Midlife Mixtape

Nancy Davis Kho: Gen X humor writer and '80s song lyrics over-quoter
Midlife Mixtape

A podcast to celebrate GenXers at midlife, with humor, heart, and a really good beat. In each episode, writer Nancy Davis Kho of MidlifeMixtape.com interviews fellow GenXers about how they're thriving in the years between being hip and breaking one. From discussing the first concert each guest ever saw, to what’s easier and harder than they expected at midlife, to what piece of advice they'd give their younger selves, the conversations will inspire, entertain, and maybe even make you feel stoked to be caught in the middle.

  1. 11/30/2021

    Ep 110 “New Map of Life” Cartographers Ken Smith and Karen Breslau

    “Stretch the rubber band”: Stanford Center for Longevity’s researcher Ken Smith and co-author Karen Breslau, on conclusions from SCL’s new study that seeks to radically redefine how to live better, when we’re living longer. The New Map of Life from the Stanford Center on Longevity Midlife Mixtape Podcast Ep 52 with Author Mary Laura Philpott – preorder her new book Bomb Shelter now! Alexandra Rosa’s storytelling performance on The Moth, “Call Me The Rock, or Call Me Colombian” This is the OLD map. But a damn good song. Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here! ***This is a rough transcription of Episode 110 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. It originally aired on November 30, 2021. Transcripts are created using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and there may be errors in this transcription, but we hope that it provides helpful insight into the conversation. If you have any questions or need clarification, please email dj@midlifemixtape.com *** Ken Smith 00:00 What is the thing that makes me want to get up in the morning, and how can I actually orient my life more towards that direction as I get older? Nancy Davis Kho 00:09 Welcome to Midlife Mixtape, The Podcast. I’m Nancy Davis Kho and we’re here to talk about the years between being hip and breaking one. [THEME MUSIC – “Be Free” by M. The Heir Apparent] Nancy 00:33 The presenting sponsor of today’s episode is Kindra. Kindra is a health and wellness company revolutionizing menopause. It is backed by science and made by women, for women, and Kindra’s products help women navigate the most disruptive signs of the change. You all know the deli menu: hot flashes, restless sleep, dryness, brain fog. You may not want to have what she’s having at this particular deli, but isn’t it nice to know that there are products that can help you manage better? At their website, OURKINDRA.com, you can figure out exactly which of their products might be in order by taking their 5 minute online quiz. Listeners, both male and female, let me remind you once again that menopause is a natural stage of life for women and it signals the start of what can be the most powerful and impactful times of our lives, as you’ll hear in today’s episode. So shouldn’t we try a little harder to embrace it? You can head to ourkindra.com. That’s OURKINDRA.COM and use code MIXTAPE20 all caps to get 20% off your first order or subscription. That’s ourkindra.com and MIXTAPE20 to get 20% off! [MUSIC] Hi everyone. I’m Nancy Davis Kho, the host and creator of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast, and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Especially compared to Thanksgiving 2020 where the four of us were all huddled at home already, everyone just came out of the bedroom again for dinner, this year was wonderful. Our older daughter had a friend in for a visit, and our younger daughter had to actually come home from college to spend the holiday with us, which is a beautiful thing. We headed over to my high school friend’s house for a big gathering, the highlight of which to me was when her son asked me in front of the crowd to share a crazy story of his mom from high school. Oh, I had to crack my knuckles! The possibilities… went with the hydroplaning one. Thank you science, thank you vaccines, thank you booster shots and rapid tests. And as always, don’t take any of it for granted. You never know what’s coming next. So we’re heading into the last month of the year and I know that makes many of us feel contemplative about what’s to come. I recently bought my niece a candle for her 30th birthday that says, “Smells like high hopes and low expectations” which I think is probably the right energy for 2022. That is by the way from Anecdote Candles. This is not an ad for them, but their candles crack me up. They smell great. They are really beautiful. So, high hopes and low expectations. But in all seriousness, a writer friend of mine here in Oakland, Karen Breslau, mentioned to me during the fall that she was busy working on the final report for a brand new research study from the Stanford Center on Longevity, called The New Map of Life. Here’s the deal: in the United States, as many as half of today’s 5-year-olds can expect to live to the age of 100, and this once unattainable milestone may become the norm for newborns by 2050. Yet, the social institutions, norms and policies that await these future centenarians evolved when lives were only half as long and they need