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Samantha Cameron; Rape cases - legal challenge to the CPS; Rachael Burford on Girls' Rugby Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

Samantha Cameron spent six years at number 10 Downing Street with her husband David in the glare of the media spotlights. She was there through the tumultuous years of the Scottish and EU referendums - issues which still rage today - witnessing some of the biggest political changes for generations. She was the youngest first lady for 50 years, juggling family life and a new baby with a high pressure job. She is credited with modernising the upmarket stationers Smythson and has now set up her own clothing brand Cefin. She talks to Emma about life at number 10, family, fashion and business.

Rape victims at the heart of a landmark court case say they have been failed by the Crown Prosecution Service. A judicial review lodged against the CPS by the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) and End Violence Against Women (EVAW) coalition is being heard in the Court of Appeal this week. They say that a change in tactic has led to a more cautious approach and a subsequent collapse in rape prosecutions. To discuss the issues Emma is joined by Harriet Wistrich, Director of the CWJ.

Former rugby World Cup player Rachael Burford talks about setting up the Girls Rugby Club to give the game an international boost.

Presented by Emma Barnett Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel

Rhod Gilbert on male fertility; teenage girls and social media; and talking to children about the Holocaust Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

Men don't talk about fertility and society largely views fertility as a woman's issue despite the fact that men are said to be a factor in around half of all fertility issues between couples. That's the view of the stand up comedian Rhod Gilbert who is raising awareness of the issue and wants men to open up and be part of the conversation. He's made a BBC documentary 'Stand up to Infertility' where he shares his own struggles to conceive with his wife Sian. Stand Up to Fertiliy is streaming now on BBC iPlayer and on BBC Two on Sunday 31st January at 10.00pm.

A new study indicates teenage girls experience a sharper decline in well-being and self-esteem compared with boys due to “heavy social media use". It has also suggested that the pandemic might be making it worse. The report - by the think tank, the Education Policy Institute, and the Prince's Trust - calls on the government to act quickly to improve mental health support for schools in England. Emma is joined by Whitney Crenna-Jennings , the author of the report, and Matt Haig - the author and mental health campaigner who decided to leave twitter earlier this week - where he had nearly half a million followers.

Today is International Holocaust Memorial Day where we remember the millions of people murdered by the Nazi regime. For decades, survivors have spoken about their experiences in the hope that nothing of its kind will ever be repeated. But when the last survivors are gone, who will tell their stories? And how do we talk to children about such harrowing events? Children’s author, Liz Kessler has written fictional a novel called When The World Was Ours that was inspired by the true story of her father’s escape from Czechoslovakia. Noemie Lopian is the daughter of Holocaust survivors Ernst Israel and Renee Bornstein. Ernest wrote The Long Night about his time in 7 different concentration camps and several death marches. They join Emma to discuss why it’s so important to talk to children about the Holocaust and the parallels between now and then.

Women and Gambling. Interim Mayor of Liverpool Wendy Simon. True Stories from a Life in Forensic Medicine Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

Women and Gambling.

Pauline and Derek Tremain are a couple who work together, running a small business from home in Kent. It's not your run of the mill business however, they provide a very specialist service called 'body mapping' to police forces up and down the country, painstakingly recreating murder injuries with 3D imaging for juries to look at. They talk to Emma about their memoir How to Solve a Murder - True Stories from a Life in Forensic Medicine.

Elaine Paige is an award-winning star of the West End and Broadway. . What, you may ask, would such a woman have to worry about? Well if you've been reading the Radio Times or the papers recently, you'll know that her height - just 4 foot 11 has made her feel horribly insecure throughout her life and caused her to be both literally and metaphorically overlooked. We hear from Elizabeth Carr-Ellis from Canterbury who's the same height and knows exactly how she feels.

Wendy Simon found herself unexpectedly running a city from her living room in December, as Interim Mayor of Liverpool. She explain how she took the reins in such a challenging time.

Presenter Emma Barnett Producer Beverley Purcell

Jane Goodall; Female cabinet ministers on TV; Coercive control Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

Internationally-renowned primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall discusses the tragedy of lost nature and the positive action needed to combat climate change.

