app_store_button

google_play_button

DK - Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Nyd den ubegrænsede adgang til tusindvis af spændende e- og lydbøger - helt gratis

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

BBC Radio 4

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Listen to our new series of conversations, The Woman's Hour Guide to Life, on BBC Sounds - your toolkit for the juggle, struggle and everything in between: www.bbc.co.uk/guidetolife

Woman's Hour

Naz Shah has been the MP for Bradford West since 2015, after a battle with George Galloway’s Respect Party, but her personal journey into politics is remarkable. Naz was born in Bradford but sent to Pakistan at the age of 12, to escape the attentions of her mother’s abuser. Then when she was 20 her mother was convicted of his murder. For years Naz looked after her younger siblings, while campaigning alongside Southall Black Sisters for her mother’s release and was instrumental in achieving a reduction in her mother’s jail term. She joins presenter Kylie Pentelow to discuss her story as she publishes her memoir Honoured: Survival, Strength and My Path to Politics.

Have you heard about the ‘alpine divorce’ trend? Women on social media are describing it as an extreme style of breakup in which a man leaves his partner stranded during a hike or outdoor adventure. Jo Hemmings, a Behavioural Psychologist and Relationship Counsellor, and broadcaster and author Mary-Ann Ochota discuss this troubling new relationship trend and how women can feel safe while navigating the outdoors.

The Anti-discimination charity Kick it Out has received 131 reports of sexist incidents at football matches from the start of the men's season until the end of February this year. That's more than double than for the same period last season, with comments to female fans including, 'What do you know about football? You should be in the kitchen getting your husband's tea." We discuss why this sexism is increasing and what can be done about it with BBC Sport senior journalist Sally Freedman, who's written a book about her expereinces, and Sarah Collins, head of Safeguarding at Stockport County Football Club. 

In the new play, John Proctor is the Villain, high school girls in small town America are studying The Crucible, Arthur Miller's allegorical portrayal of the Salem witch trials. The play takes place just as the #MeToo movement catches fire, and comes close to home. As the Broadway hit premieres in the UK at London's Royal Court Theatre, playwright Kimberly Belflower and director Danya Taymor join Kylie to discuss viewing Miller's classic through a #MeToo lens. 

Presenter: Kylie Pentelow
Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Naz Shah, 'Alpine divorce', Sexism at football matches

NB The music in this broadcast has been removed from the podcast for rights reasons

We start today's programme with the sad news that Dame Jenni Murray has died. For 33 years she brought her sharp intellect, wit and passion for women's stories to generations of listeners, having conversations with some of the most famous women on the planet from Margaret Thatcher to Nicole Kidman. And yet it was her intuition for understanding women's lives - the struggles and the opportunities - and her openness about the challenges in her own life that endeared her to so many. To help us remember her, Kylie Pentelow is joined by former Woman's Hour editor Jill Burridge, who worked closely with her for many years.

Emmy award-winner Elisabeth Moss, best known for Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale, and Kate Mara from House of Cards and The Martian join Kylie in the Woman's Hour studio. Playing best friends – they discuss their new drama series, Imperfect Women.

Experts at the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) are highlighting the urgent need for clearer, evidence-based guidance on the use of medicines during pregnancy and breastfeeding. They want to draw attention to what they say are significant evidence gaps, inconsistent advice for patients, and the longstanding exclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women from clinical trials. Kylie speaks to Dr Emma Magavern, a clinical lecturer in Clinical Pharmacology at Queen Mary University and a fellow of the BPS, and Nikki Wilson, CEO of The Maternal Mental Health Alliance, who decided to go onto antidepressants when pregnant with her second child.

Singer and showbiz legend Jane McDonald talks about her new album, Living the Dream.

Presenter: Kylie Pentelow
Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Dame Jenni Murray remembered, Elizabeth Moss and Kate Mara, Jane McDonald

New regulations state that every team in FIFA's women's football tournaments must include at least one female head coach or assistant coach.
The requirements will come into effect during the under 17s and under 20s Women's World Cup and Women's Champions Cup competitions this year. Kylie Pentelow caught up on the news with Fern Buckley, sports presenter and former Talksport commentator, and Claire Buzzeo, a football coach at the Sunderland football academy.