updating. In 2018, The Stanford Center on Longevity launched an initiative called The New Map of Life, believing that one of the most profound transformations of the human experience calls for equally momentous and creative changes in the ways we lead these 100-year lives, at every stage. I thought that would be a really good backdrop for the kind of planning and thinking you might be doing around your personal goals in 2022. So I invited Karen and Senior Research Scholar at the center, Ken Smith, to join me to talk about this study, which only came out last week! It is poppin’ fresh. Let me tell you a bit about Karen and Ken. Karen Breslau is the founder of Feature Well Stories, a narrative strategy agency in Oakland, California and a co-author of “The New Map of Life” with the Stanford Center on Longevity. She served as foreign, diplomatic and White House correspondent for Newsweek magazine, and was a producer and reporter for NPR. Karen also worked as a speechwriter and communications strategist, and is co-author with Janet Napolitano of “How Safe are We? Homeland Security Since 9/11.” Ken Smith joined the Stanford Center on Longevity in 2009 and is the Senior Research Scholar and Director of Academic and Research Support, as well as the Center’s Mobility Division. He brings a broad background of over 20 years of management and engineering experience to his role, including positions in the computing, aerospace, and solar energy industries. Ken developed a special expertise in working closely with university faculty to develop projects while at Intel, where he was deeply involved in the creation and management of their network of university research labs. So let’s join these cartographers of The New Map of Life and see where they’re leading us. [MUSIC] Nancy 05:10 I’m so pleased to be here today with Ken Smith, the senior research scholar at the Stanford Center on Longevity and Karen Breslau, who is the co-author of the Stanford’s new study, The New Map of Life. Welcome to the show, Karen and Ken. Karen 05:25 Thank you, Nancy. Ken 05:26 Glad to be here. Nancy 05:27 I’m glad you’re here as well and you know, obviously, a key question when it comes to discussing The New Map of Life: hey, what was your first concert and what were the circumstances? I think that’s an important point on everybody’s roadmap of life. So Ken, I’m going to put you on the spot first. Tell us about your first concert. Ken 05:45 Sure. By the way, I love that question. It’s like a social carbon-14 dating process. Nancy 05:50 Okay, wait. What? I was more of a business major. I don’t know what you just said. Ken 05:54 Oh, it’s a method that scientists often use to date things like fossils by how much of this carbon 14 remains in the material. Nancy 05:59 Oh, sure. Ken 06:00 This is just a social version of that. It tells you a lot about sort of where you came from and when you came from at that time. Nancy 06:10 Yes, of course! All of a sudden, I dialed back to high school science classes, which is the last time I took one. So yeah, sorry. Yeah, listeners, I don’t know much about science, but let’s hear about Ken’s concert. Ken 06:20 So my first concert was I saw the Doobie Brothers at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin in 1979. Nancy 06:26 Nice. Ken 06:27 I think it was probably a celebration of freedom of driver’s license. I went with a group of high school friends. That was back in the day where you were at the DMV on the day of your birthday. Nancy 06:36 Right. Ken 06:37 So the first thing we had to do was go to a concert together without the parents, without getting dropped off, so it was kind of a first freedom. Nancy 06:45 That is an amazing way to celebrate stepping into that new phase of life. I mean, holy smokes, who didn’t want to be 16 and get their license if that was on the other side of it. Was it a good show? Ken 06:56 It was a great show. I still remember. Nancy 06:58 Aright, Karen. What about you? Karen 07:00 I wish I had something as cool to report and I did have another concert in mind… and then this grainy newsreel …the sprocket sound came very sharp … Nancy 07:15 You suddenly had a film strip of your life. Karen 07:20 Yes, I wish it were otherwise, but: Glen Campbell at Houston Astrodome. Rhinestone Cowboy. Nancy 07:29 I don’t think that’s anything to apologize for. First of all, oftentimes, I will have people on the show who say well, this is the FIRST show, but the one I want to talk about is… if you want to throw in the one that really meant something to you, the first one where you paid for a ticket with your own money. But look, I love Glen Campbell. I think you should hold your head high on that. Karen 07:48 I was very into sideburns and the fringe. I thought it was crazy cool at the time. Nancy 07:59 I can’t wait to check out your author picture. I hope you’ve got sideburns and fringe. You should consider getting one made. Karen 08:05 As a woman at this age, that can occur. Nancy 08:15 Speaking of the New Map of Life, I always drop a music video into the show notes, and now I’m thinking what Glen Campbell song could I include? Karen 08:23 Rhinestone Cowboy. Check it out. Nancy 08:25 Yeah, I think he’s got other ones though that are… okay. Well, th

