The Wobbly Middle

Patsy Day
  • 5.0 (4)
  • CAREERS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Patsy quit her job. Susannah quit the city. Now they’re on a quest to find the path through the wobbly middle of their careers. The Wobbly Middle explores the moment when ambition returns, and women begin actively questioning their direction. It's that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward, making visible a stage in our lives rarely reflected in mainstream career media. This podcast is for every woman who’s asking “What now?”.

  1. 6H AGO

    Returner's Luck - And how to make it

    Psychologist and founder Julianne Miles lets us in on what makes people lucky, gives me hope about neuroplasticity (my personal favourite!), and shares the research on how work and family can be allies rather than competing demands. Julianne knows firsthand what it takes to return to work after a break: she went back to university to retrain as a psychologist, and from there co-founded Career Returners, a social impact enterprise and community dedicated to making career breaks a valued part of a lifetime career. Along the way, she’s also shaped how employers and policymakers think about return-to-work practices. Whether you’re just considering a return or already taking steps, this conversation will make you think differently about luck, opportunity, and starting again. Thank you for listening to The Wobbly Middle, a podcast for women rethinking their careers. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR please follow, share and leave a review. RETURN JOURNEY: You can find Julianne’s book Return Journey How to get back to work and thrive after a career break here https://careerreturners.com/return-journey-book/ And here is more information on the free or pay-if-you-can Career Returners Professional Community: https://community.careerreturners.com/ JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Tuesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to Patsy at patsy@thewobblymiddle.com — your story might just be the nudge someone else needs. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com READ MORE SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle ABOUT THE HOST: Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam alongside The Wobbly Middle. This episode was produced by Patsy Day. Studio recording by The Pod Collective.

    23 min

  2. 6D AGO

    Pin It To Win It: The Neuroscience of Vision Boards

    Pin It To Win It: The Neuroscience of Vision BoardsBonus Episode: Investigative wellness journalist Rebecca Newman (Financial Times, The Guardian, GQ) draws on the work of neuroscientist Dr Tara Swart, author of The Source, to explain what’s going on in our brains when we make an action board and how they sharpen our sight line through the wobbly middle. Then we head to the craft room, where theory meets practice - or rather, where scissors and glue meet cork board - as we make our own boards. They are a way of keeping our goals front and centre, something we live with. A daily point of orientation, keeping us facing forward. If you enjoyed this episodeIf you enjoyed this bonus episode, check out our [] we opened the mailbag to respond our subscribers (occasionally panic-tinged) everywoman questions about navigating the midlife career odyssey. And if you like what you hear, please follow, share and leave a review. THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast for women rethinking their careers. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Tuesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to Patsy at patsy@thewobblymiddle.com — your story might just be the nudge someone else needs. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com READ MORE SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle ABOUT THE HOST: Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam alongside The Wobbly Middle. THANK YOU: This episode was produced by Patsy Day and Rebecca Newman. Studio recording by The Pod Collective. Thank you also to St Bernard’s Road Craft Room and to Luke Rogers. .

    18 min

  3. JAN 19

    All Rise! Court Is Now In Session.

    Magistrate Pip Symington hands down her rulings on romantic break-ups (seek adventure), work break-ups (consult friends and therapy), and how to rebuild when the ground falls away beneath you.When a long-term relationship ended in her twenties, Pip landed a job in Asia and set off to practise her Japanese. She loved her work as a risk consultant, but over time the lines between work, family and social life blurred, until her job became her whole identity - right up to the day she was made redundant.That rupture forced a rethink. Turning to friends and a bit of therapy, Pip began redesigning the shape of her working life. She no longer wanted one all-consuming thing, opting instead for a combination that could sustain her. Today, that means family, study and service — sitting as a magistrate alongside raising her children and researching a PhD. And as for what the future holds? Well, that way lies adventure.Interested in volunteering as a magistrate? You can find out more here: https://magistrates.judiciary.uk/how-to-volunteer/If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll love our Season One episode From Lab to Lifeline with another Oxford-based guest, Dr Emily Connally. Emily is a an experimental psychologist who founded a food bank at the school gate that’s now reshaping how local networks respond to food waste.And if you like what you hear, please follow, share and leave a review. THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast for women rethinking their careers. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Tuesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to Patsy at patsy@thewobblymiddle.com — your story might just be the nudge someone else needs. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com READ MORE SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle ABOUT THE HOST: Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam alongside The Wobbly Middle. RECORDING STUDIO: Thank you to Jack and Hugo from The PodCollective.

