In this episode of the Midwifery Wisdom Podcast, host Shiphrah Israel sits down with Satori Shakoor - a master storyteller, story director, and coach whose gift for weaving words was born from generations of Black women in the Jim Crow South. Raised listening to her Alabama and Mississippi elders transform everyday events into epic tales, Satori learned to speak the language of storytelling with the power to teach, warn, entertain, and inspire.

Satori brings that same storytelling magic to a topic too often shrouded in silence: menopause. From her acclaimed film Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale to her advocacy with the Michigan Women’s Commission, she shares her deeply personal journey through perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause—illuminating the emotional, physical, and societal challenges along the way.

This conversation explores the gaps in medical training that leave women unsupported, and the transformative self-discovery that can emerge in this life stage. With humor, heart, and unflinching honesty, Satori reframes menopause not as an ending, but as an opening to deeper self-awareness and freedom.

🎧 Listen now to discover:

• Why most doctors get only one hour of menopause training—and what that means for women’s health
• The emotional and physical realities of perimenopause and menopause
• How storytelling can break stigma and build community
• The urgent need for advocacy, awareness, and accessible care

Resources & Links:

• Watch Confessions of a Menopausal Femme Fatale on Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, or Google Play
• Learn more about Satori on her website www.satorishakoor.com

This week on the Midwifery Wisdom Podcast, we welcome the founder of Flower Girl, a radical period underwear brand born from one woman’s frustration with toxic menstrual products—and her deep desire to care for the bleeding body differently.

As a former e-commerce strategist turned slow fashion entrepreneur, she brings both science and soul to this powerful conversation about conscious menstruation, cycle care, and body literacy. Together, we explore:

• Why midwives and birthworkers should care about what clients use post-birth and beyond
• How period underwear is reshaping not just menstruation, but postpartum recovery
• What it means to create a product that actually honors the female body

🔗 Learn more: flowergirl.co
📲 Follow on Instagram: @flowergirl.co_

💬 Share with a postpartum doula or cycle educator or anyone in your life who needs to hear this!

In this week’s episode, Augustine connects with fellow midwife and world traveler, Allison, for a deep and expansive conversation about what it really means to live at the edge of reality—whether supporting births or crossing oceans. From an unexpected career shift out of accounting to midwifery school in New Zealand, and from practicing in Canada to captaining a sailboat across the Pacific, Alison shares how curiosity, courage, and midwifery magic have shaped her wild and winding path.

This conversation is part of a larger theme we’ve been exploring this month in our ongoing webinar series Midwifery on the Move where we explore what it really means to live a mobile midwifery lifestyle. We’ve been talking about the beauty, the complexity, the ethics, and the practical steps to working around the world.

✨ If this episode sparks something in you, know that it’s not too late to join the webinar and explore what traveling midwife life might look for you. Sign up today on our website www.midwiferywisdom.com