    49 min
  2. 11/16/2021

    Ep 109 Animal Policy Expert Mark Cushing

    “From accessory to center stage”: Mark Cushing, founder of the Animal Policy Group and author of “Pet Nation”, on the emotional, physical, and societal benefits of the human-animal bond at midlife and beyond. Pet Nation: The Inside Story of How Companion Animals Are Transforming Our Homes, Culture, and Economy Animal Policy Group From Sandy Hook to the World by Scarlett Lewis, founder of Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement New in November from the Grown Ass Lady Squad: Are Women’s Lives Just Someone Else’s Business Model? How I quit the diet cycle and refocused on what really matters in life The Secret to a Happy Life? Friendship! DameMagazine.com Modern GenX Woman Podcast Here’s proof that GenX DOES have pets! Thumbs up. Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here! ***This is a rough transcription of Episode 109 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. It originally aired on November 16, 2021. Transcripts are created using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and there may be errors in this transcription, but we hope that it provides helpful insight into the conversation. If you have any questions or need clarification, please email dj@midlifemixtape.com *** Mark Cushing 00:00 I don’t think there’s a time in your life that the companionship of a pet – by the way, it isn’t limited to dogs or cats – can’t make you feel better. Nancy Davis Kho 00:11 Welcome to Midlife Mixtape, The Podcast. I’m Nancy Davis Kho and we’re here to talk about the years between being hip and breaking one. [THEME MUSIC – “Be Free” by M. The Heir Apparent] Nancy 00:35 The presenting sponsor of today’s episode is Kindra. Kindra is a health and wellness company that is revolutionizing menopause, backed by science and made by women, for women. Their products help women navigate the most disruptive signs of the change, like hot flashes, brain fog, restless sleep, dryness, and more. At their website, OURKINDRA.com, you can figure out exactly which of their products might be in order by taking their 5 minute online quiz, or simply clicking one of the following statements: I’m Dry, I’m Hot, I’m Tired, I Can’t Sleep, and everybody’s favorite – It’s Complicated. Oh honey. Isn’t it just. The change comes for all of us ladies, so isn’t it time we started talking about menopause instead of pretending it’s something that only happens to other people? You can head to ourkindra.com. That’s OURKINDRA.com and use code MIXTAPE20 all caps to get 20% off your first order or subscription. That’s ourkindra.com and MIXTAPE20 to get 20% off! [MUSIC] Hi everyone and welcome to Episode 109 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast! I’m Nancy Davis Kho, and I’ve been running the show around here since 2017. That feels like a long time ago. Now one of the things I love about this podcast is that – and I’m paraphrasing Vanilla Ice here obviously – if there’s a topic, yo I’ll solve it, check out my guest while the DJ revolves it. In other words, I was kind of curious about why every single person I see on the street is at the end of a dog leash, or has a cockatiel sitting on her shoulder, or is carrying a cat carrier. And I also sensed that adopting our rescue dog, Arlo, last summer was a good thing, net positive for my husband and me to do in midlife. So, thanks to having a podcast, I was able to find someone who can answer questions like that, and that’s the conversation I’m bringing to your ears today. Now, if you are one of the 30% of Americans who don’t have pets – and sorry international listeners, I don’t know what the stats are internationally, but either way this holds for you. Don’t turn this off just because you don’t have a pet. One of the most interesting things I learned in this interview is how even NON-pet owners benefit when the people around them are pet-owners. So I hope you’ll stay tuned, and if you’re one of the many listeners who has sent in pictures of your pets in the past couple of weeks, first of all thank you, because that was a highlight of my day every day. Second, listen all the way to the end of the interview to hear why I wanted that collection, and I’ll tell you where to find it. Today’s guest is Mark Cushing, Founder & CEO of the Animal Policy Group, and author of the brand-new book Pet Nation, a book that tells the inside story of how companion animals are transforming our homes, culture, and economy. A long-time political strategist, government regulatory advisor, corporate executive and former litigator, since 2004, Mark has specialized in animal health, animal welfare, veterinary and veterinary educational issues and accreditation, developing a cutting-edge practice across these sectors. Mark currently leads several industry coalitions and initiatives and is a law school faculty member at Lincoln Memorial, Lewis & Clark and University of Oregon law schools. Ok, sit. I said sit. Sit! Sit! Good girl. Good boy. Alright. Let’s see what Mark has to tell us. [MUSIC] Nancy 03:53 Welcome to the Midlife Mixtape Podcast, Mark Cushing. It’s so good to have you here today. Mark 03:58 What a great topic. And you’re in the Bay Area. It’s fun for me to connect with old haunts there. So thanks for having me on your show. Nancy 04:05 We’ve already established that we may be interrupted at any time by one of two dogs, or one of two cats on both sides. So I think that is very fitting for the topic we’re covering today. Let’s hope so. Right? Mark 04:18 They only improve every situation they join, right? Nancy 04:22 Well, yes, that’s how I feel. Mark, before we get to the good stuff today about your new book, Pet Nation, I want to ask you the most important question, which is: what was your first concert and what were the circumstances? You must get asked this all the time talking about animal policy, right? Mark 04:39 I want you to know that I actually gave this answer to somebody in June in a different forrm, so it’s fresh in mind. My first concert was at the Armory in Salem, Oregon, a very boring state capitol town. The band was Eric Burdon and the Animals. I was asked back in June, “What’s my favorite all time song?” It’s “House of the Rising Sun”. People said to me, “Of all the songs in the world, why would that be your favorite song?” Well, when I was in middle school- we called the junior high back then – I would always check with the band at a concert – not a big name band, but a local band at a concert- to see what was the song right before “House of the Rising Sun.” Because everybody played that song. Why would I do that? Because that was about an eight and a half minute long, slow dance. So it was important to be strategic. This should maybe scare you away from this interview. But I needed to be strategic about my partner for that song. So if I knew the one before it, I could kind of say, “Goodbye, nice dancing with you!” and shoot across the room to whoever was foolish enough to say yes, for an eight and a half minute dance with me. So, there you go. Nancy 05:56 Mark in junior high playing all the angles. I love it. Mark, your first concert was Eric Burdon and the ANIMALS. Have you reflected upon that? Could that have set you upon your path? Mark 06:09 Of course, I was hoping you’d pick that up. Nancy 06:12 Yeah. Of course, I did. Mark 06:14 They weren’t the Stones, Beatles, Cream level, but they were just below it. Nancy 06:20 Do you have a favorite song about pets or animals? I’ll tell you why I’m asking this. I wrote a book that came out in 2019 called The Thank-You Project and each chapter had a playlist and one of the things I wrote about was – this whole book was about how I wrote gratitude letters to people who had helped shaped and inspired me over the course of this one year. At some point, I started writing letters to not-people, and I talked about writing a thank you note to your dog, to your cat, whatever four-legged or winged or scaled animal companion makes your life better. With the playlist for that chapter, I wanted to include a song about pets and I had a really hard time coming up with one. I ended up using a boygenius song called “Me and My Dog” which is just a beautiful song, but there was not a lot to choose from. Mark 07:11 As you asked me, the only things that came to mind were the theme song for TV shows or movies that have animals on them. This will date me but the theme song to Old Yeller. “Come back Yeller, best doggone dog in the West.” I’ve lived most of my life in the West… not all of it. I grew up outside Portland and went to Stanford and was back east, and the south, and came back to the west. And I would substitute the name of my dog for Yeller and sometimes, sing it to him: “Best doggone dog in the West.” I can’t remember a single lyric of the song beyond that, but Yeller, like Lassie, was a pretty serious dog. Nancy 07:57 Lassie figures large in your book. I learned many facts so let’s just dive into Pet Nation. The book has just come out. It’s called Pet Nation: The inside Story of How Companion Animals Are Transforming Our HOMES, CULTURE, and ECONOMY. One stat jumped right out as a measure of what that change looks and feels like. “Since 1998,” you wrote, “The pet population in the US has almost doubled. About two thirds of the country now owns a pet.” That’s just since 1998. So that’s a major change. Mark, what is going on? Can you give us a brief overview of what the reasons are behind that transformation, behind that expansion of pet ownership in the country? Mark 08:43 Well, it’s more than just the number, but the numbers are staggering. Now, we’re close to 70% of households have a pet. Nancy 08:51 I was just going to jump in for one second to say, all you non-pet owners wh

