Following Monday’s chat about hobbies, this episode dives into how to stay motivated to actually do them — especially when life is busy, tiring, cold or just a bit… January.

Katie and Katy explore:
Gardening and allotments — the joy of planting bulbs, watching things grow and losing yourself for half an hour
Creative urges — floristry, drawing and the pleasure of doing things simply for enjoyment
Travel and planning — discovering that even researching holidays counts as a hobby
Exercise habits — from marathons to walking to work, and how building routines makes movement feel automatic
What truly motivates us — avoiding boredom, loving fun and fresh air, and knowing how good you’ll feel afterwards

They also tackle the mindset side:
✨ Making habits easy (set your clothes out, don’t miss twice)
✨ Remembering the feeling after doing something
✨ Starting small — 15 minutes can change your day
✨ Pull vs push goals: choosing things you want to do, not things you feel you should do

With humour, honesty and a touch of self-realisation (“turns out we DO have lots of hobbies!”), the episode reminds midlife women that hobbies don’t need to be worthy or productive — they just need to make you feel good.

A warm, relatable nudge to stop overthinking, start small and find joy in whatever sparks your interest.

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This week the conversation begins with January blues, endless colds, annoying neighbours and parental house moves — classic midlife chaos — before landing on the real topic: hobbies.

Katy and Katie chat honestly about how easy it is to lose hobbies in your 40s and 50s when work, family, health, hormones and life admin creep into every spare minute. They admit hobbies often feel like “one more thing to do”, but also explore how grounding they can be when life feels heavy.

From gardening to reading, crafting and podcasting itself, they reflect on how small pleasures and creative outlets can boost mood, identity and confidence — especially for women navigating perimenopause, medical appointments and the general slog of winter.

There’s also a diversion into authenticity and why not everything has to be monetised or Instagram-perfect — sometimes a hobby is just for joy.

A warm and relatable reminder that hobbies don’t have to be big, productive or impressive — they just have to make you feel more you.

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Listen if you want a laugh and a comforting reminder that friendships don’t have to be perfect — they just have to be real.

This week’s Crisis Talks goes FULL Room 101 — social media edition.
We rant (lovingly) about phones glued to faces, airplane etiquette that should be illegal, and why scrolling comment sections may actually shorten your life.

Expect:
📱 kids walking into walls because iPads are life
✈️ strangers playing games with NO HEADPHONES
🚂 people watching movies on trains like they own the carriage
🧠 doomscrolling, politics, and arguing with bots
💥 Andrew Tate, Tommy Robinson, Farage — straight into the bin
💬 the world’s worst social media sayings: “louder for the people at the back!” and “not all hero's wear capes”
✍️ apostrophe rage and grammar crimes that haunt the soul

We wrap on a high with wholesome follows: Celeste Barber, Big Fat Greek Mama, Bob Mortimer’s Train Guy, the Turtle Hospital, Sun Bear Sanctuary & more.
Proof the internet hasn’t fully rotted our brains… yet.

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Listen if you want a laugh and a comforting reminder that friendships don’t have to be perfect — they just have to be real.

We had a brilliant two-hour guest interview lined up for you this week.
It was funny, emotional, insightful…
…and we forgot to press record.

So instead, you get a wild catch-up episode featuring:
💥 Lost AirPods on a train mission
🐈 Surprise three-legged cat reunion
🏫 First-week-back blues
🎓 GCSE mocks + teen revision chaos
📆 Negotiating a nine-day fortnight
📲 What do we really think about social media?

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Listen if you want a laugh and a comforting reminder that friendships don’t have to be perfect — they just have to be real.

In the first Crisis Talks episode of 2026, we talk alcohol - lightly, honestly, and without preaching. From carrot cake instead of cocktails to why Dry January works for some people (and really doesn’t for others), we explore how drinking changes in midlife, the social pressure to drink, and what happens when you simply… stop wanting it.

We talk sleep, shame hangovers, drinking “because you should”, why January is the easiest month to quit, and whether giving up alcohol is about health - or just social expectations. Plus why at 50 the juice might not be worth the squeeze anymore.......

No judgement. No rules. Just awareness, stories, and a few uncomfortable truths.

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Listen if you want a laugh and a comforting reminder that friendships don’t have to be perfect — they just have to be real.

It'a a New Year and a new season on Midlife? No Crisis!

In our first episode, we ease gently into January with a very real, very midlife ramble about slowing down, stress, alcohol and the pressure to “reset” after Christmas.

We talk about why New Year’s resolutions rarely stick, why Dry January divides opinion, and how alcohol quietly affects sleep, cortisol and anxiety - especially in midlife. Along the way, we touch on menopause, work stress, saying no (or not), four-day weeks, parenting teenagers, letting go of Christmas excess, and the strange mix of gratitude and vulnerability that comes with approaching 50.

This isn’t about giving everything up or reinventing yourself overnight. It’s about noticing what no longer works, getting curious about what does, and choosing a slower, more intentional way forward — without the guilt.

Expect warmth, humour, a few tangents, and plenty of “is it just me?” moments.

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Listen if you want a laugh and a comforting reminder that friendships don’t have to be perfect — they just have to be real.

In this festive episode of Crisis Talks, Katy and Katie sit down for an honest, funny, and sometimes emotional Christmas catch-up. What begins as lighthearted chat about festive hats and decorations quickly turns into a deeper conversation about why Christmas doesn’t feel quite the same as it once did.

They explore the growing pressure around Christmas – from social media-fuelled expectations and competitive house lights to the stress of hosting, travelling between families, and juggling long-standing traditions. The episode touches on how much of the emotional and practical load still tends to fall on mums, including gift buying, planning, and the unspoken responsibility of “keeping the magic alive”.

Despite the moaning, the episode ends on a reflective and hopeful note, looking ahead to January, fresh starts, planning, and an exciting year to come. Honest, relatable, and reassuringly real, this is a Christmas episode for anyone who loves the season… and for those who secretly struggle with it too.

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Listen if you want a laugh and a comforting reminder that friendships don’t have to be perfect — they just have to be real.

In this festive, free-flowing Christmas episode of Midlife, No Crisis, the hosts chat their way through December life with hats on, elves in tow, and only minor attempts to avoid moaning.

You might want to keep small kids away from this - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

They cover everything from Christmas walks, gigs, Pilates gossip and work frustrations, to being unexpectedly thrown up on by a schoolchild, getting an email read out on a rival podcast, and the strange thrill of receiving their first TikTok comment from a total stranger.

The conversation turns festive as they share Christmas traditions (or lack of them), family elves, the bittersweet moment when children stop believing, and favourite Christmas films, songs, food and cards. There’s plenty of nostalgia, sarcasm, warmth, and laughter — with strong opinions on sprouts, Christmas parties, Whamageddon, and handwritten cards.

It’s a cosy Christmas catch-up about midlife, magic, mild misery, and finding joy in the small things — with the promise that all the proper moaning is being saved for the next episode.

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Listen if you want a laugh and a comforting reminder that friendships don’t have to be perfect — they just have to be real.