

A Certain Age
Katie Fogarty
A Certain Age is an age-positive podcast that helps you live your best, evolving midlife. We know the only constant is change. Kids grow. Jobs come and go. What it takes to be fit, healthy, happy, and fulfilled looks waaaay different than it did in our thirties and forties. Amp up your midlife with expert tips, tools, and resources to help with the hard stuff and light you up about what’s next. Pop in your AirPods and spend time with women just like you who are knocking it out of the midlife park and who share real-life blueprints for navigating speedbumps and setbacks. Because who hasn’t hit a midlife pothole (or two)? Ready to reboot your midlife and join the #AgeOutLoud movement? Follow us at @acertainagepod and find show notes, transcripts, and more midlife resources at www.acertainagepod.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 13, 2025 • 44min
The Lab Work Every Midlife Woman Needs (And the Expensive Tests You Don't) with Dr. Jila Senemar
Managing menopause shouldn't feel like guesswork, yet many women walk into their doctor's office unprepared and walk out confused. Dr. Jila Senemar, founder of Jila MD and menopause specialist, is changing that.
After realizing conventional training left her without answers for perimenopausal patients—including herself—she went down the research rabbit hole. What five labs reveal your longevity roadmap? Why are you wasting money on unnecessary "Instagram famous" tests? Which supplements actually move the needle? Learn Dr. Senemar's "ice cream sundae" approach to building optimal health from the foundation up. Ready to be a smarter patient and partner with your doctor more effectively? This one's for you, beauties!
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Oct 6, 2025 • 52min
Stop Mastering, Start Dabbling: Karen Walrond on the Joy of Being Amateur
What if the secret to a richer life isn't mastering anything—but dabbling in everything? Author Karen Walrond (In Defense of Dabbling) returns to champion the lost art of amateurism—doing what you love without needing to excel. In a culture that turns hobbies into hustles, we can easily forget how to be interesting to ourselves. From swim class struggles to wonky candle holders, Karen shares why intentional dabbling as we age sparks joy, powers self-compassion, and stretches our comfort zones. Midlife is made for getting unstuck. What will you try just for the joy of it, beauties?
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Sep 29, 2025 • 47min
Look, Getting Sick Isn’t Always Optional. Rebecca Bloom Wants You to Get the Support You Need
Midlife straight talk alert! Hitting midlife means health scares become reality—for you or someone you love. Rebecca Bloom, lawyer and 26-year patient advocate, wrote "When Women Get Sick" after navigating her mother's breast cancer journey and helping thousands of other cancer patients do the same in a healthcare system that wasn't built for women. Look, no one wants to think about illness and disease. But when the sh*t hits the fan, you want to know how to get, afford, and keep the health care, insurance and workplace benefits needed to help you survive. We cover must-know info like—How do you choose insurance that protects what matters? What's your script when bills are wrong? How do you turn your doctor into an ally? What creative solutions exist beyond insurance? How do you appeal denied coverage successfully? Why should you "assume partnership" with HR? Listen in for a conversation on being a smarter patient—knowledge is power and peace of mind!
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Sep 22, 2025 • 43min
Memoirist Stacy Waldman Bass on Loss, Legacy and the Art of Family "Lightkeeping"
Sudden loss reveals how much we never knew about someone's inner life—and midlife brings the urgency to ask deeper questions while we still can. Photographer Stacy Bass faced this reality twice: losing her father in a 1995 seaplane crash, then watching her mother battle pancreatic cancer 25 years later. Her memoir "Lightkeeper" reveals how she transformed devastating grief into active remembrance through photography and storytelling. We explore: Why are photographs "powerful portals" to forgotten stories? How do we actively keep someone's "light" alive instead of passively grieving? What does it mean to become your family's "lightkeeper"? Stacy shares why slowing down to truly see our photographs and excavate memory and family stories can transmute grief, plus practical ways to preserve the voices and stories that matter most before time runs out.
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Sep 15, 2025 • 1h 9min
Bonus Episode: Novelist Cleyvis Natera Unpacks the True Cost of Paradise and Sisterhood
What are you willing to sacrifice for security? Author Cleyvis Natera invites readers to explore this question and more on a breathless seven-day trip to The Grand Paloma Resort, a Dominican Republic luxury resort where White Lotus-esque thriller meets sharp social commentary. As two local girls go missing and a hurricane approaches, sisters Laura and Elena live and work amidst stark class distinctions. The resort siphons water for lush gardens while local communities face drought, tourists operate under systems of private justice, and staff navigate knotty power dynamics for survival. Join host Katie Fogarty and Natera as they wander The Grand Paloma and explore the complexities of midlife: are we obligated to take responsibility for others, what is the moral cost of compromises for security, and how to thread the delicate balance between protecting those we love and allowing them autonomy. Bonus! We also crack open Natera's critically acclaimed debut Neruda on the Park, uncover how aspiring authors can get the most out of writing workshops, and discover why Natera credits "getting lost" as essential to building a creative, values-driven midlife.
