A Life's Story

A 99-year-old WW2 veteran turned transgendered widow fights discrimination from the very government for which she fought. A 103-year-old goes to work as she has every day for decades. an 86-year-old woman waves her Senior Olympics medals at the medical community who wrote her off. A Holocaust survivor of 4 Nazi death camps endures unimaginable horrors yet rebuilds his life from being a walking skeleton to a life of happiness and love. These are just a few of the complex, moving and powerful stories profiled in A Life’s Story. A Life’s Story shines a light on the lives of special octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians who have done, and are still doing astonishing things. Many have been participants in important chapters of history. Every episode is an intimate and remarkable profile, concluding with the insight that can only come from those who have seen it all. Produced and narrated by veteran NYC radio host and master storyteller Leslie Gold “The Radiochick”, in partnership with Jam Street Media/Matty Staudt.

Society & Culture
Documentary
Personal Journals
1
The World's Oldest Supermodel - A Life’s Story ...
A special episode of A Life's Story about one model's return to the fast-paced fashion industry in her 70's.
31 min
2
Defrauded Grandma Strikes Back - Part 2
This week on the final episode of the two-part season finale of A Life’s Story, we hear the gripping conclusion to the story of Beverley Schottenstein's, a 94-year-old woman who was defrauded by her two grandsons. We get deeper into how her family betrayed her, stole everything from her, and pushed her to her absolute limits until she finally found justice.
48 min
3
Defrauded Grandma Strikes Back - Part 1
Lies, fraud and just plain ripped off. This week on the first episode of the two-part season finale of A Life’s Story, our host Leslie Gold sits down with Beverley Schottenstein, a 94 year old woman who was defrauded by her two grandsons. From stealing property, to using her wealth to establish careers, they eventually began siphoning off large amounts of cash to increase their own wealth, unknown to Beverly at the time. When they were finally confronted, they accused their grandmother of having dementia, telling her that she was mistaken and essentially didn’t know what she was talking about. Even her son, the boy's father, piled on and was critical of Beverly. But that didn’t dissuade her from putting up a fight and standing up for herself. Hear the remarkable story of resilience, wealth, family dysfunction and doing what you believe is right versus what you believe is wrong. With the help of her caregiver and granddaughters, Beverly is able to make a stand and fight back against her grandson's blatant theft and put a stop to the betrayal. Leslie leaves no stone unturned as we also get to hear about Beverly’s childhood, what it was like growing up and how she came to meet her husband, Alvin. From being a teenager to becoming an adult, get a first hand look of how she was able to become successful and when she first started to notice red flags with her finances. We get to listen to the story of a kind old lady pushed to her limit, and despite not always understanding all of the legal technicalities of her grandson’s fraud, she knew it was wrong, and that didn’t sit well. Find out how she was able to put an end to the dishonesty and uncover familial betrayal of the highest order.
39 min
4
The Joyful Inventor
This week on A Life’s Story we speak with Eddy Goldfarb, the 99 year-old toy inventor! From being a part of WWII in the US Navy to inventing the much beloved Yakity Yak Talking Teeth more than 60 years ago, Eddy has lived life to the fullest. Even as a child he knew he wanted to be an inventor, tinkering in high school and sending off ideas to different companies. Despite facing adversity, hear how Eddy has handled his troubles with grace and hopefully we can learn something from his positive outlook along the way.
50 min
5
Surviving the Holocaust - Part 3
This week we hear the end to the inspiring story of how Ben Lesser survived the Holocaust. After 7 years of persecution and torture, Ben is finally liberated. Now an orphan, having lost everything he knew and loved, Ben tells us about his journey back to life and how he found something he thought was gone forever.
34 min
6
Surviving the Holocaust - Part 2
This week is the second installment of a special three-part series about Ben Lesser, a survivor of the Holocaust. From Poland to Czechoslovakia to Hungary, Ben and his family were able to evade Nazi persecution for nearly five years. Listen as he recalls the experience of being captured and getting sent to Auschwitz, becoming a prisoner and laborer, at the age of only 15.
