For the last episode of the season, Francesca and Louise are joined by author, podcaster and editor with Mamamia, Holly Wainwright. The host of MID and co-host of Mamamia Out Loud, Wainwright has been telling women's stories for most of her career - but she wasn't sure what to expect when she approached middle age herself. 

She talks to Francesca and Louise about how times are changing for women, why mid-life is about more than just hormones, becoming invisible from the male gaze, and the best parts of mid-life. 

Holly's new book, He Would Never, is out now. 

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Francesca and Louise have been trail running for several years now, and while they love it as a hobby, both know how menopause and ageing can have an impact on getting into exercise and maintaining it.

So this week, they are talking to Cathy Duffy, a running coach with Mile 27 in Australia, and who also has a Bachelor of Human Movement Science. She is focused on making sure women feel safe and comfortable when it comes to exercise, not only to achieve their goals, but to train with consideration of hormonal impacts during the various stages of their lives.

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Self-help books and advice gurus often promise big changes to revolutionise how you live your life, or push you to strive for perfection. But what if we accept the fact that we are mortal humans with a finite time on this Earth, with only so much ability to get things done - and if we place ourselves within that reality, is that when we can truly thrive?

This week, Francesca and Louise are talking about this philosophy with Oliver Burkeman, author of Meditations for Mortals, which explores why we are never going to sort our lives out, so it's time to work out how to succeed within our limitations.

A new version of Meditations for Mortals releases July 1st. 

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In the last few years, everyone has started talking about gut microbiome and how important it is to our health. Everything from longevity to mental health to disease resistance is now being linked to the gut - but how do we achieve a healthy gut microbiome?  Do we really need probiotics or can lifestyle and diet alone help our gut to flourish?

This week, Francesca and Louise get a step by step gut health guide from Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, a  gastroenterologist, researcher, expert in digestive diseases and the gut, who serves as US medical director for nutrition company ZOE.

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Therapy can be a useful tool for many of us for a variety of reasons, but often times finding the right person for the right price can be the first barrier in seeking help.

So who should you see? How can you access what you need? What does it cost? And how do we get the best out of it? To help you sort through it, this week Francesca and Louise are joined by clinical psychologist, writer and speaker Jacqui Maguire about the different types of therapy, how to be in the right mindset to seek help, and if new technology can help with the process. 

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Stories about millionaires doing wacky things to decrease their biological age - like plasma transfusions with their teenage sons - have been doing the rounds over the last few years. But extending your lifespan can be done cheaply and easily.

This week, Francesca and Louise talk to Dr Nicholas Koemer about the study he was a co-author on that looked at the easiest ways to change your lifestyle. And they talk with NZ Herald writer Joanna Wane to share what she learned from a year spent trying to extend her lifespan.

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The Netflix hit Adolescence has got everyone talking - in particular, it's sparked conversations around boys and young men, and what's causing them to be drawn in by the 'manosphere' online.

This week, Francesca and Louise are joined by Andrew Reiner, author of Better Boys, Better Men: The New Masculinity, and a Senior Lecturer at Towson University in Maryland where he teaches courses in men's and cultural studies, who feels that the right conversations aren't being had off the back of the show. 

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Grief is something that we all experience in life - we all know what it is like to lose a loved one, be it a family member, friend, or even a pet. 

It doesn’t seem to matter how prepared you might be, how many times you have experienced it, or the circumstances around it, a devastating loss is just that – devastating.  And finding the words to support those close to us can be difficult, let alone helping ourselves.

This week, Francesca and Louise are joined by Dr Denise Quinlan, director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience, and co-founder of Coping with Loss, to get practical advice on how to cope with grief in our own way.

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Our GPs are people we rely on for a lot. A visit can be as simple as a 15 min appointment to establish if our sore throat is a viral or bacterial infection, but it is sometimes the start of a long and difficult pathway of diagnosis, treatment and hopefully recovery for any one of many illnesses and injuries that could befall us.  

They play a big role in our health journey, but do we really understand their role in our well-being? 

To get insight into how to get the most from your GP, this week Francesca and Louise are joined by Melbourne-based GP, Dr Preeya Alexander, for an in-depth chat. 

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Many of us find a makeup routine that works, even if it takes years to get it right. But that doesn't mean that routine is always going to be the thing that works.

This week, Francesca and Louise are joined by acclaimed local makeup artist Lisa Matson to discuss why our old routines don't work as we get older, and what we need to do to keep it working. 

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