About this episode

Dr. Kiran Rabheru discusses the implications of the WHO's proposal to define old age as a disease and the fight against ageism in healthcare.

In 2021 Dr. Kiran Rabheru, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Ottawa and a geriatric psychiatrist, found himself at the center of a medical debate. The World Health Organization wanted to officially designate “old age” as a disease, but with more than 40 years of work with aging populations, Rabheru saw this as another example of ageism that needed to be challenged. Dr. Rabheru talks with Yasmin Tayag about how he fought the WHO and about the impact such designations can have on research and our understanding of growing old. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Yasmin Tayag

Guest: Dr. Kiran Rabheru

Topics covered

• aging
• ageism
• healthcare
• medical debate
• geriatric psychiatry

Keywords

• old age
• disease
• ageism
• WHO
• geriatric psychiatry
• aging populations
• medical debate

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: World Health Organization, University of Ottawa

More episodes of How to Touch Grass

• What It Takes to Reclaim Your Attention Span · August 24, 2026 · 40 min
• Why Learn Something That a Machine Can Do for You? · August 17, 2026 · 33 min
• How AI Could Make People More Anxious · August 3, 2026 · 28 min
• Introducing How To Touch Grass · July 6, 2026 · 2 min
• How to Age Up on a Warming Planet · May 12, 2025 · 41 min
• How to Age Up Together · April 28, 2025 · 37 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the How to Touch Grass podcast page.