My So-Called Midlife with Reshma Saujani

Actor, producer, and screenwriter Lena Waithe recently completed a 10-day silent retreat during which she had a lot of time to ponder big topics and ideas like attachment, legacy, acceptance, and detachment. After Reshma shares that she’s also done a Vipassana, she and Lena dig deep into ambition, the American Dream, the patriarchy, and the expectations that often get attached to love. Reshma also asks Lena about her career, including how she decides what stories to tell and what Lena learned about writing from the creators of Friends. 

Follow Lena @lenawaithe on Instagram. 

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani on Instagram at @reshmasaujani and on Substack. 

Stay up to date with Moms First (www.momsfirst.us) on Instagram at @momsfirstus and with Lemonada at  @LemonadaMedia. 

Thanks so much for listening to My So-Called Midlife. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content like me and Emily Oster talking about her thoughts on how often you should have sex. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Best selling author and advice columnist Cheryl Strayed isn’t looking back. She’s taking a front seat to her post menopause years so much so that she’s given it a name — the “crone age.” Cheryl shares why she’s excited about this next stage of her life and what she’s learned from her iconic advice column Dear Sugar. Plus she gets real about grief and why we shouldn't wait for the “deathbed moment.” 

You can follow our guest on Instagram @Cheryl Strayed https://www.instagram.com/cherylstrayed/

Subscribe to Dear Sugar here https://cherylstrayed.substack.com 

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani on Instagram at @reshmasaujani and on Substack. 

Stay up to date with Moms First (www.momsfirst.us) on Instagram at @momsfirstus and with Lemonada at  @LemonadaMedia. 

Thanks so much for listening to My So-Called Midlife. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content like me and Emily Oster talking about her thoughts on how often you should have sex. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many women take career pauses when they have children. But Neha Ruch – author of The Power Pause – wants you to know that there are so many other times and reasons to consider a pause. Perhaps a family member needs care. Perhaps you need time to explore where you want to go next in your career. Neha tells Reshma how to prepare for a pause, what to do on your pause, and how to set yourself up for success when you return back to the workforce.

Follow Neha @neha_ruch on Instagram.

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani on Instagram at @reshmasaujani and on Substack. 

Stay up to date with Moms First (www.momsfirst.us) on Instagram at @momsfirstus and with Lemonada at  @LemonadaMedia. 

Thanks so much for listening to My So-Called Midlife. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content like me and Emily Oster talking about her thoughts on how often you should have sex. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katie Sturino loves her body. But the advocate, entrepreneur, and author put a lot of effort and hard work into getting to that place of body acceptance. She and Reshma dive into Katie’s accidental body acceptance journey, which began after her divorce when Katie says she just wanted to get a revenge body. They also discuss where so many of us get our insecurities from, how to shut down (mostly) well-meaning relatives when they start body-shaming you, and normalizing things like thigh chafing and boob sweat via her company Megababe. Plus, does Katie think society is moving back to a place where thinness is back in vogue due to the explosion of GLP-1s like Ozempic? 

Follow Kaite Sturino @katiesturino on Instagram.

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani on Instagram at @reshmasaujani and on Substack. 

Stay up to date with Moms First (www.momsfirst.us) on Instagram at @momsfirstus and with Lemonada at  @LemonadaMedia. 

Thanks so much for listening to My So-Called Midlife. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content like me and Emily Oster talking about her thoughts on how often you should have sex. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zarna Garg needed a change. After 16 years as a stay-at-home mom, Zarna had lost her own ambitions and knew it wasn’t sustainable. She attempted – and failed at – a long list of businesses before she found her calling as a stand-up comic. She cracks Reshma up with stories about how soccer socks drove her to the brink of madness and shares advice for midlifers looking to make a change in their own lives.

Follow Zarna @zarnagarg on Instagram.

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani on Instagram at @reshmasaujani and on Substack. 

Stay up to date with Moms First (www.momsfirst.us) on Instagram at @momsfirstus and with Lemonada at  @LemonadaMedia. 

Thanks so much for listening to My So-Called Midlife. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content like me and Emily Oster talking about her thoughts on how often you should have sex. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reshma Saujani and Mel Robbins have both made TIME's Women of the Year (2026) list! To celebrate, we’re revisiting their powerful conversation about courage, control, and what it really takes to change your life.

