On the Mones
On the Mones is where pharmacist, menopause myth-buster, and accidental midlife icon Kate Thomas breaks down the chaos of hormones, perimenopause, aging, wellness woo, and the medical misinformation flooding your feed.
Equal parts science and sass, Kate gives you evidence-based clarity with zero judgement and just the right amount of swearing.
Featuring:
🔬 Prescribe or Pass Deep Dives — real evidence, made simple
🔥 Woo of the Week — the latest miracle cure getting roasted
😂 Honest stories from midlife, pharmacy, and motherhood
🤷♀️ Peri or Petty — the viral quick-fire segment with Kate’s kids
🔧 The Tradie Brother-in-Law — asking the bloke questions all men are dying to ask
Smart, funny, heartfelt, and refreshingly human, On the Mones is the women’s health podcast you’ll actually look forward to each week.
Facts you can trust. Conversations you’ll replay. Validation you didn’t know you needed.
Episodes
31 episodes
SmartMonesZone The Calibrate Coffee Edition
What happens when On the Mones, Why Smart Women and The Skeptic Zone all end up around the same café table?You get Smart Moans Zone.Recorded at Calibrate Coffee, we’re joined by our very special guest Dr...
Going Back, But Not Backwards
This week I am recording from my deck in the Sydney rain, wearing an Oodie, accompanied by the dog and a one-week-old baby goat called LeBron because apparently this is adulthood now.In this episode, I reflect on starting a new job in th...
Looksmaxxing, Menopause and Taking a Hammer to Your Jaw
Recorded in the car with Annie, this episode begins with a very important question: why is Kate wearing a star-shaped pimple patch on her forehead?The answer leads us into testosterone treatment for hypoactive sexual desire disorder, hor...
Heaven on a Stick: Misinformation, Uncertainty and Sausage Fingers
In this episode, I sit down with my friend Annie to talk about misinformation in science and healthcare and why the most confident explanation is not always the most accurate one.We unpack the difference between misinformation and disinf...
Can You Market Medicine Without Losing Trust? Part 2
In Part 2 of my conversation with my dad, former marketing professor Graham Dowling, we turn to a deceptively difficult question: how do you market medicine?We talk about the decline of trust in medicine and mainstream media, why people ...
Can Medicine Compete with Big Wellness? Part 1
In part one of this conversation, I’m joined by Professor Graham Dowling; former professor of marketing at the Australian Graduate School of Management and Macquarie Graduate School of Management, branding expert, and my dad.We talk abou...
Kate And Annie on Immunity. Can You Really Knock a cold on the head? And what is an appropriate amount of butter?
In this episode, pharmacist Kate Thomas is joined by Annie McCubbin from the Why Smart Women podcast to unpack the myths, marketing and medicine behind cold and flu season.Together, they explore what the evidence really says about popula...
A Day in the Life of a Medical Oncologist
Most people think oncology is about chemotherapy.In reality, it’s also about uncertainty, teamwork, difficult conversations, and helping people navigate some of the hardest moments of their lives.In this episode, Kate talks to her...
Bread & Butter Sex Deserves Better PR! Part 2 with Georgina Whelan from Sexual Psychology
Part 2 of my conversation with sex therapist Georgina Whelan and we’re talking about the stuff people rarely say out loud about sex in long-term relationships.What is “bread and butter sex” and why does it probably deserve better PR?
Libido, The Ick & The Sexual Scripts We Never Questioned | Georgina Whelan Part 1
What actually is libido? Why do so many couples end up with mismatched desire? And why are so many people quietly convinced their relationship is the only one struggling with sex?In part one of this conversation, I sit down with...
Creatine, Nicotine & Big Wellness: Where the Science Ends
This week on On the Mones, Kate sits down with Annie McCubbin for a conversation about what happens when real science collides with wellness marketing.They unpack:why creatine isn’t just for gym broshow creatine actu...
