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Suella Braverman sacked as home secretary, Natalie Cassidy, Breast Cancer treatment Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

Following a weekend of speculation, the most senior woman in government Suella Braverman has been sacked from her role as Home Secretary. To discuss Emma is joined by Lucy Fisher, the Whitehall Editor for the Financial Times; and Claire Pearsall, former Home Office special advisor under Amber Rudd and Sajid Javid.

The gripping BBC One drama ‘Time’ focuses on the stories of three women, and shows the stark differences for female and male prisoners. Emma is joined by Time’s screenwriter, Helen Black, who has first-hand experience of the criminal justice system from her past career in the law, and Lady Unchained, who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for grievous bodily harm following a fight in a club while trying to protect her sister. She is now a poet, performer and broadcaster.

The actor Natalie Cassidy pays tribute to the late Anna Scher who taught children in North London to act for more than 50 years.

How is our interaction with AI shifting our concepts of intimacy and sexuality as humans? Emma Barnett talks to the Kate Devlin Kate Devlin who’s a Reader Artificial Intelligence & Society at King's College London and the author of Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots, and to Trudy Barber, Senior Lecturer at Portsmouth University in Media Studies.

Tens of thousands of women in England could benefit from a drug that helps prevent breast cancer. Anastrozole, used for many years to treat the disease, has now been licensed as a preventative option, and almost 300 thousand women will be eligible to take it. But is it as big a step forwards as it seems? Former surgeon and breast cancer survivor Dr Liz O’Riordan joins Emma to discuss.

Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Emma Pearce

Weekend Woman's Hour: Perinatal pelvic health, ‘Grey pound’ fashion, Jilly Cooper, Swearing, Hot flushes Nov 11, 2023

Show notes

The Government has announced £11 million in funding for the NHS in England to roll out a dedicated perinatal pelvic health service across all trusts. The aim of these new perinatal pelvic health services will be to help educate and assess women during pregnancy and after a traumatic birth – but how will it work? Emma Barnett hears from Jacqui Barrett, who had a traumatic birth and was incontinent for a year, Professor Swati Jha, consultant gynaecologist and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Conservative MP Maria Caulfield, who is the Women’s Health Minister. Luxury brands are beginning to feature ‘timeless icons’ in their campaigns to attract older shoppers with more spending power. Is the fashion industry finally responding to the strength of the so-called 'grey pound'? Alexandra Schulman, journalist and former editor-in-chief of British Vogue and retail analyst Kate Hardcastle discuss. Jilly Cooper has sold more than two million copies of her books, including Riders, Rivals, and Polo - taking us into the glamorous worlds of show jumping and classical music. Her latest novel, Tackle!, takes us to the football pitch and features her legendary hero Rupert Campbell-Black. Jilly joins Emma to talk about football, why there is less sex in her novels now, and her view on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reading her books. Why do we swear, and are women judged differently for swearing than men? Why are some swear words considered more offensive than others, and what does that tell us about misogyny and sexism in society? Dr Emma Byrne, scientist and author of Swearing Is Good For You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language, and Dr Rebecca Roache, the author of a new book, For F's Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude and Fun, discuss. The ABC News Breakfast guest host Imogen Crump has been praised for helping to normalise symptoms of perimenopause, after she experienced a severe hot flush on live television. Emma asks her about what happened.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

Swearing, Women in north east India, The 'grey pound' and fashion, A story of brutal crime, forgiveness and empathy Nov 10, 2023

Show notes

If you've been following the Covid inquiry, you may have noticed a lot of strong and swearing language. So why do we swear, and are women judged differently for swearing than men? In her new book For F*ck's Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude, and Fun, Dr Rebecca Roache explores double standards, the misogynistic roots of certain swear words and the challenges in reclaiming them. Anita Rani is also joined by the scientist Dr Emma Byrne who discusses why she swears, swearing in front of children and her own relationship with certain swear words.

Six months ago, there was a horrific act of violence in north-east India, when two women were stripped, paraded naked, and allegedly gang raped by a mob. It made the news nationally when their ordeal was made public in a viral video. Now the two women have spoken for the first time, in a face-to-face interview with the BBC's Divya Arya.

Luxury fashion brand Loewe recently made headlines with the face of their Spring/Summer 2024 pre-collection campaign: 88-year-old Dame Maggie Smith is pictured modelling some of their best-selling bags. Is this a step in a new direction for the world of fashion? Are major brands waking up to the consumer power of the 'Grey Pound'? Anita Rani is joined retail analyst Kate Hardcastle and former British Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman.