    44 min
  3. 11/02/2021

    Ep 108 DryTogether Founders Megan Zesati and Holly Sprague

    “A spirit of curiosity”: Megan Zesati and Holly Sprague, founders of the DryTogether alcohol-free living community for midlife moms, on the benefits of teaming up to cut back on booze, the media messages that boost our consumption, and living AF(AF.) DryTogether.org Harvard Health Article on Women, Alcohol, and COVID-19 Outlander #1 –  your gateway read Presenting sponsor Kindra – use the code MIXTAPE20 for 20% off your first order! Unlock Your Life Podcast with Lori A. Harris Freedom to make the best choices for yourself at midlife, and to worship George Michael. Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here! ***This is a rough transcription of Episode 108 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. It originally aired on November 2, 2021. Transcripts are created using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and there may be errors in this transcription, but we hope that it provides helpful insight into the conversation. If you have any questions or need clarification, please email dj@midlifemixtape.com *** Holly Sprague 00:01 In my life right now, I’ve got so much going on up there that I need some space, and I need some area that is not consumed with how much I drank last night or how much I’m going to drink tonight. Nancy Davis Kho 00:16 Welcome to Midlife Mixtape, The Podcast. I’m Nancy Davis Kho and we’re here to talk about the years between being hip and breaking one. 00:26 [THEME MUSIC – “Be Free” by M. The Heir Apparent] Nancy 00:40 The presenting sponsor of today’s episode of Midlife Mixtape is Kindra. Kindra is a health and wellness company that is revolutionizing menopause. Their products help women navigate the most disruptive signs of the change, like hot flashes, brain fog, restless sleep, dryness, and more. That’s the cafeteria menu you want none of. Kindra is science backed and it’s made for women and by women, and yeah, I’ll go ahead and say I think it’s probably better to get your menopause support products developed by people who have also whipped off a cardigan sweater and shoved their hair into a messy bun in the middle of a meeting, while fanning themselves off with a sheaf of paper. Kindra makes it easy to get personalized product recommendations and educational content with their online quiz. It just takes 5 minutes. Isn’t it time we started talking about the change and embracing it? You can head to ourkindra.com – that’s OURKINDRA.COM and use code MIXTAPE20 – all caps – to get 20% off your first order or subscription. That’s ourkindra.com and the code is MIXTAPE20 to get 20% off! [MUSIC] Nancy 01:48 Hello to all of you who know exactly who will be there wanting some when you try new soft and juicy Bubble Yum… I’m going to give you a minute… It’s the Flavor Fiend. Hi, it’s Nancy Davis Kho. I’m the host and creator of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. I have considered doing an episode where I just have you guys all record yourselves singing your favorite 70s or 80s ad jingles, but that would create earworms that might actually be fatal to us at our ages. Who wears short shorts? I’m not even going to give you an answer to that. Actually, I do have an ask for you, before we get to today’s episode. We’re going to be talking soon about pets and midlife in an upcoming show and I want you to send me pictures of yours – the pandemic puppies, the covid cats, friends from the more exotic aisles in the pet store. I’m going to put together a slideshow of the pets that make the lives of Midlife Mixtape listeners better, and I want to make your furry, or winged, or scaled buddy to be included. Just send the pic to dj@midlifemixtape.com before November 11th. That’s it. Send me some cute animals’ pics, please. Make my day. So, I got pitched by today’s guests a few months back, and I was immediately intrigued. Megan Barnes Zesati and Holly Sprague are the founders DryTogether, which is an alcohol-free community for midlife moms that brings together women ages 35-60 years old from around the country. Through virtual events and a robust member-only online forum, the DryTogether community facilitates a safe space for mothers to connect and explore this stage in life – without alcohol. I will cop to being one of the 41% of women who increased her drinking during the pandemic. The RAND did a study and it’s cited in a Harvard business review story on the topic and I’m going to include in the show notes if you want to check it out. I’ve always enjoyed my daily beer, and since college, with a few memorable exceptions, I’ve always been able to stop when I’ve had enough. I guess this is true confessions time for you. Hope you’re ready for this. But when the pandemic started, and especially as it dragged on and the grief and losses piled up, I definitely allowed myself to drink more than I normally would. Studies and anecdotal evidence will tell you that drinking more is common response to dealing with stress, and I ain’t special. I’m pretty common. But recently, my friend Maria and I talked about how women seem to be drinking all the time, way more than our moms and grandmas did. That was even before the pandemic started. The same Harvard article bears out the theory that Maria and I had. Between 2001 and 2013, there was a 16% increase in the proportion of women who drink alcohol, a 58% increase in women’s heavy drinking (versus a rise of 16% in men), and an 84% increase in women’s one-year prevalence of an alcohol use disorder (versus 35% in men). So, basically, women have been drinking more since this was measured in 2001 across the board. I think that’s been influenced a lot by the media we consume that makes drinking seem like the behavioral baseline. I present to you myself as Exhibit A: have you read the Outlander series? Okay. If you haven’t read this yet or if you haven’t seen the show on Starz: it’s basically Scottish Kilt Porn. There’s Time Travel and there are Highlanders, and at all times one of four things is happening in this book series: someone is bleeding, someone is plotting, someone is making love, and someone is drinking whiskey. I started reading the series during the pandemic and let me say: I love these books. I will read them forever. I want to read about Jamie and Clare’s generous and steamy nonagenarian sex life someday.  I’ve read10,000 pages of this series since March 2020. They’re literary comfort food to me. But I find when I read them: I want to drink more. BECAUSE EVERYONE IN THIS BOOK IS DRINKING WHISKEY ALL THE TIME. And TONS of whiskey. I can tell when I’m reading them, I’m like, “I think I’ll have a beer while I read!” so I know I get impacted by what I’m reading, watching, and consuming. Then when you see that level of drinking on TV, and in ads, and in everybody’s memes and on Instagram: Mommy drinks to cope, it’s time for Mommy juice, you’ve earned your drink, you start thinking: maybe 2 drinks a night is normal? Maybe 3 is? I don’t know what normal is anymore. I don’t know if you guys are into horoscopes – I am thanks to Aunt Noonie. I am an April baby so my sign is Taurus. It’s the sign of the zodiac that can be really sybaritic – very self-indulgent, with a tendency to overdo all the earthly luxuries like good food and good drink and cashmere on sale at Garnet Hill. So believe me, I’m the last person to judge anyone else about how you’ve handled the past year and a half, what your preferences are. I am not judging. But I found that for myself by summer of this year 2021, I was getting sick of it. I was feeling really bored of relying on the second drink more often than not, and since then I’ve been working really hard to cut back to my regular baseline of a single daily beer with a goal someday even to get below that. It’s not been easy. It’s amazing how quickly that became habitual. I sometimes wonder if just not drinking altogether would be a better option for me at this stage of life. I think it would be hard because it IS so enmeshed in the culture, and that’s why I invited Holly and Megan on today, and that’s what the conversation is that I have with them. I hope will be of service to you, whoever you are and whatever amount you find yourself about thinking and drinking at midlife. Let’s put on the teakettle and sit down with Holly and Megan of DryTogether. Nancy Davis Kho 07:14 Welcome to the Midlife Mixtape Podcast, the cofounders of DryTogether, Holly Sprague and Megan Zesati. We’re so happy to have you here today. Holly Sprague 07:22 Hi, thank you so much for having us. Nancy 07:24 Of course, I need to know before we get down to business, and I’m always curious when I have two people on the show whether you know this about each other. Holly, what was your first concert and what were the circumstances? And Megan, you know this question is come in for you next so think it over. Holly 07:39 My first concert was Cyndi Lauper. Yes, I’m a midlife mother right now. My father took me. He was really into getting me into music. That was like one of the good ways that we did bond because after that, he took me to Michael Jackson. So, come on. Nancy 07:56 Wow. And he stayed in the concert venue with you? Holly 07:59 Yeah, he did. Nancy 08:01 He was a trendsetter, because sometimes my guests and I talk about the fact that our parents were the ones who drove us to Syracuse or to Rockport or wherever to go to the show, and then they sat in their car with the newspaper and read that until the concert was over. But as parents ourselves, we go in with the kids. So your dad was kind of cutting edge. Holly 08:18 That’s right. I guess so. I think he really just likes music and he wanted to hear it. Nancy 08:23 Megan, what was your first concert and what were the circumstances? Megan Zesati 08:27 O