Women in Glasgow are pulling together after a fire near the city’s Central Station forced several female‑run salons and small businesses to shut their doors. For nearly two weeks, nail technicians and hairdressers have been unable to trade after their businesses were destroyed by the blaze. But amid the shock and uncertainty, a powerful network of local women has stepped in—rallying support, fundraising, and even donating equipment to help these business owners get back on their feet. Anita speaks to Carolyn Currie from Women's Enterprise Scotland, a membership body for businesswomen and Carina McCreedy who runs Bonos Nail Salon and who has received some of that help.

Dame Sarah Mullally, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, is on a walking pilgrimage from St Paul’s Cathedral to Canterbury. She is walking the ancient Becket Camino which was once travelled by medieval pilgrims, and her office believes she is the first Archbishop of Canterbury to do this. It will be part of her spiritual preparation for her role. Rev Sally Hitchiner, who knows Dame Sarah and is the Parish Priest of North Lambeth, where she worked alongside the Archbishop when she was Bishop of London joins Nuala to talk about the pilgrimage experience. 

Presenter: Kylie Pentelow 
Producer: Dianne McGregor

FIFA's women's football tournaments, Glasgow fire, Pilgrimages

New regulations state that every team in FIFA's women's football tournaments must include at least one female head coach or assistant coach.
The requirements will come into effect during the under 17s and under 20s Women's World Cup and Women's Champions Cup competitions this year. Kylie Pentelow caught up on the news with Fern Buckley, sports presenter and former Talksport commentator, and Claire Buzzeo, a football coach at the Sunderland football academy.

Cuba is experiencing one of its worst economic and humanitarian crises in decades. We hear from entrepreneur Idania del Rio who explains what it’s like for Cuban women to live under longstanding embargo restrictions and BBC Cuba Correspondent Will Grant joins Kylie from Havana to explain the political landscape and the impact of US sanctions.

This week the Government told the BBC that they need to make big changes to the adoption system. Josh MacAlister, the Children and Families minister, apologised to adoptive parents and said that too many of them have been left isolated, to battle a system that doesn’t understand them. His comments follow a BBC investigation last year which found there was widespread blame of parents who were pleading with the authorities for support. Kylie speaks to BBC Special correspondent Judith Moritz who led the investigation and Sara Taylor, an adoptive mum of two and CEO and founder of peer support organisation, It Takes A Village.

Shelley Klein is a writer and psychotherapist whose new novel follows the story of a woman whose husband of 25 years announces he’s leaving her, just at the same time that she finds out she has cancer. She tells Kylie about why she wanted to write the book: My Husband and Other Rats.

Presenter: Kylie Pentelow
Producer: Corinna Jones

FIFA's women's football tournaments, Women in Cuba, Adoption

**This programme has been edited since originally broadcast**

This month a legal case in the High Court has shed light on an industry of so-called 'Chatters' who work with online creators. 'Chatters,' are people, often women, who chat to fans of creators or models on subscription platforms such as OnlyFans - and other platforms - where users can pay creators, often for adult content, and can message them directly for a fee. The fans think that they are speaking directly to the creator or model. The court heard that many of those messages aren’t actually written by the creators themselves, but by these chatters, agency workers, whose purpose is to keep conversations going. Anita Rani is joined by Lara Bowman, a freelance journalist who has been reporting on the story.

For many of us, our relationships with our siblings will be the longest of our lives, sometimes closing in on a century. Whether loving or fraught, competitive or codependent, these dynamics are integral in shaping us. Author and journalist Catherine Carr says it’s time we acknowledge their significance in our lives. She joins Anita to discuss her new book Who’s the Favourite? The Loving, Messy Realities of Sibling Relationships.

Women in Glasgow are pulling together after a fire near the city’s Central Station forced several female‑run salons and small businesses to shut their doors. For nearly two weeks, nail technicians and hairdressers have been unable to trade after their businesses were destroyed by the blaze. But amid the shock and uncertainty, a powerful network of local women has stepped in—rallying support, fundraising, and even donating equipment to help these business owners get back on their feet. Anita speaks to Carolyn Currie from Women's Enterprise Scotland, a membership body for businesswomen and Carina McCreedy who runs Bonos Nail Salon and who has received some of that help. 