In 1985 in Gary, Indiana, four girls aged between 14 and 16 years old entered the house of an elderly woman and brutally murdered her. They took her car and a small amount of cash. The girls were black and the woman was white. Ruth Pelke was a Bible school teacher, a widow, well-known in her community. Those facts are not disputed. A new book called Seventy Times Seven by Alex Mar is a forensic study of what happened before and after that day and her focus is on Paula Cooper - a 15-year-old girl sentenced to death for her crime. So far, so grim, but this is also a story of forgiveness and radical empathy. Alex Mar joins Anita.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Nour Swirki in Gaza, Baroness Falkender's secrets, Divorce, Alzheimer's, Hot flushes Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

We have been bringing you women's voices from Israel and Gaza since the start of the war. Yesterday, you will have heard on the programme Rachel Goldberg, mother of a 23-year-old hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin, kidnapped by Hamas from a music festival in Israel. Today, we hear from a mother in Gaza. Nour Swirki is a journalist with two children living in Khan Younis, a city in the southern strip of Gaza, with her husband, mother and sister - they have had to leave their home in Gaza City for safety reasons and relocate to the south - a fraught journey many more Palestinians are expected to make. Due to the difficulties in speaking live to guests in Gaza, we asked Nour to record for us voice notes explaining the situation she and her family are currently in. She and her husband continue to work as journalists while her wider family look after her children - a son and daughter aged 10 and 12.

The ABC News Breakfast guest host Imogen Crump has been praised for helping to normalise symptoms of perimenopause, after she experienced a severe hot flush on live television. Emma Barnett asks her about what happened.

Research from the University of Bristol demonstrates that women can lose out financially when they divorce. The number of couples seeking legal advice during divorce proceedings is falling, and old-fashioned procedures that disadvantage women are being used. To find out more, and get advice on how to make sure you are not penalised financially, Emma speaks to financial planner Megan Jenkins and family lawyer Amanda McAlister.

The NHS is launching a new study into Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, which affects around twice as many women as men. The study, a joint project with Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s Society, will use a blood test to detect for the disease at an early stage. There is currently no single test for Alzheimer's and patients can wait years for a diagnosis. Dr Susan Mitchell, Head of Policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, one of the charities leading this study talks to Emma.

Emma talks to journalist Linda McDougall about her new biography of Marcia Williams, who went on to become Baroness Falkender. Linda hopes to shift public perception of the Baroness as a Svengali figure who influenced Prime Minister Harold Wilson during the sixties and seventies, and gain recognition for her achievements for the Labour Party. Linda's alternative history is called Marcia Williams, The Life and Times of Baroness Falkender.

Presenter: Emma Barnett Studio manager: Duncan Hannant

Jilly Cooper, Rachel Goldberg – mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Women & binge drinking, Perinatal pelvic health service. Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

Jilly Cooper began her career as a journalist, wrote columns on marriage, sex and housework for the Sunday Times, and numerous works of non-fiction before turning to romance novels - to great success. She has sold more than two million copies of her books including: Riders, Rivals, and Polo - taking us into the glamorous worlds of show jumping and classical music. Her latest novel Tackle! takes us to the football pitch and features her legendary hero Rupert Campbell-Black. Jilly joins Emma to talk about football, why there is less sex in her novels now, and her view on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reading her books.

Yesterday marked a month since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel in which 1,400 people were killed and more than 200 men, women and children taken hostage. One of those seized and kidnapped was Hersh Goldberg-Polin - a 23-year-old dual Israeli American citizen who was attending the Supernova music festival - the site of which became a massacre of a majority of young people - more than 250 people at the hands of Hamas. Hersh lost an arm during that attack but is still believed to be alive. Since then more than 10,300 people have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry in retaliatory air strikes by Israeli forces demanding the return of its citizens. Emma speaks to Hersh's mother Rachel Goldberg.

A new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which compared alcohol consumption across 38 countries, British women top the list as the heaviest binge drinkers alongside Denmark. The OECD found that 26% of British women reported binge drinking at least once a month - defined as having at least six drinks in a single session. Emma discusses the issues with Dr Helen Garr, GP and Medical Director of NHS Practitioner Health, a mental health and addiction service for healthcare professionals; and Catherine Gray, the author of The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober.

The government has announced £11 million in funding for the NHS in England to roll out a dedicated perinatal pelvic health service across all trusts. The aim of these new perinatal pelvic health services will be to help educate and assess women during pregnancy and after a traumatic birth – but how will it work? And is it enough? Emma speaks to Jacqui Barrett, who had a traumatic birth and was incontinent for a year, Professor Swati Jha, consultant gynaecologist and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Conservative MP Maria Caulfield, who is the Women’s Health Minister.

