Did you ever wonder why you stop hearing so many women's voices once they pass 40? I did, which is why I launched The Shift with Sam Baker podcast. It started as just six episodes – no-holds barred conversations with women I knew who were prepared to have their arms twisted. A bit like eavesdropping on two friends chatting. TBH they probably didn’t think anyone would listen and, in all honesty, nor did I!
How wrong I was.
It turned out thousands and thousands of people wanted to hear funny, frank, sometimes heartbreaking, always honest conversations about what it means to be a woman in midlife and beyond.
It took off in a way I couldn’t have imagined and now, three years and millions of downloads later, The Shift with Sam Baker podcast is going so strong that it’s gone weekly and has spawned this newsletter and community.
Each week, I ask a different woman how she got here, where she's going - and how it feels to be where she is right now. There are intimate chats, big laughs, occasional tears and an awful lot of ripping up the rule book and stamping on it...
Past guests have included Marian Keyes,
Guilty Feminist Deborah Frances-White, Julia Cameron, Alison Bechdel, Grace Dent, Minnie Driver, Philippa Perry, Anita Rani, Miriam Margolyes, Aasmah Mir, Jojo Moyes, Jo Whiley, former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Barbara Kingsolver, Tracey Thorn, Isabel Allende, Bobbi Brown, Barbara Blake-Hannah, Philippa Perry, , Nana Ama-Danquah, Maggie O’Farrell, DJ Paulette, 103-year-old Dr Gladys McGarey, Annie Macmanus, Jodie Picoult, Sheila Hancock, Sara Pascoe, and many, many more.At the moment, The Shift with Sam Baker podcast doesn’t live here on Substack. But you can click the link below to listen to any or all of the 150+ episodes absolutely free, wherever you get your podcasts.
I’m in the process of deciding whether to move it here in the near future. I’d love to know what you think. Meantime, have a listen. And if you enjoy it, please let me know by commenting here and/or by rating and reviewing on your podcast provider, because as they tell us to say, “it really does help other people find us!”
An intro to The Shift with Sam Baker podcast