As we get older, so many of us notice little changes in our memory: forgetting a name, losing a word mid-sentence, rereading the same paragraph three times. It’s easy to write that off as a normal part of aging. After this conversation, I’m not so sure we should.

In this episode of The Art of Aging, Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, professor of neurology at UCLA and founding neurologist of UCLA’s Comprehensive Menopause Program, explains how women’s brains change after menopause, and why losing estrogen affects so much more than hot flashes. She makes a distinction I’d never heard before: what we call “brain fog” is really two different things, and only one of them goes away on its own. And with two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients being women, she believes understanding why could change how we protect our brains.

We also got practical: what kind of exercise actually helps your brain, which brain games are worth your time, how much alcohol is too much, and what genetic and blood tests can (and can’t) tell you about your Alzheimer’s risk. We also talked about why research on women’s brains has lagged so far behind, and what she thinks the next generation of hormone therapy should look like.

Her message stuck with me: if you feel like you’re not as sharp as you used to be, trust your gut, and don’t accept it as just part of getting older.

Thank you to our presenting sponsor, Procter & Gamble, along with Crest Pro-Health and Oral-B, for making this conversation possible.

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Ethel Kennedy was pregnant with her 11th child when her husband, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968. She spent the next five decades raising her children, keeping her faith, and fighting for the causes they shared. In a new book, Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy, Kerry Kennedy tells her mother’s story, from Ethel’s rough-and-tumble childhood and the legendary parties at Hickory Hill to the fearless advocate she became in her own right.

Kerry sits down with Katie to talk about growing up in a house full of chaos and love, learning that her father had been shot when she was just eight, and the deep faith that carried her mother through unimaginable loss. She also opens up about her brother, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom she calls “extremely dangerous,” and why she keeps the door open to him anyway.

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As I get closer to my 70th birthday, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it really means to age well. That’s what inspired “The Art of Aging,” where I’m talking with leading experts about the science of living healthier, longer. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Lauren Streicher, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and founding medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause, to talk about something almost nobody discusses about getting older: sex. We get into why desire can disappear, why sex can become painful after menopause, and the questions you sent us, from testosterone and pelvic floor therapy to the orgasm gap. Her big message: changes in your sex life aren’t just something you have to accept as you age. In partnership with Northwell’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health.

Want more from Dr. Streicher? Her audiobook Come Again, a candid, science-based guide to sex and pleasure in midlife, is out April 20, 2027, from Simon & Schuster Audio. Preorder here: https://bit.ly/47yjaoY

To Find a Certified Sex Therapist:

American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT):

https://www.aasect.org/

To Find a Menopause Doctor or Clinician (Many Menopause experts also have expertise in post menopause sexual medicine):

The Menopause Society:

https://portal.menopause.org/NAMS/NAMS/Directory/Menopause-Practitioner.aspx

The International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH):

https://www.isswsh.org/

To Find a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist:

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Section on Women’s Health:

https://www.aptapelvichealth.org/ptlocator

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapists Trained by Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute:

https://pelvicrehab.com/

Northwell Health's Pelvic Health Navigation Program:

https://www.northwell.edu/katz-institute-for-womens-health/find-care/womens-pelvic-health

Northwell Health's Pelvic floor rehabilitation:

https://www.northwell.edu/rehabilitation-network/services/pelvic-floor-rehabilitation

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