Dr Jane Barratt - The Arc of Ageing | Substack

You Can’t Wear a Suit and Call It Empathy

Why ageing-simulation suits reveal more about our assumptions than about older people

Jun 17 • Jane Barratt

Against Decline

The mental health story about ageing that the data keeps telling us and we keep ignoring

Jun 10 • Jane Barratt

Good Care Costs Money. Poor Care Costs More.

I sit on aged care boards in Australia and Canada.

Jun 3 • Jane Barratt

Something Is Being Hoarded

Gerontocracy blames age for a crisis of wealth, power, and political choice.

May 27 • Jane Barratt

The Fear That Doesn't Have a Name

It may not be the care home. It may be just disappearing.

May 20 • Jane Barratt

Most Popular

The New Old Age Isn’t New. It’s Rebranded.

Feb 3 • Jane Barratt

When Caregiving Ends

Aug 20, 2025 • Jane Barratt

Something Is Being Hoarded

May 27 • Jane Barratt

The Stories We Tell About Ageing. What They Allow Us to Avoid

Dec 24, 2025 • Jane Barratt

Between the Haves and the Have-Nots?

Every society draws a line between the haves and the have-nots.

May 13 • Jane Barratt

Menopause, Misread and Miscounted

In Switzerland last week, through my work with the Menopause Advocacy & Policy Alliance, I sat with clinicians, researchers, advocates, and policy…

May 6 • Jane Barratt

I Have a Home. Bill Turner Has Five Months.

I’m in the “I’m okay” boat, and I know it.

Apr 29 • Jane Barratt

Combatting Ageism: Awareness Is Not Enough

Ageism is Visible.

Apr 22 • Jane Barratt

The Touch We’re Afraid to Lose

On robots and the thing that cannot be automated.

Apr 15 • Jane Barratt

Human Rights

Good Care Costs Money. Poor Care Costs More.

I sit on aged care boards in Australia and Canada.

Jun 3 • Jane Barratt

Residential Care Runs on What Workers Carry

No one argues against dignity.

Apr 1

If Rights Diminish With Age, They Were Never Rights at All

Why a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons matters to every one of us

Mar 3 • Jane Barratt

When the Price of Care Decides Who Goes Without

How long-term care systems sort people by money, timing, and access

Jan 27 • Jane Barratt

When Life No Longer Feels Worth Living

My cousin died in his 30s as a result of suicide.

Apr 8 • Jane Barratt

Residential Care Runs on What Workers Carry

No one argues against dignity.

Apr 1

Men Are Dying Earlier

In Older Age, We Still Look Away

Mar 25 • Jane Barratt

When the Right to a Decent Life Has to Be Defended

“We feel betrayed.”

Mar 18 • Jane Barratt

The Quiet Fear of Becoming a Burden

The Conversation No One Quite Names

Mar 11 • Jane Barratt

If Rights Diminish With Age, They Were Never Rights at All

Why a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons matters to every one of us

Mar 3 • Jane Barratt

Dr Jane Barratt - The Arc of Ageing

Dr Jane Barratt - The Arc of Ageing

I’m Dr. Jane Barratt. I write to awaken our moral and strategic imagination — because the systems we build today will determine the dignity, care, and futures of every generation to come.

Recommendations

Helen Hirsh Spence

Helen Hirsh Spence

The Artist Morning™

Darius Bashar