Unfiltered at Fifty

We've got our very first guest, and it's BARBIE!

This week, Jennifer and Kim welcome their friend Barbie Machuca for an emotional, funny, and very real conversation about life in your 50s.

Barbie opens up about losing her father, navigating the healthcare system, becoming an advocate for aging parents, and the grief that comes with saying goodbye. She shares the heartbreaking experience of her father's final days, the challenges of making medical decisions, and the importance of being involved in your parents' care before a crisis happens.

The conversation also turns to empty nesting, watching your kids become independent adults, missing the chaos of motherhood, and figuring out who you are when everyone doesn't need you quite as much anymore. Barbie talks about the bittersweet reality of raising successful, independent children while learning to embrace a new chapter in her own life.

Of course, this wouldn't be Unfiltered at Fifty without plenty of laughs, parenting stories, ridiculously extravagant birthday parties, menopause moments, and the usual hilarious tangents that somehow always bring the conversation full circle.

From caring for aging parents to letting go of grown children, this episode explores what happens when the roles we've known our entire lives begin to change.

It's about love, loss, friendship, finding yourself again, and realizing you're not alone in any of it.

Join Jennifer, Kim, and Barbie for a conversation that's heartfelt, hilarious, and completely unfiltered.

New episodes every Friday!

Watch and follow Unfiltered at Fifty:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unfilteredatfifty
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Like, follow, and subscribe for new episodes every Friday!

Production Credits

Produced by Robert Altschuler.

Recorded and mixed at Command Creative Studios: https://www.commandcreativestudios.com/

#UnfilteredAtFifty #EmptyNesting #AgingParents #GriefAndHealing #WomenOver50 #GenXWomen

Jennifer and Kim get real about men’s mental health, childhood experiences, abandonment, and how the things we go through growing up can shape the relationships we choose as adults. From missing closure and fear of rejection to ignoring giant red flags just to make a relationship work, this episode asks a big question: how much of who we love is connected to what we experienced growing up?

New episodes of Unfiltered at Fifty drop every Friday.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unfilteredatfifty

Follow us on:

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unfilteredatfifty
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfilteredatfifty/

Like, follow, and subscribe for new episodes every Friday.

Produced by Robert Altschuler. Recorded and mixed at Command Creative Studios: https://www.commandcreativestudios.com/

Sometimes you don't realize how strong you've been until you look back at everything you've already survived.

This week starts with Jennifer's latest back surgery update, including a possible blood clot scare, a doctor with absolutely NO bedside manner, and one completely unnecessary comment about her weight that opens up a much bigger conversation about body image and the things we've carried with us since we were young.

Then Kim goes down a rabbit hole through old photos and memories from her twenties and thirties and starts remembering some of the absolutely insane things she's done.

But underneath all of those stories is a much bigger conversation about mind over matter.

Kim reflects on being in the middle of addiction while simultaneously doing spiritual work and eventually having the moment when she had to admit to herself, “I'm a drug addict.” She talks about not feeling strong at the time, even though looking back, recognizing the problem and fighting to get her life back required more strength than she realized.

Jennifer also looks back at the fears she's overcome, from being a kid who couldn't get through an oral book report without crying to eventually standing in front of rooms full of people for work, and now sitting behind a microphone every week talking about all of this.

They also get into body shame, modesty, old photos, getting stuck in your own head, how powerful our thoughts can feel, and realizing that some of the things we've carried for decades have quietly become a huge part of who we are.

And because this is Unfiltered at Fifty, there are also $1,500 shoes, Grey's Anatomy, a 90-year-old ultrasound technician with fabulous hair, a giant lizard, Sharpie mustaches, and enough completely unnecessary detours to make us forget how we got here in the first place.

Maybe strength isn't always feeling fearless.

Sometimes it's being scared as hell and doing it anyway.

New episodes of Unfiltered at Fifty drop every Friday.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unfilteredatfifty

Follow us:

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unfilteredatfifty
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfilteredatfifty/

Produced by Robert Altschuler. Recorded and mixed at Command Creative Studios: https://www.commandcreativestudios.com/

#UnfilteredAtFifty #MindOverMatter #WomenOver50 #BodyImage #LifeAfter50 #GenXWomen

What happens when you throw out the plan and start asking each other questions about life at 50?

This week, Kim and Jen play a little question roulette, and—as usual—the conversation goes absolutely everywhere.

What does friendship mean at 50? What makes a relationship worth fighting for? Are we the people our younger selves thought we'd become? What did we completely take for granted growing up? And are there dreams we still haven't gotten around to chasing?

The answers lead to some very real conversations about friendships with no bullshit, relationships and ghosting, getting older, appreciating our parents, careers that didn't go according to plan, the lives we thought we'd have, traveling the world, missed opportunities, old relationships, regrets, and learning to be okay with where life actually took us.

And because this is Unfiltered at Fifty, there are also naps, Teemu lights, New York smelling like “piss and peanuts,” a preschool room full of sleeping toddlers, a Costco toilet paper rescue, an old engagement, and plenty of completely unnecessary detours.