    43 min
  4. 10/19/2021

    Ep 107 Listeners’ Halloween Stories

    “Who’s Slash?”: Listeners – and Nancy – share stories of their memorable Gen X Halloweens past, from decidedly non-sexy costume strategies, to 7th graders on the cusp, to home bat invasions. The Perfect Cocktails for Your Perimenopause Party  by Wendi Aarons, Gloria Fallon, and Marilyn Naron Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender (or how I became a punk rock lawyer) by Juanita E. Mantz, Esq Happy Halloween, you grown up goths. Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here! ***This is a rough transcription of Episode 107 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. It originally aired on October 19, 2021. Transcripts are created using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and there may be errors in this transcription, but we hope that it provides helpful insight into the conversation. If you have any questions or need clarification, please email dj@midlifemixtape.com *** Wendi Aarons 00:00 We learned our lesson that is probably not a great idea to dress like a ‘60s burnout named Touch Me Don’t Touch Me when we’re trying to get some action at a fraternity party. 00:11 Welcome to Midlife Mixtape, The Podcast. I’m Nancy Davis Kho and we’re here to talk about the years between being hip and breaking one. [THEME MUSIC – “Be Free” by M. The Heir Apparent] The Presenting Sponsor of Midlife Mixtape is Kindra. Kindra is revolutionizing menopause. They are a health and wellness company helping women navigate the most disruptive signs of the change including hot flashes, brain fog, restless sleep, dryness, and more. It’s science backed and made by women, for women. And as I’ve said on this show before, it’s probably going to be up to GenX to normalize open discussion of this entirely normal phase of life. Like at this conference I just attended, when I leaned over in front of a group of four women I’d never met before, all younger than me, and pulled out the Take 5 bars out of the stash of fun-sized candy that organizers had dumped in the center of the table. And I said to them, “Back when I still had eggs this was the perfect candy for that monthly salty/sweet craving, but now I can eat them whenever I want!” I’m just normalizing it, ladies. You can find your personalized product recommendations and educational content with a quiz that just takes 5 minutes. Isn’t it time we started talking about the change and embraced it? You can head to ourkindra.com and use code MIXTAPE20 (ALL CAPS) to get 20% off your first order or subscription.  That’s ourkindra.com and the code is MIXTAPE20, to get 20% off your first order or subscription from Kindra. I also wanted to make sure you guys are aware of a really cool new little chat book, a little tiny pamphlet-sized fiction collection called Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender (or how I became a punk rock lawyer) . It’s by Juanita E. Mantz Esquire – that’s M-A-N-T-Z – and it’s a multi genre chat book containing memoir pieces, social justice, essays and poetry. It describes the author’s love of punk rock and Juanita’s quest to challenge the system of mass incarceration as a deputy public defender. She talks a lot about the intersection between punk rock and public defense. It’s an insider’s view of a system that is badly broken, but it’s done with love and compassion and a belief that we can do better, we can imagine a better way out of incarceration, especially for people who are mentally ill. The books out now from Bamboo Dart Press –  you can find it at www.BambooDartPress.com – look for Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender (or how I became a punk rock lawyer) . [MUSIC] Nancy 02.58 Hi there and welcome to this special Halloween Edition of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. I’m Nancy Davis Kho, your host, the creator of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast and the author of the book, The Thank-You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude at a Time. Midlife Halloween has its own kind of terror because what is scarier than waking up and seeing your own parents looking back at you from the mirror? It’s absolutely terrifying. So I put out a call on social media and the blog for your GenX Halloween stories. My theory was that GenX never took itself too seriously and would have some fun with the prompt – as exemplified by the story Erin sent in: She wrote, My most unsexy costume was when I dressed as a porta-potty for my department’s Halloween group theme. We were a bunch of Austin City Limits Music Festival survivors. This contest was during the early 00s, so the fest wasn’t quite the well-oiled machine it is today. The costume consisted of many large boxes and a halved broom handle stuck in the middle that I could hold onto to carry that sucker while inside. There was also tons of blue paint and two eyeholes. My porta-potty addition didn’t secure the gold. We came in second place to the Beetlejuice folks. But heck, they deserved it. As someone whose favorite all time Halloween costume was the mailbox my dad built me out of cardboard when I was in 5th grade, I totally respect the Porta Potty game Erin is playing here. By the way, the mailbox design was perfect for late October in Upstate NY because you could put your park on underneath it, and it included a curved top that repelled water in case it jumped above 32 degrees on Halloween night. Which wasn’t often. Because – you guys know this – back then most of us weren’t so worried about being Sexy Nurse or Sexy Ladybug or Sexy PortaPotty. Here’s Susan Rietano Davey, the career reentry expert and one of the co-founders of Prepare to Launch U who I interviewed back in Episode 47: Susan Rietano Davey 03:10 Hi Nancy – It’s Susan here in Connecticut, and I’m calling in with my Halloween story. When I was a freshman in high school about 40 years ago, I was desperate to become cool. And my dear friend Karen was much closer to that than I. So through her, we got an invitation to Ellen’s the Halloween party. Now Ellen was a junior, and the coolest of cool, the top of the heap. And we were so excited to knock her socks off with great Halloween costumes. So we rummaged through Karen’s father’s closet – he was an Army veteran – and we found two perfectly intact army uniforms. So that’s what we dressed up as. And we pulled our hair back severely and we greased it down so it stay under the hats and we even painted bushy mustaches and bushy eyebrows on each other. We showed up on Halloween night at Ellen’s house and we rang the doorbell. She answered it dressed as Scarlett O’Hara. And as we entered her foyer, we saw that all of Ellen’s cool, beautiful friends were dressed as Cinderella, or Snow White, or Charlie’s Angels, and there we were, as two infantry men. Suffice it to say we did not advance our coolness that night. We were never invited back to Ellen’s future parties, but we cemented our friendship that night for sure. And it has lasted all these years later. Nancy 04:30 Was there something in the water for people who would eventually grow up to become Midlife Mixtape listeners? Humor writer Wendi Aarons definitely got the non-sexy memo. Wendi Aarons 04:38 Hi, this is Wendi Aarons and my favorite Halloween memory is from freshman year of college at University of Oregon. My best friend Megan and I were looking for a costume to go to one of the fraternity parties. Those are the big bashes and we were so excited, because it was our first time being at what we thought was a real adult party. We talked and talked about what costume we should wear and finally landed on something that was very genius:  dressing up like one of the guys who got to Eugene, Oregon, sometime in the ‘70s by following the Grateful Dead, and never left. He just sat on a bench on campus and yelled  “Touch Me Don’t Touch Me.” So we thought it’d be a great idea to dress up like Touch Me Don’t Touch Me. We went to Goodwill and just bought a whole bunch of random giant shirts and pants. And we dressed in those and then we dressed in everything that our dorm mates would give us. And basically we looked like that episode of Friends where Joey puts on all of Chandler’s clothes and walks around. We were like sumo wrestlers or something. So we get to the fraternity party and quickly realized that we didn’t get the memo that everybody else did. All the other girls were Sexy Something – not to the extent they are now, where you have, like, a Sexy Tooth Cavity. But everybody was Sexy Kitten or Sexy Genie Dancer or Sexy what have you. And here we roll in, dressed in approximately 500 layers of clothing and sweating our little butts off. And then we actually stood there and were surprised that not even any of the horny fraternity guys would come up and talk to us; we were that repellent. So the next year we took off a few more layers. We never quite got down to the sexy costume level. But we learned our lesson that is probably not a great idea to dress like a ‘60s burnout named Touch Me Don’t Touch Me when we’re trying to get some action at a fraternity party. Nancy 06:52 By the way, did you see Wendi’s latest essay in McSweeney’s called The Perfect Cocktails for Your Perimenopause Party? I’ll put that link in the show notes, right after I mix myself up a “Chin Hair of the Dog.” But of course the exception that proves the rule – we’ve got Carrie from San Francisco who remembers, “When we first moved to Noe Valley” – that’s a neighborhood in San Francisco for those who don’t live near me – Carrie says, “When we first moved to Noe Valley, I dressed up as a goth French maid and dressed up my husband as Captain Jack Morgan and we went around bars and offered to buy anyone a shot of Captain Jack if they let me draw the red lipstick mustache on them.” She says it was the Wet and Wild .99 cent brand that do

