Meaning and Moxie After 50

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie speaks with Elsa Weill , who joins the conversation from Lyon . Elsa shares the story behind her project Coffee with Strangers , an initiative where she meets a new person every week for coffee—sometimes in person and sometimes online with people from around the world. After living in eight different countries over 25 years, Elsa created the p...

This conversation with Dr. Torkil Færø is a powerful blend of science, storytelling, and lived experience. Drawing from his work as a physician, global traveler, and author, Torkil breaks down the concept of heart rate variability (HRV) and what it reveals about our stress, recovery, and overall health. He explains how many of us are living in a constant low-grade stress state—often without realiz...

Caregiving has a way of slowly filling the space around your life until it feels like there’s little room left for you. In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , I talk with Barbara Stratte about what happens when caring for someone you love becomes a long-term reality, not just a temporary role. Barbara shares her story of navigating caregiving while balancing the rest of her life, and the...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie Maloney talks with financial advisor Lisa Clements about helping women prepare financially and emotionally for life after work. Lisa shares how leaving a 24-year corporate career and moving closer to family inspired her to pursue more meaningful work in financial planning. Together, they explore why women often feel disconnected from investing...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie talks with Jeanne Chung , whose life has taken her from a traditional Korean upbringing and a career in investment banking to yoga, wellness, entrepreneurship, and now writing a memoir. Jeanne shares how being raised by North Korean refugee parents—particularly a strict “Tiger Mom”—shaped her early ideas about achievement, perfection, and bein...

In this episode, Leslie talks with Lisa Morton , Feng Shui Master, intuitive holistic interior designer, author of Aligned at Home , and host of Feng Shui Living . Lisa shares how her career designing multimillion-dollar private aircraft eventually led to severe burnout, stress, anxiety, and depression—and an unexpected realization: although her own home was beautiful and photo-ready, it wasn’t ac...

In this inspiring episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie talks with Mikael Avatar Stjernvall, a Swedish Paralympic world-record holder, coach, artist, and self-described “inner freedom architect” now living in Thailand. Born with cerebral palsy and facing significant physical challenges from childhood, Mikael refused to let other people’s expectations define what was possible for him. From...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie talks with Vera Nicholas about an unexpected way to combine travel, learning, adventure, and connection later in life: becoming a Lifelong Learner with Semester at Sea. Vera shares how, in her mid-60s, she embarked on a 105-day voyage that took her from Amsterdam to destinations including Portugal, Morocco, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Jordan, Keny...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie sits down with emotional sobriety coach Colleen Freeland for a refreshingly different conversation about women and alcohol. Colleen shares her own journey from being a high-achieving mother, professional, marathon runner, and yoga teacher to becoming a daily drinker whose alcohol use escalated dramatically during COVID. After three years of so...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie sits down with 79-year-old author, entrepreneur, speaker, and lifelong reinvention expert Jay Sargeant , founder of The SHIFT Project and author of SHIFT: The Gift of Reinvention . Jay looks back on a life that has taken him from community organizer to tennis professional, franchise developer, business consultant, NLP trainer, and beyond—often...

In this deeply thoughtful episode, Leslie sits down with Steven Ferrara, author of Grief to Gratitude: Embracing the Inner Pathway to Healing and Peace , to explore what it means to move through profound loss without allowing grief to define the rest of your life. Steven shares his own devastating experiences—the sudden death of his 23-year-old son, Christopher, in a car accident, followed several...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie talks with author, health and wellness coach, and former CPA Jeanne Phares about why strength training may be one of the most important things women can do as they age. Jeanne explains that the goal isn’t simply weight loss or changing how we look—it’s maintaining muscle, balance, posture, mobility, independence, and quality of life. She share...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie talks with relationship therapist and Marriage Therapy Radio host Zach Brittle about what it really takes to build and maintain healthy relationships over time. Zach shares candidly about his nearly 30-year marriage, his decision to stop drinking in 2020, and the realization that sobriety alone didn’t automatically repair the damage in his rel...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie sits down with Rachel Langenohl, an end-of-life doula and founder of Sacred Time , for a heartfelt conversation about bringing greater peace, dignity, and even joy to the end of life. Rachel explains how an end-of-life doula complements hospice care by focusing on the emotional, spiritual, and relational needs that often arise when someone is...

In this solo episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie Maloney shares her top five reasons why travel becomes even more valuable as we age. She explains that travel isn't about luxury vacations or checking destinations off a bucket list—it's about stepping outside our routines and into new experiences that wake us up to the world around us. Whether it's a weekend road trip, vis...

In this episode, Leslie talks with Jennifer Robin Wilson—author of The Heart of Homestay , entrepreneur, leadership coach, and former CEO of the Canada Homestay Network—about the life-changing experience of hosting international students. Jennifer explains how homestay programs connect students from around the world with local families, creating meaningful cultural exchanges that benefit everyone...

In this fascinating episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie sits down with 93-year-old author, conservationist and mathematician Margaret Broussard for a conversation that spans nearly a century of history, adventure, and purpose. Margaret shares what it was like growing up in "Old Florida" before air conditioning, widespread development, and the state's explosive population...

 In this episode, Leslie sits down with author, entrepreneur, and one of the world's most highly certified Ashtanga yoga instructors, Harmony Slater, for a thoughtful conversation about what it really means to live with intention. While they begin by exploring Harmony's impressive background in the Ashtanga yoga tradition, the discussion quickly expands into the deeper lessons yoga offer...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie sits down with life coach and author Lisa Taylor to discuss her new book, It All Begins With You , and the deeply personal experiences that inspired it. Lisa shares how a series of life-altering events—including an unexpected move, becoming the primary caregiver for her six-year-old niece after a family crisis, and the eventual end of her marr...

In this episode, Leslie sits down with somatic healing practitioner Lori Montry to explore why so many people feel stuck despite years of self-help, positive thinking, or traditional talk therapy. Lori explains that lasting change requires more than changing our thoughts—it requires working with the body and nervous system, which often hold onto past experiences and keep us in survival mode. Toget...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50, Leslie talks with professional organizer, author, and entrepreneur Lisa Woodruff about how getting organized is about much more than having a tidy closet—it’s about reducing stress, gaining control, and creating a life that feels more manageable. Lisa shares her own journey of approaching age 40 feeling overwhelmed, reactive, and stuck, before decidin...

In this solo episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie explores why so many women over 50 feel stuck in a constant state of stress, overwhelm, and exhaustion. Drawing on her background as a certified stress management coach and longtime yoga teacher, she explains the science behind nervous system regulation and shares a powerful message: you cannot think your way out of a stressed body—you mu...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie talks with psychotherapist and certified sex therapist Brooke Bralove about dating, intimacy, and relationships after 50. Brooke explains that many women in the Baby Boomer and Gen X generations grew up with limited or negative messages about sex, leaving them without accurate information about their bodies, pleasure, and intimacy. She discuss...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Leslie talks with Sena Wheeler, a fifth-generation Alaskan fisherwoman, entrepreneur, and co-owner of a family-run salmon business. Sena shares the rich history of her family's fishing roots, which stretch back through generations in Norway before her grandfather immigrated to the United States. She describes fishing not simply as a profession,...

In this episode of Meaning and Moxie After 50 , Lauren Henkin joins Leslie Maloney for a thought-provoking conversation about curiosity, lifelong learning, and wellness. Lauren shares her unique background as both a professional artist and wellness industry leader, explaining how she noticed a missing piece in traditional wellness conversations: awe, wonder, creativity, and intellectual exploratio...