Welcome to The Boomer Woman's Podcast

2023 is the 4th Season of The Boomer Woman’s Podcast, formerly the Two Boomer Women Podcast.

Each episode is a conversation between me – I’m Agnes Knowles, your host – and a guest who talks to a subject that, someway, somehow, is relatable to Boomer Women.  The guests can be any age, any gender, as long as their message is positive, informative, pertinent to our demographic.

You, dear listener, might need to be open-minded, curious, tolerant, inclusive… and if you are, you will enjoy these conversations, maybe learn something, and I encourage you to share each and any episode!

This page is the Home of the podcast, but we can be found on most podcast platforms – check out the links below.

Scroll down now to meet this year’s guests, or click the appropriate link to meet any of the guests of the previous two years.

Meet the guests of 2022!

Click here to see the line-up and listen to epsiodes.

Meet the guests of 2021!

Click here to see the line-up and listen to epsiodes.

Meet the guests of 2023!

Click on the pics to learn more about the guest, Click on the date to listen to the episode

feminine longevity

Shannon Russell on Second Act Careers

Guest: 01 June 2023

Shannon Russell leverages her experience as a former TV Producer and Certified Career Coach to help women prepare and produce their best life. Having pivoted from her own unresolved career to achieve a healthy balance as a professional and a mom, she specializes in helping other professional women do the same. She is the host of the Second Act Success podcast, and creator of companion coaching programs, and online courses. She shares her expertise in connecting clients with opportunities to help them produce a balanced life of abundance.

When Shannon isn’t helping more women produce their best life, you can find her balancing her own life with her husband, two sons, and their dog. She has learned to grow a business that allows her to work from anywhere so she can travel more with her family. She wants to inspire her kids so they know they can do anything and hopes to be an inspiration for all those seeking to achieve a great life that measures up to their own unique dream.

feminine longevity

Kristin Mallon on Feminine Longevity and Breast Health

Guest: 25 May 2023

Kristin Mallon is a feminine longevity expert.  Sick care is so necessary but well care should be too.  And women need well care into the elder years… beyond the reproductive years.

Our last decade is called the Marginal Decade and there is no reason we shouldn’t have health and wellness through it, or most of it (and hopefully our age will be triple digits!).

Today Kristin Mallon focuses on breast health.  Monthly self-examination is so important, and we are learning so much more about the genes that affect our breast health.  Remember the earlier breast cancer is detected the better the outcomes.

Kristin also emphasizes the importance of hormones in our lives, our bodies and our aging.  And Exercise… and Sleep – quality sleep.  Her reference to health banks is a great one.

Melinda Satterlee - Financial Planner and Investment Advisor

Guest: 18 May 2023

“Women don’t need more products to buy, they want to learn about managing their finances from opening the right kind of accounts to learning how to invest their money.”

Financial Advisor Melinda Satterlee compares connecting with new clients in her business as a “dating period” – you get to know each other, make sure your philosophies and methods are compatible – before you decide to go steady.

Her description of the building blocks – what your needs / wishes are depending on your age, family situation, etc. – is great food for thought.  When you’re young, you can look at saving; as we get older we might need to look more at our spending.

A lot of great information and explanations for listeners of all ages and comfort levels and experience in the financial world.

Melinda is licensed in the U.S. but much of the information is transferable to your country of origin – certainly the emphasis on finding an advisor you’re comfortable with and trust.

Aside:  Do you know what streak running is?

Tonia Griffin on Senior Living Communities

Guest: 11 May 2023

Senior living communities. We need to get past the concept of them being for old people!  Good meals cooked for you, housekeeping done for you, entertainment and social events planned for you… but you come and go as you please… sounds like an ideal lifestyle to me!

Tonia Griffin is a marketer for a senior living complex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and in the episode, she explains the difference between “Independent Living” and “Assisted Living” and the perks of the lifestyle.  At Agnes’ invitation, Tonia also sells Baton Rouge – it is an over 2000 mile relocate.  If she doesn’t convince you to relocate you will certainly want to put Baton Rouge on your holiday destination list!!

Dr. Daved Rosensweet on Hormones and Menopause

Guest: 04 May 2023

This episode is an important one for both women and men.  Dr. Daved Rosensweet starts with an overview of hormones for both women and men and what they do for us.

Interesting thought: not that many generations ago there was no such thing as menopause because lifespan was not that long.

