Do Not Disturb: The Inside Story
Do Not Disturb: The Inside Story
Podcast Description
Do Not Disturb: The Inside Story is a podcast for women building careers, growing families, and quietly wondering: “How am I supposed to manage it all?”Hosted by Simona Deifta — founder of NOJO and a working mum navigating her own questions — each week features raw, honest conversations with women who aren’t afraid to go deep. We talk about ambition, relationships, sex, money, fertility, burnout, resilience, reinvention — and everything in between.These are the conversations we usually have behind closed doors — but we’re having them out loud, so more of us can feel a little more seen, and a little less alone.🎙️ New episodes every Wednesday. Hit Follow to get the latest as soon as they drop. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes of ambition, relationships, sex, money, fertility, burnout, resilience, and reinvention. Specific episodes might include discussions around overcoming addiction, as seen with guest Roxie Nafousi, or navigating the complexities of motherhood alongside a demanding career, providing listeners with relatable experiences and meaningful reflection.
Do Not Disturb: The Inside Story is a podcast for women building careers, growing families, and quietly wondering: “How am I supposed to manage it all?”
Hosted by Simona Deifta — founder of NOJO and a working mum navigating her own questions — each week features raw, honest conversations with women who aren’t afraid to go deep. We talk about ambition, relationships, sex, money, fertility, burnout, resilience, reinvention — and everything in between.
These are the conversations we usually have behind closed doors — but we’re having them out loud, so more of us can feel a little more seen, and a little less alone.
🎙️ New episodes every Wednesday. Hit Follow to get the latest as soon as they drop.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Comparison is the thief of joy—but motherhood can make the timelines women are measured against feel even louder.
In this episode, Simona speaks with Gillian Orr, award-winning journalist, former Editor-in-Chief of Refinery29 UK and writer of Slouching Towards Bethnal Green. Gillian reflects on building a career in women’s media, becoming a mother at 39, having her role eliminated while she was on maternity leave, moving into freelance work and slowly finding her ambition again.
They talk honestly about the loneliness of maternity leave, why high-powered motherhood so often depends on invisible help, the affluent version of motherhood over-represented in media, the rise and fall of “girlboss” culture, and Gillian’s decision to have one child.
At the heart of the conversation is a simple permission slip: stop measuring your life against other people’s milestones and choose the timeline that is right for you.
In this conversation:
- Gillian’s journey from The Independent to launching Refinery29 UK
- Career identity after maternity leave
- Becoming a mother at 39 and the pressure attached to turning 35
- The loneliness that can accompany maternity leave
- Why “having it all” usually depends on invisible help
- What women’s media gets wrong about affluent motherhood
- Choosing to have one child
- Losing ambition, finding it again and allowing life to move in seasons
- Why comparison and age-based milestones steal joy
Content note: this episode includes discussion of fertility anxiety, pregnancy, prenatal depression, maternity leave and maternal identity.
Gillian’s newsletter:
https://gillianorr.substack.com/
Gillian on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/gillian__orr/
Gillian’s Refinery29 archive:
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/author/gillian-orr
Follow Do Not Disturb:
@donotdisturbpods
If this conversation resonated, follow the show, leave a review and share it with a woman who needs permission to choose her own timeline.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.