The Shift with Sam Baker
Episodes
Janey Godley on kicking the "I'm fine" compulsion & being proud to be gallus
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is the “queen of Scottish comedy”, Janey Godley. Janey has played Broadway, won loads of awards and written a bestselling memoir, H...
Sabrina Pace-Humphreys on rural racism, alcoholism and the life-saving power of running
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest will make you wonder what you do with your time! Sabrina Pace-Humphreys is an award-winning business woman, a social justice activ...
Ruth Ozeki on why menopause is the new adolescence - FROM THE ARCHIVES
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last night Ruth won the Women's Prize for her wonderful novel, The Book Of Form And Emptiness, so I thought I'd give this another listen. Here are the...
Christie Watson on menopause, midlife and mischief
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I’ve lost count of the number of women I’ve spoken to who were taken totally by surprise by perimenopause but, to date, none of them actually had ...
Sheila Hancock on sexism, classism and the double-edged sword of being seen as a "strong woman"
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is nothing less than an acting legend. Although she probably wouldn’t have any truck with that. Dame Sheila Hancock is that rare thi...
Natalie Lee on breaking free of shame and finding sexual freedom
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is a 42-year-old mum of two on a mission to kick sexual shame into touch. Natalie Lee was just like many of the rest of us. Not mad kee...
Amy Bloom on love, death, dignity – and tarot!
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you enter a relationship, you rarely consider how it might end. Let’s face it, how many of us would ever do anything if we crossed THAT bridge ...
BONUS: Sam Baker on menopause, the HRT lottery and the power of invisibility
21 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to this special bonus episode of The Shift, the podcast that aims to tell the no-holds barred truth about being a woman post 40. Created and h...
Minnie Driver on ageing, expectation and creased Brad Pitt!
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week is one of the most enduring movie actresses of our (by which I mean my!) generation. Minnie Driver made her first film, Circle of F...
Abi Morgan on embracing catastrophe and rebuilding just about everything in your 50s
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is a woman I’ve admired for the longest time: stage and screenwriter Abi Morgan. Throughout her thirty year career Abi has written s...
Chitra Ramaswamy on memory, mothering & the "mid-life gift" of responsibility
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week is the award-winning journalist Chitra Ramaswamy. And, lucky me, Chitra lives in Edinburgh so - before I go any further - let me re...
Nina Stibbe on the relationship-saving power of a sofa bed!
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when “one of the great comic writers of our time” hits menopause? That’s the conundrum that faced this week’s guest, award-winnin...
Jojo Moyes on radical life change in your 40s - FROM THE ARCHIVES
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Back in the before times, I had an idea to launch a podcast that celebrated the achievements and lives of women over 40. With a couple of friends and ...
Philippa Perry takes issue with your inner critic - FROM THE ARCHIVE
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since I recorded this episode with Philippa Perry she's gone from strength to strength. Her already bestselling book has spent even more weeks at numb...
Lindsey Hilsum on menopause in a warzone - FROM THE ARCHIVES
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of my favourite things about making The Shift podcast is all the fascinating women I get to interview - and learn a little bit from. This is a rep...
Delia Ephron on getting a second chance at life and love in your 70s
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My final guest of the season is the acclaimed screenwriter and bestselling author, Delia Ephron. Unfailingly wise, warm and witty, Delia is perhaps be...
Kat Farmer has the answer to all your "my wardrobe hates me" dilemmas
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Totally lost sight of your personal style? Feel like your clothes hate you? Whether it’s the result of two years in and out of lockdown, emerging fr...
Dana Spiotta on putting paid to menopause shame
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When was the last time you read a book where the central character was not just perimenopausal but also talked and thought about menopause and its imp...
Clover Stroud on grief, love, sex and sisterhood
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It takes courage to lay yourself bare on the page the way today’s guest does. Journalist Clover Stroud has written three memoirs - The Wild Other, M...
Barbara Blake Hannah on feeling new at 80 and why she believes in miracles
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is the Jamaican author, journalist, film maker and (no exaggeration) living legend Barbara Blake Hannah. Already an experienced journal...
Christina Patterson on how to deal with the blows life throws at you
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By the time we hit our 50s, most of us have… let’s just say… lived a little. But few have been through the mill to quite the extent that Christi...
