The Hotflash inc podcast

Send us a text
Am I neurodivergent?
In this episode of the Hotflash inc Podcast, host and journalist Ann Marie McQueen sits down with Skylar Liberty Rose – a meditation guide, pro-aging advocate, and ceremony creator – to explore the layered intersection of neurodivergence and perimenopause. The two friends share a candid, nuanced conversation about realizing they may be neurodivergent later in life, how that connects with the hormonal shifts of midlife, and what it means to drop the mask and fully show up. 
Sponsored: Thank you to MenoLabs for being a gold sponsor of the first-ever Hotflash inc Summit. Their science-backed probiotics, including the bestselling MenoFit, are designed to support women through perimenopause and menopause. Right now, you can get 20% off with code HOTFLASH20 at menolabs.com.

Highlights:
5:30 – Growing up with sensory sensitivities but having no language for it
8:00 – The misunderstanding and shame around being an introvert
10:00 – Coping with alcohol, masking, and perfectionism
11:30 – Perimenopause as “the great unveiling” of truth
13:00 – Losing the ability to mask in midlife
14:00 – The collapse of executive functioning in perimenopause
16:00 – What it feels like to remove long-held coping tools
17:00 – Navigating social situations without alcohol
21:00 – The relief of realizing you’re neurodivergent
22:00 – Pursuing (or not) a formal diagnosis
25:30 – On external validation and trusting yourself
Skylar Liberty Rose
Website: skylarlibertyrose.com
Skylar offers personalized guided meditations and custom ceremonies to support women in midlife and beyond. Her work focuses on embracing aging, dismantling anti-aging narratives, and honoring the major (and often invisible) thresholds of life.
Rate, share and go deeper
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a review, drop a comment, and share it with someone who might benefit — and don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show.

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:
Web: hotflashinc.com
Newsletter: Hotflash inc. on Substack
TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc
Episode website: Hotflashinc
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | YouTube | Substack
See hotflashinc.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Send us a text
This episode of the Hotflash inc Podcast is hosted by Ann Marie McQueen, journalist and founder of the world’s only reader-supported, research-based platform covering all aspects of perimenopause, menopause, and the midlife transition.
This week's guest is Maryann Selfe, the Zurich-based private banking expert turned women's health investment advocate. After 25 years advising ultra-high-net-worth clients, Maryann became laser-focused on the lack of funding flowing into women’s health – and she’s doing something about it.
Maryann is the founder of Femme Health Alliance, editor of the widely-read Substack The Billion Dollar Blind Spot and author of the forthcoming book of the same name. In this conversation, she breaks down how midlife women represent an invisible economic powerhouse, how both capital markets and healthcare systems are failing to meet our needs – and how that is slowly changing. 
Fact check 
Major firms like JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley have introduced menopause-friendly workplace policies, including flexible work and education.
A 2025 Nature Cardiovascular Research study found women achieved heart health benefits with about half the weekly exercise men required — with even greater mortality reductions, including among those with existing heart disease.
The $10.7B invested in women’s health in 2024 includes conditions that disproportionately affect women, according to SVB’s 2025 Innovation in Women’s Health report.
Blackstone and TPG’s acquisition of women’s health med-tech leader Hologic is expected to close in early 2026.
Sponsorship: We do take on partnerships with aligned companies. Reach out at [email protected] *We do not accept funding from the peptide or pharmaceutical industry.
Highlights include:
Why so little capital flows into women’s health
What she means when she says midlife women are “an invisible economy”
Insomnia trials were done mostly on men 
Women’s health isn’t a trend
Why this isn’t just “women’s health”
The missed opportunity in progesterone research
Why financial return and impact can (and must) coexist
Engage with Maryann Selfe
The Billion Dollar Blind Spot by Femme Health Ventures Alliance on Substack
LinkedIn: Maryann Selfe
IG Femme Health Ventures Alliance 