    29 min

  4. JAN 5

    Trailer Season 3: Reigniting Possibility In the Year Ahead

    Our new season launches on 19 January — Blue Monday — that mid-January moment when morale plummets, resolutions flatline and job searches spike. So we’re sending in The Wobbly Middle to refuel your sense of possibility in the year ahead. This season is hosted by Patsy Day, a lawyer navigating the wobbly middle of her own career. Patsy will be speaking to women who have forged bold new paths in their 40s and beyond — pivoting careers, returning after a break, building businesses, and finally taking their long-neglected dreams seriously. Season 3 features:Lynn Harris — award-winning journalist (The Washington Post, Salon, The New York Times, Glamour) and founder of comedy school GOLD ComedyJulianne Miles MBE — marketer-turned-psychologist and founder of Career Returners, one of the world’s largest return-to-work platforms and author of Return Journey.Pip Symington — risk consultant-turned-magistrate and PhD researcher.Carri Simmons — drama teacher who returned to university at 38 to retrain as a psychologistJacquie Duckworth — advertiser and founder of Visible Start and whose mission to change the social narrative of midlife women and their role in society and the workplace. Until then, if you’re new to The Wobbly Middle, get stuck into Season 1, Episode 1 with The Super Docs Navigating The Hormonal Highway, two brilliant doctors who founded their own hormone clinic after realising there was nowhere to refer patients who needed better support. And if you like what you hear, please follow, share and leave a review. THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast for women rethinking their careers. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Tuesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to Patsy at patsy@thewobblymiddle.com — your story might just be the nudge someone else needs. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER: thewobblymiddle.substack.com LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle ABOUT THE HOST: Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam alongside The Wobbly Middle.

    1 min

  5. 07/16/2025

    Salima Saxton: From Losing Herself in Motherhood to Rebuilding Her Multi-Hyphenate Career

    Actress, writer, podcaster, and mother of three, Salima Saxton joins The Wobbly Middle Season 2 finale to talk about reclaiming yourself. From centre stage to the school gate and back again, Salima shares what it took to reawaken her creative life after years on mute. In this warm, frank conversation, she reflects on the disconnection so many women feel after stepping back from their careers - and how she wrote her way back into her multi-hyphenate roles. Together with hosts Susannah de Jager and Patsy Day, Salima dives into the messy middle of rediscovery, thrills at the power of women’s anger, and throws the idea of “balance” straight overboard. If you’ve ever felt like you left parts of yourself behind, this one’s for you. (00:00) - Welcome to The Wobbly Middle (00:46) - Reflections on Fitting In and Being True to Yourself (02:33) - Introducing Salima Saxton (03:47) - Salima's Early Career and Family Life (07:49) - The Challenges of Motherhood (13:29) - Rediscovering Identity Through Writing (16:25) - The Reality of Success and Failure (20:27) - The Inception of 'Women are Mad' Podcast (27:58) - Estrangement and Family Reflections (31:45) - Final Thoughts THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at stories@thewobblymiddle.com—your pivot might just be the nudge someone else needs. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  thewobblymiddle.substack.com LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle ABOUT THE HOSTS: Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same. Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam (out 2025) and co-hosting, The Wobbly Middle, a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife.

    33 min

  6. 07/02/2025

    Joy Ride: Taking your confidence out for a spin

    From olympic dreams to a digital sisterhood, Joy Foster traded a career in the City for a quiver of arrows, followed love across borders and then and then, somewhat accidentally, became a digital entrepreneur.  Her creation, TechPixies, now serves as both launchpad and lifeline for women looking to pivot, re-enter the workforce, or start from scratch. In this episode, Joy talks about what it means to bloom wherever you’re planted even when the soil is foreign or the sun unreliable. She shares her belief that confidence is a decision, reinforced daily through small acts of doing. From five-minute power moves to three-year plans, Joy’s practical, no-nonsense guidance is both energising and refreshingly doable. If you’re stalled, stuck, or quietly simmering with ideas, this conversation will propel you from inertia to momentum.  (00:00) - Welcome to The Wobbly Middle (01:48) - Introducing Joy Foster (03:28) - Joy's Philosophy on Confidence (04:51) - Crafting a Vision for Your Life (09:18) - Joy's Personal Bravery (12:37) - Challenges in Switzerland (15:20) - Resilience and Support Systems (17:14) - Empowering Women Through Tech Pixies (20:14) - Navigating Grants and Funding (24:57) - Reflections and Advice THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at stories@thewobblymiddle.com—your pivot might just be the nudge someone else needs. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  thewobblymiddle.substack.com LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle ABOUT THE HOSTS: Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same. Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam (out 2025) and co-hosting, The Wobbly Middle, a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife.

