Standard Issue Podcast

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Rated or Dated: Josie and the Pussycats (2001) Apr 15, 2026

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Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan’s teen musical comedy gave a well-deserved ribbing to the advertising and music execs of the early ‘00s, as well as teen culture in general. But at what point does this satire become part of the problem? Shall we ask Tara Reid? And what were they putting in Sunny Delight in the late ‘90s?

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Ila Colley on the trouble-making Elizabeth Allen Apr 13, 2026

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The fascinating story of Elizabeth Allen takes us from East London to a remote woodland cabin, to Hollywood and back, before settling in Coventry, where Compton Verney is exhibiting the artist’s absurd, funny and boldly prophetic work 60 years after her debut.

Jen catches up with Ila Colley, Compton Verney’s curator of folk art and the exhibition, Troublemakers and Prophets: Elizabeth Allen and Other Visionary Artists, to chat about Allen’s extraordinary life and work.

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Beneath the Waves Apr 10, 2026

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A new adaptation of Virginia Woolf's The Waves opens at London's Jermyn Street Theatre next week. Hannah chats to playwright Flora Wilson Brown about the appeal of Woolf to young people, the issues with adapting her work and the loss of “scenes” in the modern world.

Grab yourself a ticket here: https://www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/show/the-waves/

Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon

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Helen Thorn has faced big change and come back stronger Apr 07, 2026

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It’s fair to say author, Scummy Mummy and self-proclaimed running nerd Helen Thorn has dealt with some pretty hefty shit in the last few years. Her new book, How to face big change and come back stronger, is a hopeful, comforting, funny look at how to navigate some of life’s biggest challenges: change, grief and loss of self. It’s packed with practical wisdom from a plethora of women who have walked the walk.

Mick caught up with Helen to talk endurance, navigating life looking very different, growth, ditching bad habits, and – of course – lasagne.

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The Cost of Trust Apr 03, 2026

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Surgeon Ian Paterson was jailed in 2017 for conducting botched and often unnecessary operations on his patients, who were predominantly women. Hannah chats to Deborah Douglas and Tracy King about their new book, The Cost of Trust: The Butcher Surgeon and the Scandal that Shamed British Medicine, their experiences of being "cared for" by Paterson and the battle to ensure it can't happen again.

This episode contains some pretty graphic descriptions of surgery
You can buy The Cost of Trust here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-cost-of-trust/deborah-douglas/tracy-king/9780008712938

To hear the full interview, join the Patreon supporter gang here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon

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The Bush Telegraph: Is that a really long scroll, or are you just pleased to see us? Apr 02, 2026

Show notes

What could go wrong in an unregulated fertility clinic, asks our Jen while discussing a BBC report on families seeking fertility treatment in Northern Cyprus. Mick has better news about guidance aimed at making public spaces safer for women and girls, and there's a glimmer of hope from the Middle East. Elsewhere, the Daily Mail invites us to play a Guess Who? of “bodycounts” in SOTW, and there’s some uplifting news in Jenny Off The Blocks about sports science for female athletes, and the upcoming Women’s FA Cup quarter-finals.

Donate to the British Red Cross’s Gaza Crisis Appeal here.

You can find out more about the University of Portsmouth’s research group in breast health here.

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Rated or Dated: Chariots of Fire (1981) Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

Is it the Devil's work to run on a Sunday? Who's even heard of Cambridge University? And who will win a mini-break with Nigel Havers? Find out the answers to these and many more questions as we watch the classic '80s Oscar (and God) botherer.

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Samira Ahmed’s inside the box Mar 31, 2026

Show notes

Journalist, writer and broadcaster Samira Ahmed is a busy woman. Through the Square Window, her new(ish) podcast with Graham Kibble-White guides listeners through UK TV of decades gone by. It’s nostalgia with a keen critical eye, examining what TV reflected about and indeed brought to British culture. With telly very much still at the forefront, Samira’s also penned the forthcoming BFI Film Classics volume on 1964 Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night.

She chats to Mick about TV, its role in our daily life, how her mum taught men to cook, and what the telly can tell us about a social moment. And of course, the Fab Four’s first film and what makes it such a great ride.

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Elinor Cleghorn on the radical history of mothering Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

The work of mothering has been undervalued for centuries, relegated to the sidelines thanks to patriarchal control of history. In her new book, A Women’s Work: Reclaiming the Radical History of Mothering, acclaimed author Dr Elinor Cleghorn brings stories of mothering out of the shadows to show how the women in them shaped history.

Jen chats to Elinor about the book, the denigration of mothering as “women’s work”, and the lessons we could learn (as well a few we could forget) from the past.

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Outside The Box March 2026 Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

In this month's round-up of the best and worst TV, we're talking about A Woman of Substance, Gone, Rooster, The Lady, DTF St Louis and Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere.

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