Patricia Faulks set up her blog, Lilley and Me, during Covid lockdowns to share the story of ageing alone with childlessness and the challenges that brings including learning how to use her computer and Zoom calls. Denise Jackson returns to the podcast to talk about bias around money saving having challenged UK money expert Martin Lewis to tackle solo households.

Patricia and Denise cover so much ground here that applies not just to childless people but to those who are creating online environments and apps as we discuss digital exclusion. They also discuss bias and exclusion around power of attorney, the cost of living crisis, human rights and make a call for more support and awareness. 

We cover the difficulties of Mother’s Day and daily life with our guests Ken and Lisa. We talk about society’s perception of being a step parent both within the childless community and outside it. We ask about the problems of language and how that affects the sense of place in a family.

We’d like to introduce you to Anastasia MacDonald who many of you may already know from her constant and reassuring presence online. We gather to talk about how the menopause affects us as the childless not by choice community. Is it a relief? A time of mourning and what’s it like on the other side?

We’d like to introduce you to our guests who are rather marvellous company, as you’ll find out in our 47th episode. Mike Sparks restores vintage electrics (yes, we also think he has a great name!) and teaches water skiing, how did these two areas of his life come about? Caroline Stafford sells gorgeous biscuits and she talks about how she came to create a baking business. Also joining us is Vicky House who founded Clem’s Garden which we’ve long loved, and she explains her vision and her boundaries.

In this episode we were joined by your words. We were delighted to receive messages from our community which we’ve shared with you. And it was a chance for the three of us to reveal our themes for 2023, ask if you’d like be a guest and a little on how we’ve grown over 2022.

More people are childless due to being single than any other reason but it’s not spoken about. Are we in danger of creating bingos in our childless community and how can we support each other? These were all questions we put to our guests Elaine and Penny. Listen for their answers.

In episode 44, we were joined by Charlie Bishop, Palo Barker and Steph Penny. Often the wider world can assume that the only reasons we do not have children are failed IVF, failed adoption or didn't try. This narrative excludes many for whom getting pregnant can be life threatening. Charlie, Palo and Steph all spoke about how invisible illnesses can compound and complete the unseen grief of not having children.

When we met up with Jessica Hepburn for episode 43, two things came to mind. The first is how we met her, which was had a time of new starts for all of us and the importance of 43 which Jessica explains to us, and oddly how this is indeed, episode 43!

Annie first appeared on our podcast in episode 2, way back in 2019. In episode 42, she joins us again as The Hollow Sea is published with Michael Joseph. She shares the experience of Pengin’s Write Now programme, agents and the experience of being published.

In Episode 41, meet Rob Hutchings, a seasoned endurance athlete and author of Downriver Nomad. In his autobiography, Rob tells tales of his nomadic adventures in triathlon, marathon swimming and sports, navigating hairpin bends, whirlpools and white-water rapids and the pain of childlessness.

In Episode 40, we were honoured to share spacing with Katy Seppi who joined us in early June to talk about the forthcoming Childless Collective Summit. It’s happening again on 14-17th July. Join us as we meet Katy and discuss the event and creating communities for people.

In Episode 39, we were honoured to share an exclusive! Perks of the job meant that Sarah Lawrence took a turn in the guest seat with Sarah Bagg from Life, Love and Me when they joined Berenice and Michael to share news of a new counselling and coaching resource called The Childless Mental Health Hub.

"There is huge power in grief, power in understanding what loss is like but as well as being pronatal and heteronormative, our culture is 'let's be happy' and to never admit that things are hard sometimes." Stella Duffy, OBE

We invited a few guys from the Childless Men's Community to discuss this topic, we were lucky enough to share views from three continents and cultures. Of course it was a rhetorical question - we all need community - but what we found the reasons why men need to feel included is enriching

Empowerment can be a big act or something personal. In this episode we share our podcast episode with Judy Graham and Sarah Roberts who run their own practices supporting people who are childless not by choice.

In this episode, we share the details on our plans. The background to the change is future proofing our work and making it more streamlined so that we can continue to inform, entertain and give a voice to our community.

In this episode we share messages of hope and coping techniques to help you through the festive season. Our guests share their experiences, and as always, there may be some mentions of infertility treatment and miscarriage in this podcast. We were joined by Helen Segal, Bindi Shah, Professor Krista Cooper, Clare Elleray (Mae) and Tessa Broad. You’ll also find some lovely messages from past guests too.

In this episode we discuss the healing properties of the Full Stop, what we’ve learned from guests and our key episodes. We also share the plans we’re making to secure the future of the podcast in 2022.

In this episode we were joined by Katy Schnitzler who is a trainer, researcher and lecturer, studying for a PhD. She’s doing amazing work as the founder of MIST (Miscarriage & Infertility Support Training) providing workshops and information for businesses who want to support employees who are struggling with miscarriage, infertility and childlessness, and give them advice on creating a balanced workplace.

Join us as we talk about sex and how being childless affects mental health, perception and worth. We discuss the triggers, the challenges and misunderstandings that come with not being a parent and how this life-changing journey has impacted intimacy.