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Safe city design, Victoria Atkins, Do men and women garden differently? Mar 16, 2021

Show notes

After Sarah Everard’s murder, there are calls to make the streets safer for women. So, how can that be done? And how can town planning reduce the risk for women when they’re walking alone? Dr Ellie Cosgrave, a lecturer in Urban Innovation and Policy at UCL, describes her vision of safe cities designed with women in mind.

Yesterday Boris Johnson's Criminal Justice Taskforce came up with a series of new measures to help protect women and girls, including better street lighting, CCTV and a new idea of sending undercover police officers into pubs and clubs. These are welcome measures to some, but for others this package misses the mark. There are also plans for a register to monitor serial domestic abuse and stalking perpetrators, and a push to make misogyny a hate crime. Does this add up to real change ? Emma speaks to Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins, whose brief covers domestic abuse, violence against women and sexual violence.

As the weather warms and if you’re lucky enough to have a garden, it’s time to start thinking about the first mow of the season. A perfectly manicured lawn can be something of a status symbol and - as Monty Don recently put it in a recent Radio Times interview - a peculiarly male obsession rooted in a desire to control the environment. Pippa Greenwood from Radio 4’s Gardener’s Question Time and the lawn consultant David Hedges-Gower discuss lawns and whether or not men and women have a different approach to gardening.

Emma Barnett covers the reaction to Sarah Everard’s vigil and the actions of the Metropolitan Police Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

Reaction to Sarah Everard’s vigil and the actions of the Metropolitan Police . Among the thousands who came to Clapham Common in South London on Saturday night to pay their respects to her were feminist writer and member of Southall Black Sister, Rahila Gupta and campaigner and columnist at the i, Kate Maltby. Emma speaks to them both, and to Sir Peter Fahy, retired former Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police about the policing of the event. Plus we hear from Jan Royall, Baroness Royall about the idea of putting together a data base of offenders convicted of harassment, coercive control and stalking similar to the sex offenders register.

This month marks the 10th anniversary of a conflict in Syria that has devastated the country and the Syrian people. In a country whose population in 2011 was estimated at about 21 million - more than half the population has been displaced: 6.6 million Syrian have been forced to flee their country since 2011. Another 6 million have been uprooted from their homes but remain displaced inside the country. It's impossible to estimate the number of people who have been killed. In 2014 the UN stopped counting, saying it was too difficult to verify the number of people killed. Their last estimate in 2016 was 400,000. It is by any standards a humanitarian crisis of unspeakable proportions. Dr. Rola Hallam, CEO and Founder of CanDo, a charity set up to deliver health humanitarian aid in warzones joins Emma Barnett.

Jacqueline Springer who's a music journalist and broadcaster gives up a round up of last night's Grammy's .

Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

Weekend Woman's Hour - The Art of Repair, Nurses' Pay & the Power of Oprah Winfrey Mar 13, 2021

Show notes

The art of the repair, Molly Martin an illustrator and textile repairer, tells us why repairing clothes, furniture and appliances can be beneficial to not only your pocket but to your mind.

The government's proposed one per cent pay rise for NHS staff is discussed with the Health Minister Nadine Dorries and Dame Donna Kinnair, nurse and chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing.

We look at how more than 70 women in a small English town have had their private, often naked images stolen and shared online by people living in their community with one of the victims Ruby and the MP Maria Miller who has been campaigning for better legal protection against image based sexual abuse for years.

It took a year for Maria Beatrice Giovanardi to convince the Oxford Dictionary of English to not only change their definition of ‘woman’ but to re-examine the synonyms for ‘woman’ in their thesaurus, and amend the contents. She tells us why she turned her attentions to Treccani, a leading online Italian dictionary, in a bid to get them to do the same thing.

And after her interview with Harry and Meghan the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, we discuss the key to Oprah Winfrey’s success with the British Presenter Trisha Goddard.

The psychologist Dr Jessica Taylor tells us why she has set up a new charity to provide support and advice to women and girls who become pregnant from rape, sexual abuse, exploitation, trafficking and incest.

A new report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies suggests that women in heterosexual couples are much more likely than men to give up their jobs, or cut their hours, after becoming parents. And it shows that this happens even if the woman earns more than her male partner. Alison Andrew, Senior Research Economist at the IFS explains why.

Presenter: Jessica Creighton Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed Editor: Lisa Jenkinson

Review into alleged abuse in British Gymnastics Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

An interim report into British Gymnastics, published this week, revealed 1,500 complaints between 2015 and 2020, including 39 claims passed to police. Jessica Creighton is joined by former gymnast, Claire Heafford and Sarah Moore, one of the lawyers working on the case.

