Encore: The Best is Yet to Come

Welcome to The Encore Podcast – honest conversations about life, relationships, identity and what happens when you realise you're ready for something different.

In this episode, I'm joined by Elizabeth Hammond, a neuroscience coach who understands something that fascinates me:

Why we can know we need to change - and still find it incredibly difficult to actually do it, because starting again isn't just about changing your circumstances, sometimes you have to change the thinking that created them.

We talk about what happens to our brains as we move through major life transitions and why familiar patterns can be so difficult to break – even when those patterns aren't necessarily making us happy.

Why do we keep choosing the same type of partner?

Why can confidence disappear after divorce, rejection or a major life change?

Why do intelligent, successful people sometimes remain stuck in situations they know aren't right for them and perhaps the biggest question of all, can we actually rewire ourselves?

We explore confidence, fear, self-belief and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, we openly talk about the difference between being alone and being lonely, the emotional baggage we carry into new relationships, and why starting again can feel simultaneously terrifying and incredibly exciting and we ask whether, by the time we reach our 40s and 50s, our life experience makes change harder - or whether knowing ourselves better actually gives us an extraordinary opportunity to do things differently.

Just because your past may explain your patterns, it doesn't necessarily have to dictate your future.

This is a fascinating conversation about our brains, our behaviour and the possibility of becoming something different - not by pretending the past didn't happen, but by understanding what it taught us.

If you've ever found yourself thinking, “Why do I keep doing this?”, this episode might make you look at the answer rather differently.

Welcome to Encore - because sometimes starting again begins with changing your mind.

Welcome to The Encore Podcast – honest, grown-up conversations about the things that really matter in the next chapter of our lives.

Today, we're talking about sex.

I'm joined by Dr Kaiser from the Family Medical Centre in the Algarve for a refreshingly frank conversation about what really happens to sex, desire and intimacy as we get older, because despite all the conversations we're now having about ageing, menopause and wellbeing, sex after 40, 50 and beyond can still feel strangely taboo.

So we're changing that!

We talk about libido and what happens when one person wants more sex than the other. We explore hormones, menopause, testosterone, painful sex and erectile difficulties, and ask how much of losing your sex drive is actually physical – and how much might be about the relationship you're in.

We tackle one of the fascinating dynamics of midlife: what happens when a woman becomes more sexually confident and understands exactly what she wants, just as her male partner may be experiencing changes in testosterone, erections or desire?

Can a relationship genuinely be happy without sex?

Can regular sex actually be good for our health?

Plus - perhaps most importantly, why are so many intelligent adults still embarrassed to talk about any of this?

Because wanting intimacy doesn't have an expiry date, our bodies may change, our hormones may change, what turns us on may change, but that doesn't mean an exciting and fulfilling sex life only belongs to our younger selves ...

In fact, with confidence, communication and a much better understanding of our own bodies, could the sex we're having in our 40s, 50s and beyond actually be the best yet?

No embarrassment. No judgement. No pretending we're not thinking about it.

Just a fascinating, frank and very grown-up conversation about sex, health, desire and what happens behind closed doors as we get older.

Welcome to the very first episode of The Encore Podcast - conversations about what comes next.

Because life after 40 rarely follows the script.

In Episode One, I’m joined by bestselling author and renowned divorce coach Sara Davison for a refreshingly honest conversation about relationships, heartbreak, divorce and, most importantly, starting again.

We talk about the red flags we see but choose to ignore, why intelligent and successful people can still find themselves in the wrong relationships, and the emotional baggage we inevitably carry with us when something ends.

How do you know when you're really ready to date again? How do you learn to trust your own judgement after betrayal? When does analysing your ex actually stop you from moving forward? Plus, perhaps most importantly, how do you make sure you don't simply choose the same relationship again, just in a different body?

We also talk about anger, identity, loneliness, sex, dating and the fear of starting again later in life.

Because an ending doesn't have to mean failure.

Sometimes the life you thought you were going to have has to fall apart before you get the opportunity to ask a much more exciting question:

What do I want now?

No judgement. No pretending we've got it all figured out. Just honest conversations about relationships, confidence, intimacy, identity and creating an extraordinary next chapter.

This is Encore, and we're only just getting started.

What happens when life gives you an Encore?

Hosted by Susannah Schofield OBE, Encore: The Best is Yet to Come is about what comes next, and making it count. Each week, Susannah sits down with a new guest, from leading experts and familiar faces to people with extraordinary real-life stories, for honest conversations about relationships, reinvention, confidence, health, intimacy, success and starting again.

No filters. No judgement. Just real people, real advice and the conversations we should be having after 40. Your next chapter could be your best one yet!