Magnificent Midlife

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...

A solo midlife update from Rachel, with a difference, sharing her recent solo trip to Albania, and what's been going on in life. She talks about: - Initial nervousness and changing travel plans - Conquering driving fears while navigating Albania's challenging roads - Initial hotel challenges - Exploring Gjirokastër and its extraordinary architecture - Finding local heroes to help when she got rath...

Samhita Mukhopadhyay is the former editor of Teen Vogue and Feministing and the editorial director at The Meteor. She's the author of The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning, which explores the contradictions and inequities of success in the modern workplace, particularly for women and marginalized groups. She's also written Outdated: Why Dating is Ruining Your Love Life and was the co-editor...

Lesley Jane Seymour is a media entrepreneur and the former editor of More magazine. She founded Covey Club, an online community for women over 40, which grew out of a survey that More magazine readers took after the iconic magazine closed. She's been a leading light in the media industry for many years, and she was the editor of Marie Claire magazine before taking over More. She's passionate about...

I always love chatting to this returning guest! Kate Codrington is the author of The New York Times recommended book, Second Spring: The Self-Care Guide To Menopause, and her second book is The Perimenopause Journal: Unlock Your Power, Own Your Wellbeing, Find Your Path. This is a beautiful journal full of love and wisdom to help women process the momentous changes that perimenopause brings. This...

Dr Anisha Patel is a GP specializing in women's health whose world was turned upside down with a diagnosis of stage three bowel cancer. She's the author of the brilliant book Everything You'd Hoped You'd Never Need To Know About Bowel Cancer. I found this such a powerful book, with lessons for all of us whether or not we have cancer. This is a very inspiring conversation about women's health and h...

Dr. Sarah White is the CEO of Jean Hailes for Women's Health, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving women's health across Australia through every life stage. She is part of the National Women's Health Advisory Council and the Women's Health Products Working Group at Australia's Medicines Regulator. She's an honorary research fellow at Melbourne University and still an activ...

Shelle Luscombe is an entertainer, a singer, a presenter, a voiceover artist. She turned 50 in 2021 and she set out to have 50 memorable experiences. She also wanted to raise money for a cause very close to her heart, having two copies of the Alzheimer's risk gene and having lost both parents to dementia. Three years on, she's raised over £12,000 pounds.  She's been on daytime TV and came close to...

This is such a fascinating podcast! Maria Leonard Olsen is a lawyer, an author, a TEDx speaker, and a mentor to women in recovery. She wrote 50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life and is host of the Becoming Your Best Version podcast. She's had a very full and fascinating life – so far. She has so many enthralling stories to share. We talk about: - Maria's background and passion for...

Sue Mbaya is the founder and director of Menopause Solutions Africa and host of the Pause for Menopause podcast. She's leading menopause awareness in Africa and seeking to normalize the change while empowering women. She has over 20 years of policy advocacy, advisory and development experience at national, regional and global levels with a focus on African States and the African Union. Sue's work...

Lynne Golodner is a novelist writing about strong Jewish women and Jewish culture. She shares her background and journey as a writer, her focus on writing about Orthodox Jewish life, and the challenges and research involved. Lynne recently set up her own independent publishing house for women over 40 with strong voices that need to be heard. Her first novel, Woman of Valor, joins two poetry collec...

A midlife update from Rachel on what's been happening lately and what's coming up for her as we move towards summer.  She talks about: - Cherishing loved ones and coping with grief - Recent podcast episodes Being a veteran Black menopause and staying curious Staying strong and healing Embodied experience of postmenopause Discovering the joy of volunteering Finding what works in midlife The power o...

Hannah Charman  has been a medical herbalist since 1999, having first become interested in alternative medicine when she used it to recover from chronic fatigue syndrome in her early teens. She specialises now in helping women who prefer or need a natural route through menopause, combining herbal medicine with health coaching. We talk about: - What a medical herbalist is - Hannah's journey to beco...

Dr. Maria Luque is a menopause fitness expert, a health science professor, and an Air Force veteran. She's passionate about helping menopausal women become healthier, stronger, and happier. Her PhD dissertation was all about enhancing quality of life in menopause. We talk about: - What quality of life in menopause means to Maria - Maria's research on menopause - Misinformation and fear surrounding...

Ann Marie Jackson is the co-founder of microlending organization Mano Amiga and works with Casita Linda, which builds homes for families living in poverty in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She's lived as an expat in Mexico for a decade, is a columnist for Mexico Daily News and recently wrote a novel inspired by her life called the Broken Hummingbird. We talk about: - Why Ann Marie moved her family...

Stella Duffy is an award-winning writer of 17 novels, over 70 short stories and 15 plays who's also worked in theatre for 35 years as an actor, director and facilitator. She's a psychotherapist and a yoga teacher. She recently completed her doctorate in existential psychotherapy and her research was in the embodied experience of post-menopause. She's been post-menopausal since chemotherapy for bre...

Dr Kristie Ennis is a physical therapist, nutritionist, and strength and conditioning specialist. She wants to empower people to do more than they think they can and realize they are stronger than they think they are. She has a fantastic YouTube channel, which is where podcast host Rachel found her when she injured her knee. We talk about: - The importance of letting the body heal itself - Fascia...

Pamela Windle joins the podcast to talk about menopause, at work, for Black women, diversity of experience, the importance of representation and staying curious about big statements about women's health, especially when those relate to race. Pamela is a women's health coach and menstruation and menopause consultant for the workplace. She trained with the Integrated Women's Health Institute and the...

Cat Corchado is a US Air Force veteran turned founder of the Small Space Pilates Community. She's made it her mission to help women veterans transition from the military, and is the host of the Sisters in Service podcast. We talk about: - Why Cat is still very active in the military community - Women veterans' transition challenges and successes - The Sisters in Service podcast - The importance of...

Mag Mid podcast host Rachel is flying solo this week, talking about what's been happening in her world. There's a trip to the UK Houses of Parliament and a book recommendation in the New York Times in the mix! Check out what's been catching her attention lately. She talks about: - The success of the MenoClarity live event and how you can still access the recordings - Going to the heart of Governme...

Elaine Reynolds is a master personal trainer and yoga teacher. She teaches women over 50 to not give up or give in with the crazy things happening to our bodies. She had an epiphany at 50 and bought a one way ticket to Bali, where she lives now.  We talk about: - What's it like being an expat in Bali and what she loves most about it - Elaine's passion of helping older women stay fit - Issues that...