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Comedian Rosie Jones, Grooming gangs, Playing outside Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

We discuss the key recommendations of Baroness Louise Casey's report into child sexual exploitation and abuse, and ask what might change as a result? Nuala McGovern is joined by guests including BBC social affairs editor Alison Holt, social worker-turned-whistleblower Jayne Senior and documentary director Anna Hall, who has spent the past two decades covering the subject of grooming gangs. Comedian, actor and writer Rosie Jones joins Nuala to discuss her first sitcom, Pushers, which she stars in and co-wrote. She plays Emily in the Channel 4 show, who has very little left to lose after having her disability benefits cut when she loses her job - she finds herself building an illegal drugs empire. Emily isn’t your average street-dealer though - she’s sharp, funny, highly educated and has cerebral palsy. What better disguise could there be for criminal activity than to be entirely written off by society? Children are not playing outside enough, according to a new report by the Raising the Nation Play Commission, but instead are "sedentary, scrolling and alone". Nineteen commissioners, from doctors to campaigners, spent a year investigating play and childhood in England for the report. Among their recommendations are raising the digital age of consent to 16 and putting in place a statutory "play sufficiency duty" for local authorities. Joining Nuala to discuss this are Baroness Anne Longfield, executive chair of Centre for Young Lives and co-leader of the commission, and Debbie Watson, Professor of Child and Family Welfare at the University of Bristol. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Child sex abuse gangs, Older surrogacy, Ranking friends Jun 16, 2025

Show notes

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced a full national statutory inquiry into child sexual abuse perpetrated by gangs after previously dismissing calls for a public inquiry. This comes after he said he has read every single word of an independent report into child exploitation by Baroness Louise Casey and would accept her recommendation for a full investigation. Nuala McGovern discusses what’s been announced with BBC Special Correspondent Judith Moritz and Maggie Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in 2012 to publicly speak out against what she recognised as gross failures to safeguard victims of the scandal in Rochdale. She has recently had meetings with Baroness Casey and has taken a group of survivors to share their experiences with her.

The BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Board have selected six academics to be this year’s New Generation Thinkers on Radio 4 and Historical Criminologist Stephanie Brown will be joining Woman’s Hour. She talks to Nuala about her research into crime, punishment and policing and how society views women criminals.

Lily Allen recently admitted that she ranks her friends in a recent edition of the BBC podcast Miss Me? The singer joked: 'I create lists of people who I like in order of how much I like them… I send that list to my assistant and ask her to schedule the time for me to have FaceTimes with them.' But joking apart, is it simply human nature to make a distinction between close friends and acquaintances, and everyone in between? Columnist for the iPaper Rebecca Reid and cultural historian Tiffany Watt-Smith join Nuala to discuss.

BBC journalist Sanchia Berg and fertility lawyer Beverley Addison joins Nuala to discuss the recent cases of older couples becoming parents via surrogacy.

Iris Mwanza started out as a corporate lawyer in both her native Zambia and then in the US. She’s also been Deputy Director in the Gender Equality Division of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. But she’s gone back to her roots for her debut novel, The Lions’ Den. Set in Zambia in the early 1990s, it follows Grace Zulu, a rookie lawyer, whose first pro bono case is to help the 17-year-old Willbess Mulenga. It’s been alleged that Willbess, who prefers the name Bessy, had sex with another man and he’s been arrested for offences ‘against nature.’

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce

Weekend Woman’s Hour: Julianne Moore, Women’s Prize for Fiction winner Yael van der Wouden, ultrarunner Stephanie Case Jun 14, 2025

Show notes

Julianne Moore has won countless awards and nominations for films like Boogie Nights, The End of the Affair, The Hours, as well as winning an Oscar for her performance in the film Still Alice. Her latest role sees her play Kate in the upcoming film Echo Valley alongside Sydney Sweeney, who plays her daughter Claire. Julianne tells Nuala McGovern about her character who's coming to terms with a personal tragedy while running her farm and training horses, when her daughter shows up, hysterical and covered in someone else’s blood, flipping Kate’s world upside down.

