Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball have turned their popular podcast, Dig It, into a place where all topics are on the table, and there’s no airs or graces about digging deep.
From the liberation of changing your goals with age to feeling rejection after missing out on a high profile showbiz gig, they’ve connected with their audience through their own candid confessions and relatable honesty.
With menopause being a long-running topic of conversation on the podcast, the pair have taken discussions around the subject one step further. Zoe and Jo have now channelled their signature humour to come up with the idea of creating the ultimate menopause playlist.
During a recent episode, Zoe declared, "We are making Meno-play… Songs that reflect your mood and symptoms during the menopause."
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The pair then divulged some of their personal picks before asking listeners to suggest their own. Jo opted for Kelis, I Hate You So Much Right Now. For Zoe, some options included Faithless’s Insomnia and the Style Council’s My Ever Changing Moods.
While the pair were sharing this in good fun, it’s further proof of the power in breaking down taboos and talking openly about symptoms that might be more common than people realise. Menopause fatigue and sleep issues affect many women, with various therapies on offer to help manage the change in sleeping patterns.
Zoe would also put Anxiety by Doechii on the list. For the presenter, this is reclaiming one of the worst symptoms which she has talked about in an earlier episode, sharing her battle with ‘crippling anxiety’ that left her struggling to work.
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Previously, the radio DJ opened up on needing to go on anti-depressants after being overwhelmed with anxiety. "When I was doing the Breakfast Show, I had horrific anxiety. That was my worst sort of symptom and that involved panic attacks, not being able to breathe, a lot of tears, quite a low mood and it was quite frightening at times.
"I did go on anti-depressants for a while for my anxiety, but I'm off those now and I'm really glad to be off those, but they did help for a little period of time.
"It's difficult with things like this because sometimes you are not sure what is what. You don't know whether some of your symptoms are coming from things in life or mainly menopause so you have to try these things."
When fans of the podcast pitched in with their ideas, there were two clear themes that emerged - some were humorous, others were all about empowerment.
One fan shared their suggestion would be I’m Every Woman by Chaka Khan because of “the liberation [menopause] brings us … say what we think, know ourselves, know and accept our bodies”.
While another took a different approach, and simply replied, “Feelin' hot hot hot”.