    26 min
  5. 10/05/2021

    Ep 106 Singer/Songwriter Bob Schneider

    “Something besides yourself to love”: Austin music legend Bob Schneider on his latest album, “In a Roomful of Blood With a Sleeping Tiger”, non-autobiographical songs written with autobiographical emotion, and why he shouldn’t rule the world. BobSchneider.com Bob on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Collective Effervescence essay by Adam Grant – New York Times Contact Nancy to set up Thank-You Project Event this fall! Don’t forget to share your GenX Halloween stories! More here… Since we talked about his ’99 song “2002” so much in our convo…here  it is: Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here! ***This is a rough transcription of Episode 106 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. It originally aired on October 5, 2021. Transcripts are created using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and there may be errors in this transcription, but we hope that it provides helpful insight into the conversation. If you have any questions or need clarification, please email dj@midlifemixtape.com *** Bob Schneider 00:01 I want to be Will Rogers at some point in my life, where there’s nobody on earth that’s not a friend of mine. Nancy Davis Kho 00:08 Welcome to Midlife Mixtape, The Podcast. I’m Nancy Davis Kho and we’re here to talk about the years between being hip and breaking one. [THEME MUSIC – “Be Free” by M. The Heir Apparent] 00:32 Hey there and welcome to Episode 106 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast, where we have so much going on today. I’m Nancy Davis Kho, and I’m the host and creator of the podcast, and there are two things I want to tell you quickly and then I promise we are getting right into the interview. First! We have another Listeners’ Stories episode coming up next time and I need your stories! You know how this works. I give you a topic, you guys write in, record yourselves, drop me a comment, and whatever prompt I give you, and this time it is: GenX Halloween. I KNOW you have something to say: your ‘70s, ‘80s, and ’90s Halloween memories. The kind of stories that our Gen Z kids and our Boomer older siblings just couldn’t relate to. Maybe it was the smell of those plastic masks that your parents bought you at the drugstore. Remember those in the cellophane boxes? Maybe it was the lady around the corner that everybody knew put razor blades in apples. Why would she spend time doing that? She was watching General Hospital. She wasn’t trying to hurt anybody. Maybe you went dressed as a mailbox, because back then being clever or weird was better than being sexy. There were no sexy mail boxes. That was maybe just me. I don’t know. Whatever the prompt GenX Halloween brings to mind, we all want to hear it! So you know the drill. You can leave me a voice mail right from your computer! You just go to https://www.speakpipe.com/MidlifeMixtape and you can start recording there with one click. I LOVE when people do this, because then I can incorporate the actual voice of our listeners in the episode. There’s a 90 second limit on these recordings, and you can re-record it as many times as you want. If you’ve got a longer story, just record that into your phone as a voice memo and email it to me. The email is dj@midlifemixtape.com and again, I love hearing these stories in your actual voice. You can send me an email with your story typed out to dj@midlifemixtape.com and I’ll share it in the episode, or you can always send me a Facebook message, a tweet or an Instagram comment. I’m @midlifemixtape So, I need those by October 12th, please, and I’ve already gotten some great ones in, including one that actually took place recently, but it was such a perfect Get Off My Lawn, Gen Z moment that it fits right into the theme. So, Gen X Halloween: what have you got? Second thing I wanted to just say briefly is that this is the time of the year when lots of people start thinking about gratitude, in the run up to Thanksgiving, and I’ve been doing a bunch of virtual and live events about my book, The Thank-You Project. But I still have room for a few more, and I love doing this. Do you have an organization, a club, a class, maybe your work colleagues, just a group that could benefit by knowing more about the power of gratitude letters? Hit me up at dj@midlifemixtape.com and we’ll get the ball rolling. I just did one with an organization called The Choose Love Movement. This is a group founded by the mom of one of the Sandy Hook victims, and it was such an honor to connect with Choose Love and its monthly book club. I love doing it. So, if you have a group and you want to talk about gratitude and thank you letters, I’m your man. Your woman. So, here’s the deal. About 10 years ago I joined a gang. It was a gang of lady humor writers and our main weaponry is the cutting remark, but a bunch of them are based in Austin and told me back then, “You have GOT to check out this musician, Bob Schneider. He’s an amazing performer based in Austin.” So, I did and I’ve been a fan of Bob ever since. Is his music funk, R&B, Latin, Americana? Yes! That and more. It’s everything, and it’s all done with such a great sense of humor, and I’ve had the chance to see Bob play live a whole slew of times in the Bay Area over the past decade. But of course, with the pandemic, concert going ground to a halt. Luckily, I am connected to this concert promoter in San Francisco named KC Turner. You can find KC at KCTurnerPresents.com and at KC Turner Presents on social. And you should, because he is always bringing great acts to the Bay Area. Anyway, I got an email from KC earlier this year saying that he was doing a backyard concert series with different artists and these were really small, like 30 people, everybody had to be fully vaccinated. And one day the email came that one of the artists he was bringing to town was Bob Schneider. I JUMPED at the chance to hear Bob in such an intimate setting, and so did my friends, and long story short: Bob Schneider played a backyard show for a bunch of us here in Oakland at the end of July, and if you go over to my Instagram @midlifemixtape, you can see some of the pics from that day. It was magical, and I finally met Bob in person for the first time, and I’m so glad he agreed to come visit us on the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. Let me tell you a little about him. Bob is as mentioned based in Austin, Texas. He is a singer-songwriter and former front man of The Ugly Americans and The Scabs. He has become one of the most celebrated musicians in the live music capital. Drawing from a range of diverse musicals styles, Schneider’s talent has defied genres. Combining elements of funk, country, rock, and folk with the more traditional singer/songwriter aesthetic, Schneider draws inspiration from the ’70s but with a modern twist. He has won more than 59 Austin Music Awards including Best Album, Best Songwriter, Best Musician, and Best Male Vocals making him the most decorated artist in Austin music history. If you have ever been to Austin, you know what kind of a music city that is. So, that’s quite an accomplishment. But Schneider’s fan base reaches far beyond the city limits of Austin. He started gaining national recognition when he released 2001’s Lonelyland, his major-label debut for Universal Records, and since then he’s released more than a dozen albums, written over 1,000 songs, he is a published author, he is an avid painter and collage artist, and he’s not planning on slowing down anytime soon. Bob’s newest record is called In A Roomful Of Blood with A Sleeping Tiger. It came out in August 2021, and we’re going to hear some tracks from it today. I love it! So, let’s go with the flow with Bob Schneider. [MUSIC] Welcome to the Midlife Mixtape Podcast, Bob Schneider. I’m so happy to have you here today. Bob 06:22 You sound so professional. Nancy 06:24 Thank you. I think it’s the sound of the dog licking himself in the background that really sells it because he waits until he knows I’ve hit record and then he’s like, “You know what I need to do? Clean up house.” Bob 06:35 Wow. That’s a good visual that I’ve got now. Nancy 06:38 Yeah, well, that’s Arlo. Welcome to the show. It’s me and Arlo Kho. Bob, I’ve got a question for you. What was your first concert, and what were the circumstances? Bob 06:49 Well, the first concert that I paid to go see was Earth, Wind & Fire, and I think the year was 1981, if I’m correct, and they were touring, like they had all their hits. It was the most amazing concert I think I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Now, I was raised by a musician, my dad. Nancy 07:11 He’s an opera singer, right? Bob 07:12 He’s an opera singer, but he would also moonlight in a cover band, and he worked his way through college playing in cover bands, and I know I was at many of those shows before I was even born, and then when I was 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.  So I watched him play a lot of shows. But the first official one that I take responsibility for was Earth, Wind & Fire. Nancy 07:36 And where was it? Bob 07:37 It was in Germany. Nancy 07:39 Okay. Bob 07:40 It was in Bremen, Germany. Nancy 07:42 So, I did not realize you were raised in Germany. I saw that in a bio when I was doing my research this week. I also lived in Germany and Bob: I saw Earth, Wind & Fire play while I lived in Germany. Bob 07:52 What year was it? Nancy 07:53 It was not ’81. It would have been at ‘88 or ‘89, and what I remember about it, Bob, is that I went with my American friend Kristen, and we stood up and danced. And the Germans, I don’t know if this was your experience in Bremen – nobody was dancing, they are an orderly people, they sat still. And somebody fired a beer can at my head because I was obstructing their view. Bob 08:14 They are very orderly. But t

