Flourish After Fifty
A podcast to inspire you to live a flourishing life after fifty - on your terms.
Ep. 18 Robyn Greaves: How to Work as Long as You Choose in Your Third Chapter
In this episode, I talk with career change specialist and author Robyn Greaves about how to design your “third chapter” of work and life so you can work as long as you choose, on your own terms. We explore the rise of portfolio, interim and fractional roles, and Robyn’s 5D framework for imagining and building a more energising next chapter.
You’ll hear practical ideas for experimenting while you’re still in a job, protecting your energy, and recognising your “ageing superpowers” so you can widen your contribution rather than wind down.
Ep. 17 After the Dream Job Ends: Susan Metcalf on Creating a Purpose‑Filled Life Beyond Work
In this episode, I sit down with Susan Metcalf to explore what happens when the CEO role of your dreams comes to an end, and there’s no tidy roadmap for what comes next. In the aftermath of COVID, Susan faced a difficult but necessary transition, stepping away without another role lined up and no clear sense of who she would be without the inbox, the calendar and the title.
Susan shares how the demands of leading through COVID left her “well beyond burnout” and ultimately led her to leave corporate life, reframing the experience as an opportunity to escape its constraints.
Ep. 16 Starting Stand‑Up After Fifty: Mandy Scotney Goes All In
Earlier this year, I sat in the audience at a women’s comedy line‑up and realised something confronting: I didn’t see myself anywhere on that stage, and I left wondering, “Where are all the comedians over 50?” So I went searching and came across new comedian, academic and “hobby hard” enthusiast Mandy Scotney.
Ep. 15 Bambi Price - From Self-Doubt to Success When Starting a Business After 50
80% of women over 50 who dream of starting their own business never take the first step. Money worries. Fear of failure. Lack of confidence. Sound familiar? In my latest podcast episode, I sit down with Bambi Price, cofounder of Seniorpreneurs and WoWT (War on Wasted Talent).
Ep 14. Kathy Wood: Living Into Later: Purpose and Possibility Beyond Work
In this episode, I talk with Kathy Wood, a former Relationships Australia leader who resigned just before she turned 70 and is now consciously “living into later” on her own terms.
Ep 13. Jane Moffett - Redefining Retirement: On Your Terms
In this episode, I talk with coach and author Jane Moffett about her book What Next? The Savvy Woman’s Guide to Redefining Retirement, exploring how professional women can design life beyond traditional work on their own terms—blending purpose, identity, money realities, and joy.
Ep 12. Kim Payne - Having The Courage To Turn Someday Into Today
Most of us have a someday list. A version of ourselves we keep putting off until we feel more ready, more confident, or just a little less afraid. Kim Payne has spent years listening to women’s stories of change and learning what happens when women stop waiting for someday — and choose to act with courage instead.
Ep 11. Tamar Hurwitz-Fleming: Transforming Your Birthday into a Joyful Milestone
Explore how to transform your birthday into a meaningful, joyful milestone with Tamar Hurwitz‑Fleming, author of How to Have a Happy Birthday. She invites you to consciously design celebrations that reflect who you are now and who you’re becoming, rather than relying on old habits, expectations or other people’s plans, especially when you’re facing those big “0” birthdays like turning 50, 60 or 70.
Ep 10. Lucy Owens: Matching Your Style with the Woman You’re Becoming
As life shifts in midlife and beyond, through career changes, new chapters, changing bodies or the end of long relationships, it’s easy to find that your clothes no longer feel like you. In this episode of Flourish After 50, Sue West talks with personal stylist and Style Rises founder, Lucy Owens, about what it means to dress for the woman you’re becoming, not the one you used to be.
Ep 9. Sarah Hopkins: Navigating Friendship, Finding Connection
In this episode, I have an honest conversation about friendship with my friend Sarah Hopkins. We share the joys and challenges of making new friends in our fifties and sixties and explore how vulnerability, authenticity, and courage can open the door to deeper connections and lasting joy. It’s a heartfelt reminder that meaningful friendship can flourish at any life stage.
Ep 8. Heather Cameron: Never Underestimate A Woman
Raised on a remote Australian farm, Heather Cameron has lived through droughts, domestic violence, and reinvention. Her bestselling trilogy 'Never Underestimate a Woman' tells a story of courage and transformation. Heather shares how she found her voice and reclaimed her power - and she's now helping other women do the same.
Ep 7. Joanna Maxwell: What’s Age Got To Do With It?
Ageism affects how others see us and how we see ourselves. Researcher and author Joanna Maxwell has spent years studying age beliefs and their impact on women’s work, confidence, and identity. In this conversation, she unpacks myths about ageing, internalised bias, and why it’s time to challenge the idea that life peaks before fifty.
Ep 6. Melissa Braden: Redining Life After A Big Career
In this bonus episode, Melissa Braden shares what it was really like to walk away from a big public service career after twenty‑five years in senior roles. In her mid‑50s, she accepted an early retirement package and stepped into the unknown. Eighteen months on, she talks about the wobbles, the wins and the identity shift that followed – and how, beyond all of that, she has created more choice, deeper community and plenty of “me‑me time” in this new chapter.
Ep 5. Katie Allen: A Bold Leap into Politics and a Regret‑Free Life
Dr Katie Allen has lived multiple remarkable careers, from pioneering medical research to serving in federal parliament. In this episode, she takes us inside the moment she tore up her CV and jumped off the cliff into politics, driven by a desire to have an even greater impact through her work. Now living with stage four cancer, she speaks candidly about why the risk was unequivocally worth it and calls on women over fifty to back themselves and pursue their ambitions, no regrets.
Ep 4. Kari Cardinale: A Roadmap for Navigating Transitions
Whether you’re navigating an empty nest, rethinking your career, or simply facing a season of change, life after fifty is full of pivotal moments. In this episode, Kari Cardinale of the Modern Elder Academy offers a roadmap for embracing what’s next with clarity and intention. She explains the idea of “transitional intelligence” or TQ, and shares empowering strategies so you can meet transitions with curiosity and actively design a future that excites you.
Ep 3. Barbara Waxman: The Power of Middlescence
Longevity and life stage expert Barbara Waxman is on a mission to redefine midlife as a time of awakening, not decline. Inspired by teenage adolescence, she's coined the term 'middlescence' as a new life stage brimming with potential. From energy as medicine to longevity life plans, Barbara shows how to live your most vibrant years yet.
Ep 2. Hilary Harper - Love Online After 50
After twenty years of marriage, ABC broadcaster Hilary Harper found herself single - and curious about dating again. Her hit ABC podcast Dated: Love Online After 50 explores what happens when midlife meets modern romance. Hilary talks candidly about fear, discovery, and finding love again, offering hope and humour for anyone thinking it might be “too late.”
Ep 1. Bec Wilson - Prime Time: Rewriting the Midlife Playbook
Best-selling author and finance expert Bec Wilson calls midlife 'Prime Time'. It's a stage to reset, reimagine, and reclaim your power. Drawing on her bestselling book Prime Time: 27 Lessons for the New Midlife, Bec reveals how to master the six pillars of thriving after 45, from purpose and health to money and happiness. This is your invitation to make midlife your most epic chapter yet.
Introducing Flourish After Fifty
Are you over 50 years of age and asking, "What do I want for myself now? Is there something more, beyond work, beyond family?" These days our years after 50 are not about winding down, they're about breaking out! Breaking out of limiting beliefs and habits, and embracing the road ahead as a time of reinvention. Let's start this journey together.