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:
Web: hotflashinc.com
Newsletter: Hotflash inc. on Substack
TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc
Episode website: Hotflashinc
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | YouTube | Substack
See hotflashinc.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Send us a text
Journalist and Hotflash inc founder Ann Marie McQueen welcomes Lauren Tetenbaum, aka The Counselaur  – a licensed social worker, former lawyer, and author of Millennial Menopause: Preparing for Perimenopause, Menopause, and Life’s Next Period. At 40, Lauren brings a fresh, younger perspective to a conversation that's long left her generation out.
Ann Marie and Lauren dive into what it means to enter perimenopause as a millennial  – through the lens of mental health, trauma, hormone therapy, supplements, shame, IVF, and what the next generation (Gen Z) might face. Lauren’s unique background in law, therapy, and women’s rights advocacy makes her a powerful voice in this space. Through her private practice and corporate workshops, she supports women navigating life transitions  –  including the often-misunderstood onset of perimenopause.
Fact Check:
During this discussion we explore breast cancer risk and hormone therapy, including the distinction between bioidentical progesterone and synthetic progestins. It's essential to understand the difference:
Across the strongest randomized evidence from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), combined estrogen plus synthetic progestin is associated with a 25–30% relative increase in breast cancer incidence – roughly 8 extra cases per 10,000 women per year in the original WHI report. More recent large observational datasets suggest a higher risk with combined therapy, especially with longer-term use. Combined estrogen with bioidentical progesterone (oral micronized progesterone) has not been shown to carry the same level of risk, though more research is needed.
Highlights:
–Lauren explains why she wrote Millennial Menopause at  40
 How her law and social work background blend in advocacy and therapy
 Why most millennials are still clueless about perimenopause
 “Denial is the first symptom”
Why personalized care is key 
How millennials are still scared of hormone therapy
Estrogen-only vs. combined therapy
Why trauma, mindset, and support shape your perimenopause experience
What shocked Lauren most while researching menopause
 Is menopause estrogen deficiency or hormone fluctuation?
 Are supplements worth it? 
 Why shame and dismissal still dominate menopause care
 Her hope for Gen Z and how they’re different from millennials
 How Lauren personally managed early peri symptoms with the pill
 IVF, fertility, and their possible ties to earlier menopause
 The gaps in medical training and misconceptions among doctors
 How risk is part of all health decisions – and how to weigh it
 Are millennials drinking less? The booze-risk conversation
 Why support matters even when there’s no “official” diagnosis
Where to connect with Laruen:
LinkedIn: Laurenatetenbaum 
Instagram

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:
Web: hotflashinc.com
Newsletter: Hotflash inc. on Substack
TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc
Episode website: Hotflashinc
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | YouTube | Substack
See hotflashinc.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Send us a text
Thank you to our sponsor, Timeline Nutrition – makers of Mitopure™, the first clinically tested Urolithin A supplement that supports cellular energy and muscle strength. Visit www.timeline.com and use the code HOTFLASH for 20% off your first order.
Miriam Putnam is a certified wellness coach, spiritual mentor and freedom-from-stress counselor with more than 25 years of experience in holistic mental health advocacy. Miriam's life’s work was shaped by the heartbreaking loss of her mother, who struggled with mental illness, misdiagnosis and pharmaceutical harm during her own midlife transition.
Their raw and deeply honest conversation explores the intersections of mental health, spiritual health, body health and perimenopause – and what can happen when we begin to question the systems we've trusted. Miriam shares her unique perspective on underlying causes of mental anguish, the danger of holding tight to a diagnosis and how midlife can become a powerful catalyst for transformation and truth-seeking.
If you’ve ever felt like you were losing yourself in perimenopause, or you're supporting someone who is, this conversation will help you feel less alone –and remind you of your strength.
Highlights
Miriam describes her mom’s shift during midlife
Underlying physical conditions that can mimic or trigger “mental illness”
Miriam’s mother’s resistance to pharmaceutical treatment and her spiritual drive
The brutal toll of grief and loss, especially when unsupported
How Miriam works with clients to break free from spiritual stagnation and misdiagnosis
Exercises to strengthen the “mind muscle” and shift out of negative thinking
Why visualizing your future requires emotional presence and clarity
The power of remembering we are more than our hormones and diagnoses
Miriam’s practical approach to staying conscious and spiritually well
Fact check
Cannabis use is consistently linked to psychotic symptoms and disorders. Multiple studies and reviews show a strong and consistent association between cannabis use and psychosis, including schizophrenia-like symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions (Gage & Hickman, 2016); (Pearson & Berry, 2019). Genetic and environmental factors moderate vulnerability. Genetic variations (such as in COMT and AKT1 genes), family history of psychosis, and childhood trauma amplify the risk of psychosis following cannabis use (Radhakrishnan & Wilkinson, 2014); (Quattrone, 2022); (Trotta & Spinazzola, 2025).
 
