ENCORE: Like Daughter, Like Mother with Michelle MacDonald and Joan MacDonald Artwork

Circling the Drain

A podcast about the period BEFORE you stop getting your period. The concept of a woman "circling the drain" conjures up negative imagery for some, but the origin of this as the name of the podcast has a story. A friend, in her 30's at the time, was listing her ailments to a male physician who clearly had a terrible bedside manner, because he responded to her complaints by shrugging his shoulders in a dismissive fashion and saying something like, "I don't know what to tell you. From now on, you're basically just circling the drain!" Co-hosts Ellie and Julia have been laughing at the audacity of this tone-deaf interaction ever since, and when they decided to start this podcast about the plight of the aging woman, they chose to reclaim and repurpose the phrase in the spirit of humor. Every human on the planet is circling the drain from the moment we are born. The question is, how slowly and gracefully can we spiral? And can we minimize the discomfort while we whirl? Perimenopausal co-hosts Ellie and Julia take a deep dive into the sometimes embarrassing, often hilarious, and always bewildering issues of the hormonal changes that take place in midlife. Through honest accounts, thoughtful interviews, and group panel discussions, their mission is to make you chuckle, make you nod your head in recognition, and hopefully make some scientific progress.

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Circling the Drain

ENCORE: Like Daughter, Like Mother with Michelle MacDonald and Joan MacDonald

December 06, 2023 • Ellie Dvorkin Dunn & Julia Granacki with Michelle MacDonald and Joan MacDonald • Season 3 • Episode 64

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For our first encore episode, we chose the inspiring pair of Michelle and Joan MacDonald. Not only are they glorious examples of what a healthy body can achieve after midlife, they seem to have an enviable mother-daughter bond that is beautiful to witness. These women broke the internet after Michelle, a body builder and transformation coach, guided her then 70-year-old mother through a process that resulted in life-changing weight loss and the subsequent elimination of a slew of health problems. Joan's before and after photos can be found at Train with Joan, and you should take a peek before listening to understand the full impact of what these women achieved together. This was our only chat with a mother-daughter duo, and we couldn't have found more mind-blowing specimens.

Michelle MacDonald - Your Healthy Hedonista
Michelle's Insta
Michelle's Facebook
Michelle's e-Book The Best of the Basics
Joan MacDonald - Train with Joan
Joan's Insta
Joan's Facebook
The Wonder Women
My Macros
Science, Bitch!

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People on this episode

Ellie Dvorkin Dunn

Co-host

Julia Granacki

Co-host