Next week not one but two amendments are being brought before MPs, both of which could mean, if passed, that women will no longer be prosecuted for terminating a pregnancy in England and Wales. It comes amid concern more women are being investigated by police on suspicion of illegally ending a pregnancy. Anita Rani is joined by the BBC's Health Correspondent Nick Triggle and Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, one of those who is tabling an amendment

In 2015, 22-year-old Alice Figueiredo took her own life whilst being treated at Goodmayes Hospital, east London. Over the course of her 5 month stay at the mental health unit she attempted suicide on 18 separate occasions. Following a seven-month trial at the Old Bailey, a jury found that not enough was done by the North East London Foundation NHS Trust, or ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa, to prevent Alice from killing herself. Alice’s mum, Jane Figueiredo, has spent the last decade fighting to get the case to court. She discusses the impact it has had on her family.

Canadian born human rights lawyer, Stephanie Case, went viral online when she finished first place in the women’s section of the Snowdonia ultra-trail 100km race despite giving birth six months ago and breastfeeding her daughter at aid stations. Stephanie tells Nuala McGovern about her first race as a mother and first competition in three years and why she chose to continue to do the things she loves after becoming a mum.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden is set in the Netherlands in 1960 and tells the story of Isabel and Eva, two women who are both struggling to find their place in a society that isn’t yet modern but does not want to reflect on the horrors of the Second World War. Yael joins Anita to discuss her critically acclaimed debut novel which has been shortlisted for the Booker and is this years Women’s Prize for Fiction winner.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed

Race Across the World, Women's Prize winners, Ute Lemper, Measles at Glasto Jun 13, 2025

Show notes

Last night the winners of this year’s Women’s Prize were announced. The winner for fiction is Yael van der Wouden for her novel The Safekeep and the non-fiction prize by Rachel Clarke for her book The Story of a Heart, which tracks the lifesaving gift of a transplant. Anita Rani discusses the winning books with the Chair of Judges for the Fiction Prize, author Kit de Waal, and Chair of Judges for the Non-Fiction Prize, journalist and author Kavita Puri.

Race Across The World reached its finale on BBC One this week, after a nearly 9,000-mile dash across Asia, from the Great Wall in north eastern China to the southernmost tip of India, via the Himalayan peaks of Nepal. This year’s winner were mother and son team Caroline Bridge and her 21-year-old son Tom. Caroline talks to Anita about the experience.

An entrepreneur and mother was refused entry to a tech event in London because she had brought her eight-month-old baby with her. Anita speaks to the woman in question, Davina Schonle, and the director and producer Jude Kelly about the issue of banning babies from events of this nature.

It's festival season, with Glastonbury starting at the end of June. However it’s not just the music and the atmosphere that festival goers need to be thinking about. The UK Health Security Agency has warned that measles is circulating across the country, with high numbers in the South West and London. Anita is joined by the UK Health Security Agency Deputy Director of Vaccination Programmes, Dr Julie Yates - who is the former public health lead in South West on Glastonbury.

Grammy-nominated Ute Lemper has had a career spanning stage, film and music. She is renowned for her interpretations of Kurt Weill, Brecht and chanson legends like Marlene Dietrich. Ute won the American Theatre World Award and the Laurence Olivier Award for her performance as Chicago’s Velma Kelly both on Broadway and in London's West End, and the Molière Award for her performance as Sally Bowles in Cabaret in Paris. Utel Lemper now has a new album, Pirate Jenny, celebrating the music of legendary composer Kurt Weill. She joins Anita to talk about her passion for his work.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rebecca Myatt

Abortion, Spending Review, Lara Pulver, Yael van der Wouden Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves this week announced an extra £29bn per year for the NHS, along with funding boosts for defence and housing as she set out the government's spending plans for the coming years. What impact could the spending review announcements have on women? Eir Nolsoe, Economic Correspondent at the Telegraph, and Erin Mansell from the Women's Budget Group join Anita to discuss.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden is set in the Netherlands in 1960 and tells the story of Isabel and Eva, two women who are both struggling to find their place in a society that isn’t yet modern but does not want to reflect on the horrors of the Second World War. Yael joins Anita to discuss her critically acclaimed debut novel which has been shortlisted for both the Booker and the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Olivier Award-winning actor Lara Pulver joins Anita in the studio to talk about playing matriarch Golde in the critically acclaimed production of The Fiddler on the Roof at The Barbican Theatre.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Corinna Jones

