Standard Issue Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Dr Donna Peberdy on Screening Sexual Violence Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

When Dr Donna Peberdy, associate professor of performance, sex and gender at Southampton Solent University, began to see a lot of representations of violence against women in work made by female filmmakers, she realised what a useful tool they could be. So, in collaboration with the 16 Days 16 Films festival, she started Screening Sexual Violence, a research project and online resource.

Jen caught up with Donna to talk about the work she’s doing, what she’s seeing, and whether or not AI is about to make it so much worse.

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A timely reminder from history, with Lisa Zahra and Beth Burrows Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

Safe Haven, which has just opened at London's Arcola theatre, tells the true story of what happened in spring 2001, when two million Kurds fleeing Saddam Hussein's forces found themselves in the freezing mountains, and two Whitehall diplomats decided to intervene. Hannah chats to two of the play's stars, Lisa Zahra and Beth Burrows, to find out more.

* Safe Haven is on until February 7. More information and tickets here: https://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/safe-haven/

* You can support Standard Issue here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon

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The Bush Telegraph: 17 mistakes and some unspeakably good news Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

If you’ve no idea what’s going on with the US and Greenland, don't worry – neither do we. Nor, apparently, does Donald Trump, so join the club. Elsewhere, we’ve identified a learning opportunity for Nigel Farage, there’s good news neither Hannah nor Jen are ready to listen to, and we start the campaign for equal opportunities LOL-ing at the Beckhams. And with the Australian Open underway, Jen caught up with TNT Sports pundit and former GB tennis star, Laura Robson, to find out more about the runners and riders.

The Australian Open is broadcast on TNT Sports and available to stream on Discovery+ in the UK.

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Rated or Dated: From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

Does Robert Rodriguez’s 1996 grindhouse-schlock fest with a screeching plot twist put even more NO into its writer and “star” Quentin Tarantino for Mick, Hannah and Jen? Ooh, it’s a breath bater. George Clooney’s film debut was a far cry from ER’s Dr Doug Ross, but classic Tarantino to its core. But does that mean it’s OUTRAGEOUS and CONTROVERSIAL and CLEVER and THE BEST or just jerk-off dogshit misogyny? Find out!

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In Room 706 with Ellie Levenson Jan 20, 2026

Show notes

Journalist, author and mother of three, Ellie Levenson used to dream of time away from the pressures of family life, a fantasy shared by many of her female friends. This became the basis for her first novel, Room 706, a story about extra-marital affairs, gunmen, and who’s picking up those bread rolls the kids like. Jen chatted to Ellie about the book, the mental load, and what it's like to get props from Sarah Jessica Parker.

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Lucia Keskin’s nailing things she should have done Jan 19, 2026

Show notes

Comedian, actress and writer Lucia Keskin made her name on YouTube as Chi with a C, where she started making content at just 16. Indeed, one of her first videos to go viral was her opening her GCSE results on camera.

Fair to say, Lucia’s a natural comedic voice, and the first season of her BBC3 sitcom Things You Should Have Done bagged a big following as well as a couple of awards (hello a BAFTA). It’s back this week for season two, so Mick got Lucia on the Zoom to find out what our spectacularly hapless hero Chi has been up to, and to talk about the joy in dopey and mean female characters, the excitement of added Bridget Christie, failing all your GCSEs, and how silly might save us all.

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Flicking #69: A Real Pain Jan 16, 2026

Show notes

Jesse Eisenberg’s Oscar-winning comedy drama received an embarrassment of plaudits from the industry and critics. Now it’s time to get the ones that really matter: Mick, Hannah and Yosra watch American-Jewish cousins Benji (Kieran Culkin) and David (Eisenberg) as they embark on a Jewish heritage tour of Poland, following the death of their Holocaust-surviving grandmother. Feel-good film? Mismatched buddy comedy? Devastatingly bittersweet? All of the above?

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The Bush Telegraph: 73 questions (most of which are WTAF?) Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

It's the first BT of 2026, so Mickey and Hannah have some catching up to do. This time, they're talking about failure: Grok user failures, women's health study failures and child benefit failures. Still, elderly nuns are making a reappearance, so it's not all bad.

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Rated or Dated: Save the Last Dance (2001) Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

Thomas Carter’s teen dance film helped launch the career of Julia Stiles, but has she been wronged by public perceptions of her dance skills in the years that followed? How many tropes are too many tropes? And can it hold a torch to 1983's Flashdance?

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The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto, with Elizabeth Hyman Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

Holocaust Memorial Day is coming up later this month (Tuesday 27 January), so Hannah's been on the Zoom with historian Elizabeth Hyman to talk about her non-fiction book The Girl Bandits of the Warsaw Ghetto. They talk about five very different women who lived there, the work they did for their people and the tough choices they made.

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