Marian Keyes is BACK!
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest needs zero introduction - and not just because she’s been here before. Marian Keyes was one of the first guests on The Shift and...
Jami Attenberg on the joy of starting over and finding a place of your own
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We all tackle ageing in different ways but very few of us do it the way this week’s guest did - by packing up her entire life and moving thousands o...
Dorothy Koomson on how she learnt to be enough
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is the international bestseller Dorothy Koomson. She started young - she had her first stab at writing a book at 13 - and, like me, wor...
Nicola Sturgeon on power and the fiftysomething woman
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I’m really thrilled to launch this season with one of my long time fantasy guests. Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland since 2015, has been ...
Pepsi and Shirlie on miscarriage, mental health and 40 years of friendship
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's season finale time. And have I got a festive special for you! There is no child of the 80s who won’t remember today’s guests. For a decade, P...
Lynda La Plante on breaking boundaries and why there STILL aren't enough good roles for women
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week is a woman who - to coin a bit of 1980s jargon - punched through the glass ceiling for women in TV, creating not just one but a ser...
Liz Fraser on living with and loving an alcoholic
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do if the person you love turns out to hold the seeds to your own destruction? My guest this week has lived through it and discovered the ...
Mariella Frostrup on fearlessness, menopause and knowing your worth
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week was known for her willingness for say it like it is even before she made a TV show about the menopause. No, not THAT one. The one B...
Bobbi Brown on taking a leap at 64
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you, like me, have lived most of your life in fear of foundation, this week’s guest is your saviour. Because this woman saved us no-make-up girls...
Ruth Ozeki on why menopause is the new adolescence
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week is a novelist, film-maker - and Zen Buddhist priest. Ruth Ozeki was born in Conneticut in the 1950s to a Japanese mother and, as sh...
Fi Glover and Jane Garvey on Fortunately, friendship and pushing boundaries in your 50s
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do two sensible middle aged broadcasters become the voices of a generation of pissed off older women? My guests today can tell you aaallll about t...
Paula Sutton on how age has liberated her and the rejuvenating power of dressing up
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is former fashion journalist turned interiors blogger, Paula Sutton. For twenty years Paula lived a typical busy busy busy 9-to-9 Lond...
Val McDermid on anger, ageing – and an unlikely "cure" for menopause
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dubbed the Queen of Crime, Val McDermid has written 35 books (she thinks, but she’s stopped counting), sold over 17million copies and been translate...
Sophie Ellis Bextor on music, men and motherhood
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week has always been a self-starter. From flogging Blue Peter badges in the playground to earn a few extra quid to joining theaudience w...
Tasmina Perry on career, confidence and how not to get stuck at the amber light (from the archives)
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Shift has so many new listeners that it seemed like time to say hello, welcome and thank you for your support. It's been SO gratifying to see how ...
Marian Keyes on menopause, Botox and learning to be shameless (from the archive)
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is the second episode I ever recorded and the most popular episode of The Shift bar none. Marian Keyes has a legion of fans and for good reason. ...
Isabel Allende on feminism, anger and being fatally heterosexual (from the archive)
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is a replay of an episode from earlier this year. If I had to choose one episode as my favourite - tough call, like choosing a favourite child! -...
Denise Mina gets frank about HRT, sex and ageing (from the archive)
07 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is a replay of an episode first broadcast last autumn. I'm replaying it now to coincide with the publication of Denise's new novella, Rizzio, a g...
Jess Phillips on why we need to talk about menopause in parliament
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today has been MP for Birmingham Yardley since 2015. Jess Phillips still lives in Birmingham, with her husband and two sons, not far from whe...
Lucy Kellaway on fear, freedom and starting a whole new life in her 50s
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wanted to chuck it all in? I mean ALL of it? My guest today did just that - baby, bathwater AND bath. For 30 years, journalist Lucy Kellaway was ...
Elif Shafak on the power of older women and why menopause can be the end of shame
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is one of the most intelligent, thoughtful people I’ve ever interviewed - and I’ve interviewed A LOT. Writer and academic, Elif Sha...
Paula Hawkins on midlife success and the importance of financial independence
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is a woman who I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of, but you may not think you have. Her name is Paula Hawkins, but you probably know he...
