Turning 60 isn’t about slowing down—it’s about shaking things up. Whether it’s downsizing and embracing a simpler life, starting a new career, moving abroad, or navigating love and relationships in unexpected ways, How To Be 60 proves that this stage of life is anything but predictable.Join Kaye Adams and her brilliantly blunt co-host, Karen MacKenzie, as they chat with familiar faces and everyday people rewriting the rulebook on aging. With honesty, humour, and plenty of surprises, they explore what it really means to embrace change, challenge expectations, and make the years ahead the best yet.If you’re wondering what’s next—or just need a reminder that it’s never too late to do something bold - this is the podcast for you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode description On this week's episode, we're joined by Marisa Peer, who was once asked to do therapy in a jacuzzi in a bikini. She said no, and says it probably cost her work. Marisa is a therapist and bestselling author who started out as a fitness trainer at Jane Fonda's fitness centre in LA, got married for the first time at 51, and reckons she did the whole thing the wrong way round. She tells Kaye and Karen about the male friend she handed a television job to, who went straight to the network and suggested they drop her for someone younger. About the three ages we all have, only one of which is on your birth certificate. And about the small daily trick she uses to stop her brain settling, which starts with the hand you hold your toothbrush in. At 67 she is the happiest she has ever been, and still moving countries every few years — London to America to Dubai, and possibly Portugal next. Marisa's seventh book, Your Mind, Your Rules, is out now. Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Marisa's Book: https://smarturl.it/u3hAnQ Marisa's Podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWcHna_Pla5dhel7QP31t1desz_eT3qqx&si=TGXSZY3r6F_qBmLp Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's Midweek Catchup, we find out what one load of washing costs at the laundrette when your house is in bits. Thirty-six pounds. Kaye has no kitchen, no washing machine, and a dishwashing arrangement involving a baby bath, so she's on an economy drive: not buying food, not washing anything. Then there's the railcard she resisted for years, right up until it saved her forty quid to Manchester. That's a wash, as she points out. Karen has Stephen, a quarter of toffees, and eight wrappers, one under the bed. Kaye marks eight years since her mum died with yellow roses at the cemetery. We're at the Edinburgh Fringe on the 7th, 8th and 9th of August, nearly sold out. On Friday's podcast, Marissa Peer joins us. She's 67, eight books in, and says she's the happiest she's been in her life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's episode, we're joined by Mimi Anderson, who set off into the Canadian Arctic on a fat bike in minus 35 and turned back with frostbite. She didn't start running until she was 36, and only then because somebody told her it would make her legs thinner. It went from there to the Sahara and a world record between Land's End and John o'Groats. She tells us about the day a consultant showed her the hole in her knee, forty days into a run from Los Angeles to New York and on track to break the record. It took her over an hour to decide to stop. Her second book is called Limitless. She isn't pretending the body doesn't change, she just keeps finding something else to do with it. Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's Midweek Catchup, Kaye gets home from holiday to no power, no kitchen, no running water, and a chest freezer of the dog's raw meat that had been switched off for ten days. Six inches of blood at the bottom. She's calling it the abattoir. Karen, meanwhile, has spent the fortnight losing to a squash plant that's trying to take over the garden, washing up in a baby bath, and keeping an eye on her husband's brand-new pre-diabetic diet — which is going about as well as you'd expect when there's homemade ice cream in the freezer and half of it's already gone. They're also both Fringe-bound. How To Be 60 is on stage on the 7th, 8th and 9th of August, 2:45pm, at the Gilded Balloon at the Museum, and the tickets are going fast — 83% gone at the last count. Kaye reckons they ought to rehearse. Karen would like to know what exactly there is to rehearse about two people talking to each other. Tickets: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's episode, we're joined by Russ Kane, who spent 20 years reporting traffic from a light aircraft and now conducts funerals for a living. He was Chris Tarrant's wingman on Capital Radio Breakfast, the flying eye on a show pulling four million listeners a week. He walked away from it after his wife Sally died at 43, leaving him with five-year-old twin boys. He'd already lost his dad. His mum's dementia came next, and lasted years longer than any doctor told him to expect. Russ talks about grieving privately while raising two small kids in public, why he stopped looking for a reason, and the thing he says people get wrong when they ask why me. There's also a raw chicken in a chest of drawers, which will make sense when you hear it. He's a novelist and he hosts the weekly podcast Walk the Talk: The Hero's Journey. He also declined, firmly, to tell us his date of birth. Then right at the end he mentions being sent to boarding school at nine, and the rest of the conversation rearranges itself. Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kaye joins Karen from Puglia for a very relaxed midweek catch-up involving questionable Italian, a holiday glass-door incident, and Ian’s mysterious new lease of life. There’s talk of pasta-making fatigue, pillow protectors, Karen’s ongoing domestic standards, and whether Ian’s new phone screensaver, Vespa adventure and tennis match with “the man from Monaco” point to a full-blown midlife crisis. Plus, Kaye and Karen give a quick Edinburgh Fringe update ahead of their live shows on 7, 8 and 9 August with special guest Siobhan Daniels, the Retirement Rebel . Get tickets here: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/ And on Friday, Russ Kane joins them for a moving and honest conversation about loss, love and his life now as a celebrant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's episode, we're joined by Sky Sports legend Jacquie Beltrao, who was told seven years ago that her breast cancer had returned and spread. Her scans are clear now, but as she says, she doesn't know what the future holds, only that she has today. Jacquie talks candidly about the doom spiral of a stage four diagnosis, the antidepressants that pulled her out of it, and why she thinks her mind has been harder to conquer than her body. She also opens up about turning 60 as a cancer patient, why getting older feels like something to celebrate rather than dread, and the anxiety dream about a gymnastics routine that still wakes her up in a sweat. Whether you're facing your own health scare or just trying to make sense of getting older, this is a conversation about what changes when uncertainty becomes something you live with rather than something you fear. And if you're around in August, come and see Kaye and Karen live at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August at the Gilded Balloon at the Museum. Tickets at https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/ . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's Midweek Catchup, we get Kaye's verdict live from the Amalfi Coast: stunningly beautiful, wildly overpriced, and Positano is basically Disneyland with a coastline. She's also two days into a self-imposed digital detox, phone banished to the bedside drawer, after Bonnie stopped her mid-scroll in the pool and asked if they could just take a moment to appreciate where they are. The child has a point. Karen, meanwhile, is not detoxing from anything. She's deep in a Vinted spiral, six pillow protectors down (new with tags, she'd like that noted), and fresh from a hygienist appointment she remembered eight minutes before it started, followed by an airflow clean she describes as a pressure washer to the face. Come and see us live at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7th to 9th August, 2:45pm at Gilded Balloon at the Museum. Tickets via the Gilded Balloon or the Edinburgh Festival Fringe website. Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's episode, we're joined by Bibi Lynch, who moved house 30 times in ten years, nineteen of them in a single stretch of 24 months, all while writing for the national press and turning up on live radio as if nothing were wrong. Bibi was hidden homeless for a decade after losing the flat she'd bought on her own, and she was carrying it alongside the death of her dad, the collapse of what freelance journalism paid, and the slow realisation that she wasn't going to have the children she'd always assumed would arrive. She calls that last one social infertility, and she is still angry about it, in the most articulate way you'll hear. Bibi turned 60 three months ago, and rather than the end of things, she's found it buoyant, her word, not ours. She talks to Kaye and Karen about looking back at two brutal decades with something closer to compassion than regret, why she reckons the worst has already happened so there's not much left to fear, and the book, the screenplay and the frankly excellent name story she's taking into the next chapter. If you've ever measured your life by what you didn't get rather than what you did, this one stays with you. We're also live at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on the 7th, 8th and 9th of August, 2.45 at the museum, with Retirement Rebel Siobhan Daniels. Tickets are at the Gilded Balloon. Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kaye's had a nightmare. Cancelled flight, a 6.20am rescue seat, and a live telly show to present on no sleep, softened by a lunchtime pisco sour and a nap she snorted herself awake from. This week: Ian gets diagnosed by Dr Kaye and ChatGPT, then refuses the sedative for his endoscopy to save himself a phone call. Karen hunts for the perfect white tablecloth and earns a new nickname. And after a friend books Puglia entirely on the strength of Karen's holiday photos, a star is born. Plus: Charly turns 24, and a preview of Friday's guest, the spectacularly upbeat Bibi Lynch. Catch How to Be 60 at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7th–9th August, 2.45pm at the Museum. Tickets via the Gilded Balloon or the official Fringe website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How much time is left on your warranty? Cindy Sheahan, 64, left a 32-year marriage, packed a backpack, and turned a two-week hike into a whole new life in Sicily. She tells Kaye and Karen about travelling solo after 60, why her son cheered her out the door, and making friends with uncertainty. Plus we're bringing How To Be 60 to the Edinburgh Fringe this August, with retirement rebel Siobhan Daniels joining us fresh from her camper van trek to Alaska. Tickets on sale now at the Gilded Balloon . Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Karen's back from her "sex retreat" in rural Italy (the most relaxing time, she swears, two trips to the beach and not a thing else), and she's convinced her feet have put on weight. Kaye's hosting an awards do in a jumpsuit so sheer it'll need industrial-strength knickers, which leads, naturally, to a deep dive on thongs versus hearing aids. There's the photo of Karen's backside disappearing through a first-floor window over a blocked water butt, Bonnie discovering cup-a-soup like it's a brand-new invention, and the great moral question of the week: your ice cream falls on the pavement, lands perfectly, only the underside touched down. Do you put it back on the cone? How To Be 60 is at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August, Gilded Balloon at the Museum: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/ And this Friday, meet Cindy Sheehan, who walked out of her marriage in her late fifties and has been travelling the world ever since. Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's episode, we're joined by Donna Lancaster — therapist, author, co-founder of The Bridge Retreat, and a self-described "elder in training" who turns 60 next March and genuinely cannot wait. Donna grew up with violence, addiction and racism in 1970s Britain, became a social worker trying to save versions of herself, and was eventually "brought to her knees" by a breakdown at work. She talks about why she sees that collapse as a gift, the "turd-wrapped gift" buried inside our hardest experiences, and why getting older doesn't make you wiser unless you do the work. There's also the line that stopped Kaye and Karen in their tracks — it's not an old face, it's a new one — plus elderhood as a purpose, why she runs a workshop called Preparing for Death, and what she's planning in the forest for her 60th. How To Be 60 is at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7–9 August, Gilded Balloon at the Museum : Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Karen's calling in from sunny Puglia, and after last week's second-hand pyjamas confession, the internet has voted: for once, it's Team Kaye. What follows is a spirited defence of "vintage" nightwear, the wearing of pants underneath it, and whether any of it is, frankly, minging. Plus crepey skin, why loud bars now feel like punishment, un-labelled moving boxes, and a lovely summer read: Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin. Look ahead to Friday's guest, Donna Lancaster, and catch Kaye and Karen live at the Fringe, 7th–9th August. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
For her 70th birthday, Gail Rice booked a male escort. It was a toss-up between that and a skydive, and she went with the one that scared her more. But it was never really about sex. The Canadian-born psychologist tells Kaye and Karen why she needed what she calls a battery jump, the first encounter that was a disaster, the refund she asked for and got, and the thing that was actually brave, which had nothing to do with the escort. She has since turned it all into writing and a cabaret that terrifies her. See Kaye and Karen live at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7th to 9th August, 2:45pm at the Museum. Tickets via the Gilded Balloon or the official Edinburgh Festival Fringe website. Get in touch at podcast@htb60.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's Midweek Catchup, Karen's back in Puglia on the annual trip, exactly a year on from the news that changed everything, this time with a cocktail in hand and second-hand Ralph Lauren pyjamas (£12, gusset thoroughly interrogated). Kaye runs Race for Life alongside Dame Kelly Holmes and films the road instead of the finish. Plus, we're coming to the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August at Gilded Balloon . Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Bestselling novelist Jane Green had it all. E18 New York Times bestsellers, over 10 million books in print, the beautiful homes, the blended family, the loving husband. And then, piece by piece, she lost most of it: the marriage, the financial security, the career status, and for a while, herself. This week Kaye and Karen sit down with one of the original queens of chick lit for a remarkably honest conversation about menopause, the empty nest, a crumbling marriage, the shame we lock away for decades, and what it takes to find your way back. As Jane puts it: you spend so much of your life wanting to be chosen by the right people, and then you reach a point where you no longer need to be chosen and realise you're allowed to choose. It's a glorious thing. Jane's memoir, Rewilding , is out now. Part memoir, part battle cry for any woman who's ever felt invisible in her own story, it's all about rediscovering the fearless, brave little girl you once were. 🎭 See Kaye and Karen live at the Edinburgh Fringe — 7th, 8th and 9th August. Grab your tickets here:https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/ 📩 Got something to say? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kaye's spent £120 on running shoes she may never run in, Karen might finally be selling the camper van, and a "blackhead" turns out to be something else entirely. Then comes the row that splits the nation: is Kaye's kitchen pine or oak? Plus a look ahead to Friday's guest, bestselling author Jane Green. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's episode, Pauline Campbell got in touch herself and said she'd be a good guest. She was right. Told at 15 by a teacher she wasn't capable, Pauline believed it for years. Until she didn't. In her mid-30s she started driving between a council job and a full-time law degree, qualified as a solicitor, and hasn't stopped since. Now 61, she's a legal hero, a pro bono Windrush advocate, a published author, and the owner of an accent she refused to lose even when a judge pointed it out in court. Pauline talks about silent strength, the parents who held back so their children could fly, why shedding your skin to fit in makes you less not more, and the erotic novel she wrote after a suave barrister told her it was always a pleasure, never a chore. Plus Karen forgets the email address. Again. Pauline's book Lefty Lawyer: Speaking Truth to Power is out now from Waterside Press. Her memoir Rice & Peas and Fish & Chips is also available. Find out more at paulineecampbell.com . How To Be 60 is at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August, Gilded Balloon at the Museum: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/ Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this week's Midweek Catchup, Karen turns up in cut-off trousers she hacked herself and sandals that have been in the garden all week. She gets her nails done and the woman has to scrape the muck out on a bit of kitchen roll. Kaye's been to a glamorous event in London surrounded by 26-year-olds and her hearing aid starts whistling. She doesn't say a word. They check the air conditioning. Plus doggy goggles that don't work, the Joy of Sex drawings that put everyone off, and Kaye's knee falling out at 3K in trainers from the last century. How To Be 60 is at the Edinburgh Fringe, 7-9 August, Gilded Balloon at the Museum: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7161/ Get in touch with your thoughts at podcast@htb60.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
