MenOpod: all things fifty +

Eat, Pray, Please Don’t Split the 401(k): Menopause, Marriage Sabbaticals & the Audacity of Wanting Your Own Life with Leah Fisher | Episode 62

52 min · 4. juni 2026
episode Eat, Pray, Please Don’t Split the 401(k): Menopause, Marriage Sabbaticals & the Audacity of Wanting Your Own Life with Leah Fisher | Episode 62 cover

Description

Forget Eat, Pray, Love. This is menopause-era reinvention with rolling luggage, emotional support snacks, and a husband at home slowly discovering that “what’s for dinner?” is now a deeply personal problem. Psychotherapist and author Leah Fisher joins MenOpod to talk about what happens when an empty nest identity meltdown, a long marriage, and a full-blown midlife crisis collide at the exact same hormonal moment. Leah shares her experiment in solo travel and marriage “sabbaticals”—months spent in Bali, Guatemala, and beyond—rooted in a dream deferred for decades and finally met with both the courage and the time to pursue it. What happens when you don’t blow up your life, but you also refuse to keep postponing it? We get into good-enough marriages, menopause-fueled escape fantasies, TSA’s mysterious “little old lady privilege,” and the art of negotiating freedom without accidentally becoming a Dateline episode. Because sometimes the most rebellious thing a menopausal woman can do… is book the ticket.

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66 episodes

episode Brain Fog, Bargain Shopping & Biblical Plagues | Ep. 66 artwork

Brain Fog, Bargain Shopping & Biblical Plagues | Ep. 66

Turning 56 apparently comes with two unexpected perks: a Ross senior discount—and the ability to forget the word “fork.” This week, Eliana goes into Ross for one suitcase and somehow loses an entire day, trusts ChatGPT over her husband during a full-blown shopping crisis, nearly sacrifices brand-new HOKAs to a Florida flash flood, falls in love with a beach sweater so ugly it should’ve come with a warning label, and watches an HRT patch stage a full escape attempt. Meanwhile, biblical swarms of flying ants invade the house, Leora recommends medication for basically everything, and the sisters debate whether the brain fog is menopause, aging… or just another spectacular midlife malfunction. Also: Weird Al nostalgia, Costco couture, AirPods paranoia, barf-colored childhood bedrooms, AARP magazine revelations, Obé workout victories, the dangers of replacing your spouse with ChatGPT, and the unsettling realization that they now worry more about their favorite musicians surviving tours than playing encores. If this is what aging looks like, we’d at least like a bigger Ross discount. And maybe a refund on the brain cells.🤣📱🍌 Follow @MenOpodPodcast for more midlife chaos, menopause truths, and behind-the-scenes shenanigans. 🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss the mess

Yesterday44 min
episode Favorite Children, Forgotten Groceries, & Fading Civilization | Ep. 65 artwork

Favorite Children, Forgotten Groceries, & Fading Civilization | Ep. 65

Midlife is realizing that no matter how many doctor appointments you drive your mother to, how many groceries you carry into her house, or how many times you explain FaceTime versus speakerphone, one call from the favorite child can erase decades of service faster than a factory reset. This week, Eliana and Leora compete in the Family Dysfunction Olympics, where their mother’s 83rd birthday proves birth order is destiny, childhood trauma comes with senior discounts, and the favorite child doesn’t even need to show up to win. Meanwhile, Leora abandons an entire grocery order in a parking lot and immediately declares the fruit store a failed institution, while Eliana confronts the truth that adult children are just toddlers with driver’s licenses and stronger opinions. Also: AI taking jobs, teenagers who can’t sign their own names, boys with a baffling dedication to toilet-related discourse, and the recurring debate over whether the 1980s were actually great or just aggressively loud. Plus: forgotten groceries, forgotten skills, forgotten children—and one extremely committed mother who still refuses to get an iPhone despite all evidence that humanity would benefit. Because menopause isn't the beginning of wisdom. It's realizing your mother still has a favorite child, your kids still blame you for everything, and the robots may inherit the earth before anyone remembers where they left the fruit. 🎙️🤣📱🍌 Follow @MenOpodPodcast for more midlife chaos, menopause truths, and behind-the-scenes shenanigans. 🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss the mess