At 41, Mel Robbins was at her rock bottom when a rocket launch changed the trajectory of her life. Mel tells Reshma how she got herself unstuck and began the work that would lead to becoming a #1 New York Times bestselling author and podcast juggernaut. Mel puts her “Let Them” theory into practice for Reshma, with examples from Reshma’s relationships with her mother and her friends. Plus, Mel shares what she’s still working on in her own midlife.

Follow Mel at @melrobbins on Instagram. Check out her latest book, The Let Them Theory. 

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani @reshmasaujani on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/reshmasaujani/?hl=en

Let us know how you’re doing in midlife! You can submit your story to be included in this show at speakpipe.com/midlife 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. 

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our show and get bonus content. Subscribe today at bit.ly/lemonadapremium. 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Olympics reminding us what women’s bodies can do, we’re revisiting our conversation with Stacy Sims to talk about how everyday women, not just elite athletes, can train, fuel, and feel stronger in midlife by actually working with their hormones instead of against them.

That super-intense, sweat-inducing workout you think you need to be doing to see results? Yeah, that’s not the best way to exercise in your midlife, says exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist Stacy Sims. She and Reshma dive into tons of practical tips and tricks for getting and staying healthy in midlife, including how to increase your fiber and protein intake, improving your sleep, and the importance of listening to your body. Plus, why Stacy doesn’t recommend fasting for women.

Follow Stacy @drstacysims on Instagram.

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani on Instagram at @reshmasaujani and on Substack. 

Stay up to date with Moms First (www.momsfirst.us) on Instagram at @momsfirstus and with Lemonada at  @LemonadaMedia. 

Joining Lemonada Premium is a great way to support our shows and get bonus content. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ambition can sound like a dirty word for women. Too much of it and you’re aggressive. Not enough and you’re invisible. For so many of us, ambition has been shaped by proving, hustling, and chasing success in ways that don’t always feel aligned. In this episode, Reshma sits down with Rha Goddess to talk about what she calls intentional ambition — a way of pursuing your goals that is rooted in clarity, purpose, and self-trust instead of burnout and external validation.

In this conversation, they talk about the difference between chasing success and designing it, burnout, worthiness, and a thing called grace.

You can follow Rha Goddess on Instagram at @rhagoddess .

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani on Instagram at @reshmasaujani and on Substack. 

Stay up to date with Moms First (www.momsfirst.us) on Instagram at @momsfirstus and with Lemonada at  @LemonadaMedia. 

Thanks so much for listening to My So-Called Midlife. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content like me and Emily Oster talking about her thoughts on how often you should have sex. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reshma sits down with Sara Reardon, a pelvic floor physical therapist and one of the leading voices in women’s pelvic health. Known to many as The Vagina Whisperer, Sara helps women understand their bodies without shame or fear.

Together, they unpack what the pelvic floor actually does, why so many women struggle in midlife, and how pain and discomfort are signals, not something we are meant to tolerate. Sara explains what is common versus what is normal, why women are often dismissed in medical settings, and how to advocate for yourself. You may also discover you have been peeing wrong your entire life.

You can follow Dr. Sara Reardoni on Instagram at @the.vagina.whisperer and on her website.

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani on Instagram at @reshmasaujani and on Substack. 

Stay up to date with Moms First (www.momsfirst.us) on Instagram at @momsfirstus and with Lemonada at  @LemonadaMedia. 

Thanks so much for listening to My So-Called Midlife. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content like me and Emily Oster talking about her thoughts on how often you should have sex. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and cultural critic EJ Dickson joins Reshma for a candid conversation about motherhood, guilt, and the impossible standards women are expected to meet. Drawing from her new book One Bad Mother, EJ breaks down how the idea of the “good mother” is a surprisingly recent invention, why modern parenting runs on shame and self-policing, and who actually benefits from keeping women feeling like they are failing.

Follow EJ Dickson on Instagram at @ejdickson. Her book One Bad Mother is out February 10.

You can follow our host Reshma Saujani on Instagram at @reshmasaujani and on Substack. 

Stay up to date with Moms First (www.momsfirst.us) on Instagram at @momsfirstus and with Lemonada at  @LemonadaMedia. 

Thanks so much for listening to My So-Called Midlife. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content like me and Emily Oster talking about her thoughts on how often you should have sex. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. 

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices