MEA in the Press
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Brian Chesky's secret mentor who died 9 times, started the Burning Man board, and built the world's first midlife wisdom school | Chip Conley (founder of MEA)
Lenny’s Podcast – Chip Conley on reporting to Brian Chesky, overcoming ageism in tech, navigating founder mode, and turning a near-death experience into the world’s
TV & Videos
November 17, 2025
Jeff Hamaoui on Why we overcomplicate friendship—and how to make it easy
TEDxMedellin | Learn about friendship. Learn how we make friends and some of the amazing tricks and mindset changes you need to become better at your own friending practice. Jeff shares how in a world getting lonelier, building your own friendship practice offers you a way to a thriving life. Jeff Hamaoui is a world renowned teacher and thinker in the wellness world. Co founder of MEA the worlds first midlife wisdom school and developer of Baja Sage a regenerative community. Jeff has learned a lot about friendship. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED
February 7, 2024
Modern Elder Academy expanding into Santa Fe
NEWS 13 | Chip Conley’s Modern Elder Academy expands to Santa Fe in the spring 2024, offering guidance through midlife with online programs and workshops.
January 17, 2024
Is the best yet to come? This author offers tips to grow after midlife
TODAY SHOW – NBC | “Learning to Love Midlife” author Chip Conley joins Hoda & Jenna and opens up about how he realized his “midlife crisis” was really a “midlife chrysalis” — and how anyone can continue to grow and change later in life.
January 15, 2024
Chip Conley talks new book, 'Learning to Love Midlife'
GOOD MORNING AMERICA | Chip Conley talks new book, ‘Learning to Love Midlife’ on ABC’s Good Morning America.
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Podcasts
August 3, 2025
Brian Chesky's secret mentor who died 9 times, started the Burning Man board, and built the world's first midlife wisdom school | Chip Conley (founder of MEA)
Lenny’s Podcast – Chip Conley on reporting to Brian Chesky, overcoming ageism in tech, navigating founder mode, and turning a near-death experience into the world’s first midlife wisdom school. “Today, Chip leads the Modern Elder Academy, the world’s first midlife wisdom school… He champions the idea that age and experience are assets—and that midlife can be a launchpad for renewed purpose and impact.”
July 28, 2026
How We Connected Podcast
How We Connected – This week’s guest is Chip Conley, who founded MEA. Chip was a shy kid who preferred his imaginary friends to real ones and now calls himself a mixologist of people. After 24 years running a boutique hotel company and four years as Airbnb’s head of global hospitality and strategy, he co-founded MEA, the world’s first midlife wisdom school. MEA has drawn more than 9,000 people from 60 countries. He walks through the three vaults of communication: the head, which holds the facts of your life, the heart, which holds your stories, and the gut, which
January 28, 2026
Christine Sperber: Tools for Transformation
Christine Sperber joins us to unpack how we navigate the murky in-between of life transitions, especially during midlife. She shares practical tools for becoming more self-aware and talks about the importance of curiosity, internal listening, and community when stepping into unfamiliar territory. Christine challenges us to embrace the awkward, the goofy, and the uncomfortable as necessary phases in personal growth. If you’re looking to break out of your comfort zone and rethink your identity, this conversation is your map—or better yet, your toolkit.
November 27, 2025
Flourish After Fifty - Kari Cardinale - "A roadmap for Navigating Transitions"
Whether you’re navigating an empty nest, rethinking your career, or simply facing a season of change, life after fifty is full of pivotal moments. In this episode, Kari Cardinale of the Modern Elder Academy offers a roadmap for embracing what’s next with clarity and intention. She explains the idea of “transitional intelligence” or TQ, and shares empowering strategies so you can meet transitions with curiosity and actively design a future that excites you.
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Articles
September 26, 2026
Finding Meaning in Retirement: Second Careers and Passions
Kiplinger – The concept of retirement has changed. Today, people segue into multiple opportunities later in life, especially since they are living longer. “A generation or two ago, you turned 65, you moved to Florida, you played shuffleboard for a few years, and then you died,” says David Rich, guest faculty at Modern Elder Academy, an educational organization that supports people in the second half of life. “Younger people, such as those who are getting into their 60s are like, ‘Wait a minute, I could have 30 good years here.’ That might lead you to do things differently.”
July 25, 2026
When Middle Age Actually Starts
The Atlantic – The only thing anyone can reliably tell you about middle age is that it’s in the middle of life. What’s the middle? Well, it’s after the beginning, and before the end. Okay, we can do a little better than that: Middle age comes after young adulthood, and before what we used to call “old age” but now might more decorously refer to as “older age” or “late life.” But to get more specific, to figure out when precisely middle age begins and ends, is a daunting challenge.
March 30, 2026
Don’t Call Them Retirement Communities
NY Times – The founder of Modern Elder Academy is on a mission to make “Golden Girls”-style living mainstream. Chip Conley, 65, only watched a few episodes of the sitcom, “The Golden Girls.” But Mr. Conley, who co-founded Modern Elder Academy (M.E.A.), which offers retreats and courses that encourage embracing midlife and beyond, never forgot the lifestyle it depicted: four 50-plus women living together in a Miami home, for better or for worse.
February 18, 2026
Modern Elder Academy MEA– Santa Fe
Modern Elder Academy Santa Fe — also known as Rising Circle Ranch — is a private high-desert sanctuary designed for reflection, reinvention, and next-chapter clarity. Set across four square miles of secluded New Mexico landscape, the campus blends Pueblo-inspired architecture with wide skies, mountain vistas, and profound natural silence that immediately calms the nervous system. This is not a traditional destination resort . MEA Santa Fe is a wisdom campus — a place where structured learning meets embodied experience. Intimate workshop cohorts, guided community circles, and facilitated inquiry unfold alongside restorative time outdoors. Hiking trails, equestrian experiences, and starlit
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