Friday I'm in Bed

Gemma Seager and Kate Beavis

Friday, I’m In Bed is a weekly culture and current affairs podcast for midlife women living their best life, but in bed by 10. Pop culture, news, menopause, feminism, and the cultural moments everyone’s talking about, plus the ones we probably should be, taken on with the warmth and dry humour of your group chat. Hosted by Gemma Seager (40-something, childfree, personal trainer, cocktail lover, two spoiled pugs) and Kate Beavis (50-something menopause coach, anti-ageism campaigner, mum navigating grown-up family life), it’s where the news cycle, the trend cycle and the menopause discourse get talked about the way you’d talk about them with friends. Honest, warm, irreverent, unfiltered. A podcast for elder millenial, xennial and Gen X women and beyond who want cultural commentary, not coaching. Not advice. Not wellness. Just the chat you wish you were already in. New episodes every Friday.

  1. 18h ago

    It's Friday, I'm Switching Off

    Is the 24/7 News Cycle Affecting Our Mental Health? This week, Kate is flying solo while Gemma is on holiday, talking about the constant stream of news, the negativity that comes with it and why she's decided something needs to change. From wars and world politics to social media outrage, why are we consuming bad news all day long? And why does switching off somehow make us feel ignorant, uninformed or even like we're a bad person? Kate talks about how news consumption has changed over the last 20 years, the anxiety caused by the endless cycle of negative headlines, and the pressure to have an opinion on everything. Plus, how algorithms keep feeding us more of the things we read, watch and comment on, even when they leave us feeling angry or miserable. So what's the answer? Kate shares what she's planning to do differently in 2027, including taking control of her social media feeds, choosing when to watch the news, finding a better balance between global and local issues, and asking herself one important question: What can I actually do with this information? And she's launching a new Instagram project, And Finally Some Good News, because sometimes we all need a reminder that good things are happening in the world too. Are you feeling overwhelmed by the news? Do you think it's affecting your mental health? And do you remember when you could watch the 10 o'clock news and then get on with your life? We'd love to hear your thoughts. #FridayImInLove #MentalHealth #News #SocialMedia

  2. Oct 16 ·  Bonus

    It's Friday I'm an Xennial

    This week on Friday I’m In Bed, Gemma flies solo while Kate enjoys a wellness retreat in Malta, to ask a question that might be more complicated than it sounds: what actually defines a generation, and where do the Xennials fit in? From cassette tapes and house phones to social media and growing up online, Gemma explores the experiences that supposedly separate Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z, and why those born on the cusp might feel like a bit of both. There’s nostalgia, questionable crystal science, and a look at how being childfree can change the way you experience ageing. But are generational labels genuinely useful, or are we just putting people into boxes and calling it sociology? We get into the stereotypes, the social and economic circumstances that shape our lives, and why class, race and gender can tell us far more about someone’s experience than the year they were born. Turns out, you can be a Xennial, a Millennial, a Gen X-er, or just a person who remembers when you had to rewind a cassette with a pencil. You don't have to pick a side.

  3. Oct 9

    It's Friday I'm Not Letting Myself Go: Henry Cavill, Olivia Colman and the Aging Double standard

    Henry Cavill has aged. Shock horror. At 43, with a new baby and no longer required to maintain Superman cheekbones, he’s acquired a softer jawline. But instead of the usual “what happened to his face?” reaction, the internet seems remarkably accepting: he’s a dad, he’s happy, of course he looks different. So why don’t women get the same generosity when they age? We’re talking Sarah Jessica Parker, Melinda Messenger, the Hollywood double standard that lets men remain romantic leads for decades, and why women can be declared “too old” while they’re barely into their 30s. Plus, Olivia Colman’s gorgeous grey hair, the “dad bod”, and whether attitudes really are changing or we’ve just found a new way to tell women how they should age. And, as always, there’s a Moan In. This week: pavement hoggers and the eternal nightmare of Wi-Fi.

  4. Oct 2

    Friday I'm Menopausal: Supplements, Medical Misogyny and Menopause at Work

    It’s Menopause Awareness Month, so we’re talking about menopause, money, medical misogyny and why women are still expected to do the research themselves. We start with menopause supplements. Are they an overpriced pink tax, a useful shortcut, or somewhere in between? We talk about the wild west of the supplement industry, the mental load of figuring out what you actually need and why “just take a multivitamin” isn’t necessarily as simple as it sounds. Then we ask how women are supposed to get good medical care when some doctors receive as little as an hour of dedicated menopause training across five years of medical school. Discuss women’s historical exclusion from medical research, why some medicines have been shown to affect women differently, and what happens when outdated research and inadequate training become self-perpetuating. And finally, menopause at work. Women are still reporting huge impacts on their working lives, while many workplaces have no menopause policy at all. So what would actually make workplaces better for women? Plus: medical menopause, HRT, being told you’re too young or too old for treatment, why women’s symptoms are so often dismissed, and the question we probably shouldn’t ask if we want to get anything done: What if men went through menopause?

