If we’re lucky, most of us will live an abundant life that’s filled with a number of significant transitions. How we embrace those inevitable life changes and honor that growth can make a big difference in how we are prepared to meet future challenges.
Today, Jen and Amy have the pleasure of sitting down with Melinda French Gates to discuss how, at 60, she is stepping into this next beautiful season of life. By giving a rare glimpse into her interior life, and sharing previously untold stories included in her new memoir, The Next Day: Transitions, Change and Moving Forward, Melinda shares the heart-connecting lessons that we all can apply to the universal moments in our lives – including becoming a parent, the loss of a close friend, the loss of a marriage, knowing the right time to make a career move.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The art of letting go and beginning again and making the most of the time between an ending and a new beginning
- How growing up in a middle-class Catholic family influenced Melinda’s values and worldview
- What it looks like to loosen the bonds of perfectionism and embrace uncertainty in times of change
- The new projects, ideas and hopes Melinda has for the future
Today, Jen and Amy have an intimate conversation with preeminent perimenopausal and menopausal specialist and women’s health advocate, Dr. Louise Newson, who has been described as the “medic who kickstarted the menopause revolution” for her commitment to increasing awareness and knowledge about hormones, perimenopause and menopause through her books, podcast, and educational videos on social media.
In this candid and enlightening conversation, we discuss:
- The biggest misconceptions women have about menopause including understanding the array of symptoms that can be attributed to it
- How the conversations our mothers and grandmothers had (or didn’t have) about menopause are evolving
- The discussions we should be having with our doctors about our health and symptoms but aren’t, either due to shame or lack of information
- Important steps we can take now to minimize our menopausal symptoms later
- Treatment options to alleviate our perimenopause/menopause symptoms once they begin, including hormone replacement therapy
- And, why it’s imperative for policymakers, insurers, employers, and doctors of all specialties to be part this conversation
In this special SXSW2025 edition of For the Love, Jen Hatmaker sits down with Dr. Stacey Ludwig Johnson, the Senior VP and Executive Dean at Western Governors University (WGU) School of Education. As a lifelong advocate for educators, Dr. Johnson is at the forefront of reimagining how we train, support, and sustain teachers in today’s challenging educational landscape.
Jen, a former teacher herself, brings her deep passion for education into this conversation, unpacking the real issues educators face today—from teacher shortages to burnout—and discussing how innovative models like WGU’s competency-based education are transforming access to learning.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
Dr. Johnson’s Path to Leadership: How she transitioned from working in corrections to becoming a pioneer in online education.
Competency-Based Education: What it is, how it differs from traditional models, and why it’s a game-changer for adult learners.
Educator Burnout & Retention: The state of teacher well-being and what’s being done to ensure teachers not only enter the profession but thrive in it.
School & Community Support for Teachers: How schools, administrators, and parents can create environments where teachers feel valued.
Future Trends in Education: How AI, technology, and apprenticeship programs are shaping the next generation of educators.
Lisa Congdon may be an internationally known fine artist, illustrator and writer but she didn’t achieve momentum in her career until she was nearly 40 years old. Prior to that time, she felt that her life hadn’t mattered much, that she didn’t have anything interesting to say. But, a total career pivot in her mid-thirties awakened a passion in her that had been lying dormant for decades and helped her find her powerful, beautiful voice. Despite taking an untraditional path, Lisa has achieved recognition, not just as an artist, but as a leader in the industry for her work in social justice, mentoring and teaching. Lisa says making art is what changed her relationship to her story.
Today, Jen and Amy talk to Lisa Congdon about:
- What it looks and feels like to awaken to new possibilities in life
- The power of finding and harnessing your voice, something Lisa covers more in her book, Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic
- How two really big things (joy and activism) can coexist in artistic expression
- Lisa’s game-changing practice of “loud quitting” the things that no longer bring joy or something positive into her life
In this special episode, we welcome Barnard College professor and accomplished author, Jennifer Finney Boylan, back to the show to discuss her latest labor of love, her book Cleavage, which examines the divisions – as well as the common ground – between the genders, and reflects on her experiences, both difficult and joyful, as a transgender American.
Jenny discusses the importance that things like nuance, imagination, patience, empathy and understanding hold in our divided world, reflecting on her experiences as a transgender woman and noting that for many, “living your best life is not necessarily a political decision, but a matter of life and death.” The ultimate thing she wants, Jenny says, is just to be left alone, to live her life and to be free.
Jen first met Tressie McMillan Cottom the way most normal people meet – under the bright lights on the set of an Oprah special, invited by Ms. Winfrey to speak on a panel, along with other influential voices including Rebel Wilson, Amber Riley, Katie Sturino, Jamie Kern Lima, Busy Philipps and others to talk about diet culture, the harmful narratives we have surrounding our weight and our bodies, and how we can begin reframing the conversation away from one centered in shame to one focused on body acceptance. The entire studio was gobsmacked by Tressie which is fitting given that she is a prominent cultural commentator and Professor at UNC Chapel Hill. Her work explores the loaded and nuanced ideas like racial capitalism, beauty standards, the exploitation of higher education systems, but in a way that we ordinary Joe’s can understand. We knew immediately that she was destined to be a guest on our show and today is the day.
In this conversation, recorded the morning after the presidential election, comedy phenom Tig Notaro joins Jen and Amy (donned head to toe in black in mourning) to unpack the events of the day and to help them find their happy place in the world again, which she accomplishes with tactical success. By the end of the show, they’ve laughed so hard, they’ve forgotten most of their cares.
In this episode, Tig regales us with her journey as an Emmy and Grammy-nominated comedian, the influence of her free-spirited mother, and how her family dynamics (and a few hilarious stories from her boys) have shaped her comedy. She also reflects on her journey of authenticity, what it means to be an icon in the LGBTQ+ community, and the significance of being true to oneself.
In Rant or Rave, Jen and Amy muse about whether or not they have the chops to make it in stand-up, and we learn that Amy definitely has a deep well of material at her disposal. Speaking of which, be sure to listen for Tig’s story about the weirdest gig she’s ever performed!