46 min
7
Surviving the Holocaust - Part 1
This week is the start of a special three-part episode about Ben Lesser, a survivor of the Holocaust. His story begins in 1939 Poland when the German authorities began forcing his family, and so many others, to leave everything they've ever known behind them. He recalls the dark and horrifying details of how he was able to evade Nazi capture for nearly five years until he and the remaining members of his family were sent to Auschwitz.
54 min
8
The Hometown Revolutionary
This week’s story focuses on a true revolutionary. Meet Phyllis Sinrich, a pioneer for women’s rights during a time when they didn’t have many. She sits down with Leslie to discuss what inspired her to push past the housewife stereotype, and create programs that help educate women so that they could be working professionals. This is a story that shows how an everyday woman can shatter the image of the American Housewife, and create something more for the people in her community and beyond.
44 min
9
Bombs, Brands, and Ballet: How Change Brings Youth
This week Leslie sits down with David Leddick, an enthusiastic 91-year-old Navy Veteran who has lived enough life to fill three episodes. From Naval officer to ballet dancer to advertising big-wig, David’s life has taken many twists and turns. He shares with us how he stumbled upon each of those twists and turns, and how his last 30 years have been his best years yet.
50 min
10
Why Love Endures
This week Irwin and Judy Lebow share their 80-year-long love story with Leslie. Through those years, the Lebows have endured thousands of miles of distance, a war, unexpected loss, and financial hardships. While it wasn’t easy they stuck through it together. This is a story about how a life full of struggle can create an unbreakable loving bond.
32 min
11
Defying the Odds: Racing Towards Life
This week we meet Eleanor Pendergraft, a senior Olympian who turned the power of saying, “You’re wrong,” into the race of a lifetime. From a young age, Eleanor’s life was full of adversity. An abusive father, a no-good husband, job loss, and finally a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis that left her practically immobile, Eleanor shares her journey with Leslie on how she overcame each one. She was able to get back on her feet, both literally and figuratively, to have a beautiful life and become the senior Olympian that she is.
37 min
12
From Childhood Pain to Catskills Fame
This week, the King of the Catskills joins Leslie Gold to tell us about his life story. Born Bernard Horowitz, Bernie Berns started his life of entertainment young and eventually rose to fame in a place that was a breeding ground for comedic geniuses. Like most child entertainers, life was anything but normal. We hear the stories about his family, what life was like working in the Catskills as a kid, and about the time he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. There’s more to Bernie than just his comedic schtick, and we find out that there was more to his life than becoming a household name.
48 min
13
A Century of Positivity and Dedication
This week Leslie sits down with Millie Keller, the 103-year-old bookkeeper of Zola Keller Bridal Shop in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She walks Leslie through her century-long journey and recalls the ups, downs, smiles and tears that she's had along the way. Millie’s story is one of self-sufficiency and determination, which is something that can be hard to continue when you've lived for more than 100 years. But with Millie’s story, we see that living with a truly optimistic outlook can bring you a peaceful, healthy and long life.
29 min
14
Finding Optimism in the Face of Discrimination
June Aochi Berk, a Japanese-American historian, sits down with Leslie Gold to share her story of resilience and optimism after experiencing one of the most atrocious acts of civil rights violations in U.S. history. As a young girl, June and her family were forced from their home and taken to an internment camp leaving behind everything she ever knew. While her story is devastating, it is familiar to many families in America. June shares with us what it was like living in the internment camps, growing up during a time where everyone thought of you as an enemy, and how she found light in such a dark situation.
45 min
15
Flight of the Cloud Dancer
Host Leslie Gold takes us through the inspiring journey of Robina Asti who, before the mid-1970s, lived life as Robert a World War II veteran, navy pilot, and father of three. The story of Robina’s midlife transition would be extraordinary enough, but there’s so much more to her than just that. Throughout this episode, you’ll hear about life before her transition, the struggles she faced after, and how at the age of 99 she started her foundation clouddancers.org.
38 min
16
A Life’s Story: Coming Soon
2 min