Midrising: Real Talk
by Gill Townsend & Barbara Scalzi
Midrising: Real Talk is an honest podcast about identity, reinvention, and the quiet shifts many women experience in midlife.Hosted by Gill Townsend (Australia) and Barbara Scalzi (Thailand), these conversations explore what happens when the old version of you no longer quite fits — not as crisis, but as transition.This is thoughtful, grounded dialogue for women navigating change, growth, and what comes next. hotcupofmama.substack.com
Episodes
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Ep 8. You Can’t Declutter This With a Bin Bag
You can declutter your house… and still feel completely overwhelmed. Because the real clutter isn’t on your shelves. It’s in your head. In this episode of Midrising: Real Talk, we unpack the mental load so many women carry — the constant to-do lists, the decisions that never get made, and the...
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Ep. 7 - Are You Living on Autopilot Without Realising It?
In this episode, Gill and Barbara explore what it means to live on autopilot — and how easy it is to drift into a life you didn’t consciously choose. They share personal experiences of waking up to that realisation, the role of unexpected events in forcing change, and the ongoing challenge of...
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Ep. 6 - What's happening to me?
We weren’t planning to talk about perimenopause. It wasn’t the topic for this episode. But somewhere in the conversation, we realised something we couldn’t ignore… We are having completely different experiences of midlife. Barbara is in it.Deep in it. And I’m sitting here thinking…should I be...
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Ep. 5 Losing Control
Most of us spend our lives trying to stay in control. We build plans.Careers.Routines.Identities. All designed to make life feel stable and predictable. And then something happens that reminds us that control might have been an illusion all along. In this episode of Midrising: Real Talk, Barbara...
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Ep.4 You Don’t Want a New Life
Somewhere along the way, many of us start asking a quiet question. Is it too late? Too late to change direction.Too late to start something new.Too late to build the life we once imagined. In this episode of Midrising: Real Talk, Barbara and I talk about that moment — the one where you realise...
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Ep. 3 It’s Not Too Late
In this episode of Midrising: Real Talk, Barbara Scalzi and I explore the question so many women quietly ask: “Is it too late?” Too late to pivot.Too late to build something new.Too late to express more of who you are. We unpack: The difference between midlife as a label and Midrising as a…
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Ep. 2 Identity: It’s Not a Crisis, It’s a Shift
In this episode: • When the feeling of “I don’t know who I am anymore” first appears • Sudden identity shifts vs the slow erosion of self • How much of who we were was tied to roles — work, motherhood, relationships • What happens when those roles change or fall away • The grief — and relief —…
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Ep. 1 How We Got Here: The Start of Midrising
In this episode: • How Barbara and Gill met • The moment something started to feel “off” • Why midlife doesn’t have to be framed as crisis • The quiet shift that led to Midrising • What reinvention really looks like (without the hype) About the hosts: Gill Townsend (Australia) and Barbara Scalzi...
About this show
Midrising: Real Talk is an honest podcast about identity, reinvention, and the quiet shifts many women experience in midlife.Hosted by Gill Townsend (Australia) and Barbara Scalzi (Thailand), these conversations explore what happens when the old version of you no longer quite fits — not as crisis, but as transition.This is thoughtful, grounded dialogue for women navigating change, growth, and what comes next.
hotcupofmama.substack.com
Hosted by
Gill Townsend & Barbara Scalzi