Does it matter if female cabinet ministers are missing from flagship political programmes and TV briefings? Emma speaks to former Government minister Anna Soubry, and later in the programme to Therese Coffey MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

In the new episode of Grounded with Louis Theroux, musician FKA Twigs says she was coercively controlled. What can you do if you find yourself in a psychologically abusive relationship?

IMAGE CREDIT: Bill Wallauer

Broadcaster Clemency Burton-Hill on learning to speak again. Plus Katie Price talks about her son Harvey. Jan 23, 2021

Show notes

Clemency Burton-Hill gives her first broadcast interview to Emma Barnett since she suffered a brain haemorrhage a year ago. She talks about how music has helped her ongoing recovery, and how she has learnt to speak again.

Sindiso Khumalo & Dr Christine Checinska on the V&A museum's African fashion exhibition,

Plus Katie Price on her son Harvey who was born with Septo-optic Dysplasia, a rare disorder that affects brain function. Her family have lived their lives in the public eye for more than 15 years - and now in a new BBC One documentary, we see her having to make tough decisions about his future as he turns 18.

There’s been a surge in calls to domestic abuse services in the pandemic as couples spend more time at home together - the majority of calls coming from women. For many victims and survivors, work is usually a place of respite. We hear from Business Minister Paul Scully who's written to employers urging them to be a bridge between their workers, spot domestic abuse and offer the support they need.

And the lives of Irish women in the US in 19th and why they were called Bad Bridgets

Presenter Anita Rani Producer Rabeka Nurmahomed

Managing Money, Domestic Violence and Housing, Bad Bridgets Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

Women trying to escape domestic violence can spend months on end in a refuge or in unsuitable temporary accommodation due to lack of suitable housing. The Local Government Ombudsman has just published a highly critical report about how the London Borough of Wandsworth spectacularly failed one victim of domestic abuse. We hear from ombudsman investigator Cameron Black, women in this situation. And we ask Lucy Hadley from Women’s Aid whether the forthcoming Domestic Abuse Bill will resolve some of these problems. Throughout the 19th century, tens of thousands of Irish women left to make their fortunes in the US. But what happened to these women once they reached the Land of Opportunity? Dr Elaine Farrell of Queen's University Belfast and Dr Leanne McCormick of Ulster University have pieced together their stories. They talk to Anita Rani about drunkenness, sexual deviancy and the lives of crime led by those they call 'Bad Bridgets'. How have young women's finances been over the past 12 months? The lockdowns have put serious financial pressure on lots of people, but others have been able to curb their spending habits as shopping and eating out became impossible. What are the tools young women need to look after themselves? Iona Bain is the founder of Young Money Blog and the author of Own It, and Selina Flavius is the author of Black Girl Finance: Let's Talk Money. Archaeologist turned computer scientist, Iris Kramer, has created an AI tool that can sweep for sites of historical interest that are hidden to the human eye. The entrepreneurial PhD student has secured many grants to found her company Arch-AI.

Presenter: Anita Rani Reporter: Carolyn Atkinson Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

Katie Price talks about her son, Harvey Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

Katie Price and her family have lived their lives in the public eye for more than 15 years - and now in a new BBC One documentary, she's having to make tough decisions about her son Harvey's future. Born with Septo-optic Dysplasia, a rare disorder that affects brain function, hormones and vision, Harvey is moving onto the next stage of his development as he turns 18. Katie joins Emma to discuss.

Senior judges in the Family Courts were heavily criticised last year for outdated views on allegations of marital rape in family court proceedings. This week the Court of Appeal is holding a legal review into the Family Courts’ approach to domestic abuse and sexual violence for the first time is 20 years. Barrister, Dr Charlotte Proudman explains why this review is both important and necessary, and why it may prompt cases being overturned.

It's been reported that the former First Lady Melania Trump did not write her own thank you letters to her White House staff. The goodbye letters were allegedly written by an aide. Around 80 White House staffers received a typed note from the outgoing First Lady, and were under the impression she wrote them herself. But two sources familiar with the letters claimed Mrs Trump outsourced the work to a lower-level East Wing staffer. Comedian and writer, Katy Brand reveals where she stands on thank you letters.

