The Cage Is In Your Head: Breaking Free From Ageism

What if the most damaging thing about aging isn’t the physical changes — it’s the story you’ve been told about it? Ande Lyons, host of the podcast Don’t Be Caged By Your Age, joins Greg for a wide-ranging conversation about ageism in its many forms: institutional, societal, and the kind we’ve internalized so deeply we don’t even notice it anymore.

From retirement myths to gendered medical treatment, from intergenerational community-building to the quiet courage it takes to age out loud and proud — this episode challenges the default narrative and offers a more honest, energizing one in its place.

About Ande Lyons

Ande Lyons is an entrepreneur, podcaster, and community builder based in Westford, Massachusetts. Since 1992, she’s been self-employed — launching businesses, mentoring startup founders, and most recently building a thriving intergenerational community for indie podcasters she calls the Pod Garden. Her podcast, Don’t Be Caged By Your Age, explores what’s possible when we stop letting age define our limits.

In This Episode

1. Why so much of what we believe about aging comes from borrowed narratives — and how to start rewriting them
2. The real cost of retirement: a WHO study showed societies paying billions when people lose purpose and stop engaging
3. Gendered ageism in medicine: how women’s symptoms are routinely dismissed or attributed to age
4. Why intergenerational connection matters, and how Ande built a monthly in-person community that draws people from across New England
5. The patronizing language older adults hear constantly — and how to push back with grace
6. Advanced directives: why having that conversation before a crisis is an act of self-respect
7. Aging out loud and proud: what it costs to hide your age, and what it frees when you stop

Resources Mentioned

1. Rewire, Don’t Retire by Jerry Sittser — a book with guided questions to help you discover what fuels your purpose at this stage of life
2. Ande’s blog post on healthcare and ageism, including a downloadable list of tests to request at your annual appointment: dontbecagedbyyourage.com
3. The Pod Garden — Ande’s community for indie podcasters (in-person, New England, with a Zoom option)
4. AARP’s advance directive template — Each state has their own version and it includes space for clarifying statements beyond the standard yes/no questions

Connect with Ande Lyons

Podcast: Don’t Be Caged By Your Age

Website: dontbecagedbyyourage.com

https://www.dontbecagedbyyourage.com/

LinkedIn: Ande Lyons

TikTok: @andelyons