    31 min

  7. 06/18/2025

    Celebrating a Period of Change

    ...and how to build a brand. Liberating and taboo-busting, Rachael Newton (former hedge fund lawyer turned entrepreneur) is part of a new wave of founders, thinkers, and advocates throwing open the bathroom door and reshaping the policies, products, and possibilities of period care.  In this episode, Rachael tells us how she designed Nixit, the revolutionary, reusable menstrual disc after she realised her tampon waste took so long to break down it would likely survive the apocalypse alongside the cockroach.  Rachael assessed the alternatives in the market and found them wanting. (Hell, there are more gadgets to poach an egg than there are period products). So she started from scratch designing a new type of reusable menstrual disc that could be worn for 12 hours. In doing so, Rachael has not only changed how people manage their periods but also how they relate to their bodies. She also tells us about the moment she put down her law books to become a femtech founder, about the risks and the loneliness along with the pinch-me moment of the pinging of sales.  If you’re curious about starting something new, building a brand with purpose, or simply rethinking your period, Rachael’s story is a smart, grounded reminder: you don’t have to go with the flow. Not in your career. And definitely not with your period. To find out more about Nixit: https://nixit.com/pages/menstrual-disc (00:00) - Welcome to The Wobbly Middle (00:17) - Personal Updates and Reflections (00:39) - Discussing Period Stigma (01:54) - Introducing Rachel Newton (03:38) - Rachel's Career Journey (05:14) - Challenges in the Legal Profession (07:55) - Relocating and Career Shift (10:00) - The Birth of Nixit (15:11) - Developing the Product (26:09) - Branding and Marketing (30:51) - Entrepreneurial Insights (33:39) - Final Thoughts and Farewell THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at stories@thewobblymiddle.com—your pivot might just be the nudge someone else needs. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  thewobblymiddle.substack.com LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle ABOUT THE HOSTS: Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same. Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam (out 2025) and co-hosting, The Wobbly Middle, a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife.

    35 min

  8. 06/04/2025

    Culture Club: Good Karma Only

    Where female investors bring the values—and the returns. Experienced fund manager Leila Kardouche knew that to keep doing what she loved—investing—it had to be on her own terms. So she co-founded Variis Partners, a women-led firm that’s diverse by name (Variis means “diverse” in Latin) and by nature, built on a culture rarely found in traditional finance. In the high-stakes investment world, Leila is confident about what sets the foundation for success: her age, experience, financial stability, and wisdom—along with the complementary strengths of her co-founders. On taking bold steps later in life, she says: “You have a much higher chance of success. We are healthier, we're living longer, we want to be engaged for much longer professionally and therefore doing something like this at 50 is not late at all. It's about the right time.” In this episode, we talk about building a values-led business, choosing the right partners, and busting tired myths about women, risk, and what makes a great investor. (00:00) - Culture Club: Good Karma Only (01:09) - Introducing Leila Kardouche (02:23) - Leila's Career Journey (05:46) - Challenges for Women in Finance (07:25) - Motherhood and Career (10:11) - Founding Variis Capital (12:34) - Building a Diverse Team (19:43) - Balancing Optimism and Pessimism (26:28) - Women and Risk in Investment (31:23) -  What Would You Tell Your 30-Year-Old Self? (33:10) - Final Thoughts and Farewell THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: NEW EPISODES drop every second Wednesday. Follow now so you never miss an episode. SHARE YOUR STORY: Made a left turn in your career? We’d love to hear about it. Write to us at stories@thewobblymiddle.com—your pivot might just be the nudge someone else needs. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER:  thewobblymiddle.substack.com LEARN MORE ON SUBSTACK: thewobblymiddle.substack.com FOLLOW US on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook @thewobblymiddle ABOUT THE HOSTS: Susannah de Jager has just relocated to Abu Dhabi, where she’s podcasting, consulting with start-ups, and occasionally advising on scale-up capital. After leaving her role as CEO of a boutique asset manager, she asked the all-important question: what next? Five years later, she’s following her curiosity —The Wobbly Middle is for her and every woman doing the same. Patsy Day is a lawyer on a break. As an intellectual property specialist, she has worked on everything from anti-counterfeiting to publishing and from London to Ho Chi Minh City and back again. Patsy lives in Oxford and is currently immersed in podcasts producing SafeHouse Amsterdam (out 2025) and co-hosting, The Wobbly Middle, a podcast about women reinventing their careers in midlife.

    34 min
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out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Patsy quit her job. Susannah quit the city. Now they’re on a quest to find the path through the wobbly middle of their careers. The Wobbly Middle explores the moment when ambition returns, and women begin actively questioning their direction. It's that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward, making visible a stage in our lives rarely reflected in mainstream career media. This podcast is for every woman who’s asking “What now?”.

Information

  • Creator
    Patsy Day
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 The Wobbly Middle
  • Show Website
    The Wobbly Middle

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