Are Politicians Too Focused on Older Generations? (Your Radical Questions with Professor Sarah Harper)

Radical with Gabriel Gatehouse · Aug 31, 2026 · 26m

Sarah Harper is Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford and one of the world's leading experts on demographic change. She challenges the widespread belief that ageing populations are primarily a social and economic burden, arguing instead that longer lives represent one of humanity's greatest achievements and an opportunity to rethink how society is organised.

In the last episode, Sarah explained why many of the pressures associated with ageing societies stem from institutions that were designed for a very different era. She argued that our welfare systems, labour markets and…