HOT FLASHES & COOL TOPICS

Seasoned female musicians are another group of women who are often overlooked in the professional world. This week's guest is singer and founder of Wavemakers, Lurleen Ladd. Lurleen created Wavemakers- Women in Music 40+ as a platform to amplify women's voices, their talents and to address the challenges they face in the industry. Learn more about the organization, the yearly grants they offer, an...

Hot Flashes & Cool Topics Holiday Gift Guide for Midlife Women: LINK Threadneedle Alley Foundation: LINK Who is ready to save some money on this year's holiday shopping?   This week, we invite back shopping and money saving experts, Trae Bodge.  Trae shares with us the top gifts of 2025, where and when to get them and best of all, how to save money while doing it. We address the Tariffs and po...

It has been a very big week for women's health.   After years of experts like Dr. Rachel Rubin fighting to have the black box warnings on vaginal estrogen products removed, the FDA has agreed to remove it from select HRT products. This week, we are replaying Dr. Rachel Rubin's episode where she shares the importance of vaginal estrogen for women's health.  Dr. Rubin is a nationally-recognized urol...

Long before she played mom Kristina Braverman on Parenthood, our guest this week, Monica Potter, was juggling young parenthood and her busy 90's career. Working alongside actors like Robin Williams and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Monica's career was on fire.  Abruptly, she made the decision to take her young family back to her hometown in Cleveland for a break.  Monica returned to Hollywood and resta...

*Check out our Top 25 Advent Calendars for 2025: ADVENT CALENDARS EPISODE: Today's grandparents face challenges that may surprise you. Our guest this week, DeeDee Moore, knows all about these challenges. DeeDee founded More Than Grand to help new grandparents become the support that new parents need. Her insight and resources provide practical guidance that helps families navigate those generation...

We are all too familiar with the 15 minute patient appointment.  The doctor typing away quickly while we rattle off symptoms, little to no eye contact and this feeling of disconnect when we leave. We wanted to understand the reasons behind many physicians disconnect to their patients.  Our guest this week is Dr. Jessi Gold, a leading voice in mental health and the author of How Do You Feel?: One D...

Many will remember this week’s guest, Mel Harris, for her role as Hope Steadman in Thirtysomething. That show influenced the lives of not only the actors involved, but the viewers who were loyal for its 4 year run.  Mel started her career in modeling and then transitioned into acting.  While the role of Hope shot her in the public eye, she has consistently been a working actor for decades.  She ha...

Menopause may be having its "moment", but what about the years leading up to the big event, aka perimenopause? What is happening to our bodies during this radical change? We invited back one of our favorite guests, Dr. Heather Hirsch to educate us on all things perimenopause. The reality is that many women over 35 start this hormonal rollercoaster ride and they don't even realize it. In her new bo...

Neurodiversity is a term that was recently coined in 1998 but the existence of differences in brains is as old as time. In this episode, we explore neurodiversity with Dr. Thomas Armstrong, author of The Power of Neurodiversity, Unleashing the Advantages of Your Neurodivergent Brain.  Dr. Armstrong explores 7 varieties of neurodiversity: Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Dyslexia, Intellectual Disab...

What happens to your mindset when you add the word "yet" to goals you have not reached? I have not written that book...yet I have not traveled to Europe...yet We are changing the narrative this week with our guest, Jana Short. Jana is the Editor of Best Holistic Life Magazine and the new, Ageless Living Magazine.  We talk to her about her personal journey and how she is inspiring others to achieve...

Get Ready for SEASON 6 because we are starting off with a bang! This week, our guest is the incredible actress, comedian and musician Margaret Cho. Did you know that Margaret started her stand up career at the young age of 14 and that within the first two years, she had performed 300 concerts. Her career expanded into acting with in 1994 with the sitcom, All American Girl. Margaret has continue to...

"What If" your worst fear happened?  Our guest this week, Alison Larkin, was terrified of finding true love. What if she fell in love and her heart was broken?  Alison was so afraid that she did not find true love until she was over 50 year old.  She did meet her true love, Bhima, and for 2 glorious years they were happy.  Unfortunately, Bhima died of a heart attack a few days after he proposed to...