Jean Kittson (Part 2): Midlife, Money, Hormones and having a Libido for Yourself
In Part 2 of my conversation with Jean Kittson, we get into the real mechanics of midlife, beyond the punchlines (although there are still plenty of those).We talk about the juggle of full-time work, mortgages, and the mental load of bud...
Jean Kittson (Part 1): From Shy Kid to Comedy Icon - Accidents, ADHD & Independence
In Part 1 of this conversation, I sit down with one of Australia’s most loved comedians, Jean Kittson, to explore the unexpected path that shaped her life and career.We start at the beginning, a shy child growing up in a family where her...
Turning 18: Feeling “Whelmed” - Episode 18
In this special episode, Kate sits down with her daughter Audrey on the week of her 18th birthday. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by adulthood, or underwhelmed by the milestone, Audrey describes herself as simply “whelmed.”They talk abo...
From the Kitchen to the Moon: Women, Choice, and the Tradwife Myth
In this episode of On the Mones, Kate reflects on what it means to grow up as a young woman today as her daughter Audrey turns eighteen and prepares to vote for the first time. Named after Kate’s grandmother, born in 1925, Audrey represents thr...
Things I Think About When I Think About Running (and Morphine)
This episode starts on a Sydney oval before sunrise.Kate reflects on her weekly Wednesday run, the quiet rituals of turning up, the characters who share the track, the sociology of shared spaces, and the reminder that the ability to move...
Mind, Body, Wallet: A Field Trip Through the Wellness Industry
In this special field-trip episode of On the Mones, pharmacist Kate Thomas heads to the Mind, Body, Spirit Festival in Sydney to explore one of the most fascinating corners of the modern wellness economy.Between handmade pottery and bees...
Can Yoga Actually Help Menopause Symptoms? | A Peri-odical Review
Can yoga, Pilates, tai chi and breathwork actually help menopause symptoms, or are we all just stretching our way through the placebo effect?In this first official Peri-odical Review, pharmacist Kate Thomas looks at the evidence behind m...
Breath, Beach & Biology: Talking Hormones with Women Rebuilding Their Lives
In Episode 13 of On the Mones, Kate shares a recording from a special event held with women from a women's shelter.The day began with breathwork and mindfulness overlooking the ocean, a moment to pause, breathe and arrive. For some of th...
Difficult Women, Hot Flushes & Perimenopause Around the World
In Episode 12 of On the Mones, Kate explores a word many women recognise instantly: difficult.Recently Australian activist and former Australian of the Year Grace Tame was described publicly as difficult after speaking out politically. W...
Breast Awareness, Vaginal Dryness & GSM: Menopause Screening and Treatment Explained
In Episode 11 of On the Mones, pharmacist Kate Thomas sits down with Dr Sarah Farrell, GP and principal of Sydney Women's Wellness, to tackle two major midlife health topics that do not get nearly enough honest airtime: breast awareness and gen...
Mum Is In Perimenopause, Send Help
My first baby turns 21. So naturally, I sat him down with a microphone and asked him to explain perimenopause to the boys.What does a 21-year-old man think hormones are? Do young men talk about menopause? If boys had menopause, what woul...
Reinvention Is a Permission Slip (Plus Testosterone, Drive & the DHEA Trap)
Midlife reinvention isn’t glossy, curated, or hashtag-friendly. It happens while you’re still paying bills, packing lunches, and doing the work you already know how to do.In this episode of On the ’Mones, I reflect on standing on stage a...
Bodies on the Beach, Brains on High Alert Confidence, Clonidine & the Quiet Judgments of Midlife
Recorded on holiday in Hawaii, this episode of On the Mones starts on a beach and ends deep inside the nervous system.Watching her adult children in the surf, Kate reflects on bodies, confidence, ageing, and the subtle way awareness chan...
Comfort Is Not Evidence - SSRIs, Hot Flushes, and the Perimenopause Anxiety Trap
What if the thing that makes you feel safest… isn’t actually helping you?In this episode of On the Mones, Kate unpacks a deceptively simple idea with enormous consequences: comfort is not evidence.It starts with a respectful but c...