Standard Issue Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Kate Mason on the not-so-beautiful game Jun 15, 2026

Show notes

When Roberto De Zerbi was made Spurs' new manager, his previous public support for player Mason Greenwood – who was in the past accused of various sexual assaults, although all charges were dropped – made the headlines.

As a Spurs fan, journalist and broadcaster Kate Mason wrote about her take on this for The Athletic. She chats to Jen about how clubs deal with accusations of misconduct, the options legally available to them, alienation of female fans, and whether misogyny really is rife in the men’s game.

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Liv Hill is 1536 shades of smashing Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

Actor Liv Hill made her TV debut in the BBC’s remarkable Three Girls back in 2017, aged just 16. She’s currently playing Jane in Ava Pickett’s astonishing play 1536, in which three Tudor friends face the echoes of Ann Boleyn’s trial and beheading in their own rural lives. It’s a sharp and powerful portrayal of misogyny that also crackles with humour and the joy of female friendship. Mick chats to Liv about female friendships, trickle down politics, ugly choices, powerful roles, and playing a young Glenda Jackson.

1536 is at the Ambassadors in London’s West End until August 1. Visit theambassadorstheatre.co.uk for tickets.

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The Bush Telegraph: Angrier than a bad case of monkey butt Jun 11, 2026

Show notes

Thick as mince headlines, more body ‘correcting’ jabs, World Cup qualifying nonsense, online child sex abuse and women being harassed by drunk men on trains: no wonder British women are fuming. And yet, Mick and Jen are also bringing good news – some of it even relating to that long list of bleak.

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Rated or Dated: Logan's Run (1976) Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

Would we want to live in a Utopia where everyone is killed at 30? Would we run? Would we dress like we were in Pan's People? Would we find wrinkles fascinating? Find out as we watch the classic dystopian sci-fi that begs these questions and many, many more.

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Need a sonnet? We're on it Jun 09, 2026

Show notes

Actress and writer Sofia Barclay's love for the Bard shines through her book Shakespeare's Heartbeat: 40 Sonnets for Navigating Big Feelings. She talks to Hannah about big feelings, Desdemona, filming in a heatwave, Sam Rockwell playing a baby and Ted Lasso.

* You can listen to Shakespeare's Heartbeat: 40 Sonnets for Navigating Big Feelings on Audible here

* Find out more about the Standard Issue supporters' club here:

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

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Rosie Morris on the kids making sure Mum's OK Jun 08, 2026

Show notes

An estimated one million under-18s in the UK help to look after a relative with a disability, illness, mental health condition or drug and alcohol problems. Inspired by her experience of providing end-of-life care for her own mum, director Rosie Morris's short documentary Is Mum OKlaunches on The Guardian this week. In it, Rosie meets with some of Britain's young carers dealing with responsibilities far beyond their years.

Jen chats to Rosie about the incredible young people in the film, recognising their achievements and their struggles, and combating the shame that comes from caring as, or being cared for by, a child.

The Carer’s Trust provides help and support for carers. You can find out more by visiting their website: https://carers.org/

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Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Anoushka Warden have All The Rage Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

Like women all over the world, writer and director Rebecca Lenkiewicz found herself in a state of disbelief, horror and rage when the naming of huge numbers of well-known, powerful associates of convicted child sex offender Jeffry Epstein, failed to trigger any meaningful legal action. Wanting to recognise the Epstein victims, and to give women feeling this collective pain a voice, Rebecca invited writers to join her in creating All The Rage: A Theatrical Response to the Epstein Files.

Jen chats to Rebecca, along with writer and producer Anoushka Warden, about the production, the endemic nature of male sexual violence against women and girls, and the rage women feel as we grapple with our treatment within modern society.

All The Rage is showing at London's Theatre Deli from June 11-13.

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The Bush Telegraph: PSG, FOH, WTAF? Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

Why are fans rioting when they won? Is a degree as worthwhile as it used to be? How badly are some pregnant women treated in maternity wards? Where is London's newest museum? And who has just become one of the highest paid female athletes in the world? This week, Hannah and Jen have all the answers. And yet, somehow, still have more questions.

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Rated or Dated: Hudson Hawk (1991) Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

Is it a bird, is it a fish, is it a pig, or is it swinging on a star? Turns out, Michael Lehmann’s Bruce Willis vehicle is everything and nothing much at once. But the film that famously blew its budget, bombed at the box office and got savaged by critics is having a renaissance. WHY, ask Mick, Hannah and Jen?

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Straight talking, with Phoebe Maltz Bovy Jun 02, 2026

Show notes

Fewer and fewer woman now identify as straight. Why? Well that's what Phoebe Maltz Bovy's new book The Last Straight Woman sets out to discover. She chats to Hannah about how trends, empathy for LGBT people, a rejection of gender roles, bad PR for men and porn may all be playing their part.

You can buy The Last Straight Woman here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-last-straight-woman/phoebe-maltz-bovy/9780771013027

You can join the Standard Issue members club here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon

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