A big thank you to Kion Aminos, gold sponsor of the first-ever Hotflash Inc Summit. Kion’s essential amino acids provide a clean, clinically-backed formula to support muscle repair and recovery.
Get 20% off at getkion.com/hotflash.
Guest Info
Miriam Putnam
Website: miriamputnam.org
Instagram:

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:
Web: hotflashinc.com
Newsletter: Hotflash inc. on Substack
TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc
Episode website: Hotflashinc
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | YouTube | Substack
See hotflashinc.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

Send us a text
Hosted by journalist and Hotflash inc founder Ann Marie McQueen, this week’s episode features Sonja Rincon, founder and CEO of Menotracker, an AI-powered menopause app based in Austria. Sonja is also a lawyer and single mother who built the tool she wished she had when navigating her own confusing and often dismissed perimenopause symptoms.
In this honest and empowering conversation, Sonja explains how she went from being gaslit by doctors to developing a secure, multilingual, research-driven tracking tool that empowers women to identify patterns, advocate for themselves, and share vital data with their healthcare providers.
You'll hear about how Menotracker differs from other apps by protecting user privacy, generating detailed reports, offering translations in over 30 languages and allowing deep integrations with wearables. Sonja also opens up about her own HRT journey and the frustrating road to understanding what was really going on in her body.
If you’ve ever wondered whether tracking symptoms is worth it, or how midlife women can step into their power as their own health advocates, this conversation is for you.
Sponsor Shoutout: Thank you to our sponsor, Timeline Nutrition – makers of Mitopure™, the first clinically tested Urolithin A supplement that supports cellular energy and muscle strength. Visit www.timeline.com and use the code HOTFLASH for 20% off your first order.
Also a big thanks to Kion Aminos, gold sponsor of the first-ever Hotflash Inc Summit. Their clean, leucine-rich amino acid blend is up to 6x more effective than food-based protein, and helps support recovery, strength, and energy – especially under stress. Learn more at getkion.com/hotflash for 20% off your order.
HIGHLIGHTS
How Sonja’s own perimenopause symptoms led her to HRT and away from SSRIs
Why her early symptoms were misdiagnosed as stress
How tracking helped her fine-tune her hormone therapy
The importance of not giving up too soon when adjusting HRT
The tipping point: her friend’s promotion was denied due to visible perimenopause symptoms
Why most trackers fail: lack of reports, language barriers, and questionable data use
Menotracker’s privacy-first approach
Why pattern recognition is key for symptom awareness and medical advocacy
40+ symptoms available to track and growing through user feedback
How she taught herself low-code tools and AI to launch the first version
The power of knowing enough to not be bamboozled by developers
Offering the app in 30+ languages 
Why Europe is lagging behind in the menopause conversation
Community-based growth strategy and bringing in experts of diverse backgrounds
Guest info:
 Founder & CEO, Menotracker
 Website: www.menotracker.com
 Instagram:

Join the Hotflash inc perimenoposse:
Web: hotflashinc.com
Newsletter: Hotflash inc. on Substack
TikTok: @hotflashinc
Instagram: @hotflashinc
X: @hotflashinc
Episode website: Hotflashinc
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | YouTube | Substack
See hotflashinc.com/privacy-policy for privacy information