, Nikki Gemmell, Dr Emily Musgrove and other prominent voices, who bring both honesty and warmth to the discussion.

At the heart of the podcast is a tribute to the often-overlooked ‘Sandwich Generation,’ the more than five million Australians caught between raising children and caring for ageing parents.

Agehood is created by Violet, a national, tech-enabled initiative redefining how Australians approach the final stage of life.

The podcast is hosted by Violet CEO and founder Melissa Reader (pictured above), and produced by Lize Ratliff (Mamamia Out Loud, Motherland) and Yaniv Bernstein (The Startup Podcast).

Reader says “We created Agehood to open up a crucial conversation, one that many of us instinctively shy away from: what it means to face the end of life.”

“This podcast is our way of making these conversations more accessible. Through intimate interviews and unfiltered storytelling, we explore the complex, emotional, and often surprisingly uplifting realities of ageing and death”

“Our mission is to dismantle the stigma and silence around these topics, and instead shine a light on them with compassion, curiosity, and courage. These conversations aren’t just about death; they’re about love, resilience, humour, and what it truly means to live.”

*Images supplied