It took a year for Maria Beatrice Giovanardi to convince the Oxford Dictionary of English to not only change their definition of 'woman' but to re-examine the synonyms for 'woman' in their thesaurus, and amend the contents. Maria has now turned her attentions to Treccani, a leading online Italian dictionary, in a bid to get them to do the same thing. She tells us how this part of her campaign is progressing and why language matters.

A new report out today from the Institute of Fiscal Studies suggests that women in heterosexual couples are much more likely than men to give up their jobs, or cut their hours, after becoming parents. And it shows that this happens even if the woman earns more than her male partner. Alison Andrew, Senior Research Economist at the IFS joins me now to discuss.

The first UK Clinical Guideline for the use of vaginal pessaries in pelvic organ prolapse was launched last week. The multidisciplinary Guideline Group included 3 pessary users who co-developed the resource. Being written against the background of the Baroness Cumberlege report ‘First Do No Harm’ from July 2020, it aims to help women learn, understand and be empowered to ask about whether a pessary is the right option for them.

Presenter: Jessica Creighton Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Interviewed Guest: Claire Heafford Interviewed Guest: Sarah Moore Interviewed Guest: Maria Beatrice Giovanardi Interviewed Guest: Alison Andrew Interviewed Guest: Kate Lough Interviewed Guest: Kath Sansom

Nadine Dorries, Dame Donna Kinnair, Women and safety, Organised crime, mafia and gender. Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

The Health Minister Nadine Dorries joins Emma to talk about her plans to cut deaths caused by Strep B infection in newborn babies, as well as nurses' pay and the government’s new consultation on a women’s health strategy. The row over the government's proposed one per cent pay rise for NHS staff shows no sign of quietening down - with the attention having moved towards nurses' wages in particular. Strike action has been threatened by nurses' unions over the proposals and the Prime Minister came under fire yesterday about nurses - especially considering the role they have played on the front line fighting the pandemic. 90 per cent of nurses are women. Emma discusses the issue with Dame Donna Kinnear, nurse and chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing.

Today we are thinking of Sarah Everard - the 33 year old woman who went missing walking home to Brixton from a friend's house in Clapham, south London, on March 3. Reclaim The Night are organising a vigil following the disappearance of Sarah Everard. But how have things changed since the original Reclaim the Night march which took place on 12th November 1977? Emma speaks to Al Garthwaite, now a Leeds Councillor for Headingley and Hyde Park, she was one of the original organisers, and to the writer and journalist Joan Smith, whose latest book is called Home Grown: How Domestic Violence Turns Men Into Terrorists. She has also written a book called Misogynies, and she is on the London Mayor's board about tackling violence against women and girls.

From the Godfather to Goodfellas and The Sopranos, we are fascinated by movies and series about the mafia. But women are often portrayed as symbolic or the ‘sexy wife’. How much power and agency do they actually have? Felia Allum is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and Italian at the University of Bath. Her research' Women, crime and culture: transnational organised crime as an equal opportunity industry' is funded by the Leverhulme Trust. She joins Emma to tell the stories of women she’s spoken to from the Neapolitan mafia.

Presented by Emma Barnett Producer: Louise Corley

Stammering, Sharing intimate images without consent and The art of repairs Mar 10, 2021

Show notes

During lockdown, when we haven't quite had access to the shops we might need, many have turned to 'fixing up' items around the house, and mending our own clothes. With the popularity of shows like The Repair Shop and Salvage Hunters, what stories do our possessions carry, and how can restoration keep them alive? Emma meets Molly Martin, an illustrator, textile repairer, and author of 'The Art of Repair' who runs workshops on how to mend mindfully.

More than 70 women in a small English town have had their private, often naked, images stolen and shared online by people living in their community. The indecent images, including some of underage girls, are thought to be taken via hacking or provided by former boyfriends and uploaded anonymously on a website which features 73,000 images of women from across the world. Members of this online forum specifically request and target girls in the places they live in. The victims have reported the abuse to the police who, so far, say they are unable to help due to the current laws. As the town has a tight community, most of the victims know each other and have alerted those they recognise when the images appear. About a dozen of the victims have banded together and setup a group to try and get justice. Emma speaks to one of the women, Ruby, and to Maria Miller MP, who has been campaigning for the better protection against image based sexual abuse.

Stammering, also known as stuttering, is a relatively common speech problem in childhood, which can persist into adulthood. Around 1 in 12 young children go through a phase of stammering, and around 2 in 3 will grow out of it. It's estimated that stammering affects around 1 in 100 adults, with women being around 3 to 4 times more less likely to stammer than men. Emma is joined by Felicity Baker, a producer with BBC News, who has been making the documentary I Can’t Say My Name: Stammering in the Spotlight and Mandy Taylor, a former trustee of STAMMA and now a member and volunteer who works to support families affected by stammering.