Ultrarunner Stephanie Case, Alice Figueiredo, Women's Super League, Cycle tracking apps Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

This week it was announced by Deloitte that the total revenues of Women’s Super League (WSL) football clubs grew by 34 per cent to £65m in the 2023-24 season and are tipped to hit £100m for the first time next year. But while the four biggest-earning clubs generated most of the WSL revenue and the average WSL team’s revenue increased there remains a yawning gap between the top and bottom teams. At the same time average attendances in the Women's Super League dropped by 10% last season compared with the previous campaign. To unpick this mixed picture we hear from Dr Christina Philippou, Associate Professor of Sports Finance at the University of Portsmouth.

A new Cambridge University report published today calls on public health bodies like the NHS to offer apps that rival private FemTech services to prevent policing of reproductive choices. They are calling for better governance of the industry to protect users of cycle tracking apps (CTAs) when their data can be collected and sold at scale. Dr Stefanie Felsberger is lead author of The High Stakes of Tracking Menstruation.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Crawley

Indecent exposure, Natalie Dormer, World fertility, Author Jessica Stanley Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

The kidnap, murder and rape of Sarah Everard was deemed a moment of reckoning in 2021. The Angiolini Inquiry, which investigated this case, found that Wayne Couzens was reported eight times for indecent exposure. The report also found that the offence "may indicate a potential trajectory towards even more serious sexual and violent offending". A new report by The Telegraph has investigated cases of indecent exposure since Sarah Everard's murder and found that police are catching and prosecuting fewer offenders, despite a big increase in the number of offences reported. The paper's Home Affairs Editor, Charles Hymas, joins Nuala McGovern, as does Zoë Billingham, former HM Inspector of Constabulary.

Natalie Dormer has graced our screens as Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones, Anne Boleyn in The Tudors and in films including The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and The Wasp. She’s now back on stage as Anna in a new adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel Anna Karenina. Set in 19th century Russia, Anna is the wife of a powerful government official, who dares to step outside the bounds of society to risk a dangerous and destructive love affair. Natalie talks to Nuala about the role, her career and more.

World fertility rates are in 'unprecedented decline' according to a survey of 14,000 people by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN's reproductive rights agency. One in five respondents said they haven't had – or don’t expect they will have - the number of children they want. The survey spanned 14 countries on five continents, which are home to a third of the world's population. Nuala is joined by demographer Anna Rotkirch, who has researched fertility intentions in Europe and advises the Finnish government on population policy, to discuss the findings and their impact.

Jessica Stanley’s novel Consider Yourself Kissed tells the story of Coralie, a copywriter who moves from Australia to London just before she turns 30 and falls in love with political journalist Adam. Jessica tells Nuala about the book, which tracks 10 years of Coralie and Adam’s lives from 2013 to 2023, taking in love, birth, illness and a particularly eventful period in British politics.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Julianne Moore, Forced adoption in China, Nurses vote on pay deal Jun 09, 2025

Show notes

From today, nursing staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are being asked to vote on the government's proposed 3.6% pay increase. This compares to a 5.4% average increase for resident doctors, formally known as junior doctors, and 4% for consultants and other senior doctors. The Scottish government has already agreed a two-year 8% pay offer with health unions. Around 345,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing union will be asked if the pay award is enough in what has been described as the biggest single vote of the profession ever launched in the UK. Nuala speaks to Steve Ford, editor of the Nursing Times.

Turkey has imposed a restriction on elective caesarean sections at small private medical clinics, without a medical justification, under new health ministry regulations. President Erdogan has declared 2025 to be the ‘Year of the family’ and has been campaigning for women to have vagina births, or 'natural births' as he's calling them, in a bid to encourage women to have more babies. Turkey has one of the highest rates of caesarean section births according to health ministry figures from 2023, where out of all births 61.5% were by c-section. This compares to the UK's 42%, according to the latest NHS data. Nuala talks to Guardian journalist Ruth Michaelson and Dr Irmak Sarac, a gynaecologist and feminist activist in Turkey, to discuss why these restrictions have been brought in and what's happening to women's reproductive health in Turkey.

Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: China’s Stolen Children and a Story of Separated Twins is the real life story of twin girls born in China who were separated as toddlers in 2002. One girl was adopted in good faith by an American couple who believed that the baby’s Chinese birth-parents had given her up. The other remained in China to be raised by her birth parents. The story shone a light on China's one child policy which ran from 1979 to 2015 and China’s involvement in international adoption, a practice that was ended last year. Nuala speaks to the American journalist Barbara Demick, who unravelled the truth of what happened to the twins, eventually broke the story to the world and who has put their story into this book.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Andrea Kidd

Weekend Woman’s Hour: Ms Tina Knowles, Tennis at Queens, Dr Grace Spence Green, Bernardine Evaristo Jun 07, 2025

Show notes

Tina Knowles, the mother of icons Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, has just published her memoir Matriarch. It tells the story of how a resilient little girl, born in difficult times, became a powerhouse, guiding her daughters to their potential. How she, the great-granddaughter of two enslaved women, went from what she describes as a little, two-bedroom “poor house” with seven people in Galveston, Texas, to being the head of one of the most successful and high-profile families in the world. Ms Tina joined Nuala McGovern in the Woman’s Hour studio.

For the first time since 1973 women will walk out to compete at Queen's Club as the Queen's Tennis tournament gets underway. To mark this moment, the Lawn Tennis Association is launching a series of initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of British women's tennis players. Anita Rani spoke to the LTA's Chief Medical Officer Dr Guy Evans and former British Number One and Tournament Director of Queen's, Laura Robson.

Dr Grace Spence Green’s spine was broken when a man fell on her in a shopping centre. At that time, Grace was part-way through her medical degree, and found herself going from being a trainee doctor learning about how to work with patients, to being a patient herself with serious injuries. Ten months after her injury, Grace continued her degree and later qualified as a doctor who is also a wheelchair user. Grace told Anita about her experiences, as described in her new book, To Exist As I Am.

Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of The Women’s Prize Outstanding Contribution Award - a one-off literary honour to mark the 30th anniversary year of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Bernardine joined Nuala to discuss her huge body of work and career highlights including winning the Booker Prize in 2019 for her novel Girl, Woman, Other, and her role as a champion for women and women of colour in the creative industries.

Model Hailey Bieber has sold her make-up company Rhode in a deal worth up to $1 billion. She joins a list of other celebrities earning millions from their cosmetic brand. Nuala was joined by make-up artist to the stars Val Garland and Beauty Editor for the Telegraph, Sonia Haria, to discuss.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Rebecca Myatt

Weight-loss jabs, The Salt Path director, Tennis at Queens, Part-time teaching Jun 06, 2025

Show notes

It's been reported that 1.5 million people are taking GLP1 weight-loss jabs and a huge majority are buying online without a face-to-face appointment with a doctor. Yesterday, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned that women using weight-loss jabs must use effective contraception - and it is not known whether taking the medicines could harm an unborn baby. To discuss whether people using the jabs are aware of these issues and getting the right advice, Anita Rani is joined by GP Dr Sarah Jarvis and BBC Health Reporter Philippa Roxby.

The Salt Path is a new film based on Raynor Winn’s international bestselling memoir, starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years has a rare neurodegenerative condition, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left to lose, they walk the 630-mile South West Coast Path. It’s the first film directed by the acclaimed and award-winning theatre director Marianne Elliott, whose celebrated productions include War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. She joins Anita in the studio.

For the first time since 1973 women will walk out to compete at Queen's Club as the Queen's Tennis tournament gets underway. To mark this moment, the Lawn Tennis Association is launching a series of initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of British women's tennis players. Anita speaks to the LTA's Chief Medical Officer Dr Guy Evans and former British Number One and Tournament Director of Queen's, Laura Robson.

A look at teaching today. Is increased part-time working the solution to female teacher retention? A new report is out, which is a large scale analysis of what happens to teachers after maternity leave. They have studied data from 150,000 teachers across 7,000 schools in the UK over the past four years, and have looked at the impact of part-time working versus full time during the first four years after returning back after maternity leave. Anita is joined by Nicola West-Jones, Director of Insight and External relations at The Key Group and co-author of the report, and Jess Edwards, a primary school teacher and Chair of Policy, Research and Campaigns at the National Education Union executive.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Corinna Jones

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