MenOpod: all things fifty +

Turning 56 apparently comes with two unexpected perks: a Ross senior discount—and the ability to forget the word “fork.” This week, Eliana goes into Ross for one suitcase and somehow loses an entire day, trusts ChatGPT over her husband during a full-blown shopping crisis, nearly sacrifices brand-new HOKAs to a Florida flash flood, falls in love with a beach sweater so ugly it should’ve come with a...

Midlife is realizing that no matter how many doctor appointments you drive your mother to, how many groceries you carry into her house, or how many times you explain FaceTime versus speakerphone, one call from the favorite child can erase decades of service faster than a factory reset. This week, Eliana and Leora compete in the Family Dysfunction Olympics, where their mother’s 83rd birthday proves...

Midlife doesn’t arrive politely—it kicks down the door, rearranges your gut, and leaves behind symptoms it refuses to explain. This week, gastroenterologist Dr. Jeffrey Brooks joins Eliana and Leora for a deep dive into the glamorous underworld of aging digestion: reflux that shows up uninvited, bloating that ignores physics, constipation with commitment issues, and bathroom “emergencies” that red...

Ever feel like the older you get, the more things there are to worry about? In this hilariously relatable episode of MenOpod: All Things Fifty Plus, sisters Leora and Eliana tackle the growing midlife anxiety that shows up uninvited and overstays its welcome. From grown sons who still can’t manage basic self-care, to brain fog, forgotten medications, cleaning lady confessions, and the overwhelming...

Forget Eat, Pray, Love. This is menopause-era reinvention with rolling luggage, emotional support snacks, and a husband at home slowly discovering that “what’s for dinner?” is now a deeply personal problem. Psychotherapist and author Leah Fisher joins MenOpod to talk about what happens when an empty nest identity meltdown, a long marriage, and a full-blown midlife crisis collide at the exact same...

This week on MenOpod, Eliana enters her full feral menopause era after abandoning an entire Trader Joe’s haul — including ice cream and near-mythical protein pancakes that drop like Taylor Swift tickets — to melt into a warm dairy crime scene while she wandered Miami dissociating on a “quick walk.” Meanwhile, Leora questions whether brain fog is real or whether Eliana simply cannot be trusted with...

A 30-year law school reunion means squinting at name tags, pretending everyone looks EXACTLY the same, and hearing “You haven’t changed a bit!” from people you would not recognize in a hostage lineup. Meanwhile, everyone’s comparing hormone protocols like trial strategy and casually discussing frozen shoulders, insomnia, and ungrateful children over lukewarm pinot grigio. Also: why does every rent...

Eliana enters her MenOparty era the only way a menopausal woman can: rage-vacuuming 40-year-old disintegrating ski pants out of the dryer at 2 a.m. while wondering if an “Alpine Divorce” is technically premeditated murder or just self-care. Between exploding hard-boiled eggs, husbands who “forget” the lettuce after a 40-minute discussion about lettuce, and mothers who lure you over with a birthday...

For her 56th birthday, Eliana is celebrating with purple cat-eye glasses, a Jane Fonda–inspired wolf cut, and a new life philosophy called “selective executive functioning” (everything gets done except the thing that matters). This week: AI flirts shamelessly with Leora like a horny life coach with perfect grammar and zero boundaries, the sisters debate whether 32 was humanity’s physical peak, tak...

Welcome to the skincare industrial complex, where your $200 cream is mostly hope in a jar and your wallet is the real anti-aging victim. Myth-busting dermatologist Dr. Fayne Frey joins us to call BS on the entire beauty aisle—from “miracle” creams to trendy ingredients present in quantities best described as decorative (hi, angel dusting). Collagen? Not happening. Those molecules are basically Mac...

Eliana is deep in her heated “butt throne” era—because menopause is hard, but at least her seat is comfy. Between HRT roulette, brain fog that has Leora losing groceries and Eliana chasing imaginary roof leaks, and a digestive system that’s suddenly “sharting” overtime, functioning like a normal adult feels…aspirational. Meanwhile, a husband’s innocent Costco run becomes a full-blown red flag. No...

Eliana tries her first HRT patch live and immediately questions everything—placement, adhesion, and why some patches feel designer while others feel… medical-adjacent—while Leora delivers unfiltered commentary no one asked for but absolutely gets anyway. Then it’s straight into Passover: Ziploc’d hard-boiled eggs, questionable Seder tunes, and a vibe that’s somewhere between tradition and total ch...