Laura Friedman Williams on sex and the newly single 40something mum
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How does it feel to have your life turned upside down in your mid 40s? That’s what happened to Laura Friedman Williams when, after 27 years with her...
Torrey Peters on finding a roadmap for ageing as a trans woman
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week has spent a fair part of this year at the eye of a storm. Torrey Peters’ novel Detransition, Baby - a gloriously gossipy comedy o...
Terri White on work, class and mental health
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week has come a hell of a long way - from the Derbyshire village where she grew up, to London and the editor's seat of Empire magazine, ...
Anita Rani on ditching the baggage, owning her anger and why her 40s are her power decade
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hello, and welcome to season 5 of The Shift, and I could not be happier to kick off this season with this very special guest. What even is the “righ...
Dr Jen Gunter on menopause, mental health and why we all need a meno-party
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The best way I can think of to describe this week’s guest is that she’s a women’s health vigilante. (A vagina vigilante if you will!) Dubbed twi...
Esther Freud on motherhood, guilt and upending your life in your 50s
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How does it feel to come from a family with a legend? If you’re today’s guest, novelist and playwright Esther Freud (daughter of painter Lucian Fr...
Kate Mosse: why caring is a feminist issue (from the archives)
03 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is a replay of an episode published at the start of the year in which Kate Mosse talked about her experience of caring for both her own elderly p...
Pragya Agarwal on shame, surrogacy and the many faces of motherhood
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest is the behavioural and data scientist, Dr Pragya Agarwal. A passionate campaigner for gender and race equality, Pragya is the auth...
Annie Mac on turning 40 and why middle aged women are a force to be reckoned with
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week is a business woman, broadcaster, curator, tastemaker and DJ. She headlines festivals, hosts one of BBC Radio 1’s flagship shows,...
Mona Eltahawy on anger, ambition and ageing disgracefully
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The phrase force-of-nature was created to describe this week’s guest. Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahawy has been fighting back and refusing...
Alison Bechdel on her search for inner and outer strength. Plus tarot
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week is the cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Probably best known for the Bechdel test - a tongue in cheek method she came up with in the 80s f...
Anya Hindmarch on beating self doubt and why fashion needs to take some responsibility
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Entrepreneur and fashion designer Anya Hindmarch is the queen of practicality. The bags for which her eponymous label is famous have long been ador...
Tamsin Calidas: the truth about the "escape to the country" dream
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest is a writer, photographer, sheep rearer (pretty sure that’s not the right word for it), crofter and expert at the dark art of be...
Tracey Thorn on being a woman in a bloke’s world, hormones and going statement grey
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Like many 80s kids, I grew up with today’s guest. Tracey Thorn started early, forming The Marine Girls (once described as looking like they would “...
Mel Giedroyc on starting a new career at 51 and being a menopause dodger
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I am thrilled to kick off season four - season bloody four! - of The Shift with today’s guest, Mel Giedroyc (and yes I did practice saying that 935 ...
Lindsey Hilsum on Marie Colvin, menopause in a warzone and why going grey is NOT brave
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You know when people say you’re “brave” because you’ve got a few grey hairs?! Well, my guest this week is the living proof - as if it were nee...
Sadie Frost and Frances Ruffelle on 40 years of friendship - and why it's more important than love
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guests this week have both lived fascinating lives. Both have experienced ups and downs. Both are now 55 and have found themselves in this place in...
Nana-Ama Danquah on the triple burden of mental health, menopause and being black
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is the Ghanaian American writer Nana-Ama Danquah. Nana-Ama found herself in the public eye when, in the late 90s, she published her mem...
Isabel Allende on feminism, anger and being "fatally heterosexual"
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The main word I can think of to describe this week’s guest is wise. (Well there are other words - fabulous and no-bull for starters - but wise is th...
Rosie Green: a how to cope with mid-life crisis special
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week is a bit of a “how to cope when your life spirals out of control and goes tits up!” Special! And my guest, journalist Rosie Green, is an...
Sarah Pinborough on why women need to get comfortable talking about money
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Like many women, my guest this week has lived a lot of lives in one. Married and divorced in her 20s, Sarah Pinborough left a career in teaching, beca...
Alexandra Heminsley on body image, identity and building an LGBTQ+ family
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Where to start with the last decade of this week's guest's life? After struggling to get pregnant, Alexandra Heminsley finally conceived at 40 after u...
