This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil

Let’s talk about the glow-up no one told you about: the one where you hit midlife and suddenly cannot be bothered with other people’s bullshit anymore. Because somewhere between perimenopause, professional burnout, emotional labor overload, and decades of people-pleasing, something shifts. You stop cushioning your words. You stop managing everyone else’s feelings like it’s your unpaid side hustle. And when someone asks, “Are you okay?” the answer is, “Better than ever. I just ran out of estrogen—and tolerance.” In this episode, Nicole sits down with licensed clinical therapist Ellen Scherr to unpack the neuroscience behind what she calls “aging out of f*cks.” Spoiler alert: this isn’t bitterness. It’s biology. As estrogen declines in midlife, it impacts multiple neurochemical systems in the brain—systems tied to anxiety, people-pleasing, anger regulation, and emotional buffering. The “popular girl at the party” (aka estrogen) leaves… and suddenly the whole dynamic changes. What once felt like obligation starts to feel optional. What once felt terrifying starts to feel negotiable. And what once felt like “I should” becomes “Do I even want to?” They dive into: The neuroscience of perimenopause and menopause—and how hormonal changes impact confidence, risk-taking, and people-pleasing Why women’s confidence actually increases with age (and can surpass men’s in their 60s) The lifelong cost of emotional labor—and why it starts to break down in midlife How negativity bias keeps women stuck in fear (and how to reframe it) The difference between legitimate feedback and social punishment Why so many women make bold career, relationship, and life changes in their 40s, 50s, and beyond Whether it’s possible to “speed up” the process of caring less in your 20s and 30s This isn’t about blowing up your life. It’s about understanding the neuroscience of midlife, reclaiming your authenticity, setting boundaries, and rewiring old people-pleasing patterns. Aging out of f*cks isn’t decline—it’s development. It’s honesty over harmony. And if you’re suddenly “too much”? Good. You’re not here to be palatable. You’re here to be you. Thank you to our sponsors! Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww  Connect with Ellen: Website: www.lifebranches.com Substack: https://substack.com/search/blog.lifebranches.com?utm_source=global-search  Oprah Daily: https://substack.com/search/blog.lifebranches.com?utm_source=global-search  Related Podcast Episodes: The Stress Paradox: Why We Need Stress (and How to Make It Work for Us) with Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist | 294 How To Listen When Your Parts Speak (IFS Therapy + Ancestral Wisdom) with Tamala Floyd | 376 Am I Being a B**ch? (…or Just Finally in My Power) with Megan Walrod | 349 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We love a good “never quit” mantra. Hustle. Grind. Push through. Stay committed. But what if the bravest move isn’t doubling down… it’s pivoting? In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil sits down with Melissa Gonzalez — principal at MG2, shareholder at Collier’s Engineering and Design, founder of The Lioness Group, and author of The Purpose of Pivot: How Dynamic Leaders Put Vulnerability and Intuition into Action — to unpack one of the hardest leadership and life questions: How do you know when it’s time to pivot? Because staying the course can be grit… or it can be self-betrayal.And pivoting can be courage… or it can be avoidance. The line? Blurry as hell. Together, they explore how to tell the difference between fear and intuition, discomfort and misalignment, commitment and stuckness — and how to make intentional, purpose-driven decisions without blowing up your entire life (unless you actually need to). They explore: The physical and emotional signs it’s time to pivot How to run an “energy audit” to see what fuels vs. drains you The difference between purposeful change and running away Why clarity about your purpose makes decisions easier How to stop letting other people’s opinions drive your choices Because pivoting doesn’t require certainty. It requires discernment. And staying isn’t noble if it’s shrinking you. The goal isn’t to get it perfect. It’s to stay in relationship with yourself while you decide. Thank you to our sponsors! Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww  Connect with Melissa: Website: https://www.melissagonzalez.com/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Purpose-Pivot-Dynamic-Vulnerability-Intuition/dp/1394329474  IG: https://www.instagram.com/melsstyles/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissagonzalezlionesque/ Related Podcast Episodes: 129 / 4 Truths of Radiant Change with Kristen Lisanti 5-Steps To Making Big Decisions with Abby Davisson | 222  How To Rewire Patterns That No Longer Serve You with Judy Wilkins-Smith | 323 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when a woman refuses to follow the script she was handed? In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil sits down with award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and former Good Morning America co-host Joan Lunden to talk about reinvention, leadership, pay equity, aging, caregiving, and choosing yourself — again and again. Joan was offered the co-host role at Good Morning America the same day she found out she was pregnant. In the 1970s. When working mothers were barely visible on television, and “breastfeeding” wasn’t even a word you could say on air. She brought her baby to work anyway. Throughout her career, she negotiated creative compensation before pay equity was a mainstream conversation, pushed back on being labeled “second banana,” navigated public scrutiny, and later reinvented herself again — this time as a fierce advocate for women’s health, breast cancer awareness, dense breast legislation, and caregiver rights. In this conversation, she shares: How to reinvent yourself at every stage of life What it takes to negotiate power in male-dominated spaces The pressure of being the “perfect working mom” How she handled media criticism and public expectations Why sisterhood and strong women behind the scenes mattered most Joan’s story is proof that reinvention isn’t a phase — it’s a practice. And ambition doesn’t expire just because culture says it should. Choosing yourself isn’t one bold move. It’s a lifetime of them. Thank you to our sponsors! Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww  Connect with Joan: Website: https://joanlunden.com/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/JOAN-Beyond-Script-Joan-Lunden/dp/1637634927/  IG: https://www.instagram.com/therealjoanlunden/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/JoanLunden Related Podcast Episodes: Reinventing Your Career (Again and Again) with Ilana Golan | 374 Your Value Doesn’t Expire: Career Reinvention Over 40 with Loren Greiff | 344 Big Trust Energy: How to Build Self-Trust When Self-Doubt Won’t Shut Up with Dr. Shadé Zahrai | 380 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast often explores ambition, leadership, confidence, and impact. But sometimes? Woman’s work looks a whole lot more like survival. Not the inspirational quote version. Not the neat-and-tidy comeback story. Not the “and then she rose” highlight reel. This episode of This Is Woman’s Work dives into the raw, relentless, day-by-day kind of survival — the kind that asks someone to keep showing up while life is actively coming apart. Nicole Kalil is joined by Kathy Giusti — two-time cancer survivor, healthcare entrepreneur, founder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), and author of Fatal to Fearless. After being diagnosed with multiple myeloma at 37 and given three years to live, Kathy turned her prognosis into a movement that helped transform cancer research and dramatically extend life expectancy for patients. Yes. From terminal diagnosis to systemic change. In This Episode, They Discuss: What survival really looks like after a terminal cancer diagnosis Why resilience isn’t pretty — and rarely feels brave in the moment The difference between “fighting” cancer and running a marathon with it How to advocate for yourself inside a broken healthcare system Why women must step into the role of CEO of their own healthcare The power (and responsibility) of using social media wisely for medical information The hard truth about boundaries, burnout, and forgetting to live while trying to stay alive Kathy shares what it meant to raise a family while preparing for death. To build a global research foundation while undergoing chemotherapy. To carry hope, fear, responsibility, and grief — all at once. And perhaps most powerfully, she shares the regret she didn’t anticipate: that in trying to save her life (and so many others), she sometimes forgot to fully live it. Thank you to our sponsors! Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww  Connect with Kathy: Website: https://www.kathygiusti.com/ Book: https://www.kathygiusti.com/book  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathygiusti/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/kathy.giusti/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/KathyGiustiMMRF Related Podcast Episodes: 161 / Survivorship and Breast Cancer with Virginia Carnesale  156 / Cell Care with Dr. Monisha Bhanote I’ve Got Beef With The Health & Wellness Industry | Unfiltered & Unhinged Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s talk about the thing you replay over and over in your mind at 2 a.m. The comment in the meeting. The story you shared. The truth that felt a little too honest. Welcome to the oversharing hangover. We’ve been taught that credibility requires polish and power lives in restraint. Keep it tight. Keep it tidy. Keep the