Somewhere underneath all the chaos is a pretty simple realization: none of us ended up exactly where we thought we would. There are things we'd do differently, things we wish we'd appreciated more, and things we still want to do. But that doesn't mean we ended up in the wrong place. Kim reflects that although her life turned out nothing like she once pictured, she's now genuinely content with where she is.

New episodes of Unfiltered at Fifty drop every Friday.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unfilteredatfifty

Follow us:

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unfilteredatfifty
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfilteredatfifty/

Produced by Robert Altschuler. Recorded and mixed at Command Creative Studios: https://www.commandcreativestudios.com/

#UnfilteredAtFifty #WomenOver50 #LifeAfter50 #FemaleFriendship #MidlifeWomen #GenXWomen

Jennifer survived back surgery, but apparently the real trauma was never getting to count backward from 10.

This week, Jen gives Kim the full, completely unfiltered rundown of her surgery, from showing up at the hospital nervous as hell, waking up confused about how she completely missed the operating room, generic Jell-O, beef broth, absolutely zero modesty, and the very important hospital requirement that led to a photographic confirmation nobody asked for.

But underneath all the hospital chaos is something a lot of us can probably relate to.

What happens when you're the person who's always independent, always in control, and suddenly you need other people to help you?

Jen and Kim talk about how uncomfortable it can be to say “I need help,” why being dependent on someone can make you feel like a burden, and how quickly a health issue can make you appreciate all the things your body normally does without you even thinking about them.

And because this is Unfiltered at Fifty, the conversation somehow also includes farting hospital roommates, unfinished books, air quotes, childhood trauma, bursitis, pancreatitis, and the possible formation of a new club called The Bursitis Bitches.

Getting older is weird. Recovery is humbling. Asking for help is hard.

We might as well laugh about it.

New episodes of Unfiltered at Fifty drop every Friday.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unfilteredatfifty

Available wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow us:

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unfilteredatfifty
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfilteredatfifty/

Produced by Robert Altschuler.

Recorded and mixed at Command Creative Studios: https://www.commandcreativestudios.com/

#UnfilteredAtFifty #WomenOver50 #LifeAfter50 #GettingOlder #MidlifeWomen #GenXWomen

There comes a point in life when the roles begin to change. The parents who always took care of you start needing you to take care of them.

This week, Kim opens up about an incredibly difficult two weeks with her dad after complications from surgery turned into a frightening hospital stay. What she thought would be a quick trip became days of uncertainty, difficult medical decisions, conversations about hospice, and moments when Kim truly believed she might lose her dad.

She talks about what it felt like to see the man she always viewed as larger than life suddenly vulnerable, hearing him talk about his regrets, holding his hand when he said he didn't want to be in pain anymore, and realizing there were things she needed to tell him while she still had the chance.

But in the middle of an incredibly painful experience, there was also something beautiful. Family dropped everything and showed up. Friends filled his hospital room. Kim watched her brother step in to care for their dad, and she saw just how many people love him.

The experience also opened up a much bigger conversation about aging parents, becoming the caregiver, how easily older people can become forgotten, and why sometimes showing up is the most important thing we can do.

Because our parents aren't going to be here forever.

Call them. Visit them. Listen to their stories. Be patient with them. And when they need you, show up.

This one gets emotional, but it's also about love, family, friendship, dignity, and being grateful for the time we still have.

New episodes of Unfiltered at Fifty drop every Friday.

Follow us:

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unfilteredatfift
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfilteredatfifty/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unfilteredatfift

Produced by Robert Altschuler. Recorded and mixed at Command Creative Studios

#UnfilteredAtFifty #AgingParents #Caregiving #WomenOver50 #FamilyCaregiver #LifeAfter50

Kim and Jen are back, and apparently staying on topic was never part of the plan.

This week starts with Jennifer surviving Charlotte’s first seven-day sleepaway camp, including no phones, no contact, homesickness, five-minute showers, and Jennifer discovering that she officially needs a translator to understand phrases like “low-key” and “crashed out.”

Then things take a turn when Jennifer reveals she’s preparing for back surgery, which leads Kim to discover something she simply cannot let go: Jennifer apparently has no idea how to ask a doctor a normal follow-up question.

And somehow, all of that leads to squishies.

Lots and lots of squishies.

After a weekend shopping trip turns into a full-blown debate about money, parenting, childhood, and whether kids today are actually learning what it means when they can’t afford something, Kim has some thoughts. Jennifer knows she has some thoughts. And yes, David gets dragged into it too. Their conversation contrasts the way they grew up, when $10 at the mall was all you had, with what raising kids looks like today.

It’s funny, completely unplanned, occasionally inappropriate, and exactly what happens when Kim and Jen sit down and start talking.

New episodes of Unfiltered at Fifty drop Fridays.

Make sure to like, follow, and subscribe.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Unfilteredatfifty

Follow us on social media: @unfilteredatfifty on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok

Available wherever you get your podcasts.