The artist LR Vandy’s new exhibition Rise has opened at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Lisa has transformed the space into an immersive environment using her trademark rope and found materials. The show explores the themes of power, cultural traditions and international trade and at its centre is a monumental maypole, celebrating communal gathering, ritual and collective dance. Lisa joins Anita to talk about what it was like to become a full-time artist later in life and how she challenges traditional representations of women’s bodies with her rope work.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rebecca Myatt

Glasgow fire, Sibling relationships, Artist LR Vandy

According to the UK Health Security Agency, five new cases of meningitis have been confirmed in Kent. Two people have died in the outbreak. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has described it as an 'unprecedented' outbreak although the risk of the disease spreading is low. So what are the facts parents and young people should be aware of? Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, Deputy Director, Immunisations and Vaccine Preventable Diseases at the UK Health Security Agency, and GP Dr Ellie Cannon join Anita Rani.

Today, the Football Association is launching new educational resources to tackle the barriers girls face in playing football in school. Sue Day, director of women's football at the FA tells Anita how we can get more girls onto the pitch, and how she kept playing sport as a teenager.

MI5 will pay compensation and has apologised to a woman who was coercively controlled and attacked with a machete by one of its agents. The woman, who is being called Beth, made a legal claim following a BBC investigation four years ago, which showed that the man was a neo-Nazi misogynist who used his security service role as a tool of abuse. Joining Anita are Kate Ellis from the Centre for Women's Justice who represented Beth, and BBC investigations reporter Daniel de Simone.

Have you ever stopped to think about how our gardens got to be filled with so many different plants and flowers? A new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford answers exactly that question, taking visitors across the world. Anita talks to Dr Francesca Leoni, the co-curator of In Bloom - How Plants Changed Our World. 

Last year, MPs voted to decriminalise abortion for women in England and Wales, meaning a woman would no longer face prosecution for ending her own pregnancy. The amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill removes criminal liability for the woman herself, but medical professionals and others who assist an abortion outside the legal framework could still be held criminally liable. The Bill is still passing through Parliament, and according to research by the Guardian, women are still being arrested. We hear from Guardian reporter Hannah Al-Othman.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Meningitis, FA's Director of Women's Football, Abortion amendments

Researchers in Australia have developed an AI tool that means a routine mammogram can also monitor your heart health. The study, published in Heart, the journal of the British Cardiovascular Society, shows it’s as accurate as the standard methods used by doctors. Cardiologist and Associate Professor Clare Arnott, Global Director of the Cardiovascular Program at The George Institute for Global Health, which is an independent medical research organization, joins Nuala McGovern from Sydney to discuss the work.

Prisons are failing to get the basics right when it comes to helping vulnerable inmates keep in touch with families, that's according to a report out today. The investigation by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons looked at jails in general, but visited two women's prisons as part of their inspections. They found keeping in touch with families was too often only seen as ‘nice to have,’ and having a detrimental impact on both prisoners and their children. Nuala talks to HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor, and also to Sophie Carter, whose partner is 18 months into a 25-year sentence.

Now for a moment of history in the Church of England. Dame Sarah Mullally, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, is today beginning a pilgrimage from St Paul’s Cathedral to Canterbury. She will walk the ancient Becket Camino which was once travelled by medieval pilgrims, and her office believes she is the first Archbishop of Canterbury to do this. It will be part of her spiritual preparation for her role. To help us explore more about this journey, we’re joined by the Rev Sally Hitchiner, who knows Dame Sarah and is the Parish Priest of North Lambeth, where she worked alongside the Archbishop when she was Bishop of London. She has also walked this 87-mile route herself, more than once.

On Woman’s Hour we've often spoken about how to tackle extreme misogyny online, and discussions have been sparked again following Louis Theroux's latest documentary, Inside the Manosphere, where he speaks with influencers who promote hyper-masculine, often misogynistic ideas and their impact on boys and young men. To discuss ideas on how to deal with manosphere misogyny, Nuala is joined by Professor Sarah Hawkes from the gender equality think tank 50/50, who specialises in gender equality and health equity, and Raewyn Connell, a feminist sociologist studying the social theory of gender relations and masculinity. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Sydney.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern 
Producer: Andrea Kidd

AI heart health mammogram, Prison family visits, The manosphere

It was an historic night for Ireland and for those watching in her home town of Killarney in County Kerry, as Jessie Buckley became the first Irish woman to win the Best Actress Oscar, honoured for her powerful performance as Shakespeare’s grieving wife in Hamnet. She had been widely tipped to win, and in her emotional acceptance speech she paid tribute to women and mothers. Ireland is an island of five million and punches above its weight in artistic and literary endeavours and success. So what's behind it as Ireland celebrates Jessie? Nuala McGovern is joined by Evelyn O'Rourke, RTE'S Arts and Media Correspondent in LA, who has been at the Oscars.
 
