We’re used to hearing about retirement as a finish line – a moment to step back, slow down, and fade quietly into leisure. But for a growing number of people, the prescribed retirement age isn’t a deadline, it’s a doorway. In this series, we’ll meet the people who are rewriting the script on aging – and ultimately proving that sometimes, the most meaningful work begins when everyone else thinks it’s time to stop.
Michael Eskin, 83
Distinguished professor at the University of Manitoba
HOME BASE: Winnipeg
CLAIM TO FAME: The rapping cantor who helped develop canola oil
STAGE DIRECTION: I knew from a young age I had a strong singing voice and around 14 or 15, I started training at a music school in Birmingham, U.K., where I was born. I thought I might become an opera singer, but my father told me it wouldn’t be an easy career.
THE PIVOT: I went into biochemistry at Birmingham University, did a PhD in toxicology and physiological chemistry and taught at what’s now South Bank University in London. I moved to Canada in 1968 to join the University of Manitoba’s faculty of agricultural and food sciences.
MILESTONE MOMENT: I got pulled into a team developing canola from rapeseed. We were checking the composition, functional properties and stability to make it a world-class edible oil. At the time, we had no idea what the impact of our work would be. Canola now generates nearly $30 billion in economic activity in Canada every year.
BIGGEST PRIDE: I’ve had the great fortune of receiving a number of recognitions, like the Order of Manitoba, the Order of Canada and this year I got inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. The award I’m most proud of is the Supelco Research Award from the American Oil Chemists’ Society in 2020.
AND JOY: In Canada, despite getting married and raising four boys, I joined choirs and performed in concerts. I got into cantorial work, which is leading the singing portions of services at a synagogue. I also wrote a song for Sesame Street in Canada, called Let’s Go to the Park, in 1995. One of my sons became a music teacher; so in 2008, we made a children’s album about the Old Testament called Mostly Genesis with a Little Exodus, and it’s available on Spotify now.
STRAIGHT OUTTA THE PEG: In 2012, the American Oil Chemists’ Society asked me to give a talk at their annual conference. I made a poster called Lipids Get a Real Bad Rap: It’s Just Not Fair and recorded a rap song to go with it. It was really quite a hit and someone put it on YouTube. I’ve since recorded three more; the latest one is about proteins. Professors in Russia and South America told me they use my videos in their classes. It’s easier to remember something if it’s put to music.
THE WRITE STUFF: In 2011, I started working part-time. I didn’t want to retire fully. I really enjoy writing books and papers. I’ve published five books on topics like food science and chemistry, along with 50 papers on similar subjects.
FUTURE PROOFING: I go to the gym four times a week to ride the bicycle, do situps and lift weights. I’m a very early riser – sometimes I’m up by 4:30 a.m. I do my best writing and editing in the morning. The joke is that I will probably drop dead over a manuscript. Hopefully, it’s a finished manuscript. – As told to Andrea Yu
A version of this article appeared in the Oct/Nov 2024 issue with the headline ‘The Non-Retirement Plan,’ p. 24.
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