Dr. Rosensweet gives us the facts behind the breast cancer risk that was associated with HRT and discusses Premarin and plant-based bio-identical hormones.

Two big take-aways:  find a practitioner who is well-educated in hormones and check out compounding pharmacies.

So much great information in this episode but please remember this is a conversation – you need to check with your own health (hormone) specialist before you set up your own random hormone cocktail based on Dr. Rosensweet’s information.

Interestingly, Dr. Rosensweet was the medical advisor / trainer of the first nurse practitioners ever graduated.

Jill McCarthy is The Geeky Grandma

Guest: 27 April 2023

Tech came easy to Jill McCarthy, aka The Geeky Grandma. Since her first computer arrived she has been learning and creating and teaching, and over the years it has led to the growth of a real community.

She combined her affection for penpal letter writing into e-pals where matched women would email each other.  That grew into a women’s group, retreats, and her community.

Jill’s podcast is The Geeky Grandma with An Encouraging Nudge.  That name has a story behind it and Jill shares it.  She also encourages us to go for our dreams… even if they need to be scaled back a bit at this age.

Jill’s catch-phrase is “The desires of the heart” and she truly is all heart. Meeting with women who are preparing for retirement or are newly retired, she slows the clock to inquire about interests from another time… and help them get to a next place.

Interested in Jill’s retreats?  She has one coming up!

So many nuggets in this episode.

Tamara Zoner - Cultivate Happiness

Guest: 20 April 2023

Do you take responsibility for your own happiness?  It is in your hands… and you have to cultivate it.

Life happens to all of us.  If it seems overwhelming, you can still choose how you respond… even if your response is choosing to binge Netflix for a period of time – it’s a conscious choice.

Finding positives is how we start to retrain our neurology.  So in the midst of “the mess”, are you healthy? Do you have a home? Clean water out of the tap?

If you are surrounded by grumps and negative people, find joy elsewhere – YouTube, Meet-ups, other groups, review personal accomplishments.

I seem to throw a lot of negatives at Tamara but her solutions never fail.  Again, life happens and it isn’t always happy, but we accept life and find “an inner state of peace and well-being”.

“Practice” happiness.  Very powerful.

Barbara Mojica - Historia and Educator

Guest: 13 April 2023

An extra-long episode today – that’s what happens when Agnes gets chatting with a history educator and Barbara has so many thought-inspiring insights!

Barbara Mojica explains how history is in every part of our life – family, place, customs, society.  Both an historian and an explorer, Barbara brings history to life, even on podcast.

As an educator, Barbara brings an interesting take on the job of teaching today and how children learn.

Barbara talks about children becoming the leaders of tomorrow, and being critical thinkers… she explains the correlation between history and critical thinking and tomorrow’s leaders.  Which does, of course, lead to a discussion of search engine use and social media and algorithms in getting information.

Cultural history is important as a family reference, but also from a global perspective, why other people may be different because of their cultural history.  Encouraging children to see the good and the bad of a family’s cultural history is important as the world continues to change at a rapid pace.

Be a lifelong learner… as adults and, as adults, teach the children to be also… including sharing what you’ve learned as the elder.

A bonus question at the end might be interesting to anyone interested in writing children’s books.

Paula Conroy

Guest: 06 April 2023

Today’s conversation starts with discussion about the maiden years, the mother years, the crone years.

Paula’s description of her life in the corporate arena might sound exciting but, as she matured, she started to recognize what she calls the “aridity” of her seemingly successful life. 

An interesting discussion of masculine attributes and feminine attributes at a cultural/corporate level.  Also the lack of rites of passage in western culture.  How do we take responsibility for our part in all of it?  How do we revisit rites of passage and make them part of our life, our community again?

You might find Paula’s Rose, Thorn, Banana Peel and Seed ritual useful. How often do you engage in circle discussion, allowing each person to hold space?

Embrace your “crone” years!

Allison O'Shea

Guest: 30 March 2023

Allison O’Shea has over 18 years of direct hands-on experience working with seniors and their families.  This experience has given her the knowledge to be a reputable voice in the confusing and overwhelming world of aging.

In this episode, we discuss the 5 main questions Allison thinks we need to be considering if we are becoming caregivers for an aging loved one… or, if we’re at retirement age, we need to be answering to maintain control of our decisions.

Questions such as:

  1. Who is my support system?
  2. What is my financial situation?
  3. Do I know what options are out there?
  4. Am I communicating to my support system?
  5. Am I listening to my support system?