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episode Burps, Bloat & Bathroom Betrayal (A Sharts & Giggles Pooptacular) with Dr. Jeffrey Brooks | Episode 64 artwork

Burps, Bloat & Bathroom Betrayal (A Sharts & Giggles Pooptacular) with Dr. Jeffrey Brooks | Episode 64

Midlife doesn’t arrive politely—it kicks down the door, rearranges your gut, and leaves behind symptoms it refuses to explain. This week, gastroenterologist Dr. Jeffrey Brooks joins Eliana and Leora for a deep dive into the glamorous underworld of aging digestion: reflux that shows up uninvited, bloating that ignores physics, constipation with commitment issues, and bathroom “emergencies” that redefine your relationship with public toilets. Eliana recounts her radioactive poop era (a phrase no one should ever have to say), Leora shows up unfiltered and unflushable, and Dr. Brooks tries—unsuccessfully—to keep things medically dignified while everything devolves into full Sharts & Giggles territory. From colonoscopies to pelvic floor betrayal to the eternal question of “is this normal or am I dying?”, it’s equal parts education, humiliation, and group therapy in a fluorescent-lit waiting room. Menopause: where dignity meets the toilet—and dignity loses. 🚽💥

18. juni 20261 h 10 min
episode The Safest Place Is the Couch: Anxiety, Escalators, and Other Midlife Hazards I Episode 63 artwork

The Safest Place Is the Couch: Anxiety, Escalators, and Other Midlife Hazards I Episode 63

Ever feel like the older you get, the more things there are to worry about? In this hilariously relatable episode of MenOpod: All Things Fifty Plus, sisters Leora and Eliana tackle the growing midlife anxiety that shows up uninvited and overstays its welcome. From grown sons who still can’t manage basic self-care, to brain fog, forgotten medications, cleaning lady confessions, and the overwhelming mental load of managing everyone’s lives (while barely managing your own), the conversation wanders through the funny, frustrating, and deeply familiar realities of life after fifty. The sisters also dive into some truly unbelievable news stories that raise one key question: is it actually safer to just stay on the sofa forever? Escalator incidents, open manholes, diving disasters, and loose bears all suggest the outside world may no longer be built for our continued survival. At this point, simply getting through the day without losing your keys, your thoughts, or your groceries feels like a competitive sport worth celebrating. 🏆Be sure to follow us for our weekly episodes and comment below.

11. juni 202634 min
episode Eat, Pray, Please Don’t Split the 401(k): Menopause, Marriage Sabbaticals & the Audacity of Wanting Your Own Life with Leah Fisher | Episode 62 artwork

Eat, Pray, Please Don’t Split the 401(k): Menopause, Marriage Sabbaticals & the Audacity of Wanting Your Own Life with Leah Fisher | Episode 62

Forget Eat, Pray, Love. This is menopause-era reinvention with rolling luggage, emotional support snacks, and a husband at home slowly discovering that “what’s for dinner?” is now a deeply personal problem. Psychotherapist and author Leah Fisher joins MenOpod to talk about what happens when an empty nest identity meltdown, a long marriage, and a full-blown midlife crisis collide at the exact same hormonal moment. Leah shares her experiment in solo travel and marriage “sabbaticals”—months spent in Bali, Guatemala, and beyond—rooted in a dream deferred for decades and finally met with both the courage and the time to pursue it. What happens when you don’t blow up your life, but you also refuse to keep postponing it? We get into good-enough marriages, menopause-fueled escape fantasies, TSA’s mysterious “little old lady privilege,” and the art of negotiating freedom without accidentally becoming a Dateline episode. Because sometimes the most rebellious thing a menopausal woman can do… is book the ticket.

4. juni 202652 min