Lessons from an Old Man in a Black Bathing Suit

"as if living to ninety were primarily the result of hard work or prayer..."

This week's New Yorker has a meditation on longevity by Michael Kinsley ’72, J.D. ’78. Kinsley wonders why society confers respect, and even bragging rights, on those who live to be very old, "as if living to ninety were primarily the result of hard work or prayer, rather than good genes and never getting run over by a truck." Read the piece—teasingly titled "Mine Is Longer Than Yours"—here.

Related topics

You might also like

Harvard Law School Announces $31.4 Million Donation

The school’s largest-ever gift comes after a year of record fundraising.

Harvard Alumni Win Two 2026 Nobel Prizes

Karl Deisseroth revolutionized neuroscience. Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has adjudicated cases in international courts concerning genocide.

Resculpting an Empire, Through Kitchen Scraps

Artists Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien turn a colonial symbol from Cambodia inside out.

Most popular

Teen "Grind" Culture and Mental Health

Teens need better strategies to cope with lives lived partly online.

To Promote Healthy Habits in Patients, Start with the Doctors

Why Harvard Medical School is training physicians to think more like coaches

Keri Russell Calls ‘The Diplomat’ a Love Letter to Public Servants

A Harvard Kennedy School event looks behind the scenes of the Netflix drama. 

Explore More From Current Issue

Panoramic view of Harvard University with autumn foliage and a river under a cloudy sky.

The University is expanding industry ties and investing its own funds to support research, but neither will replace lost federal dollars.

Black and white portrait of a woman with medium-length hair, smiling softly.

The outgoing executive director and Harvard Business School graduate went from dancing The Nutcracker to growing a ballet company.

Bronze statue of a seated figure holding a book, with a campus setting in the background.

As humanities shrink across higher education, one department is flourishing. Is its success a fluke, or a roadmap?