messy parts to yourself. But what if that’s wrong? In this episode, Nicole sits down with Leslie John, Harvard Business School professor and author of Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing, to unpack what the research actually says about vulnerability, trust, and credibility — and why saying less might be costing you more than you think. In This Episode, We Explore: Why oversharing can build trust The difference between thoughtful revealing and emotional dumping How admitting mistakes can increase credibility at work The “Goldilocks rule” of vulnerability How to weigh the cost of revealing vs. staying silent The research is clear: we consistently trust people who reveal something real more than those who stay guarded. And thoughtful vulnerability doesn’t weaken your credibility — it strengthens it Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww  Connect with Leslie: Website: https://www.lesliekjohn.com/  Book: https://www.amazon.com/Revealing-Underrated-Oversharing-Leslie-John/dp/0593545389 LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-john-75928721/  IG: https://www.instagram.com/proflesliejohn/  Related Podcast Episodes: Big Trust Energy: How to Build Self-Trust When Self-Doubt Won’t Shut Up with Dr. Shadé Zahrai | 380 How To Be Yourself At Work: Authentic Presence Over Executive Presence with Claude Silver | 366 How To Tame Your Inner Critic (Without Gaslighting Yourself) with Megan Dalla-Camina | 354 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk a lot about dreaming bigger — but not nearly enough about what it actually costs to play it safe. Fear of failure keeps brilliant ideas stuck in our heads, careers stalled, and confidence quietly eroding. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil is joined by Lorraine H. Marchand, innovation expert, Wharton professor, and author of No Fear, No Failure. Together, they unpack why failure isn’t the enemy — avoidance is. From reframing fear as data, to designing smarter experiments, to creating cultures (and inner narratives) where learning beats perfection, this conversation is a permission slip to try, fail, learn… and keep going. If you’ve ever felt paralyzed by getting it wrong, worried about failing publicly, or trapped by environments that say they want innovation but punish mistakes — this episode is for you. We explore: Why fear of failure shuts down growth faster than actual failure ever could How to reframe failure as learning (and why that changes everything) Why women are more likely to internalize failure — and how to stop How to test ideas without burning it all down What “failing forward” looks like in real life (not just on LinkedIn) How to stop being afraid of other people seeing you try Because growth doesn’t happen without risk — and playing it safe has a cost. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww  Connect with Lorraine: Website: https://www.lorrainemarchand.com/  Book: https://www.lorrainemarchand.com/no-fear-no-failure/  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorrainemarchand  Related Podcast Episodes: 197 / Fear & Failure (Part 1) with Amy Green Smith 181 / Stress Less and Fear(Less) with Rebecca Heiss VI4P - Perfectionism and Failure (Chapter 6) If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever read something that felt like it was pulled straight from your own brain? That was me reading Nora McInerney’s Substack about what she calls restless life syndrome — the persistent, low-grade feeling that you’re meant to be living at least 14 different lives… and somehow squeezing them all into this one. So naturally, I diagnosed myself.  In this unfiltered and unhinged episode of This Is Woman’s Work, I’m sharing my own wildly impractical, slightly delusional, deeply human “restless life” list. This isn’t a five-step plan. It’s a permission slip. Because maybe your 12 open tabs, your urge to burn it all down, and your conviction that fulfillment is one hobby away aren’t signs that you’re broken. Maybe they’re signs that you’re awake. If you’ve been craving reinvention, dreaming of multiple lives, or quietly wondering what else is possible beyond productivity and responsibility, this episode on restless life syndrome will hit home — and maybe light a tiny, rebellious fire. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww  Connect with Nicole: Subscribe to Nicole’s Substack: https://nicolekalil.substack.com/  Join the Inner Circle: https://nicolekalil.myflodesk.com/newsletter  Related Podcast Episode: Yell for Help | Unfiltered & Unhinged Ask the Damn Question | Unfiltered & Unhinged I’ve Got Beef With The Health & Wellness Industry | Unfiltered & Unhinged Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if being a “good woman” isn’t actually virtuous — but conditioned? In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil sits down with Elise Loehnen, New York Times bestselling author of On Our Best Behavior: The Price Women Pay to Be Good, to dismantle the centuries-old rules that still dictate how women are expected to behave, desire, rest, earn, and lead. Together, they unpack how the seven deadly sins — yes, those — quietly shape modern women’s lives, ambitions, bodies, money stories, and relationships. Pride, envy, greed, sloth, lust… turns out they’ve been weaponized against women for generations, rewarding self-sacrifice and punishing visibility, appetite, and power. This conversation goes deep — into patriarchy, good-girl conditioning, reputational harm, money shame, envy as information, and why women are often both the enforcers and the casualties of these ancient rules. If you’ve ever felt exhausted by trying to be good, likable, selfless, and low-maintenance all at once… this episode is your permission slip to stop. Because goodness that costs you yourself isn’t goodness. It’s conditioning. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww  Connect with Elise: Substack: eliseloehnen.substack.com  IG: https://www.instagram.com/eliseloehnen/  Book: https://www.eliseloehnen.com/onourbestbehavior  Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pulling-the-thread-with-elise-loehnen/id1585015034   Related Podcast Episodes: 136 / Mean Girls with Caroline Adams Miller How To Defy Expectations with Dr. Sunita Sah | 271 From Mean Girls to Hype Women with Erin Gallagher | 353 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve been taught to avoid it — to hide it, shame it, or outwork it. But what if failure isn’t the thing that destroys confidence… what if it’s the thing that builds it? In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil sits down with Jane Chen, co-founder of Embrace Global and author of Like a Wave, We Break, to talk about what happens when success collapses — and why that moment might be the most honest, transformative chapter of your life. Jane shares the raw story of losing the company she poured a decade into, how her identity unraveled alongside it, and the healing journey that followed — from redefining resilience and self-worth to learning how to listen to her body, sit with discomfort, and rebuild from a place of authenticity instead of achievement. This conversation dives deep into: Why failure is a confidence builder, not a confidence killer How achievement can become a trauma response Separating your worth from your results, titles, and accolades Knowing when to keep pushing — and when it’s time to stop The role of self-compassion, community, and psychological safety in leadership Why breaking isn’t the end… it’s often the beginning Because confidence isn’t built by never falling apart. It’s built by trusting yourself to rise again. This episode is a powerful reminder that failure, fear, and doubt aren’t detours — they’re part of the path. When we stop chasing perfection and start honoring what’s real, we build the kind of confidence that actually lasts. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww Connect with Jane Website: https://www.janemariechen.com Book: https://www.amazon.com/Like-Wave-We-Break-Falling/dp/0593582349 IG: https://www.instagram.com/janemarie.chen/?hl=en  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janemariechen/ FB: www.facebook.com/janemariechen  Tiktok: @janemariechen TEDtalk: https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_marie_chen_what_losing_everything_taught_me_about_resilience Related Podcast Episodes: The Biology Of Trauma - And How To Heal It with Dr. Aimie Apigian | 346 How To Listen When Your Parts Speak (IFS Therapy + Ancestral Wisdom) with Tamala Floyd | 376 Five Habits of Hope with Dr. Julia Garcia | 365 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve ever wondered “Do I actually matter?” — not in a motivational-poster way, but in the deep, existential, 3am-staring-at-the-ceiling way — this episode is for you. In this powerful conversation, Nicole Kalil sits down with Rebecca Neuberger Goldstein, award-winning philosopher and author of The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us, to unpack one of the most fundamental human needs: the need to matter. Together, they explore why mattering may be even more essential than happiness, how our desire to matter shapes our lives, relationships, and conflicts, and why the pressure to prove our worth often leads to comparison, competition, and division. Rebecca introduces the concept of “mattering projects” — the deeply personal ways we justify our lives to ourselves — and why there is no single “right” way to matter. This episode challenges the idea that mattering is loud, performative, or scarce, and reframes it as an inside-out experience rooted in integrity, connection, and self-justification — not productivity, perfection, or approval. 