Gen X at 60
We’re Ken and Jim—two of the first Gen Xers to turn 60—and this milestone is pushing us to ask questions we’ve never asked before. About aging. About identity. About what we’re still becoming.
In Gen X at 60, we talk about the things we never talked about—not with each other, and maybe not even with ourselves. From ambition and adventure to friendship, legacy, lust, and eldership, we explore what it really means to grow older when you’re part of the generation raised to figure it out alone.
Our professional careers have centered around communication, emotional intelligence, and learning—so we’re wired for deep conversations. But we also bring humor, perspective, and a willingness to wrestle with what’s still unfolding. This isn’t advice. It’s not nostalgia. It’s a conversation we hope you will join—as these two Gen Xers shape what 60 means for us, instead of inheriting what it meant for everyone else.
Episodes
24 episodes
Endings
In this final episode of the season, Ken and Jim look back at the moments in this season of Gen X at 60 that shaped them — the conversations that opened them, surprised them, or shifted something deep inside
Gen X and the Art of Forgiving Without Forgetting
Forgiveness sounds so simple: Just let go of the resentment you feel about someone’s offense, flaw, or mistake. But for Gen X — the generation raised to “suck it up,” and keep moving — forgiveness is a bit more complicated.<...
60...Not a Cliff. A Pivot
Stanford researchers say we hit biological pivot points at 44 and again at 60 — moments where our bodies shift and our choices matter a little more. In this episode, Ken and Jim explore what those pivots actually mean for Gen...
The Generation Gap...at Work
Ken and Jim have an intergenerational conversation with Madison Asher, host of the podcast 'We (Used to) Work', about redefining success across generations — and why the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
The Gen-X Files
AARP (the American Association of Retired Persons) continues to shine a spotlight on Generation X, and the results are both validating and unnerving. In this conversation, Ken and Jim dig into what some AARP-referenc...
Put Another Dime in the Jukebox, Baby
The music of our teens and twenties wasn’t just background noise — it was identity, rebellion, and the soundtrack to becoming ourselves. In this episode, Jim and Ken wax nostalgic about the music that shaped them, why that music still ma...
Resilience: Beyond True Grit
In this episode, we take on a word we’ve all heard, but maybe haven’t fully defined: Resilience. Ken and Jim bring their own stories of disappointment, illness, and everyday struggles — and pair them with what research says about resilie...
Friends for Decades, Lessons for Life
Remember those collages of photos on your wall—snapshots of laughter, adventures, and milestones with friends? In this episode, Jim creates an audio collage from conversations with five friends who’ve shared decades of life with him.
Lost and Found: Rebooting a Childhood Friendship
You know that friend from way, way back...the one who knew you before you knew yourself? For Ken, that's Nicky. They were inseparable as kids, then...forty years of radio silence. Until now.This conversation isn't just a ...
The Odd Couple: Gen X and Friendship
In this episode, Ken and Jim dive into the complicated, essential world of friendship. Two Gen Xers, raised on self-reliance and independence, who approach connection very differently—one cautious, one trusting—but both fiercely...
Reclaiming Relevance
What does it mean to stay relevant as we age — and who gets to decide? In this conversation with guest Coralie Hooper, we crack open the cultural conditioning that taught us to “look the part” ...
Not So Great Expectations
This episode, Jim and Ken walk the tightrope of expectations. When Jim’s birthday plans fell through, the disappointment surfaced an old question: Is having expectations a setup for heartbreak — or are they necessary to feel...
Living Real: Far from the Shallow NOW
Psychologist and author Dr. Camille Preston joins Ken and Jim for a deeply personal and timely conversation inspired by her new book, Living Real. Together, they explore what it means to live with emotional depth in a world that...
Reel Life Lessons
While parents weren't always there to teach Gen Xers life lessons—the movies were, for better or worse. In this episode, Ken and Jim revisit seven films from the 80s and early 90s that shaped how they saw themselves, the world, and who t...
Old Dogs...New Trips
When Jim returns from a month-long facilitation tour of Japan, what starts as a virtual travelogue turns into something deeper. Ken and Jim explore how our appetite for risk, adventure, and newness shifts with age—and why learning s...
Eldership: Crown or Cane?
What started as a thoughtful nod to Ken turning 60 quickly turned into a surprisingly loaded conversation—because it turns out, “eldership” means very different things to each of us.For one of us, it's the recognition of our accum...
No Gold Watch, No Roadmap: Gen X at the Edge of What’s Next
We’re the first generation arriving at 60 without a clear script for retirement. For our parents and grandparents, retirement was the endpoint. A gold watch. A pension. A La-Z-Boy recliner with a view. But for us? The lines are blurr...
Dressed for Success: From Fitting In to Showing Up
In the ’80s and ’90s, “Dress for Success” was more than a look—it was a message. Shoulder pads, power ties, pantyhose… we suited up to be taken seriously in a world built on someone else’s rules.But did fitting in come at a cost?<...
The Bank of YOU: Are You Making Deposits or Just Withdrawals?
We've spent years saving, investing, and planning for the future—but have we been making deposits into the most important account of all?As Gen Xers, we grew up in a world that rarely talked about self-awareness, self-acceptance, or e...
Relationships: The Hidden Part of Retirement Planning
If the Harvard Study of Adult Development is right, and relationships are the single biggest predictor of happiness and health as we age—are we Gen Xers completely screwed?We were raised to be independent, skeptical, and ...
From Latchkey to Leadership: Gen X and the Nonlinear Career
Get into to the right school. Pick the right major. Find the right job in the right company to take you all the way to retirement. Did it work out that way for our generation? Was the typical career path for us linear as for many in previous ge...
Is Wellness Hokey or Not?
In this episode, we attempt to unpack our beliefs, generational conditioning, and hopeful appreciation of this thing called Wellness. Join us!
Our Stereotypes
Come explore some of the classic stereotypes about Generation X as Jim and Ken weigh in on which are totally bitchin' and which are grody to the max.
Welcome to Gen X at 60: We're Still Running Up That Hill
Gen X turning 60? No freakin' way! We are Jim and Ken, two colleagues and friends who are a part of the first Gen Xers turning 60. In our first episode, we will lay the groundwork for our exploration of what it means to have the forgotten, latc...