Magnificent Midlife

Body image, self-worth and ageing are all key midlife topics and many women struggle deeply with their bodies at midlife, often in silence. Dr Ellen Albertson is passionate about changing that. She's a psychologist, registered dietitian, board-certified health and wellness coach and author of  Rock Your Midlife . She's known as  The Midlife Whisperer  and it's easy to understand why. She's been in...

Lucy Standing is the co-founder of Brave Starts, a not-for-profit supporting people in midlife and beyond to rethink work, purpose and what comes next. She's the author of Age Against the Machine, a chartered psychologist with a background in recruitment and a passionate voice on ageism, work and the realities of longer working lives. Brave Starts supports more than 900 members navigating career c...

I'm delighted to be introducing a brand-new topic to the podcast: modern grandparenting. It's not a life stage I'm personally entering just yet - but as Magnificent Midlife continues to evolve, it's one that feels increasingly important to talk about. My guest is Dee Dee Moore, founder of More Than Grand, an online hub dedicated to helping new grandparents make the very best of their role. Dee Dee...

Vijay Bassi Reed is a former communications specialist who retrained in midlife as a personal trainer and nutrition coach. She is also a competitive HYROX and fitness racer. Her midlife transition emerged from burnout and hormonal change, leading to a deliberate reassessment of health, work and identity - and a stronger, more sustainable way of living. We talk about: -Vijay's journey from senior c...

Susan Dabbar is the founder and editor-in-chief of  PROVOKEDmagazine – a bold, unapologetic digital magazine for women 50+, challenging and redefining how older women are seen, heard and represented. Susan's career has been shaped by fearless pivots. She began as a naval architect designing nuclear submarines, went on to shape brand strategy at companies including Disney and Nestlé, played profess...

I was deeply moved by my guest Lisa Boehm. Lisa's life changed forever when her daughter, Katie, was killed in a car accident – an experience no parent should ever have to endure. In the years since, she's found remarkable strength and purpose, transforming her grief into a force for healing and connection. This is probably the most difficult interview I've ever done. I hope you find it as powerfu...

Caron Grossman is a registered nurse, breathwork facilitator, author and heart attack survivor. Her memoir,  Listen to Your Heart Song: Navigating the Unexpected , weaves together her experiences of adolescent grief, addiction, recovery and a near-fatal heart attack, offering hope, honesty and practical insight for anyone navigating their own unexpected life events. We talk about: -How Caron's hea...

Tami Stackelhouse is an award-winning author, founder of the International Fibromyalgia Coaching Institute and executive producer of the documentary  Invisible . She's dedicated to helping people with fibromyalgia reclaim control of their bodies and their lives, so they no longer feel trapped by pain, exhaustion or uncertainty. Fibromyalgia is so often misunderstood, minimised or brushed aside – a...

I'm delighted to welcome back Keren Etkin to the podcast! Keren is a gerontologist, entrepreneur, and author of The AgeTech Revolution – a fascinating book about the intersection of technology and ageing. I love that she describes herself as an AgeTech evangelist – it captures her passion perfectly. Keren is also the founder of The Gerontechnologist and The AgeTech Academy, both dedicated to helpi...

Alison Larkin is a bestselling author, comedian, producer, and narrator of over 250 audiobooks. Her acclaimed autobiographical novel  The English American  tells the story of an adopted English woman who finds her birth parents in America. She's also the creator of the hit one-woman show  Grief… a Comedy  and author of the book of the same name. Rachel first saw Alison perform at London's Soho The...

Want to rethink everything you thought you knew about menopause? I'm thrilled to welcome back Tania Elfersy, someone I really admire and a woman with a truly refreshing take on this stage of life. This is a conversation between two women who care deeply about the state of the menoverse today! I first came across Tania while writing my  book  and was immediately struck by her wisdom and insight. Th...

We're bringing back another powerful episode for our special Menopause Matters Season - this time with the fabulous Karen Newby. Karen is a nutritionist who's been practising nutritional therapy for over a decade, specialising in women's hormonal health - particularly menopause. She's the author of The Natural Menopause Method , a brilliant nutritional guide to perimenopause and beyond, and her br...