Allison’s information is American – some of it may work where you live… at any rate check out local resources and government programs and insurances where you are.

A few tech glitches, please be kind.

Alara Sage - The Ecstatic Life Mentor

Guest: 23 March 2023

A woman’s power.  That deep-rooted, deeply felt power that comes from the feminine.  Wisdom, the magnitude each woman has, inexhaustible energy.

Alara Sage calls herself the ecstatic life mentor after a spontaneous kundalini awakening.  She talks about orgasm in a sexual way, but also in a non-sexual, more sensual way… that life is meant to be highly pleasurable.

An interesting discussion about being in the present moment – our minds may not be but our bodies always are. An embodied woman is present in the moment and understands her own personal power.

Shame. Intuition. Self-worth. The Divine. The Creative. Submission vs Surrender. Playfulness. Such great topics for conversation… with no shortage of laughter.

Juliana Dever on Why We All Need To Travel

Guest: 16 March 2023

Juliana Dever’s enthusiasm for travel is so contagious in this episode.  It’s impossible to disagree with her reasoning on why we should travel.  Whether experiencing something new (or better than?) your status quo; or how novelty unleashes a creativity you’ve never acknowledged before; or finding a person or a thing that startles your sense of what is.  And guess what, Listeners!  In Juliana’s experience, women are the more adventurous of the sexes… and older women at that!!

You’ll appreciate the insight that travel is about connecting with the place or the people… not necessarily being an adrenalin junkie.

As you listen, you’ll realize Juliana tours you to places you’d never find by yourself.  And the women on those tours are women this host wants to travel with!!  That said, she also has great suggestions about traveling safely and comfortably, even alone.

You’ll learn.  And you’ll laugh!!! As well as a travel pro, Juliana is a delightful story-teller!

Hilary Truong on The Mother-Daughter Relationship

Guest: 09 March 2023

Hilary Truong is a therapist who specializes in the Mother–Daughter Relationship.  You may not want to hear all of what she says but perhaps that’s a control issue (my words, not hers) – no one ever suggested parenting was easy and there is no “one-size-fits-all” method for the generations to figure it out.

At any age, we need to remember that the mother is the mother and her daughter is the daughter and not allow those lines to blur.  If you’re an older woman trying to heal a lifetime with a mother who wasn’t perhaps who you wanted or needed her to be, it is, as in so many relationships, about the story… often a story that goes back generations.

Hilary also has insights into the over-protective (overbearing?) father.

Mothers, did you know listening is a huge part of the equation?

Lynn Friesth on Encore Careers

Guest: 02 March 2023

Lynn Friesth spent 40 years in the corporate world and for the last seven has been building his “Encore Career”.

In this episode he explains just what an “Encore Career” is and the major considerations for a “silver entrepreneur”.  We discuss mindset, skill sets, value propositions and “practice”.  Did you know that entrepreneurs over age 55 had a higher rate of success than their young counterparts?

There are many ways to reinvent yourself after your long career – you can scale back, you can scale back and mentor those who follow, or you can change lanes completely.

And is pickleball the new golf?

Alexis Burnett on Cannabis Science - excerpts from last year's conversation

Guest:  23 February 2023

Last week I spoke with Terri Yuzon, CEO and founder of Hemplily.  Hemplily provides natural, cannabis-based alternatives for many issues that women experience: hot flashes, night sweats, stress, sleep… to name a few.

Last year I spoke with an herb and cannabis farmer from Ontario and he was SO knowledgeable about the bio-chemistry of cannabis and the endo-cannabinoid system within our bodies, that I decided to pull excerpts from my conversation with Alexis and follow last week’s conversation with his information.

Alexis and I spoke for two hours and I have edited that down to 30 minutes of information… I wanted only to give you the basic science behind cannabis.  I DO encourage you to listen to both episodes of my conversation with Alexis last year to hear the full context of our conversation – cannabis, growing cannabis, different cultivars…and also to learn more about other herbs and natural remedies.

Terri Yuzon on Hemp - Menstruation to Menopause

Guest: 16 February 2023

When she was much younger Terri Yuzon was given a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.  Determined not to be on meds for the rest of her life, she started researching a healthier lifestyle.  Part of that search led her to cannabis but cannabis in those days was a more drug-associated product.  Finally she was able to create a hemp-product that didn’t have the “drug” effects of marijuana.  Hemplily was officially launched.

