The Big Four Oh: The Podcast About Turning 40
Stephanie McLaughlin
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S8E148 Turning 40 and rethinking the Millennial midlife crisis
There's a difference between surviving the turbulence of life and doing the internal work of transition. Rachel Lobdell is a journalist, mother, and nonprofit executive, approaching 40 with a…
S8E147 Turning 40 and Rewriting Your Origin Story
At 45, MJ Rod discovered that the man she'd believed was her birth father biologically couldn't have been. What followed was a years-long investigation: cold calls, DNA tests, dead ends, and a mother…
S8E146 Turning 40 and becoming the doctor your mother deserved
Dr. Polly Watson did everything right. Medical school, residency, a thriving OB-GYN practice, two kids. And yet somewhere in her mid-thirties she looked up and realized the career she built felt…
S8E145 Turning 40 and redefining what normal means
John King spent decades building a life that looked successful on paper, until it all unraveled in a single moment in his mid-40s. What followed wasn’t a clean reset. It was years of redefining what…
S8E144 Turning 40 and recognizing the patterns keeping you stuck
Zoey Charif describes how a painful breakup in her early thirties forced her to confront her lack of self-worth and the relationship patterns she had repeated for years. Growing up across continents,…
S8E143 Turning 40 and choosing safety over chemistry
Cora Rennie was a good girl who did everything “right.” Military. Marriage. Motherhood. Long-term partnership. From the outside, her life looked good. Inside, though, something felt off. Cora shares…
S8E142 Turning 40 and discovering why a lifetime of ‘normal’ felt so hard
A career pivot in his early 40s forced Nathan Karol to confront something he had not thought about since childhood: how his brain actually works. What followed was not a crisis, but a reorientation.…
S8 The Midlife Burn Book: What People Are Really Saying About Midlife
The Midlife Burn Book: What People Are Really Saying About MidlifeToday, Stephanie McLaughlin shares the unexpected result of an experiment she brought to Podfest 2026: the Midlife Burn Book. Here’s…
S8E141 Turning 40 and realizing burnout was the warning, not the problem
Burnout rarely announces itself. It shows up as brain fog, chronic stress, unexplained health issues, and a sense that you are doing everything right but still falling apart. Michelle Niemeyer spent…
S8E140 Turning 40 and becoming “uncorked”
What happens when a life that looks “fine” stops feeling true? Mikelann Valterra discusses the strange freedom that can follow loss. From rebuilding financially at age 40 to learning how to trust…
S8E139 Turning 40 and realizing success is not the same as alignment
Andrea McGinty built what many people would call the ultimate success story: a booming global business, a high-profile marriage, and great kids. So why did midlife still ask her to stop and…
S8 Reflections: What If You Are Not Falling Apart?
Stephanie digs into the deeper meaning behind that restless, unsettled feeling so many people experience in their thirties and forties. Instead of considering midlife a crisis, she reframes it as a…
S8E138 Turning 40 and asking ‘what if’
What if midlife isn’t a crisis at all, but an upgrade you never knew you were getting? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Dr. Deborah Heiser, a psychologist and midlife specialist who believes…
S8E137 Turning 40 and rewriting the rules of love
When Lauren Hayes became a mother in her mid-30s, her fierce independence and lifelong people-pleasing suddenly collided. Parenthood cracked open old patterns she didn’t know were running the show,…
S8E136 Season 8: The Truth About the Midlife Transition
If your life looks fine on paper but feels off on the inside, you should probably tune in for the Season 8 opener of The Big Four Oh, in which Stephanie McLaughlin shines a light on the very real…
S7E135 Turning 40 and healing the workaholic
When Terry Tateossian hit her late 30s, she was running a successful marketing agency, raising two kids, and running herself into the ground. Two hospital visits later, she realized her body was…
S7E134 Turning 40 and taking the next right step
At 43, Ray Martin’s world fell apart. His marriage ended, his business unraveled, and his father passed away, all within months. What looked like an ending became the beginning of his midlife…
S7E133 Turning 40 and tuning into a new frequency
Denise Lee’s path through midlife has been anything but simple. From surviving childhood trauma to battling addiction and the pressure to live up to cultural expectations, she spent years feeling…
S7E132 Turning 40 and Googling 'why is my boyfriend so mean to me’
What happens when a Google search changes the course of your life? Sabrina Victoria shares how she broke free from a controlling, abusive relationship and rebuilt her life from scratch. From secret…
S7E131 Turning 40 and breaking down in banana bread
Turning 40 and breaking down in banana breadWhen Edel Howlin moved from Ireland to Houston in her late 20s, she was certain she was building her dream life. She found her calling in public radio and…
Frequently Asked Questions
The Big Four Oh: The Podcast About Turning 40 has published 158 episodes since April 2022, covering topics in Documentary, Personal Journals.
The Big Four Oh: The Podcast About Turning 40 is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 51m.
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