Publications
What Stories Can Teach Us About Aging
2025
Ruth Finkelstein
Ruth Finkelstein, executive director of the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging, challenges how we understand aging, health disparities, and inequality. In this interview with the Institute for New Economic Thinking, she argues that traditional data leaves out crucial questions—like how families support each other, how people navigate life after incarceration, and what lived experiences actually shape aging outcomes. Drawing from her work with older adults and formerly incarcerated people, Dr. Finkelstein advocates for research that begins with listening, values qualitative insight, and is grounded in trust. Her work reveals how structural gaps in income, healthcare, and housing—not just age—define the realities of aging in America.
https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/videos/what-stories-can-teach-us-about-aging