Advertise on podcast: Double Date with Marlo Thomas & Phil Donahue

We’ve talked a lot on this show about health issues midlife women face. But what about the other people who often have a front-row seat to these changes, and can play a key supporting role? This week, a conversation about supporting a partner who’s going through menopause—with none other than Elizabeth’s own partner: Dr. Richard Shapiro (who also happens to be a pioneering breast cancer and melanoma researcher and surgeon). They talk about the ways they’ve navigated midlife changes in their relationship, common misconceptions about taking hormones, and impacts menopause can have on relationships, as well as give advice for how both partners and clinicians can better support women experiencing menopause.  Links to resources mentioned in this episode:  (00:01:38) Dr. Elizabeth Poynor on Rich Roll’s podcast Menopausal Hormone Therapy and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Women with a Pathogenic Variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2 The Menopause Society 8 facts about divorce in the United States Note: In this show, we use “women” as shorthand for people with XX chromosomes. We understand sex and gender are more complex, and acknowledge the experiences we describe reach beyond that word. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Susan Domchek joins the show to talk about the importance of knowing your genetic history, using genetic testing to understand cancer risk, and what you can do if you learn that you have BRCA gene mutation. Links to resources mentioned in this episode: Basser Center for BRCA National Society of Genetic Counselors National Comprehensive Cancer Network Note: In this show, we use “women” as shorthand for people with XX chromosomes. We understand sex and gender are more complex, and acknowledge the experiences we describe reach beyond that word. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s a preview of a new Pushkin podcast, Decoding Women’s Health. On Decoding Women’s Health, Dr. Elizabeth Poynor makes the science of women’s health accessible—from hormones to metabolism to longevity—so you can thrive at any stage of life. A world-renowned gynecologic oncologist and advanced pelvic surgeon, Dr. Poynor speaks with leading physicians, researchers, and educators to share the latest science on women’s wellness, disease prevention, and what it really means to age on your own terms. Each episode explores a different aspect of how to improve your health during midlife—from heart disease and genetic risks to cognitive health and beyond. Because mid-life isn’t a crisis—it’s an opportunity.In this episode, Dr. Poynor is joined by neuropsychologist Dr. Caroline Gurvich to unpack what’s really happening in the brain during perimenopause and menopause. They explore why more than 60% of women experience cognitive shifts, how estrogen impacts memory and focus, and the roles hormone therapy, lifestyle choices, and even cognitive training can play in keeping your brain sharp. Find Decoding Women's Health wherever you get podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We visited America’s sweethearts on Manhattan’s East Side and found them as devoted and candid as ever. During a short period in the late 80’s, Michael and Tracy got married, had a son, Michael lost his father and gained a life-altering diagnosis — a lot for a young couple to navigate. How it started and how’s it going? An inspiring story you won’t want to miss. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can’t drop in on Rob and Michele and not expect a lively conversation and a whole lotta laughs. This clever, committed couple knows how to use the middle of the night right: arguing about the Kennedy assassination and enjoying each other as a “best friend you can have sex with.” You can reverse the order, too, and it still works! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two American icons of social justice, the Reverend and Jackie have trailblazed across history and endured threats — all the while raising their children and keeping their family intact.  Hear their lessons of courage through world events, infidelity, forgiveness and keeping the faith. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bryan and Robin met as actors when he had to kidnap her on a TV show. Friends first, their attraction blossomed later — like a lightbulb turned on that reveals everything. He proposed in a hilarious way – in a bathtub. They are serious about their relationship, they’re funny and sweet and we learned a lot from them.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Double Date listeners. While we're off this week, we wanted to share with you a fun new show from Wondery. Rich and Daily delivers laughs and all the latest celebrity news. Hosts Brooke and Aricia are comedians, besties and the perfect guides to give you your daily dose of pop culture. They'll keep you up to speed on all the secrets, scandals, and news in the entertainment world. Is that rumor you heard about Rihanna true? If it is, you better believe Brooke and Aricia will have something to say about it. This is just a preview of Rich and Daily, but you can listen to full episodes at wondery.fm/doubledate_RD. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The role most people know David Boies for is not “husband.”  But our interview with this legendary litigator and his whipsmart wife showed us how tragic loss, and a few well considered compromises (involving Las Vegas), can lead to an “upward spiral of kindness” — and a marriage that any couple would envy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How “Mambo Mouth” found love and lived happily ever after.  New Yorkers to the core, John and Justine combined his Latin roots with her Jewish heritage, and they never met a holiday they couldn’t turn into a party for their extended family. He may need his own floor of the house in order to write, but Justine seems to keep him inspired, simply by being herself. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How often do you get to talk to a former President and First Lady — about love?  Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter explain how they’ve kept their marriage alive for — consider this — 75 years, and how the hardest thing they ever did was not surviving the White House, but writing a book together. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just a couple of kids from Michigan — Sanjay and Rebecca nonetheless had deep backgrounds that were very different. But interweaving his Indian family with her Scandinavian heritage was much easier than you might expect, thanks to this smart, grounded pair whose marriage made all the sense in the world. Hear the nation’s favorite Doctor in a truly American story of love and family. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While we take a break this week, we're bringing you something special. Marlo and Phil spent the past year interviewing other couples about what makes their marriages work. Recently, they moved behind the microphone when Jo Piazza invited them to share their love story on the Committed podcast. They started at the very beginning, on the set of Phil's show, and talked about how they grew together over the next four decades. Jo's Committed interviews are an incredible glimpse inside what it takes to make a marriage work. Sometimes they're heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious, but always relatable. Jo finds couples who have gone through some of the most difficult challenges life can throw at you and still want to wake up together the next day. Her show will help you look at marriage and commitment in an entirely new way. You can hear more Committed episodes wherever you get your podcasts.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She’s a nonstop dynamo, he’s a mensch, and they’ve been married not once but twice — to each other! With a year apart, and many lessons learned, Judy and Jerry figured out how not to let their Judge-iness get in the way of marital bliss.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a juggernaut crime novelist falls for a whip-smart neuroscientist, you kinda figure it won’t be ho-hum. Patricia met Staci during a research trip to Harvard, and knew instantly that attraction was in the books. As a researcher, Staci was cautious at first, but when Patricia showed up flying a helicopter for an early date — really, you just say YES. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.