Christina McAnea is the new leader of the UK's largest trade union UNISON, also the fastest growing in Europe. Representing 1.4 million public sector workers - around 80% of which are women - we ask what's top of her in-tray when she starts in the job tomorrow?

Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Kirsty Starkey Editor: Karen Dalziel

Interviewed Guest: Katie Price Interviewed Guest: Charlotte Proudman Interviewed Guest: Katy Brand Interviewed Guest: Christine McAnea

Clemency Burton-Hill, V&A African fashion exhibition, Liverpool Mayor Wendy Simon, Presidential Inauguration. Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

Emma Barnett with Clemency Burton-Hill's first interview since she suffered a brain haemorrhage a year ago today. She talks about how music has helped her ongoing recovery, and how she has learnt to speak again. Sindiso Khumalo & Dr Christine Checinska on the V&A museum's African fashion exhibition, the new interim mayor of Liverpool Wendy Simon talks about being thrust into the role last month as Covid 19 cases were rising exponentially and as Joe Biden assumes the US Presidency we hear from Sarah Elliot from Republicans Overseas UK and Joan Walsh, the National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation and a CNN political contributor.

Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lisa Jenkinson

Ballerinas & Babies, Working From Home Safely, Delayed Smear Tests Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

Some top British ballerinas have become new mums during lock-down. In fact, there are so many in the Royal Ballet that they've created a Whatsapp group. We know that being a ballet dancer is competitive and careers can be short, so has lock-down given the chance to get pregnant? Lauren Cuthbertson, is principal of The Royal Ballet and had her baby a few weeks ago, and Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani, first artist of The Royal Ballet, is due in April.

There’s been a surge in calls to domestic abuse services. As so many of us are working from home at the moment the Business Minister has written to employers urging them to be a be supportive as they can be, and that means helping victims of abuse in the home. We hear from Paul Scully.

When it comes to the Covid vaccine, research from the University of Glasgow indicates that BAME communities are much less likely to get the vaccine if or when it's offered. Reasons include language barriers and misinformation. We hear from Dr Zubaida Haque, as well as children speaking various different languages to persuade their grans and granddads to get the jab.

The Welsh Labour MP, Alex Davies-Jones, says she was left without the majority of her cervix because she delayed getting a smear test. She wants to tell other women not to make the same mistake. According to the Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, the MP Caroline Nokes, more then six hundred thousand women could miss their routine smear tests during the pandemic.

Lana Clarkson, Cosmetic Fillers, Confessions of a Duchess, Debut novel Girl A Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

Music producer Phil Spector who has just died in a California jail was serving a life sentence for the murder of the actor Lana Clarkson. Lana Clarkson starred in a number of 1980s B movie sci-fi films like "Barbarian Queen" but at the time she met Spector she was working in a bar. Emma is joined by the biographer of Phil Spector, journalist and author Mick Brown. New exclusive research by reporter Melanie Abbott for Woman's Hour has found more and more aesthetic doctors and nurses are treating women for mistakes made injecting fillers by untrained practitioners. Melanie Abbott, Sharon Bennett from the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses and Labour MP Carolyn Harris from the all party parliamentary group on Beauty, Aesthetics and Wellbeing join Emma. Duchess is the new podcast from Duchess of Rutland Emma Manners and daughter Lady Violet in which they talk to titled women who are responsible for ancestral piles around the UK. They have their own huge place, Belvoir Castle, and they join Emma to discuss the pros and cons of running such a business. We've all seen images in the press of houses where terrible things happened and heard stories of children held captive by their parents. Abigail Dean's first novel 'Girl A' is told by Lex the survivor, the one who flagged down a car and escaped from 'The House of Horrors'. It explores the impact on 'Girl A', as she was dubbed, of childhood trauma. She and her six siblings have different stories and different outcomes - what happens to those left behind when the headlines and the fascination fall away?

Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

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