Cannabinoid receptors are part of the human brain which helps to explain why cannabis assists with so many issues of the body.  Terri’s products are designed for women “from menstruation to menopause”.

From gummies to tinctures to topicals, Terri talks about the differences and the many products available for women – and some that are great for men too. 

And then there are mushrooms…

Ann Bell on Sex, Relationships and Connection

Guest: 09 February 2023

There really are no holds barred when Love and Life Coach Ann Bell talks about sex.  Her playful side and her sexual side blend effortlessly.

Today Ann reminds us Boomer Women about things we either knew and have forgotten over the years or maybe we never knew them at all.

Lots of laughs in this episode where conversation ranges from orgasm to cougars to eat, pray, love.

Sherrilynne Starkie Interviews 50 Women Over 50

Guest: 02 February 2023

A slightly different format today as Sherrilynne describes her international career… and how it developed as the internet became a “thing”.

Agnes and Sherrilynne connected because of their podcaster lives.  Sherrilynne’s podcast is a passion project… so interesting as she interviews 50 women over 50.  Some of her interviews are impactful… you may be adding her podcast to your playlist.  Between these two podcasters there is a lot of positive future forecasting.

After drawing Sherrilynne out, Agnes throws her a curve ball by asking her some of the questions she asks her guests.  Agnes knows what those questions are as she has been interviewed by Sherrilynne!

Don’t think this synopsis analyses the podcast, there are lots of side tracks!!

And you know that question Agnes always ask guests… what haven’t we talked about that you want listeners to think about… SO worth the listen!

Carine Camara - Acupuncture and Aging Gracefully

Guest: 26 January 2023

Carine is a practitioner of eastern medicine and explains acupuncture and has interesting ideas on the use of nature and its healing abilities.

Interestingly, she pulls in politics and it all makes sense. Are we more global than we ever thought?

Carine talks about accepting and loving her aging – she did dread it when she was younger but shares how she grew into it.

Interested in learning about rejuvenation acupuncture?

How about styles for older women?

Carina is like one-stop shopping for us mid-age women!!

 

Andrew Wang on Dealing With Stage Fright

Guest: 19 January 2023

Today’s episode starts off the an unexpected lesson in pronunciation and anglicization of names.

But the real story:  Andrew Wang has a career rather unrelated to music.  He decided to learn guitar, however, and found himself experiencing serious stage fright when he played in front of people.  Ring a bell with you?  Start a new project as an adult only to realize doing it in front of people was nerve-wracking.

Andy chose a genre of music that was relatively popular but with very few musicians playing it live.  The invitations to play started to come in.  It’s hard to say No to a cousin’s wedding.

When you keep saying Yes… where can that lead you?

Andy shares several stories about saying Yes, and has a great philosophy about sharing our gifts.  AND he ties it back to retirement.

Stay tuned to the end when I ask Andy a question from out of left field!

A wonderful conversation with a delightful person.

Judy Wilkins-Smith on Decoding Your Emotional DNA

Guest: 12 January 2023

We are aware of DNA as it pertains to our physical traits, but how about emotional DNA?

The physical may be inarguable, but what if you challenged your emotional place in the world and decided to change it?

Food.  Money.  Relationships. Huge triggers of negative emotions or experiences.  Judy explains that Genealogy 1.0 is “Here’s where you belong” and Genealogy 2.0 is  “Here’s what happened, and how it matters to where you belong”.  Most of your “inflated” feelings are results of your emotional dna.

Judy also shares an interesting exercise she does with clients… you might want to try it yourself.

If you’re a newcomer to emotional DNA, Judy has written a book that explains and assists you!

Peter Anthony - His Troubled Teen Finds Her Way

 Guest: 05 January 2023

The podcast starts its fourth season with the father of a struggling teenage daughter.  If you’ve been a parent to a teenager – or maybe you now have teenage grandchildren – the issues might resonate.  Peter did realize that he couldn’t “fix” his daughter’s problems, and he is quite candid that this story is as much about his growth as Belle’s.  He learned to be a listener and a support as Belle worked to find her path.

Peter and Belle’s story may not be unique, it is definitely heartfelt.  Spoiler alert: they find many positives as time goes on.

This episode might be a little unusual as Peter requests and is truly open to suggestions and assistance as Belle (and her silent partner, Peter) develop the endeavour that has grown out of their mutual growth.

The story of a special father and a very remarkable young woman.