It is exciting when new products come to market that speak directly to our demographic.   Our guest this week, is Laura Yecies, CEO of Osteoboost. Osteoboost is the first FDA-cleared drug-free prescription treatment for osteopenia in postmenopausal women.  How does it work?  Laura explains that Osteoboost works with precision vibration in the hip area to dramatically reduce loss of bone strength a...

There are far too many examples in history when a man has overshadowed a woman's achievements. Our guests this week, Lori Zimmer and Maria Krasinski, authored and illustrated a book which highlights the achievements of 31 women artists and visionaries who experienced this.  I'M NOT YOUR MUSE: Uncovering the Overshadowed Brilliance of Women Artists & Visionaries, shares stories of women in musi...

We love sharing our conversations with inspiring women like Nicole Eggert. You may remember Nicole from her roles in Charge in Charge and Baywatch and we talk about both of those journeys. From despicable behavior from a fellow cast member to slow motion running on the beach, she shares her journey with honesty and humor.  She also shares her current battle with Cribriform Breast Cancer, a slow gr...

Women over 50 are getting the message that we are not invisible.  In fact, we have stories to share and many new adventures still to enjoy. Our guest this week is 50+ essayist and speaker Kerri Devine.  Kerri is the creator of Hot in Charleston, an intergenerational community of women sharing their stories, struggles and insights on midlife, motherhood and menopause.  She is also a producer for th...

There is so much more to the pelvic floor than most women realize. This week we invited Dr. Sara Reardon to explain the anatomy of the pelvic floor and the problems many women may silently struggle with in that area.  From menstruation to menopause, Dr. Reardon has created a comprehensive book entitled FLOORED: A Woman's Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage. Whether you are struggli...

We are talking decluttering your home on this last July replay episode. We are joined by former guest Dana K. White.  Dana is an author and podcaster as well as creator of the No Mess Decluttering process.  She shares with us the importance of a good black trash bag and the 4 simple things we should do everyday to keep our house clean. We talk about two valuable questions you should ask when start...

We are excited to revisit our conversation with the joyful actress Kate Flannery. Many will remember Kate as Drunk Meredith Palmer on The Office.  That role resulted in her winning 2 Screen Actors Guild Award. She has continued to build her career in television, independent films and the comedy circuit. She shares funny stories from The Office, the joys of embracing this career success post 40 and...

Talking about women's sexual health always deserves a replay. This week, we are replaying our conversation with Dr Kelly Casperson.  Dr. Casperson is a Board Certified Urologist, international educator on women's sexual health, podcaster and author.  We talk low libido, the use and misuse of testosterone, menopause symptoms, and how to have great sex in midlife and beyond. You deserve it! Show Not...

For the month of July, we are replaying some of our listener's favorite episodes. The first is with organizer Marni Jameson. There are many transitions in midlife.  Organizing your home is a big one. Do you keep a larger home as an empty nester? Do you downsize?  Are you overwhelmed with memories and things and you can't decide what to do with them?  Do you have a parent moving in or do you have t...

It's time to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Marriage Equality Act! We invited back Tammy and Kim Franklin, two of original plaintiffs in the Obergefell vs. Hodges to talk about their experiences and how their lives have changed.  The Franklins were one of six couples that brought this case to the Supreme Court in 2015. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of same sex marriages and that same sex...

What do you think of the term "midlife crisis'?  Is it a burden or a reboot? Our guest this week is author and documentary filmmaker, Kate Muir.  Kate believes that: "‘A midlife crisis is a magnificent moment, and nobody should miss out on it. We need to reframe this time of questioning for a new generation of women who want to revive and thrive for longer. We must reclaim the midlife crisis from...

Join us for an other incredible conversation with actress and vibrant women over 50, Annette O'Toole. At a very young age, she started her career as a dancer, then theatre actress and has now appeared in over 40 series.  Her most recent role is Mayor Hope McCrea on Nextflix's longest running drama Virgin River.  We also talk about her personal life including her wonderful marriage to actor and mus...

"It's Not Your Job to Like Me, It's Mine." Byron Katie The need to people please is our discussion for this week's Cool Topics Series. Are you a people pleaser? Most of us will answer yes. We say yes before thinking about our own needs.  We put everyone else above us on our list of priorities.  We often seek acceptance in people we shouldn't and we worry about hurting the feeling of others who do...