Presented by Emma Barnett Producer: Louise Corley Studio engineer: Gayl Gordon

Caster Semenya, King's Speech, Jude Rogers on Kirsty MacColl Nov 07, 2023

Show notes

Caster Semenya is one of the most decorated athletes of her generation but she is also one of the most scrutinised. The South African shot to fame in 2009 after winning the 800 metres at the World Championships in Berlin. Her performance was so astonishing it was met with questions about her sex and gender, with some asking publicly if she was really a woman. Caster's career, for all its highs, has been defined by a battle between her and the sport's governing body World Athletics about her right to compete. Caster joins Emma to discuss her career as she releases her new book A Race to be Myself.

Kirsty MacColl wrote and sang some of the most iconic pop songs of the eighties and nineties. She tends to be remembered best for Fairytale of New York, and for her untimely death in 2000. However, as a comprehensive new box set of her work, See That Girl, demonstrates, her influence and importance as an artist extends far beyond this. Music journalist Jude Rogers wrote an essay for the box set, and joins Emma in studio.

This morning, we'll have the first King's Speech in more than 70 years. In this morning's speech, the King is expected to include around 20 bills, focusing on criminal sentencing and smoking, among other things. A bill to change the leasehold system is also expected to be included. The BBC's Iain Watson gives us a run through of what to expect and Jo Darbyshire from the National Leasehold Campaign joins Emma to discuss why they want the leasehold system to be scrapped.

Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Emma Pearce

MP rape allegations, Mothers' march, Melissa Caddick Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

An unidentified Conservative MP has been accused of rape by several women. These allegations are mentioned in a new book by former cabinet secretary Nadine Dorries. It comes after reports the Conservative party's former chairman, Sir Jake Berry, wrote to the police to make them aware of the claims after leaving the post last year. The deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dowden, has denied a cover-up by the party when he was the chairman. Emma Barnett hears the reaction of Isabel Hardman, Assistant Editor at The Spectator, and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee.

A group of mothers under the umbrella of Just Stop Oil are planning a slow march to demand an end to new oil and gas licences and to call for a secure liveable future for their children. Just Stop Oil's tactics around the country, from blocking roads to halting theatre productions, are controversial. Emma is joined by two of the protesting mums.

When con woman Melissa Caddick vanished from her luxurious eastern Sydney home in November 2020 - with only her partially decomposed foot found washed up on a beach months later, it set off a frenzy in Australia. Regulators suspect the 49-year-old stole nearly £16m from more than 60 clients, including many of her family and friends, to help fund a lavish lifestyle. Chief investigative reporter at the Sydney Morning Herald, Kate McClymont, joins Emma to discuss.

We hear about a development in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a 21-year-old Kenyan woman who was found stabbed to death at a hotel in the garrison town of Nanyuki in 2012. Witnesses said she was last seen leaving the hotel bar with a British soldier, and her body was found in a septic tank at the hotel nearly three months later. A Kenyan judge concluded after an inquest in 2019 that she had been murdered by one or two British soldiers. As yet, nobody has been convicted. Kenyan police have now flown to the UK to question British soldiers and officers about the case. Emma speaks to Sunday Times journalist Hannah Al-Othman.

Sarah Whalley is the producer and director of Forests, an episode of Planet Earth III. She was pregnant during filming and chose to name her child Forest. Sarah talks to Emma about how the isolation of her pregnancy during lockdown was mirrored when they filmed a Hornbill bird in its nest for the first time.

Weekend Woman's Hour: Author Alex O'Brien on what playing poker can teach you, Maternity care & Sprinter Bianca Williams Nov 04, 2023

Show notes

This week, the Maternity Safety Alliance group has called for a full statutory public inquiry into maternity safety in England. They joined Jess to explain why they’re calling for this inquiry as did Presenter Krupa Padhy, who has produced a documentary on Radio 4 which investigates this issue.

Writer and comedian Alison Larkin avoided love most of her adult life but in her 50s, she found true love for the first time with an Indian climate scientist. Then he died. Alison joins Krupa to tell her all about her new show based on this experience, Grief…Comedy at the Soho Theatre.

British sprinter Bianca Williams has had lots of success in Athletics competitions for almost a decade but in recent weeks it has been an investigation into an incident which happened three years ago that has put her back into the news. She joins Krupa to discuss her stop and search ordeal.

Singer-songwriter and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson has collaborated with a prestigious range of artists from Andrea Bocelli to Anoushka Shankar. She has now joined forces with London Symphony Orchestra Percussion Ensemble to create a new album, Ocean Floor. She joins Anita to discuss it.

