Practicing Love: Have the Best Love and Sex of Your Life After 40

How to have the sex you actually want: More Pleasure and Connection Beyond Scripts, Shame and Expectations Having great sex is not about knowing the "right" things to do. It's about discovering what  actually  feels good and meaningful to you. The best question to ask yourself is: Are you ha ving the sex you actually want? In this episode of Practicing Love , I talk with Deborah Kat , relationship...

What happens when men expand their sexuality to be about more than performance, orgasm, or "getting the job done"? In this episode of Man Alive , I talk with Rick Broniec , author of Power Tools for Men and a longtime leader in the ManKind Project, about sexual healing for men — and what becomes possible when men begin to experience sexuality as a pathway to deeper connection with themselves and t...

How would your relationships be different if you could experience the world from the other side of the gender divide, and understand how a man or woman (whichever you are not) feels and experiences life? Would it bring more compassion for the things that irritate you? Today's guest has something very few people can offer: a real life perspective on living as both a woman and a man. Since Jason Hil...

What happens when the woman you love stops wanting sex? For many men, a fading sex drive feels like rejection, loneliness, or even a sign that the relationship is dying. You may wonder:  Am I still attractive? Does she still want me? Did I do something wrong? After more than 20 years of coaching men and couples, I've found the answer is usually more nuanced. Women often don't stop wanting sex.  Th...

Have you ever looked at someone you love and wondered,  What happened to us? Most people assume relationships drift apart because the spark fades, communication breaks down, or life simply gets in the way. But what if the real reason is much simpler and more hopeful? In this conversation, bestselling author and executive coach Jamie Smart shares a perspective that has transformed the lives of thou...

Everyone talks about "baggage" in dating. But what does that actually mean? If you're dating in midlife, chances are you—and everyone you meet—have lived through heartbreak, divorce, health challenges, parenting, financial ups and downs, grief, or complicated family dynamics. The goal isn't to find someone without baggage. It's to discover whether your lives, values, and emotional realities are co...

Why do so many ambitious, successful couples end up feeling more like roommates than romantic partners? It's rarely because they stopped loving each other. Most people assume intimacy begins in the bedroom. Andrew and Kiana Joyner believe it begins at the kitchen table... in the everyday moments where partners feel heard, understood, appreciated, and emotionally safe. When those moments disappear,...

Many people enter dating determined to avoid conflict. They smile through uncomfortable conversations, overlook comments that don't sit right, or convince themselves they're being "easygoing." Especially for those dating after 40 or dating after divorce, staying agreeable can feel like the safest way to protect themselves from rejection or disappointment. But according to relationship and dating c...

What happens when the person you love feels more like a roommate than a romantic partner? A dead bedroom isn't just about sex. For many people, it feels like rejection, loneliness, and the slow loss of emotional connection. It can leave partners wondering: "What's wrong with me?" "Why doesn't my partner want me?" "Can we ever get back what we had?" In this episode of Practicing Love, I sit down wi...

If you've ever left a date replaying every moment in your head, analyzing every text message, or wondering whether you said the wrong thing, you're not alone. For many people, especially those dating after 40 or dating after divorce, first dates aren't actually about getting to know someone. They're about trying to figure out whether you're being liked. In this solo episode of Practicing Love , da...

What does it take to create a relationship that survives life's challenges and? My guest, Geoff Laughton, has been married for 44 years. He and his wife have been through experiences that would have ended many relationships, but their marriage has continued to deepen and evolve. In this conversation Geoff shares why conflict isn't something to avoid, but one of the greatest opportunities for growt...

Most men were never taught how to navigate a woman's desires. In fact, many were taught to fear them. In this candid and sometimes provocative conversation, intimacy expert Susan Bratton and I explore what becomes possible when women stop hiding what they want and men stop seeing desire as something they have to control, manage, or perform around. Susan has spent decades helping people create what...