Electing to home school. Trisha Goddard on the power of Oprah. Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

As Children return to school across the UK an increasing number of parents are choosing to educate their children at home on a permanent basis. Many have enjoyed home schooling their kids during Covid and see it as an opportunity to explore a new way of learning. Critics however are concerned that it’s unregulated. We hear from Gail Tolley from the Association of Directors of Children's Services and to Hannah Titley from the Home Schooling Association.

Trisha Goddard who had her own UK day time talk show for over a decade on why Oprah is the Queen of confessional TV interviews. Plus Stephanie Guerilus, senior editor and staff writer at the Grio, an American website with news and video content geared toward African Americans, tells us how the interview gone down with the American audience

For over 20 years, Maria Cahill has stood by her claims that she was raped by a member of the IRA when she was 16, and was retraumatised when the issue was handled by a IRA kangaroo court. But a few days ago The Guardian newspaper issued an apology to her regarding a controversial article published in 2014. The journalist? Roy Greenslade, who used to write for The Guardian and later became a lecturer in journalism and ethics. Two weeks ago he disclosed that he was a supporter of the IRA and a member of Sinn Fein - a revelation that has caused major ripples, even prompting comment from the Prime Minister In that article from 2014, he criticised the BBC documentary which revealed Mairia's story for failing to include the fact that she belonged to an anti-Sinn Fein political party at one time. She tells Emma why she thinks the article and his recent disclosure of his political affiliations which were hidden at the time - undermine what she'd been through as a survivor of a rape, continuing to add insult to injury.

Presenter Emma Barnett Producer Beverley Purcell

When Meghan and Harry met Oprah; Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release; Clemency Burton Hill’s return to the airwaves. Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was broadcast last night on CBS in the US. It is due to air here in the UK tonight on ITV at 9pm. What might be the repercussions of the interview with the two former working Royals? Emma talks to Jennie Bond who was the BBC’s royal correspondent for 14 years and Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, activist, lawyer and author of This is Why I Resist.

The broadcaster Clemency Burton Hill tells us about a special one off episode of the Classical Fix podcast celebrating women composers that she recorded with Emma Barnett as part of International Women's Day.

British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been released from house arrest, but faces fresh charges next weekend. Nazanin was detained in Tehran in 2016, and sentenced to five years in prison for plotting to overthrow the Iranian government, which she has always denied. We hear the latest on her situation, from Richard Ratcliffe and Faranak Amidi, BBC World Service's Women's Affairs journalist.

A new charity is being launched called MOCRA or ‘Mothers of Children Conceived in Rape and Abuse' which aims to provide support and advice to women and girls who become pregnant from rape, sexual abuse, exploitation, trafficking and incest. They also want to provide services for children who find that they were conceived in acts of rape and sexual violence against their mothers. Founded by Dr Jessica Taylor, she joins Emma to discuss why her charity will fill a gap in services.

Weekend Woman's Hour: Pensions scandal, Isabel Allende, Anti-Obesity Drugs Mar 06, 2021

Show notes

Pensions expert, Baroness Ros Altman talks about the state pension scandal which only affects women. Around 200,000 of them could be due pay-outs averaging £13,500 to top-up the underpayment of their state pension.

We hear from the critically acclaimed and award-winning author, Isabel Allende. She tells us about her latest book 'The ‘Soul of a Woman’ - her memoir on feminism and what it means to be a woman.

What can Greek goddesses teach us about ourselves today? Classicist, Natalie Haynes and Historian, Bettany Hughes discuss goddesses and what we can learn from them.

35 million adults and a third of eleven year olds are overweight or obese in this country. Rachel Batterham is Professor of Obesity, Diabetes and Endocrinology at UCL and one of the authors of a recent study into a drug, semaglutide, that can help some people lose 20% of their body weight. Jan, who took part in Rachel's trial and has struggled with weight since she was a child, talks about how taking part changed her life.

When is maximialism too much? Interior designer, Abigail Ahern and head judge on BBC2’s Interior Design Masters, Michelle Ogundehin explain the the trend for patterns and bold, clashing colours.

Classical violinist, Madeleine Mitchell talks about the concert at St John’s Smith Square celebrating A Century of Music by British Women (1921-2021) with her London Chamber Ensemble. Errollyn Wallen CBE joins Madeleine and explains what it feels like to be included in the celebration of the finest British female composers.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Paula McFarlane Editor: Kirsty Starkey

Isabel Allende, Erna Solberg, music with Madeleine Mitchell & Errollyn Wallen & post lockdown workwear with Emma Jacobs. Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

Anita Rani talks to the Chilean author Isabel Allende, also to the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg. To mark International Women's Day we have music with Madeleine Mitchell & Errollyn Wallen and we look at the future of workwear post lockdown. Will power suits and formal wear be a thing of the past after a year of lounging in comfies? Emma Jacobs from the Financial Times considers our appetite for zoom casual clothing and what we can expect when we all return to the office in the coming months. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Engineer: John Boland

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