For years, Australians welcomed Shelly Horton into their homes as a trusted TV presenter and journalist. Today, she's become one of the country's strongest advocates for women navigating midlife.

In this honest and inspiring conversation, Shelly shares how her own experience with perimenopause, confidence, and learning to advocate for herself completely changed the direction of her life and career.

Together, Mel and Shelly talk about the pressure women face to keep everything together, why so many symptoms are dismissed, how confidence changes through different seasons of life, and why speaking up—for yourself and for other women—has never been more important.

This is a conversation about reinvention, resilience and discovering that sometimes the challenges we never asked for become the purpose we were always meant to find.

In this episode:

• Shelly's journey from television to advocacy
• The reality of perimenopause and why so many women feel unheard
• Rebuilding confidence in midlife
• Why women need to stop apologising for taking up space
• Self-advocacy in healthcare and everyday life
• Finding purpose through life's unexpected challenges

Connect with Shelly Horton:

• Follow Shelly on Instagram @shellyhorton1
• Follow Shelly on Facebook @shellyhorton/journalist
• Follow Shelly on TikTok @shellyhorton4
• Subscribe to The Shelly Show on Substack https://substack.com/@shellyhorton
• Buy Shelly’s book, I’m Your Peri Godmother Amazon
• Listen to the book on Audible
• Speak with Impact training with ShellShocked Media
• Peri Godmother workplace training

Connect with Mel Histon:

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista!
• Follow Hey Soul Sista on Instagram: @heysoulsistapodcast
• Follow Mel on Instagram: @melissahiston
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista
• Website: heysoulsista.com
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why don’t we trust politicians anymore — and can they win us back?

For the first episode of Season 21, I’m joined by two Hey Soul Sista favourites, Alex Morris and Jaimie Abbott, for a lively, honest and at times very funny conversation about politics, power and trust.

With Jaimie’s first-hand experience as a former political candidate and councillor, Alex’s perspective as a journalist and social commentator, and my own growing frustration with politics in Australia, we unpack why so many people feel disconnected from the people meant to represent them.

We talk about political spin, the media cycle, social media and outrage, why politicians can seem so out of touch, whether people are becoming more cynical or simply demanding better, and what it might actually take to rebuild trust.

Jaimie also shares what most people don’t see about the political world, including just how hard many politicians work behind the scenes, while Alex challenges us to think about the role we all play in the media and political ecosystem.

And perhaps most importantly, we ask whether there is still reason to feel hopeful.

Because maybe people haven’t stopped caring about politics.

Maybe they’ve stopped believing politics cares about them.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why trust in politicians has declined
• The difference between leadership and authority
• Why spin can be more damaging than simply admitting a mistake
• How social media and outrage shape political conversation
• What Jaimie learned from being inside politics
• Why listening may be one of the biggest things politicians are missing
• Whether ordinary people can still create meaningful change

This is not a left-versus-right conversation. It’s a conversation about trust, leadership, accountability, community and what we want from the people who represent us.

Connect with MEL HISTON:

• Subscribe to make sure you hear the next instalment of Hey Soul Sista!
• Instagram @melissahiston
• Instagram @heysoulsistapodcast
• Watch the podcast video on YouTube: @heysoulsista
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6niLZqnSLAdilLmwzgWbgg?si=cfa5ec0db2154cdc
• Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/hey-soul-sista-with-mel-histon/id1479778469
• Website: heysoulsista.com
• Website: gotyourbacksista.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A brand-new season of Hey Soul Sista is coming!!

Season 21 is all about what it really means to live well through midlife — body, mind and spirit.

Join me - Mel Histon - for inspiring conversations with incredible women sharing their stories, alongside experts sharing their wisdom on health, wellbeing, confidence, spirituality and living a little more soulfully.

Because sometimes, another woman’s story — or one piece of wisdom at exactly the right time — can completely change how you see yourself and what’s possible for your life.

Season 21 begins September 15. Follow Hey Soul Sista now so you don’t miss an episode!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.