Today, retirement is being redefined. Nearly 60% of employees over 60 plan to continue working, but on their terms. As economist, journalist, and retirement expert Chris Farrell explains in this episode, taking on a job after retirement can have great health benefits and improve quality of life.

Many people who reach traditional retirement age are reinventing themselves because they know they still have a great deal to contribute to society. Others continue to work because the extra income is helping them live the kind of life they want. This has significant implications for organizations that are interested in engaging and retaining their most experienced people. Shifting careers later in life may seem daunting, but with the right tools and advice, changing careers is possible.

Another topic Chris addresses in this interview is FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). Many young people, particularly in well-paid technology jobs, are choosing to amass large sums of money and opt out of the workforce in their 40s, or even 30s. Chris shares his thoughts on what that means to organizations that lose these people and the prospects for someone who ends their career prematurely.

Chris Farrell has studied retirement and the shifts in our aging workforce extensively. An author of five books including Unretirement and Purpose and a Paycheck, Chris is an expert on how we can find happiness, health, and security in our later years.

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The world today is better than ever and one of the foundational reasons for this is because of access to energy. We have gas to power our cars and planes, electricity to run our appliances, natural gas, and other sources to control the heat in our homes. Dubai and Las Vegas don’t exist without cheap energy to power them.

Conversations surrounding energy sources, energy consumption, and ways to use energy efficiently have been on the rise. Alternative sources to coal have emerged with solar, wind, and hydroelectric as front runners. As America strives to optimize energy use, innovations such as battery storage, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence will be disruptive.

In this interview, Lauren Azar draws on her 25 years of experience working in the energy sector. She talks about why coal is not a viable, long-term source of energy, how new technologies will make energy consumption cheaper, and where America’s energy is most vulnerable from security threats. Lauren also candidly discusses how to get more girls and young women involved in energy and other STEM careers.

Over the course of her career, Lauren Azar has worked at the federal government level as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Department of Energy, at the state government level as Commissioner at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, and in the private sector as an attorney representing utilities and utility customers.

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