  5. Sep 25

    It's Friday, I'm Sticking By My Mates

    This week on Friday, I’m in Bed, we’re talking about the fallout between Ed Sheeran and Macklemore after Macklemore was dropped as a support act following his outspoken support for Palestine. But rather than debating the politics of Gaza, we’re asking a different question: what do you owe the people you work with? Should Ed Sheeran have stood by his friend and colleague? What does professional loyalty look like when you disagree with someone’s views? And should a venue have the power to decide what an artist or support act is allowed to say? We look at examples from music history, including Green Day standing by Pansy Division, Nirvana supporting their female support act after the audience treated them badly, and The Beatles refusing to play to a segregated audience. We also ask whether teams actually benefit from political diversity and where the line falls between having different political opinions and holding views that affect other people’s basic rights. And then we take it into our own lives: can you be friends with someone whose politics are completely different from yours? Can you be married to someone who changes their political beliefs? What happens when someone you’ve known for years suddenly seems to have fallen down an internet rabbit hole? Ultimately, this episode is about loyalty, free speech, political division, friendship, workplace relationships and whether we’ve lost the ability to disagree with each other without falling out. And, as always, our final takeaway: don’t be an idiot

  6. Sep 18

    It's Friday I'm Political: Is Thin Back? Sydney Sweeney's Sports Ad and Beauty as the Price of Admission

    This week we're getting into a Telegraph column celebrating the return of slim, beautiful women, and Sydney Sweeney's naked ad for sports prediction app Novig. Sadie Sink's Calvin Klein campaign has been held up as a sign that thin is back, so we ask whether it ever left, why inclusion gets called political while thinness counts as normal, and whether women need to be beautiful at all. Then it's the female athletes pushing back on Sweeney: is it sexualisation, her choice, or just very clever marketing? Two women, midlife, dry and funny, no advice and no wellness. Living our best life, but in bed by 10.

  7. Sep 11

    It’s Friday I’m Not a Granny: Friendship, Loneliness, Fashion Trends and Why Everything Needs a Name

    This week on Friday I’m In Bed, we’re asking why everything in modern life seems to need a name. We're starting with friendship and loneliness, and the rise in the number of young people saying they have no close friends. Are we getting worse at friendship, or have we built a society that gives us fewer opportunities to make and maintain friends? We get into social media, the decline of youth clubs and community spaces, working from home, the cost of going out, online friendships and the increasingly popular concept of doing everything “solo”. Then we turn our attention to fashion’s latest attempt to make ordinary things sound like a lifestyle trend: grannycore. Why are fashion magazines calling jewellery, haircuts and clothes “granny” when being a granny is a family relationship, not an aesthetic? And why does every bloody thing now need a “core”, a “maxxing” or some other name before we're allowed to enjoy it? Plus: WhatsApp groups that refuse to die, disappearing left running socks, Gemma’s Run Norwich 10K, Kate’s son leaving home and what’s happening with A Life in Progress. Friendship, loneliness, fashion trends, social media and the strange obsession with categorising everything. Follow Us: @fridayiminbedpodcast@fearlessat50@gemmaseager

  8. Sep 5

    It’s Friday I’m Being More Dolly: Olivia Rodrigo, Dolly Parton & the Changing Face of Feminism

    What happens when women stop competing for the one seat at the table and start building their own tables? This week on Friday I’m in Bed, we’re talking feminism, female solidarity and the women who decided there was no point waiting for permission. First up, Daisy Chain Fields, the all-women music festival inspired by Lilith Fair, which brought together some of the biggest names in music and raised $20 million for organisations supporting women and girls. It got us thinking about Lilith Fair in the 1990s, when women in music were routinely told that two women on the same bill wouldn't sell tickets, that radio wouldn't play them both, and that female artists had to compete for the one space available. So have things actually changed? Are women finally making space for each other, or are we just getting better at doing the same thing in a slightly shinier package? Then we turn to Dolly Parton, following her death at 80, and the extraordinary feminist legacy of 9 to 5. Dolly didn't necessarily make feminism less radical. She made it easier for people who were frightened of feminism to hear it. But why did feminism need to be made friendly in the first place? We talk about Dolly's carefully constructed image, the power of femininity, humour as a way of smuggling feminist ideas into the mainstream, and whether women still have to be likeable when they're asking for equality. Because maybe the question isn't just whether women have come a long way. Maybe it's who gets to take up space in the first place. No advice. No wellness. Just two women talking about feminism, pop culture and the things that make us go, "Hang on a minute..." Follow us on Instagram:@FridayImInBedPodcast@GemmaSeager@FearlessAt50 Topics covered:Daisy Chain Fields, Lilith Fair, women in music, female solidarity, feminism, women supporting women, Dolly Parton, 9 to 5, feminist films, workplace sexism, female friendship, likeability politics, women taking up space, gender equality, music festivals, feminist culture and the legacy of Dolly Parton. Do you like this show? Let us know by giving us a follow and leaving us a rating on our Spotify show page.

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About

Friday, I’m In Bed is a weekly culture and current affairs podcast for midlife women living their best life, but in bed by 10. Pop culture, news, menopause, feminism, and the cultural moments everyone’s talking about, plus the ones we probably should be, taken on with the warmth and dry humour of your group chat. Hosted by Gemma Seager (40-something, childfree, personal trainer, cocktail lover, two spoiled pugs) and Kate Beavis (50-something menopause coach, anti-ageism campaigner, mum navigating grown-up family life), it’s where the news cycle, the trend cycle and the menopause discourse get talked about the way you’d talk about them with friends. Honest, warm, irreverent, unfiltered. A podcast for elder millenial, xennial and Gen X women and beyond who want cultural commentary, not coaching. Not advice. Not wellness. Just the chat you wish you were already in. New episodes every Friday.

Information

  • Creator
    Gemma Seager and Kate Beavis
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Gemma Seager and Kate Beavis
  • Show Website
    Friday I'm in Bed

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