Dating after 40, especially dating after divorce,  is supposed to get easier. You know yourself better. You're done with the games. You're clear on what you want. But somehow, the dates still feel like performances. The apps still feel like a chore. And getting ghosted still stings just as much as it did decades ago. That's exactly where this episode begins. In this solo episode of Practicing Love...

Most people dating after 40s have a theory about why love hasn't happened yet. The age. The baggage. The kids. The schedule. Relationship and dating coach  Shana James says every one of those theories is wrong, not because the challenges aren't real, but because they're symptoms, not the cause. In this episode of Practicing Love, Shana explains that the real obstacle is almost never circumstantial...

Betrayal can feel like it shatters everything. Trust, safety, identity can be gone in an instant. But betrayal is also more complex than we've been led to believe. In this episode of  Practicing Love , I'm joined by The Therapy Brothers, Brannon and Tyler Patrick, who specialize in helping individuals and couples navigate betrayal, addiction, and the painful path of rebuilding trust. We explore wh...

What if dating could be enjoyable, and you could let go of the stress of performing, proving, and wanting to be chosen... especially when dating in midlife and wanting real love? In this special episode, I'm joined by my partner, Marc Hopkins, for a real and honest conversation about how we  actually found love — and what we did differently than in our past relationships. We didn't fall in love by...

What if love could actually get easier over time? And could deepen instead of fade?  In this episode, I'm joined by Ben and Kerena Saltzman — partners who don't just  talk  about conscious relationship, but live it. They share what they do to keep love alive, not by avoiding conflict, but by learning to love each other well.  They talk about how it can be intentional, even when things feel messy....

Why do so many relationships feel frustrating, confusing, or disappointing, even when there's real love?  What if the biggest source of conflict in your relationship isn't your partner, but your expectations of them? In this episode, I talk with psychologist and author of  Better Man: A Guide to Consent, Stronger Relationships, and Hotter Sex . We explore how quickly we create stories about who ou...

In this episode of  Practicing Love , I talk with tech modern mystic Renée Blodgett,   about where science and spirituality meet in love and relationship. We explore real-life relationship dynamics, like how awareness, vulnerability, and presence directly impact and deepen intimacy, from Renee's spiritual perspectives. We talk about what's beyond traditional conditioning around love and sex, how o...

Most men want to please the women they love. But many don't understand what actually helps a woman open, relax, and experience truly satisfying sex. In this episode, I talk with Certified Sexologist Kevin Anthony, host of the  Love Lab Podcast , about what men often miss about what women need to make sex great for them. For many women, great sex doesn't start in the bedroom. It begins with  safety...

What if calling in "the one" who is a soul-aligned partner isn't about doing more, but about coming home to who you truly are? In this episode, Shana James sits down with Self-Love & Relationship Coach  Risa Gaull , who reminds us of a powerful truth:  you are the love you seek. If you've read  Calling in "The One"  by Kathryn Woodward Thomas and wondered how to truly become and attract a soul-ali...

Money can feel even more vulnerable than sex. In this episode of  Practicing Love , I sit down with money coach and  Gentle Money  author Adam Koren to explore why finances carry so much emotional weight — and why so many couples struggle to talk about them without tension, shame, or defensiveness. Most of us were never actually taught how to manage money in a grounded, relational way. And yet we...

Menopause isn't just a women's issue. It's creates a relationship struggle for both partners. And for many couples, it's the moment things fall apart. In this episode of  Practicing Love , I talk with men's guide Mark J. Platten about why relationships during menopause and midlife feel so challenging, and what men are rarely taught about how to show up. Most men enter relationships with what Mark...

What happens when desire fades, sex feels effortful, or intimacy keeps getting interrupted by resentment, pressure, or exhaustion? In this episode of  Practicing Love , I'm joined by Elana Auerbach, author of  The Sure Thing: A Pleasure Practice to Revive the Spark , for a refreshing and deeply human conversation about desire differences, sensual connection, and what actually helps when intimacy t...