Menopause is calling the shots this week, and we are officially unqualified. Leora’s brain fog peaks when she can’t find a store she’s visited for years—while literally standing two blocks away—and a listener shares a cautionary tale so horrifying it deserves its own emergency alert: toothpaste… on hemorrhoids. Yes, it burned. Yes, we screamed. Yes, therapy is optional. Meanwhile, Eliana is in a f...

Eliana finally went to the hormone doctor after almost canceling the appointment six times, and suddenly the conversation takes a hard turn into the midlife bedroom gap—that awkward stage where women would rather binge watch Bridgerton, read a book, or reorganize the pantry than have sex. Enter Dr. Maria Sophocles , gynecologist and author of The Bedroom Gap , here to explain what’s actually happe...

When your husband texts “Happy Valentine’s Day” at 11:45 PM - 15 minutes before the holiday ends - the internet immediately serves you divorce lawyer ads. Apparently, the algorithm knows your marriage better than he does. In this episode: a Valentine’s “gift” that doubles as a Costco scavenger hunt, a concert night that turns a dance floor into a literal bloodbath, and the horrifying realization t...

Leora’s back on estrogen, and suddenly her husband looks… disturbingly attractive. HRT: curing night sweats, vaginal dryness, and the urge to Google divorce attorneys—because if Viagra disappeared for five minutes, Congress would panic, but estrogen shortages? We’re just expected to deep-breathe through it. From there, we spiral into strictly hypothetical true crime, including the Savannah Guthrie...

For years, we were told to marry the nice nerdy guy. He was harmless, grateful, and too awkward to cause trouble. He wore fleece vests, cited data at dinner, and seemed like the safest bet on the board. Then the Epstein emails happened. Suddenly the “harmless genius” is sweating under the glow of old emails and private island invites. Turns out money doesn’t fix character—it just upgrades the Wi-F...

Eliana’s living room is a hoarder’s heaven: Nerf guns are waging war on craft projects and chairs so buried under piles the piles now have piles of their own. She panics over what expired food she might need in a survival scenario, while her sister Leora - married to a man who cleans for fun — hovers like a minimalist sniper. Welcome to sibling chaos at its finest. Dana K. White - creator of the N...

Eliana covers a trial so deranged it feels like Mad Libs: an IRS agent, a Brazilian au pair, kinky websites, and a couple who thought the move was playing house in the murder bed. Meanwhile, Leora’s 15-year-old is confidently negotiating minivan sales like a tiny used-car shark, the dog has committed yoga-mat crimes and vanished into witness protection, and somehow IKEA meatballs used to count as...

This week, the sisters spiral efficiently: Leora goes full plastic-plant because gardening is harder than raising five kids, and Eliana survives a fleapocalypse so biblical it makes the Ten Plagues look like a soft launch—powered by DEET and a 4 a.m. vampire schedule. They debate whether physical therapy works or is just sanctioned floor-napping, why airplane tray tables feel like a deliberate imp...

Eliana draws a hard line at marrying the housekeeper, declares all husbands guilty by association, and rebrands a two-month sex drought as “vaginal freedom.” Leora’s basement has become a dungeon, the sump pump is screaming, and “flushable” wipes are exposed as the scam of the century. We cover HRT patches, Ozempic envy, elevator button rage, keyless cars no one understands, and why Eliana is now...

Eliana’s New Year’s resolution to be more “fun” lasts exactly one catamaran jump before she pulls an ass muscle so catastrophic it sparks a full-blown family debate about her Do Not Resuscitate order. Leora is thrilled at the idea of finally pulling the plug, while Eliana is fairly certain her brothers already have a pillow fluffed and ready. Meanwhile, we expose the filthiest relationship in your...

Eliana returns from a Royal Caribbean cruise having achieved full Lambert Vacation Energy on a Costco budget—through cliff diving, smuggled salad dressing, and becoming the oldest woman ever cleared to ride a FlowRider without medical supervision. Meanwhile, Leora’s “staycation” descends into a Lord of the Flies–style mall scavenger hunt, ending with her five children disappearing and Leora alone...

Eliana’s racing against time with her ADHD brain while planning New Year’s resolutions she’ll probably definitely break. Meanwhile, Leora is pre-planning a garage sale for when Eliana kicks the bucket and recovering from a tooth extraction, accepting tips from the Tooth Fairy via Venmo. Assisted living? Junior high with more backstabbing and fewer men. Aging is glamorous…until your phone’s in the...

Happy Holidays! This year’s gift is forgiveness—because rage ages you faster than Botox can fix. Emmy-winning filmmaker, author, and forgiveness coach Gayle Kirschenbaum joins us to explain how she went from fleeing home at 16 to making peace with the mother who bullied her for decades. We crack open the “secret generation,” expose the wounded toddlers inside our most difficult parents, and explai...