    1h 8m
  6. 09/21/2021

    Ep 105 Grateful Living Guide Kristi Nelson

    “Stop, Look, Go”: Kristi Nelson, author of “Wake Up Grateful,” on transforming her Stage IV cancer survival into a lifetime practice of more grateful living, midlife carpe diem, and an unusual way to embrace that middle-of-the-night restiveness. About Kristi Wake Up Grateful: The Transformative Practice of Taking Nothing for Granted Nancy’s AAA Playlist on Apple Music Live from Budokan, it’s… Thanks as always to M. The Heir Apparent, who provides the music behind the podcast – check him out here! ***This is a rough transcription of Episode 105 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast. It originally aired on September 21, 2021. Transcripts are created using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and there may be errors in this transcription, but we hope that it provides helpful insight into the conversation. If you have any questions or need clarification, please email dj@midlifemixtape.com *** Kristi Nelson 00:01 At this stage in life, so many of us have had wake-up calls. So many of the difficult experiences of life actually make it more possible to connect with feeling grateful. Nancy Davis Kho 00:14 Welcome to Midlife Mixtape, The Podcast. I’m Nancy Davis Kho and we’re here to talk about the years between being hip and breaking one. [THEME MUSIC – “Be Free” by M. The Heir Apparent] Nancy 00:38 I just want to make sure that you have all checked out the great new September content from fellow members of the G.A.L.S squad. That’s –  plug your ears little one – G.A.L.S, as in Grown Ass Ladies. Over on tuenight.com, there’s a great essay by my pal, Wendi Aarons, about the joys of going to a movie theater solo. I would actually just love to go to a movie theater. I haven’t done that in a year and a half. Going solo, that would be the icing on top. Jumbleandflow.com has a piece on finding your flow with tarot card readings. Damemagazine.com asks, “Do we have the space to grieve anymore?” That is a dang good question. That’s damemagazine.com. And heyperry.com, that’s H-E-Y-P-E-R-R-Y.C-O-M has the ever popular topic “Perimenopause periods: WTF is happening?” Make sure to check out all these sites designed for people in the years between being hip and breaking one. The G.A.L.S. always have great new stuff coming out. [MUSIC] Welcome to Episode 105 of the Midlife Mixtape Podcast! I’m Nancy Davis Kho, host and creatress of the show, and I’m really glad you’re tuning in today. September 21st happens to be World Gratitude Day, a topic I know a little bit about…but I thought that for a refreshing change of pace, instead of talking to you about Gratitude Letters and the book I wrote, The Thank-You Project, I’d bring in a guest who could share a different perspective on incorporating more gratefulness and grateful living into our lives. That seemed especially important in a week where two different friends have said to me, “You know what? Relatively speaking, I don’t have anything to feel down about.” And they are kind of kicking themselves for feeling low and I was like, “You are now the human embodiment of that cartoon dog in the fedora sitting with his coffee as the flames rise up around him.” NO ONE IS OK. EVERYBODY HAS SOMETHING TO FEEL DOWN ABOUT AFTER 18 MONTHS OF THIS PANDEMIC – and I recently read that 1 in 3 Americans has been affected by a weather disaster made worse by climate change. It’s ok, and it’s normal, to not be ok. Speaking of the climate change thing, have you checked out sciencemoms.com yet? Go back to Episode 102 for all the details on that. Anyway, goes for me, too. Ever since my mom’s memorial service in August, I have to say I have been feeling a lot more subdued and frankly, a little hopeless, moreso than at any other time during the past 18 months. So today’s guest, and her reminder of how these wake-up calls in our lives can enrich them if we look at them from the right perspective, seems especially timely. Kristi Nelson is the Executive Director of A Network for Grateful Living, and the author of Wake Up Grateful: The Transformative Practice of Taking Nothing for Granted. Imagine that?! Kristi’s life’s work in the non-profit sector has focused on leading, inspiring, and strengthening organizations committed to progressive social and spiritual change. Being a long-time stage IV cancer survivor moves her every day to support others in living and loving with great fullness of heart. In 2001 – after five years leading a regional Women’s Fund – Kristi founded a values-based fundraising consulting and coaching company, and in this capacity, she has worked with organizations like Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Wisdom 2.0, and The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, among others. She has also been founding Director of Soul of Money Institute with Lynne Twist, Director of Development at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and Director of Development and Community Relations for the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society. So take a deep calming breath, and join me as I talk with gratefulness guru, Kristi Nelson. [MUSIC] Nancy 04:16 I want to welcome to