💥 What we cover: Why the need to matter may be more fundamental than the need to be happy The difference between fleeting happiness and long-term flourishing What a “mattering project” is — and how to recognize yours Why comparison and competition distort our sense of worth How mattering becomes dangerous when treated as a zero-sum game Why the person you most need to matter to… is you How women have been taught to confuse usefulness with worth The ethical guardrail: you matter and so does everyone else Mattering isn’t about being extraordinary, productive, or universally admired — it’s about living in alignment with what you can justify to yourself. You matter not because you prove it, but because you’re here, shaping lives through how you live, lead, and relate. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Rebecca Website: https://rebeccagoldstein.com/  Book: https://rebeccagoldstein.com/the-mattering-instinct/  Substack: https://rebeccanewbergergoldstein.substack.com/  Related Podcast Episodes: Finding Purpose Through Human Design with Emma Dunwoody | 228 Practical Intuition For Bold, Better Decisions with Laura Day | 360 Big Trust Energy: How to Build Self-Trust When Self-Doubt Won’t Shut Up with Dr. Shadé Zahrai | 380 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, we were sold a lie: get good grades, be smart, keep climbing—and success will magically follow. But in a world of nonstop disruption, AI, political chaos, and careers that don’t come with ladders anymore, IQ and EQ alone aren’t cutting it. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil sits down with Liz Tran, executive coach, former venture capitalist, and author of AQ: A New Kind of Intelligence for a World That’s Always Changing, to unpack the intelligence that actually determines who thrives when everything keeps shifting: AQ (Agility Quotient). AQ isn’t about being perfect, flexible to the point of burnout, or endlessly accommodating. It’s about how well you adapt to change, uncertainty, and the unknown—without losing yourself in the process. Liz breaks down the four AQ archetypes (Firefighter, Novelist, Astronaut, Neurosurgeon), how proactive vs. reactive change impacts your life and career, and why adaptability is no longer optional—it’s survival. This conversation will change how you think about intelligence, leadership, confidence, and what it really takes to succeed when the rules keep changing mid-game. Bottom line: Intelligence isn’t just what you know—it’s how you respond when what you know stops working. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Liz Website: https://liz-tran.com/   Book: https://liz-tran.com/#aq  IG: https://www.instagram.com/liztranwrites/ Quiz: https://liz-tran.com/#quiz LI: linkedin.com/in/liztran1  Related Podcast Episodes: Unlocking Your Hidden Genius: How to Harness Your Innate Talents with Betsy Wills & Alex Ellison | Ep. 289 129 / 4 Truths of Radiant Change with Kristen Lisanti Diversity Isn’t a Strategy - It’s a Leadership Result with Aiko Bethea | 378 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The health and wellness industry loves to tell women they’re broken — and then sell them the fix. In this unfiltered and slightly unhinged solo episode, Nicole Kalil calls out wellness culture for what it too often is: rebranded diet culture, influencer-led misinformation, and shame dressed up as self-care. From green juice guilt to inflammation fear-mongering to TikTok experts blaming women for their own illnesses, Nicole takes aim at an industry that claims to prioritize longevity and quality of life — while obsessing over looking younger, smaller, and more “acceptable.” She shares her own expensive experiments with wellness trends, what actually helped, what didn’t, and why one-size-fits-all solutions are a massive red flag. This episode is a permission slip to trust your body, question the algorithm, and stop outsourcing your health decisions to people with discount codes and zero accountability. Because real wellness isn’t about perfection — it’s about agency, discernment, and self-trust. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Nicole: Subscribe to Nicole’s Substack: https://nicolekalil.substack.com/  Join the Inner Circle: https://nicolekalil.myflodesk.com/newsletter  Related Podcast Episode: Yell for Help | Unfiltered & Unhinged Ask the Damn Question | Unfiltered & Unhinged Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If meetings are draining your energy, killing momentum, and stealing your calendar — you’re not imagining it. They’re broken. And they’re costing us trillions. