The Third Act

WBUR's "The Third Act" series highlights people who worked full careers and re-invented themselves later in life, often in surprising and inspirational ways.

Bill McKibbon, in his office at Middlebury College. The climate change activist has founded Third Act, an effort to recruit Americans over 60 to save the climate and democracy. (Anthony Brooks/WBUR)

Climate champion Bill McKibben recruits people over 60 to join him for an activist 'Third Act'

"If you want to push around Washington or Wall Street or Beacon Hill, then having some people with hairlines like mine is a useful asset," McKibben said, lifting his cap.

Local Coverage

07:28Jun 5, 2024

Lots of older Americans are reinventing their lives. Here’s why it matters to all of us

Anthony Brooks started paying attention to stories about people who reinvent themselves in interesting ways about 15 years ago. He collected so many that they became WBUR's "Third Act" series,...

Cognoscenti

Nov 20, 2023

From left, the members of Ace of Cups: Mary Simpson-Mercy, Mary Gannon, Denise Kaufman and Diane Vitalich. (Courtesy High Moon Records/Rachel Wright)

Born in '60s San Francisco, all-girl rock band Ace of Cups roars back a half-century later

In 1967, the all-girl band Ace of Cups burst onto the San Francisco rock and roll scene, attracting a big following and touring with some of the most famous musicians...

Local Coverage

08:41Nov 13, 2023

Natalie Jones takes a stroll along Nantasket Beach in Hull. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Natalie Jones thought she wasn't cut out for college. At nearly 60, she got her master's and reinvented her life

Natalie Jones is among lots of older people who are living their third act — either by choice or necessity or both — according to Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, a Harvard professor...

Local Coverage

06:19Nov 6, 2023

Julieanna Richardson, founder and president of the HistoryMakers. (Anthony Brooks/WBUR)

Julieanna Richardson's 'third act': The Harvard-trained lawyer left corporate life to document the Black experience

After chapters as a corporate lawyer and working in television, HistoryMakers became Julieanna Richardson's "third act." "You get to a point where you start asking, 'What is going to be...

Local Coverage

07:50Oct 30, 2023

Tom Andrew stands at the altar of the outdoor chapel at Griswold Scout Reservation near Gilmanton, New Hampshire. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

From examining the dead to guiding the living, Tom Andrew embraces his 'third act'

The traditional idea of three stages of life — learning, earning and retiring — is increasingly seen as outdated. Instead, many people like Tom Andrew are living their third act,...

Local Coverage

07:57Oct 23, 2023

'60 is the new 50': As life expectancy rises, how Americans are embracing life's third act

100 years ago, average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47. Today, it's closer to 80 -- and lots of people are using those extra 30 years to reinvent themselves....

On Point

47:34Feb 24, 2023