Produced by Robert Altschuler Recorded and mixed at Command Creative Studios www.commandcreativestudios.com

#UnfilteredAtFifty #WomenOver50 #ParentingToday #MidlifeWomen #MotherhoodUnfiltered #GenXWomen

New to Unfiltered at Fifty? Start here.

We're going back to where it all began with Episode 1 and re-releasing our very first conversation for anyone who's recently discovered the show or wants to go back and hear how this whole thing started.

Unfiltered at Fifty is two longtime friends, Jennifer Satel and Kimberly Kahl, talking honestly about what life really looks like at this age. The friendships, relationships, parenting, aging, our bodies, our pasts, the things we're still trying to figure out, and all the ridiculous stories we've collected along the way.

There are no perfect answers here. We're figuring it out right along with you, laughing at ourselves, disagreeing with each other, interrupting each other, and having the conversations women are actually having with their friends.

If you've been listening from the beginning, come take a trip back with us. If you're brand new to Unfiltered at Fifty, this is the perfect place to start.

And we're just getting started.

Jen and Kim are back in the studio recording brand-new episodes of Unfiltered at Fifty right now, so make sure you're following and subscribed. There are plenty of new conversations, stories, laughs, and completely unfiltered moments coming your way.

Follow Unfiltered at Fifty:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfilteredatfifty/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unfilteredatfifty

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnfilteredAtFifty

Produced by Robert Altschuler and recorded and mixed at Command Creative Studios.

https://www.commandcreativestudios.com/

#UnfilteredAtFifty #WomenOver50 #LifeAfter50 #GenX #FemaleFriendship #Podcast

This week on Unfiltered at Fifty, Jennifer Satel and Kimberly Kahl have one of their most personal and vulnerable conversations yet.

What happens when something changes you, but you don't feel like you're allowed to call it trauma?

Jennifer and Kimberly open up about grief, loss, PTSD, fertility struggles, losing loved ones, watching parents age, the sudden loss of a pet, and the experiences that can stay with us long after the moment itself has passed.

Kimberly shares the traumatic experience of witnessing a man lose his life and the mental health crisis that followed. She talks about reaching a point where she knew she needed professional help, finding a therapist who helped save her life, and eventually understanding that PTSD doesn't belong only to people who have experienced war or catastrophic events.

Jennifer opens up about her own fertility journey, miscarriages, years of doctors and treatments, and the realization that those experiences left behind trauma she had never fully allowed herself to acknowledge. Even years later, something as simple as having her blood pressure taken at a doctor's office can bring those emotions rushing back.

They also talk about losing parents and grandparents, saying goodbye to friends, watching the people who once seemed invincible grow older, and the complicated emotions that come with grief.

This isn't the typical Unfiltered at Fifty episode, but it's an important one.

Because trauma doesn't have to look a certain way to be real. Grief doesn't follow a schedule. You don't have to compare your pain to someone else's before allowing yourself to feel it.

Sometimes you need your friends. Sometimes you need to cry. Sometimes you need professional help. And sometimes you simply need someone to remind you that you're not alone.

If you're going through something, give yourself permission to acknowledge it, talk about it, and ask for help when you need it.

Follow Unfiltered at Fifty:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfilteredatfifty/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unfilteredatfifty

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnfilteredAtFifty

Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-unfiltered-at-fifty-331466748/

Also available wherever you get your podcasts.

Produced by Robert Altschuler and recorded and mixed at Command Creative Studios.

https://www.commandcreativestudios.com/

#UnfilteredAtFifty #MentalHealth #TraumaHealing #GriefAndLoss #PTSDRecovery #WomenOver50

What do broken shoes, high school insecurities, lifelong friendships, and turning 50 have in common?

Apparently... everything.

This week, Jennifer and Kimberly kick things off with hilarious stories from a weekend of 50th birthday parties, including Kimberly's shoes literally falling apart not once, but twice. From there, the conversation takes an unexpected turn into growing up, navigating friendships, surviving junior high, finding confidence, and reflecting on the experiences that shaped who they are today.

It's funny, heartfelt, nostalgic, and one of our most personal conversations yet.

If you've ever looked back at your younger self and wished you could give them a hug (or some advice), this episode is for you.

What We Talk About: • The weekend Kimberly's shoes completely gave up • Being recognized by podcast listeners • High school friendships and rejection • Why turning 50 makes you reflect differently • Learning to speak up for yourself • Childhood fears and lasting insecurities • Jennifer's unforgettable snowboarding disaster • Why the people who stay matter most

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs a laugh.

Follow us:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unfilteredatfifty/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unfilteredatfifty

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UnfilteredAtFifty

Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-unfiltered-at-fifty-331466748/

Produced, recorded, and mixed at Command Creative Studios: https://www.commandcreativestudios.com/

#UnfilteredAtFifty #Friendship #Turning50 #GenX #LifeAfter50 #ComedyPodcast