Standard Issue Podcast

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Rated or Dated: Wildcats (1986) Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

A sports comedy? Starring Goldie Hawn and featuring the big-screen debuts of Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson? OK, we’ll bite. But will director Michael Ritchie’s tale of a single mum coaching a men’s American football team score a touchdown, or will Jen, Mick and Hannah send it for a gratuitous early bath?

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Deborah Cohen explains how the internet hijacked health Feb 24, 2026

Show notes

When it comes to health, award-winning broadcaster and expert medical journalist Dr Deborah Cohen knows what she’s talking about. Unlike a lot of people on the internet. And that’s because she puts the work in. Unlike a lot of people on the internet.

In a world where wellness influencers and podcast bros hawking wearables and supplements are becoming more trusted than the NHS, Deborah’s fascinating book, Bad Influence: How the Internet Hijacked Our Health, is an essential exploration of modern medicine versus 21st century snake oil. Mick was champing at the bit to find out more.

As ever, there's extra chat for our £5 and above patreons, and you can find out more about that here.

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AK Blakemore and Natasha Rickman shalt not suffer a witchfinder Feb 23, 2026

Show notes

England's witch trials remain a fascinating and relevant subject. They're the foundation of AK Blakemore's 2021 historical novel The Manningtree Witches, which has now been adapted for the stage and premieres later this month at Colchester's Mercury Theatre – a stone’s throw from the town where infamous Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins persecuted, tortured and executed local women. Jen got on the Zoom with AK and the Mercury's artistic director Natasha Rickman to talk about the importance of theatre, consistent public interest in the 17th century witch trials, and making Matthew Hopkins look a right wally.

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Barking up the right tree, with Catherine Dyson Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

Catherine Dyson's latest play, The Last Picture, focuses on an emotional support dog, Sam, who is taking a group of school children on a trip around an exhibit focusing on Europe in 1939. She chats to Hannah about empathy, dogs, antisemitism, audiobooks and the National Theatre.

You can see The Last Picture in Manchester, Bristol and Guildford. More details and tickets here: https://ett.org.uk/our-work/the-last-picture/

Become a Standard Issue supporter here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon

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The Bush Telegraph: Scandi goals? Sort of Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

What does a “streamlined” UK border look like? And if you vote for the MP of one party, should they be allowed to defect to another? These are just two questions Jen and Mick pose as they rootle around this week's news. What did they find? Well, there's a new immigration policy bothering British dual-citizens and, upsettingly as ever, more from the man who’d like to bother many more besides: Nigel *groans forever* Farage. There’s better news from the EU about companies discarding textiles, as well as a sexism Olympics alongside a JOTB report on the regular one.

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Rated or Dated: The Misfits (1961) Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

Miller, Huston, Monroe, Gable, Ritter, Clift and Wallach - what could possibly go wrong? Well, during filming, a lot. And while seemingly nobody was happy with the end result, The Misfits is now regarded as one of the best films of the 1960s. Will Mickey and Hannah agree?

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Meg Molloy is supporting working-class arts professionals Feb 17, 2026

Show notes

As well as being a freelance cultural strategy and communications consultant*, Meg Molloy is the founder of the Working Arts Club, a brilliant network supporting arts professionals from working-class backgrounds.

She’s chatting to Mick about the lay of the land for working-class kids wanting to access the arts, why it’s important they can do so, what the Working Arts Club is helping to make happen, and why Madge maybe needs to calm down about Margate a bit.

*Find out more about what that means with Mick’s first question

Find out more about Working Arts Club here. And more about Meg's exciting IWD auction project for AOAP here.

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It’s not you, says Dr Joanna Cheek, it’s the world Feb 16, 2026

Show notes

The news: a constant source of anxiety, rage and misery in our lives. It’s probably no coincidence then, says psychiatrist, and psychotherapist Dr Joanna Cheek, that rates of mental health problems are skyrocketing.

Jen chats to Joanna about her new book, It’s Not You, It’s The World: A Mental Health Survival Guide for Us All, why “triggers” are actually useful, the perils of living in a world we weren’t really designed for, and whether or not the younger generation really are just less hardy.

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Flicking #70: One Battle After Another Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

Epic in scope and length, deliberately problematic characters, a very distinct aesthetic and a Jonny Greenwood score to give you the jitters: Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2025 award-bothering opus is Yosra’s pick for this month’s Flicking. But do Yosra, Hannah and Mick think Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor deserve the plaudits being heaped upon them? And how much white male gaze is too much white male gaze when it comes to the hyper-sexualisation of a Black female character?

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Rated or Dated: Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

The only living neurotic in New York? Woody Allen certainly seems to think himself so as the writer/director/star of this much-lauded comedy drama. Its Chekhovian title suggests this is a film about women, but IS IT THOUGH ask Mick, Hannah and Jen.

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