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole is joined by Dr. Rebecca Hinds, organizational behavior expert, Stanford PhD, and author of Your Best Meeting Ever, to expose why meetings are one of the most expensive, overlooked products inside any organization — and how to fix them. We get into: Why bad meetings are literally an old-school sabotage tactic (thanks, WWII) The real cost of ineffective meetings — and who pays the highest price The 4D CEO Test for deciding if a meeting should exist at all Why status updates don’t belong in meetings (ever) The science behind why meetings over 8 people stop working How to measure meetings by return on time invested Why you don’t need fewer meetings — you need better ones And how to influence meetings even when you’re not the one in charge This conversation is part wake-up call, part permission slip, and part playbook for anyone done pretending “this is just how work works.” Meetings aren’t neutral. They shape culture, power, and whose work gets seen — so if your meetings are broken, your organization is too. The good news? You don’t need more authority to change them — just more intention. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Rebecca Website: https://www.rebeccahinds.com/  LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-hinds/  Related Podcast Episodes: Leadership Unblocked (The Hidden Beliefs Sabotaging Your Ability To Lead) with Muriel M. Wilkins | 367 The Sixth Level Of Leadership with Dr. Stacy Feiner | 236 The 3 N’s - Negotiation, Networking & No with Kathryn Valentine | 327 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talking about sex shouldn’t feel like a performance review you didn’t prepare for — and yet, for so many women, it does. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil gets publicly uncomfortable (on purpose) to talk about what we’re really craving when it comes to sex — not hotter, not louder, not more performative… but healthier. Joined by internationally renowned human sexuality professor and author Dr. Nicole McNichols, this conversation cuts through cultural noise, outdated scripts, and unrealistic expectations around women’s desire. Together, they unpack why exhaustion, mental overload, hormonal shifts, and decades of conditioning disconnect women from their bodies — and how to rebuild a sex life rooted in honesty, agency, and pleasure. This episode isn’t about doing more or trying harder. It’s about unlearning shame, understanding your body, honoring your evolving needs, and creating a roadmap for sex that works for you — at every stage of life. What We Cover: Why “hotter sex” is the wrong goal — and what healthier sex actually looks like The mental load, exhaustion, and emotional labor killing desire (and what to do about it) Dr. McNichols’ Hierarchy of Sexual Needs and why pleasure starts internally Getting out of your head and back into your body (hello, sexual mindfulness) Mismatched libidos, desire discrepancies, and how to stop making them mean something’s wrong When curiosity, communication, and consent unlock deeper connection Healthy sex isn’t about performance, frequency, or checking boxes — it’s about presence, permission, and pleasure that evolves with you. When women reclaim agency over their bodies and desires, connection deepens, shame loosens its grip, and intimacy becomes something we get to experience — not something we’re expected to perform. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Dr. Nicole McNichols: Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/You-Could-Be-Having-Better-Sex/Nicole-McNichols/9781668053775  IG: https://www.instagram.com/nicole_thesexprofessor/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nicole_thesexprofessor Related Podcast Episodes: Access, Agency & The Abortion Underground with Rebecca Grant | 358  051 / Connecting To Your Sexuality with Aylen Doucette How To Listen When Your Parts Speak (IFS Therapy + Ancestral Wisdom) with Tamala Floyd | 376 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve ever turned a simple request into a full-blown production — congratulations, you’re one of us. In this short, unfiltered episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil shares a painfully relatable story involving kindergarten, lasagna, glitter, and a catastrophic failure to ask a clarifying question. This episode is a reminder (and a loving call-out) for all the women who default to over-functioning, over-planning, and over-complicating things that were never meant to be that deep. Sometimes the bravest, smartest move isn’t doing more — it’s asking the damn question. Because clarity beats chaos. And noodles in a box beat four trays of lasagna. If you’re spiraling over something that feels way harder than it should be, this episode will hit you right in the overachiever feels. A funny, human reminder that better communication — and one simple question — can save you a whole lot of unnecessary stress. