Podcast Episodes

Glynnis MacNicol: everything you've been told about being a middle-aged woman is a lie

Season 18 Episode 250

What happens when the life you find yourself leading in midlife doesn’t tick all the supposed boxes?

That’s the situation today’s guest found herself in. Glynnis MacNicol was 46 - a woman of a so-cal…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

Steph McGovern on money, menopause & staying out of your lane

Season 18 Episode 249

Crime novels might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you hear the name Steph McGovern. Steph is an award-winning broadcaster who is currently co-host of The Rest Is Money podcast with …

Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Alison Bechdel on tarot, ageing & why men are scared of women who can do push-ups! - THE SHIFT REVISITED

Episode 248

The last of our archive episodes this time around is the cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Spent, Alison's new graphic novel-come-memoir, reminded me of the conversation we had back in 2021. Here it is...

-…

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Esther Freud on upending your life in your 50s - THE SHIFT REVISITED

Episode 247

This week we're going way back in The Shift archives, to one of the earliest episodes I recorded with novelist Esther Freud. This summer Esther will be a guest of The Shift bookclub, to talk about he…

Published on 2 months, 4 weeks ago

Helen Garner on divorce, ageing and the erotic gaze - THE SHIFT REVISITED

Episode 246

We're heading back to the archives for the next few weeks and first up here's one of my favourite episodes. With the desperately overdue publication of her brilliant diaries, How To End A Story, in t…

Published on 3 months ago

Molly Jong Fast: confessions of a bad daughter

Season 17 Episode 245

My guest today is the journalist Molly Jong Fast. The author of four books, Molly started writing about politics in 2016. She’s now a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, a political analyst for MS…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Jo Hamilton: The Post Office scandal stole 20 years of my life

Season 17 Episode 244

This is a really special episode and one I’m honoured to be trusted with.

Because my guest today is Jo Hamilton, one of more than 700 British sub postmasters who was prosecuted between 2000 and 2014 …

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

Olia Hercules: my periods vanished when the war started

Season 17 Episode 243

My guest today is the Ukrainian chef, food writer and activist Olia Hercules.

Olia was born in the South of Ukraine and has lived in the UK since her late teens. After working in journalism she decid…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Melissa Febos on what she learnt from a year of celibacy

Season 17 Episode 242

My guest today is the author and essayist, Melissa Febos.

Melissa has written four award winning books - Whip Smart, Abandon Me, Girlhood (which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in the stat…

Published on 4 months ago

Reeta Chakrabarti on growing older & bolder

Season 17 Episode 241

My guest this week is the journalist and broadcaster Reeta Chakrabarti.

After two decades producing and reporting for the BBC, Reeta became a news presenter at the age of 49. She was the main BBC pre…

Published on 4 months, 1 week ago