the Midlife Mixtape Podcast, Kristi Nelson. Thanks so much for being on the show today. Kristi 04:22 I’m thrilled to be here. Thanks so much for having me. Nancy 04:25 Well, it’s a special day today because the day this episode drops is World Gratitude Day. So I wanted to have somebody on who could provide a different lens into the topic of gratefulness and gratitude, and I’m excited to talk about your book, Wake Up Grateful. But first, Kristi, obviously, we have to ask you this question, which is what was your first concert and what were the circumstances? Kristi 04:47 This has caused me to do research and verification. Nancy 04:51 Oh. I love giving a guest homework. That’s fabulous. Kristi 04:54 Actually, it was so great. I believe … because you know now that I’m in my 60s, it’s actually long term memory issues. So I believe that it was Cheap Trick. Nancy 05:07 Really? Kristi 05:08 It was 1976 and I couldn’t find their tour dates to confirm, but it was somewhere I think either Springfield Massachusetts or somewhere in the close environs and this is just the funniest thing. Their song that I loved and used to sing at the top of my possible voice spectrum, I’d sing, “I want you to want me, I need you to need me. I’d love you to love me.” Nancy 05:32 Sure. Kristi 05:33 That’s like their big song. Nancy 05:35 And you were what? Nine years old, singing that? No, I’m kidding. Kristi 05:38 No. Yeah, that’s funny. I was 16, and it was probably one of those things that it was a celebration of my 16th birthday and passing to some kind of new level of trustworthiness that I could go off and I’m sure I wasn’t worthy of it at all. Nancy 05:53 In the 70s, the bar for trustworthiness in kids was awfully low compared to where it is now. We hear these stories over and over on this show of people doing stuff that they would never let their kids do now. Kristi 06:05 Yeah, so true. Nancy 06:06 So I love that concert for you. I’m trying to remember which Cheap Trick song it was… my friend and I were getting coffee at a coffee shop one day and it came on over the Muzak. She and I started singing both sides of it at each other, really aggressively, and the poor coffee girl who was a Millennial just looked at us in absolute horror. Appropriately so. Cheap Trick, you’ve got to sing along. It’s very much a sing along kind of a band. I wondered if there is a way that music plays into your efforts to live gratefully, playing a song that makes you feel grateful, or amplifying your mood or anything like that. Is there a way that music plays a role for you? Kristi 06:43 Hugely, I would say. And it’s interesting, because I always say that gratitude waits for something good to happen and gratefulness actually waits for us to just be awake. So for me, what that means when I’m awake is awake and tuned in to what I can create for experiences that bring about more grateful awareness, and so that helps shift my perspective. That’s what I’m a big believer in. So I use music a lot to enhance my perspective. When I come home, and I’m tired at the end of the day, or I’ve done a lot of things that have been exhausting at a particular level mentally or physically, if I put on music, Pharrell William’s, “Happy”… Nancy 07:26 Sure. The theme song. Kristi 07:27 It is absolutely irresistible, right? So there’s so many songs like that, that energize me and completely shift my mood and music has an unparalleled ability to do that in my life. Nancy 07:41 I agree so much. At some point during the pandemic, last year, I made a playlist on my phone called the AAA playlist, and it is only songs that make me get a little shiver when they come on, like I go, “Oh my god, I love this song too.” If it doesn’t elicit that response, I take it off the playlist. We were driving recently – My husband and I drove down to LA to drop our daughter off at school and it’s been a pandemic, it’s been 18 months of difficult things and we were coming back and I was like, “You know what? I need to listen that playlist right now, because I’m feeling…” I was missing my daughter already. There’re just any number of things that are hard and I knew if I just put this on, oh, it’s so good. I wish you could all listen to my AAA playlist. But I think the better thing is for everybody to make an AAA playlist that is personal to you, that gives you that little jolt. Because it works exactly like you’re saying. It just kind of puts you in a better space. And that’s something to be grateful for. Kristi 08:38 You got that. Thank you. I love that and I love that you’ve just assigned us more homework. Nancy 08:43

    43 min
4.5
out of 5
115 Ratings

About

A podcast to celebrate GenXers at midlife, with humor, heart, and a really good beat. In each episode, writer Nancy Davis Kho of MidlifeMixtape.com interviews fellow GenXers about how they're thriving in the years between being hip and breaking one. From discussing the first concert each guest ever saw, to what’s easier and harder than they expected at midlife, to what piece of advice they'd give their younger selves, the conversations will inspire, entertain, and maybe even make you feel stoked to be caught in the middle.

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