We're bringing back another great episode for our special Menopause Matters Season — this time with the fabulous Tania Dalton. Tania is a healthy aging coach and fitness trainer, known for her inspiring approach to redefining what's possible as we age. She's passionate about showing that menopause isn't an ending, but the beginning of a whole new chapter. Since we first recorded this episode, Tani...

We're bringing back another ground-breaking episode for our special  Menopause Matters Season  — this time with the inspiring Karen Arthur. Karen is an educator, fashion designer, dancer, podcaster, broadcaster, author and artist. She's the host of the  Menopause Whilst Black  podcast, which she created to amplify the voices of Black women going through menopause. Karen brings such honesty, creati...

We're bringing back another great episode for our special Menopause Matters Season – this time with the brilliant Angela Counsel. Angela is a naturopath, kinesiologist, and mindset coach working with women in midlife. Like me, she's on a mission to spread the word that menopause doesn't have to be a struggle. It can be a time of stepping into your wisdom and falling in love with yourself and your...

We're bringing back another episode for our special  Menopause Matters Season  — this time with the wonderful Clarissa Kristjansson. She's a Mindfulness and Menopause expert, author of  The Mindful Menopause , and host of the  Thriving Thru Menopause  podcast. Clarissa is passionate about changing the way women think about menopause and aging. She brings such warmth and wisdom to this conversation...

We're revisiting another brilliant conversation for our special  Menopause Matters Season  — this time with the inspiring Breeda Bermingham. She's a social entrepreneur, founder of the  Midlife Women Rock Project , and author of  Midlife Women Rock: A Menopause Story for a New Generation . A former midwife and nurse, Breeda went back to full-time education at 49, completing both a psychology degre...

This is a re-release episode with the brilliant Jackie Lynch, Registered Nutritional Therapist and author of  The Happy Menopause . I just love that title! Jackie's work is all about how nutrition can help us flourish in midlife and beyond. ✨  Book news!  Jackie's latest book  The Happy Menopause Guide to Energy: Nutrition to Rejuvenate Your Brain & Body  is now out. While her original book  The...

Maryon Stewart is known as the pioneer of the natural menopause movement. She created a non-drug but scientifically based program to overcome issues associated with menopause and has helped thousands of women. She's written 28 books and is also a campaigner for education around drugs. She's made it her mission to ensure women have all the information they need to manage menopause effectively witho...

In this solo episode, host Rachel Lankester introduces a brand-new special season of the  Magnificent Midlife Podcast :  Menopause Matters . With World Menopause Day around the corner, Rachel is shining a spotlight on some of the inspiring menopause conversations from the Magnificent Midlife archives. She shares her own early menopause diagnosis story, why  lifestyle (as) medicine (the theme of th...

Want to add something fabulous to your life? Meet Melissa Talago, a serial entrepreneur and portfolio careerist with a single minded passion: to live a life less ordinary. She runs Hoomin, providing content marketing and communications leadership to tech companies. She's also the founder of Glamoraks, a global community for women who hike. She wrote a book on how to divorce amicably and in her spa...

Dr. Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist, author, and science communicator passionate about making brain science accessible and practical. With a PhD in neuroscience, she specializes in exploring the female brain and its transformations across life stages. Her books, The Women's Brain Book and Baby Brain , delve into the neuroscience of health, hormones, and motherhood. She's also the director of The N...

Lara Briden is a naturopathic doctor and women's health advocate with over 25 years of clinical experience. Lara has written Period Repair Manual and Hormone Repair Manual. Her latest book, Metabolism Repair For Women,  a compassionate, science based guide to balancing insulin, losing weight and improving health, empowers women to understand and heal their metabolism for lasting health. Lara is al...

Tracey Yarad is an Australian singer-songwriter and pianist who transformed personal heartbreak into powerful storytelling. After a devastating betrayal in midlife, she channelled her pain into her one-woman musical show All The Pretty Things , now touring in Australia and the UK. Through raw honesty, humour, and music, she's helping others heal while reclaiming her own voice. So powerful and insp...

Rebekah Rotstein is the creator of the medically endorsed Buff Bones® system, providing bone health, education and exercise to manage and prevent bone and joint issues for people of all ages. She's an industry leader in Pilates, bone health and movement education. Rebekah was diagnosed with osteoporosis at the age of 28 and has been helping people improve their bone health ever since.  She talks a...