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Nicole: Subscribe to Nicole’s Substack: https://nicolekalil.substack.com/  Join the Inner Circle: https://nicolekalil.myflodesk.com/newsletter  Related Podcast Episode Yell for Help | Unfiltered & Unhinged Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve ever wondered how some people build businesses that last—this episode is your blueprint. Nicole sits down with Neri Karra-Silliman (author, advisor, entrepreneur, and Oxford entrepreneurship expert) to unpack what immigrant entrepreneurs can teach all of us about confidence, courage, resilience, and creating businesses that thrive for generations—even when you’re not starting with privilege, connections, or a trust fund. In this episode, we get into: Why immigrant-founded businesses often endure longer—and why nobody’s been asking the right questions The difference between an entrepreneur and a pioneer (hint: pioneers build what didn’t exist before) How companies like WhatsApp and Duolingo started with impact-first problems  The 8 principles of business longevity inspired by immigrant entrepreneurs, including: Cross-cultural bridging (innovation happens when you live in more than one world) Community as currency (relationships are the wealth) “Frying in your own oil” (aka self-sufficiency before outside money makes you lazy) Shared values over growth-at-all-costsRejection as fuel (“no” is the beginning of negotiation) Luck as a skill (recognizing moments and playing your hand) Faith as the foundation for risk, reinvention, and resilience And the most overlooked glue of all: kindness Immigrants aren’t the problem—they’re the blueprint. This conversation will change how you think about risk, reinvention, and what it really takes to build something that lasts (with profit and purpose). Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Neri: Website: https://www.nerikarrasillaman.com/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Pioneers-Principles-Longevity-Immigrant-Entrepreneurs/dp/1394304056/ref=  Related Podcast Episodes The Hard Truths Of Entrepreneurship with Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon | 313 The Power Of Instinct In Business And Life with Leslie Zane | 214 From Small Business to Big Impact: Leadership, Confidence, & Community at the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses Summit | 362 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fun and work in the same sentence? For most of us, that’s a “does not compute” moment… and that’s exactly why this conversation matters. Workplace culture expert Bree Groff (author of Today Was Fun: A Book About Work. Seriously.) breaks down why we’ve been trained to treat joy like it’s “unprofessional,” why busyness is murdering brilliance, and how to start building workplaces (and workdays) that are actually fit for human life. In this episode, we get into: Why “hard” doesn’t automatically mean “valuable” (and why we need to stop romanticizing suffering) The two toxic extremes: “Work is called work for a reason” (aka: misery cosplay) “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day” (aka: burnout bait) Bree’s “third way”: work can be a nice way to spend our time on the planet—not a daily punishment Why people don’t buy your work because you suffered—they buy it because it creates value (pain is optional) The “infinite workday” problem: nonstop meetings, constant interruptions, and zero space to think Why brilliance requires spaciousness: “do nothing” time, thinking time, walking time, shower-epiphany time How conformity kills creativity (and why “professionalism” can be a creativity straightjacket) The case against delayed gratification when it turns into: “I’ll live later” (spoiler: later is not guaranteed) Wrap-up: Work doesn’t have to be miserable to be meaningful—and if your job demands your whole life in exchange for a paycheck, that’s not ambition… that’s a bad deal wearing a blazer. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Bree: Website: https://www.breegroff.com/home  Book: https://www.breegroff.com/book  Related Podcast Episodes Work Shouldn’t Suck: How to Make It Good with Moe Carrick | 356 How To Play: Shift Your Thinking, Inspire Connection & Spark Creativity with Cas Holman | 355 The Ambition Trap with Amina AITai | 309 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women’s bodies get endlessly analyzed from the outside… while our internal health gets treated like an optional group project nobody studied for. Cool cool cool. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil goes deep on the perimenopause/menopause mess: the years of brain fog, 3 a.m. wake-ups, mood swings, weight gain, and the medical equivalent of a shrug. Enter Dr. Sarah Daccarett, hormone specialist and aging expert, to explain why so many women are confused, dismissed, and exhausted—and why hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should be viewed as foundational health support, not a “last resort once you’re fully miserable.” What We Cover Why most women (including doctors) are confused about perimenopause + HRT—and why that’s not your fault The “natural” misconception: why Sarah argues HRT can be more natural than the supplement aisle Why waiting for hot flashes is like waiting for your car to explode before you change the oil Hormones as the “CEO of the body”: brain, bones, metabolism, sleep, libido, digestion—ALL of it The real problem with “just fix your gut / cortisol / diet” advice when your hormones are the actual root issue PCOS, insulin resistance, and why “just lose weight” advice can be straight-up useless Why hormone testing can be wildly unreliable—and why symptoms still matter Medical gaslighting: how women lose trust in themselves when the system keeps minimizing them If you’ve been white-knuckling your way through perimenopause symptoms, you’re not weak—you’re under-supported. Better info + better care isn’t “extra,” it’s the bare minimum. Thank you to our sponsors! Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show!  Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Sarah: Website: www.innerbalance.com $50 off Discount code: PODCASTDRSARAH Related Podcast Episodes: Don’t Let Your Doctor Kill You: The New Hormone Solution with Dr. Erika Schwartz | 305  Endometriosis & Women’s Health with Somer Baburek | 238  Floored: Why Our Pelvic Floor Health Matters with Dr. Sara Reardon I 314 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve ever waited to “feel confident” before you take the leap… congratulations, you’ve been scammed by your own brain. In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil goes full confidence-nerd (with the occasional rant) with Dr. Shadé Zahrai—behavioral researcher, peak performance educator, and author of Big Trust—to expose what confidence actually is, why self-doubt doesn’t disappear, and how to build real self-trust that holds up when life gets messy. What we get into: Why confidence isn’t the opposite of self-doubt (and why that myth keeps you stuck) The thing you actually need first: self-trust / Big Trust—backing yourself before the outcome is guaranteed How “failure” can build confidence if you stop making it mean you are a failure The self-image trap (including a wild scar study that proves your brain will invent reality if you let it) The Four A’s of Big Trust: Acceptance, Agency, Autonomy, Adaptability (aka the internal upgrades your confidence has been begging for) The 4 Inner Deceivers (and the bonus villain): The Classic Judge (never impressed, always loud) The Misguided Protector (aka fear dressed up as “logic”) The Ringmaster (grind culture’s toxic BFF) The Neglector (everyone else first… until you break) The Victimizer (outsourcing your power like it’s a hobby) If self-doubt is showing up, it doesn’t mean you’re broken—it means you’re human and doing something that matters. Build Big Trust, take the step anyway, and let confidence catch up like it always does. Thank you to our sponsors! Get 20% off your first order at curehydration.com/WOMANSWORK with code WOMANSWORK — and if you get a post-purchase survey, mention you heard about Cure here to help support the show!  Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Shadé : Website: https://www.shadezahrai.com/  Book: https://www.shadezahrai.com/bigtrust?utm_source=chatgpt.com  IG: https://www.instagram.com/shadezahrai/  LI: https://th.linkedin.com/in/shadezahrai?trk=public_post_feed-actor-name  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shadezahrai?lang=en  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/shadezahrai  Related Podcast Episodes: VI4P – What Confidence Is, What It Isn’t, and Why It Matters (Chapter 1) | 168  197 / Fear & Failure (Part 1) with Amy Green Smith Confidence Isn’t Born, It’s Built — Lessons from the Cockpit to Real Life with Michelle “MACE” Curran | 343 Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We need to talk about asking for help — and not the polite, over-explained, apologetic version most of us were taught. In this unfiltered and slightly unhinged mini-episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole Kalil shares a courtside lesson she learned from a group of middle school girls playing basketball — and honestly, they’re doing teamwork, boundaries, and support better than most adults. When these girls get caught on defense, they don’t spiral, minimize, or pretend they’ve got it handled. They yell “HELP! HELP! HELP!” loudly, clearly, and without shame — fully expecting their teammates to show up. And guess what? They do. No judgment. No scorekeeping. No martyrdom. This episode is a reminder that burnout isn’t a badge of honor, doing it all alone isn’t strength, and asking for help early is one of the smartest, strongest things you can do. Because life, love, leadership — it’s all a team sport. And around here? We answer when someone yells for help. That’s woman’s work. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/pd2550-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Nicole: Subscribe to Nicole’s Substack: https://nicolekalil.substack.com/  Join the Inner Circle: https://nicolekalil.myflodesk.com/newsletter  Share the Love:: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices