The Wobbly Middle: Women's Careers In Midlife

·S3 E5

Comedy, Confidence and an Anti-dote to Midlife Angst: Why Humour Is Power | Lynn Harris

March 5
27 mins

Episode Description

Comedy as a midlife career move — and why humour is one of the most powerful tools for change and an anti-dote to midlife angst.

What if the thing that makes you funny is the same thing that makes you powerful? Journalist, author and activist, Lynn Harris, has spent three decades using comedy to drive cultural change. From co-creating the cult 1990s superhero Breakup Girl, Lynn has now founded Gold Comedy, an online comedy school where women in their 40s and 50s are bringing the most fire.

In this conversation, Lynn and Patsy talk about the gender gap in comedy; who gets to talk and who has to listen; why "exposure" doesn't pay the bills, and how your transferable skills are the Candyland board that will take you places.

Lynn's message: if you're curious about developing your sense of humor, you don't have to change who you are in order to be funny… Don't wait for yourself to turn into someone else, which you won't. You already have everything it takes.

THE WOBBLY MIDDLE is a podcast for women rethinking their careers in midlife. Each season, Patsy sits down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.

New episodes every other Tuesday.

ABOUT THE HOST: Patsy Day is a recovering lawyer navigating her own midlife career crossroads. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been feeling was returning ambition. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AJ BELL

Thank you to AJ Bell Money Matters for supporting this episode. The AJ Bell Money Matters podcast is created for women by women featuring news, information and inspiring interviews to help build your knowledge and confidence around finances. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Please click here to show support of our podcast and to find out more about AJ Bell:

https://www.ajbell.co.uk/investment/women-and-investing?utm_source=moneymatters&utm_medium=partnership&utm_campaign=wobblymiddle

KEY TOPICS

  • Comedy as a vehicle for cultural change — humour as a "delivery system" for shifting norms and assumptions
  • The Candyland board career — transferring skills across a patchwork freelance life, where writing, comedy, activism, and campaigning are all different-coloured squares on the same path
  • The gender gap in comedy — not about talent, but about who gets the stage, the mic, the writers' room, and the power to decide what's funny
  • Women getting paid for creative work — the Cindy Gallop advice: "Say the largest amount you can without actually bursting into laughter"
  • Gold Comedy's Build and Pitch programme — taught by Ryan Cunningham, where women in their 40s and 50s consistently bring the biggest fire
  • "You don't have to change who you are to succeed" — or to be funny. Your unique perspective is all the raw material you need.

Links


Where to Follow Lynn


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If You Enjoyed This Episode

You might also love Episode 24: From Teacher's Desk to Therapist's Couch with Carri Simmons. Where Lynn describes the "Candyland board" of a patchwork career — transferring skills in unexpected directions — Carri tells the deeply personal story of leaving teaching and retraining as a psychologist in midlife.

HELP US GROW

If this episode resonated with you, there are two simple things that make a real difference:

  • Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it only takes a moment, and it's one of the best ways to help new listeners find the show. Every review counts.
  • Share this episode with a friend — if you know someone who might be in their own wobbly middle, send them this one. Sometimes knowing you're not alone is all it takes.

SHARE YOUR STORY

Made a left turn in your career? We'd love to hear about it. Write to Patsy at patsy@thewobblymiddle.com — your story might just be the nudge someone else needs.

This episode was produced by Patsy Day. Studio recording by The Pod Collective.

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