Kate Mosse on why caring is a feminist issue
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You’d be hard pushed to think of anyone who has done more for women writers than this week’s guest. Twenty five years ago, Kate Mosse was working ...
Salena Godden on why 40-plus is where the party is
26 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week's guest is acclaimed poet, author and activist, Salena Godden. Now in her late 40s, Salena has been writing and performing since 1994 when s...
Philippa Perry on getting hold of the "steering wheel of life"
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How's 2021 for you so far?! I know, right? Well, who better to grab us by the scruff of the neck at just the point our meagre enthusiasm is starting t...
Season 3 of The Shift with Sam Baker is back!!
18 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How can it possibly be season three already?! Time flies when you're locked indoors binge-watching repeats! After full and frank conversations about l...
Gabby Logan on resilience, reclaiming middle age – and why equality begins at home
08 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week has hosted everything from Final Score to the Six Nations to the Olympics. Formerly an international gymnast, Gabby Logan moved int...
Erica Davies is here to help you rediscover your fashion mojo
01 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Feel like your wardrobe has turned against you? Your body’s gone awol and you've mislaid your style mojo? This week’s guest is the answer to your ...
Maggie O'Farrell on imposter syndrome and why she didn't think she was "the marrying kind"
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest is the award-winning novelist, Maggie O’Farrell. The author of eight novels, most recently the stunning Women’s Prize winner, ...
Denise Mina on the feminism, HRT and how to be assertive
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s episode comes to you from the Glasgow kitchen of straight talking crime writer Denise Mina. (Lockdown let up long enough for me to leave...
Meg Mathews on menopause, osteoporosis and feeling like she'd "lost it"
10 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest has been in the tabloids since her early teens. In fact, like me, you’re probably guilty of thinking you know all about Meg Math...
Jodi Picoult on sexism, Donald Trump and why everyone has a "what if?" moment
03 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week I’m chatting to a woman who is the very definition of a Bestseller. Jodi Picoult has written 24 global smash hits (including A Spark of Li...
Bryony Gordon on alcoholism, mental health & why she feels lucky to be 40
27 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest will be no stranger to you but she’s a little bit of a different one for The Shift because, at 40, Bryony Gordon is a mere whipp...
Karen Arthur on how to turn a breakdown into a breakthrough and #MenopauseWhilstBlack
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
My brilliant guest for the first episode of this season is a very special one. You may not have heard of Karen Arthur, but you sure as hell will have ...
Emma Freud on millennials, going grey and why she'll never lie about her age
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Where to start with this week’s guest? Now 58, Emma Freud is a broadcaster, presenter, columnist and fund-raiser, for want of a better way of puttin...
Kate Spicer on menopause stereotypes, being child-free and single at 50
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week's guest is journalist and author, Kate Spicer. Kate went from “just another journalist” to national treasure and the country’s most fa...
Jo Whiley on regaining your confidence, finding your fashion mojo and... gardening
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Career crises are tough at the best of times, but imagine being in the midst of menopause - hot flushes, anxiety, brain fog, the lot - and finding you...
Caroline de Maigret on being older but better and grown up style
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week’s guest this week is the epitome of grown up style - so much so that her effortless look has earnt her almost a million followers on Insta...
Jojo Moyes on visibility, imposter syndrome and female friendship
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How does it feel to suddenly become ultra-visible just as the world is trying to invisible you? That’s what happened to this week’s guest, mega-se...
Sara Collins on the power of women and turning a midlife crisis into success
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week will give hope to anyone who’s looking at their work life and wondering WTF? The inspirational Sara Collins was a lawyer and moth...
Marian Keyes on menopause, Botox and learning to be shameless
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ask any group of women to name a woman they love and I guarantee you someone will name this week’s guest, because Marian Keyes is beloved of women t...
Tasmina Perry on career, confidence and how not to get stuck at the amber light
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week is the ultimate career pivoter, novelist, journalist, screenwriter, (potter!) Tasmina Perry. I’ve known Tasmina (Tammy) since we ...
Coming soon
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Baker gives us the lowdown on her new podcast series, The Shift. Check out Sam's new book, The Shift - How I (lost and) found myself after 40 - an...