Older Women & Friends

Jane Leder started this podcast at 77, which already tells you something about the spirit of the show. Now 80, this award-winning author brings a genuine curiosity to every conversation and her guests clearly feel it. The format is straightforward: Jane sits down with older women and the people in their orbit to talk honestly about what life actually looks like past a certain age. Recent episodes have tackled solo aging, the realities of living alone as an older American, and the quiet but significant contributions women make that rarely get acknowledged by mainstream media. What stands out is Jane's interviewing style. She does her homework, asks pointed follow-up questions, and knows when to just let someone talk. Listeners consistently praise her ability to make guests open up in ways that feel authentic rather than rehearsed or performative. The show releases biweekly, runs about 85 episodes deep, and holds a 4.7 rating on Apple Podcasts with reviewers calling her a masterful interviewer. It's not flashy or overproduced, and it does not try to be. It's two people having a real conversation about what it means to grow older in a culture that often pretends older women are invisible or irrelevant. Jane is on a mission to prove otherwise, and she is doing it one honest, thoughtful episode at a time.