Have you ever played poker? Did you think about how playing it could influence your life decisions? Science writer and poker player Alex O’Brien has written a new book, The Truth Detective, which explores how the game's rules and strategies help us to better navigate the world and make better choices. She spoke to Jess about the life lessons she’s learned from playing – and why she’s teaching her daughter.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Claire Fox

Cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Women & renting, Catherine Dalton cricketer, Women's peace petition, Maggie Murphy CEO, Lewes FC Nov 03, 2023

Show notes

There is huge pressure in the rental market and women are being hit hardest of all, according to The Financial Times. Average rents have increased so much that “there are almost no affordable one-bedroom lets in London and the East of England for the average single mother”, according to ONS and rental market data analysed by the Financial Times. Women, and especially single mothers, are being forced to relocate away from networks of family and friends and even their children’s schools, in order to find somewhere affordable to live. Amy Borrett, a Data Journalist at the Financial Times and Victoria Benson, CEO of Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families, join Anita Rani to discuss the issues. The singer/songwriter and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson has collaborated with a prestigious range of artists from Andrea Bocelli and Anoushka Shankar to Nitin Sawhney and Akala, as well as touring as part of Peter Gabriel’s band. She has now joined forces with the London Symphony Orchestra Percussion Ensemble. Their new album Ocean Floor explores stories relating to Ayanna’s ancestral heritage, culture and identity, and blurs the boundaries between chamber music, jazz and soul. Ayanna performs in the studio, alongside Neil Percy, the LSO’s Principal Percussionist.

A hundred years ago, nearly 400,000 ordinary women in Wales signed a petition calling on the women of America to join them in demanding a world without war. Today a purple plaque is being unveiled in Aberystwyth to commemorate Annie Hughes Griffiths who led the delegation of Welsh women who brought the petition to the US and to the President. Dr Jenny Mathers, a senior lecturer in International Politics at Aberystwyth University, is co-editor of the book The Appeal 1923-23: The Remarkable Story of the Welsh Women's Peace Petition which is being launched today at the National Library of Wales.

Catherine Dalton is making waves in professional cricket, having just become the first woman to be hired as a men’s fast-bowling coach. A cricketer for Essex, Catherine has played four one day internationals and four T-20 internationals for Ireland - and she'll soon be joining the Pakistan Super League side The Maltan Saltans for their 2024 season.

In 2017, Lewes FC became the first English club to split its budget and resources equally between the men’s and women’s teams. It's just been announced the club's owners - made up entirely of its fans - voted in favour of moving forward with potential new investment in their women's team. It would come from Mercury 13, a consortium bidding to acquire women's football clubs in Europe and Latin America. Maggie Murphy, CEO of the club, and celebrated change-maker on the Woman's Hour Power List this year, explains why this is a big moment for how women's football could change and grow as its popularity continues to rise.

Presented by Anita Rani Producer: Louise Corley

Covid Inquiry, Child-free friends, Afghans in Pakistan, Alison Larkin Nov 02, 2023

Show notes

Former deputy cabinet secretary Helen McNamara gave evidence at the Covid Inquiry yesterday, saying that she thought that the culture in Number 10 was toxic and sexist. She was particularly critical of the explicit and misogynistic language the former chief advisor Dominic Cummings used to describe her. Krupa Padhy is joined by Lucy Fisher, Whitehall Editor for The Financial Times, and Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government, to discuss what this says about the treatment of women at the heart of government.

Journalist Rebecca Reid talks to Krupa about child-free friends and how she thinks they don't understand that she needs to be selfish now that she has a young child.

Pakistan has ordered all unauthorised Afghan asylum seekers to leave the country. Pakistan is home to over four million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of whom are undocumented, according to the authorities. As Afghanistan's neighbour, Pakistan, has seen people travel across the border for safety for four decades, from the 1979 Soviet invasion through to the more recent return of the Taliban in 2021, Krupa talks to Zarghuna Kargar, an Afghan Journalist at BBC News, about the impact of this decision on women.

The noughties was an incredibly hostile decade in which to be female, according to the writer Sarah Ditum. It was the time when the traditional media of television, film and newspapers was joined by the internet; and the fame that resulted for nine iconic women: Britney, Paris, Lindsay, Aaliyah, Janet, Amy, Kim, Chyna and Jen came at a price. Sarah examines how each of these women changed the concept of ‘celebrity’ forever, often falling victim to it, in her new book Toxic.

The writer and comedian Alison Larkin is the author of The English American, an autobiographical novel about an adopted English woman who finds her birth mother and Jane-Austen-like romance in the US. Alison had avoided love for most of her adult life. However, in her 50s she found true love with an Indian climate scientist who had also immigrated to the US. Then he died. After 30 years living in America, Alison is in the UK to perform her one woman show Grief... a Comedy which opens at the Soho Theatre in London on Monday.

Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Rebecca Myatt Studio manager: Emma Harth

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