Ina Jaffe
Ina Jaffe is a veteran NPR correspondent covering the aging of America. Her stories on Morning Edition and All Things Considered have focused on older adults' involvement in politics and elections, dating and divorce, work and retirement, fashion and sports, as well as issues affecting long term care and end of life choices. In 2015, she was named one of the nation's top "Influencers in Aging" by PBS publication Next Avenue, which wrote "Jaffe has reinvented reporting on aging."
Jaffe also reports on politics, contributing to NPR's coverage of national elections since 2008. From her base at NPR's production center in Culver City, California, Jaffe has covered most of the region's major news events, from the beating of Rodney King to the election of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She's also developed award-winning enterprise pieces. Her 2012 investigation into how the West Los Angeles VA made millions from illegally renting vacant property while ignoring plans to house homeless veterans won an award from the Society of Professional Journalists as well as a Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media. A few months after the story aired, the West Los Angeles VA broke ground on supportive housing for homeless vets.
Her year-long coverage on the rising violence in California's public psychiatric hospitals won the 2011 Investigative Reporters and Editors Award as well as a Gracie Award. Her 2010 series on California's tough three strikes law was honored by the American Bar Association with the Silver Gavel Award, as well as by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Before moving to Los Angeles, Jaffe was the first editor of Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon, which made its debut in 1985.
Born in Chicago, Jaffe attended the University of Wisconsin and DePaul University, receiving bachelor's and master's degrees in philosophy, respectively.
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In his new documentary, The Age of Love, filmmaker Steven Loring profiled several people between 70 and 90 at a speed dating event in Rochester, N.Y.
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A new film follows daters ages 70 to 90 looking for love in five-minute intervals. "Speed dating for seniors" may sound funny, but The Age of Love is really about our lifelong need for intimacy.
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Non-drug approaches for treating aggression and other symptoms of dementia work better than antipsychotic drugs, a study finds, and are less risky. That includes teaching caregivers how to respond.
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Just before Richard Glatzer and his husband, Wash Westmoreland, took the film on, Glatzer was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. By the time filming began, he was using an iPad to communicate.
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The Palm Springs Follies is an old-fashioned musical revue with a difference: the performers are old enough to have been in shows like this in their heyday. After 23 seasons, the show closes in May.
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Gilroy Hain's only source of income is the $1,500 a month he receives from Social Security. The 64-year-old spends $500 a month for a rented bedroom in Los Angeles, and the rest goes for food and little indulgences. For the former aerospace industry worker who was homeless for a time, it's not an easy life.
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Social Security accounts for about 20 percent of federal spending. As Congress edges toward having to come up with a new spending plan, one argument in favor of cuts is that Social Security amounts to a huge transfer of wealth from the young to the old.
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When is an inpatient in the hospital not an inpatient in the hospital? When that patient is on observation status. Patients who are termed on observation can have trouble getting Medicare to pay if they need to go to a nursing home. The practice has sparked lawsuits and legislation.
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The fashion industry is sometimes criticized for unrealistic portrayals of young women. But if you're a woman older than 60, there are almost no portrayals, realistic or otherwise. Now a fashion blog called Advanced Style has made stars of some of these older fashionistas, including a 93-year-old who says the spotlight makes her feel like she's "part of the world."
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With popular films like Amour and Quartet filling theater seats — and winning awards — it's clear that targeting the 50-plus demographic can be a win-win for filmmakers.