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Sep 8, 2025 • 53min
Stop the All-or-Nothing Fitness Cycle: Megan Dahlman's Sustainable September Reset
Anyone else have a summer of rosé and disrupted routines? Time to (re)enroll in the school of sustainable fitness and create habits that stick. Fitness trainer Megan Dahlman returns to teach her proven syllabus for
women over 40—no cramming or gym all-nighters required. Discover the difference between "regress," "progress," and "maintenance" exercise modes and how to avoid falling into the "all-or-nothing" exercise trap. Longevity alert: Megan schools us in three balance exercises that protect future you from life-changing falls, plus how to build a happy back in just 5 minutes daily. Plus, what's the "magic number" of weekly exercise hours that truly works? We cover simple, doable fundamentals that keep you strong, steady, and unstoppable for decades. Class is in session, beauties!
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Aug 25, 2025 • 47min
Build Lifelong Strength, Age with Power, and Fight Off Frailty with Dr. Vonda Wright of 'Unbreakable'
Feel like your midlife body has betrayed you? Stiffer joints, mysterious aches, less energy—these aren't just inconveniences, they're warning signals about your future independence. Dr. Vonda Wright, orthopedic surgeon, and author of "Unbreakable," returns to the show with a science-backed blueprint to prevent the broken hips, osteoporosis, and frailty plaguing too many women. As the country's leading voice on menopause's musculoskeletal impacts, she reveals why 70% of women experience debilitating joint pain and muscle loss. Plus, what are the six "time bombs" of aging you can control? How does your "unbreakable score" predict independence at 90? Why is muscle your literal longevity factory? Get the tools to stay strong, mobile, and unbreakable for decades ahead, beauties!
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Aug 18, 2025 • 59min
Five Years of Aging Out Loud! A Certain Age Birthday Bash with Katie Fogarty and Co-Host Liz Plosser
Five years of aging out loud—let's celebrate! Katie hands the mic to special co-host Liz Plosser, former Women's Health Editor-in-Chief, for our biggest birthday bash yet. We're diving deep into how the menopause conversation has exploded (finally!), why reinvention is the ultimate midlife superpower, and what it really means to "age exuberantly." Plus, how Katie's preparing for empty nest life with a big move back to NYC. Stick around for Liz’s summer and travel tips: confidence-boosting swimsuits, smart travel gear, and why she's doing the downward dog in boarding areas (and doesn't care who's watching). It's a party packed with wisdom, amazing giveaways, and real talk. Thank you for making A Certain Age part of your weekly routine, for tuning in from around the world—cheers to aging boldly together!
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Aug 11, 2025 • 55min
How to Let Go, Let Love and Embrace the “School of Whatever Works” with Jennifer Pastiloff
Ever feel like you're living someone else's timeline? At midlife, many of us realize we've been following imaginary rules that keep us stuck in "fine." Author, poet, and "beauty hunter" Jennifer Pastiloff blew up her "fine" life at 50, leaving her marriage and discovering she'd expanded, not destroyed, her life. Now, Jen opens the pages of her latest bestseller "Proof of Life" to explore how to let go of perfectionism and shame, why curiosity is a lifeline, and how embracing the "school of whatever works" can power you forward. We also investigate biggies like: How do you silence your "inner asshole"?
What does it mean to stop abandoning yourself for approval? Why are you already proof of your own worthiness? Honest, open, and full of warmth, Jen will inspire you to stop waiting for permission and start living before you “run out of light.” Listen in for a conversation that feels like a late-night chat with a beloved, old friend.
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Aug 4, 2025 • 37min
"Eating Pizza Backwards”—Eileen Flood O'Connor's Love Letter to Life with Autism
Every parent dreams of an easy, predictable path, but life rarely cooperates with our expectations. Meet Eileen Flood O'Connor, debut author and mother of four, who chronicles a 20+ year journey with her daughter Erin's autism in a gorgeous, joy-drenched essay collection "Eating Pizza Backwards." The book toggles between diagnosis day grief and celebrating grocery store dance parties, revealing waves of gratitude for the many helpers and moments of wonder uncovered day by day, year by year. We explore big questions—How do you parent a child who experiences the world differently? Can unexpected challenges strengthen rather than break relationships? What if slowing down actually speeds up your happiness? Listen in for a frank, honest conversation on navigating life's unexpected turns and learning how to hold grief in one hand and joy in the other.
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