What if lasers could spot danger before anyone else does? After her own experiences of feeling unsafe in public spaces, Rosie Richardson is developing a laser-based system that can detect when someone’s behaviour shifts from ordinary to predatory. Working with innovation company Createc, she’s adapting technology already used to track crowds in major stations like King’s Cross and turning it towards women's safety.
 
A new public art project, Social Work Happens Here, is aiming to challenge the public’s misconceptions about the profession and honour the positive impact social workers can have on people’s lives. Figures show 86% of UK social workers are women, and while it can be hugely rewarding work, there are also plenty of challenges for the sector including recruitment and retention. Sarah Blackmore, Exec Director for Professional Practice at the regulator Social Work England, and Alex, who is a palliative social worker supporting people with an advanced serious illness or a life-limiting condition, join Nuala to discuss.
 
Author, poet and playwright Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s latest novel Almost Life is a queer love story about the paths not taken and two women whose lives become intrinsically linked over several decades. Her 13th book is adult fiction but she’s previously written for a range of ages and genres including 2020’s The Mercies and her debut fantasy novel, The Girl of Ink and Stars, which won the 2017 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and a British Book Award.
 
And new research from Bristol University indicates that children can show signs of deception as early as eight months old. Early ploys can include pretending not to hear their parents or hiding toys, while by the age of three they may be telling lies such as "a ghost ate the chocolate". We hear from Elena Hoicka, the professor of developmental pschology who led the research.
 
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Jesse Buckley's Oscars win, Social work, Kiran Millwood Hargrave

The health secretary Wes Streeting has appointed senior midwife Donna Ockenden to lead a review into maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The appointment came after a sustained campaign by bereaved and harmed families who said that she was the only one they trusted to lead the review into failings in Leeds. Donna Ockenden joined Nuala McGovern to discuss her new appointment as well as her ongoing review into Nottingham university hospitals.

How would you feel if everyone in your household forgot your birthday? After a woman's social media post saying her family had forgotten hers went viral, Anita talked to the author Poorna Bell and the journalist Nell Frizzell about whether forgetting a spouse's birthday is simply a careless moment or the sign of something deeper.

Dr Amy Blakeway, Senior Lecturer in 16th Century Scottish History at the University of St Andrews, talked to Nuala about the history of the term 'rough wooing', and why she thinks it’s time we stopped using it.

Ashley Dalton, the MP for West Lancashire, announced last week that she was stepping down from her role as Health Minister to focus on constituency work and her health. Last year she revealed that her breast cancer had returned, and metastasised. This means living with advanced breast cancer everyday – it can’t be cured, but it can be managed. She joined Nuala to discuss her decision.

Maimuna Memon is an actress, singer, composer, and playwright. Last year, she won a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in the musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 at the Donmar in London. Maimuna talks to Anita about the real-life stories behind her latest show Manic Street Creature.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Annette Wells

Leeds Maternity Review, Forgetting birthdays, the term ‘rough wooing’, Ashley Dalton MP, Maimuna Memon

New figures out from Thames Valley Air Ambulance show that women are less likely than men to receive bystander CPR, with one in three female cardiac arrest patients getting no CPR until crews arrive on scene. The CEO of Thames Valley Air Ambulance, Amanda McLean will join Anita Rani to talk about what is causing this reluctance, and we'll be joined by Chloe Lipton, a woman who is campaigning for female manikins to be mandatory in CPR and defibrillator training.

Yesterday, Mandy Wixon was jailed for 13 years for keeping a vulnerable woman captive in her home for 25 years. She was found guilty of two counts of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour and four charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Gloucestershire police have said that the victim was kept in 'squalid conditions'. BBC West of England Journalist Chloe Harcombe picks up the story with Anita Rani. 

Cambridge University have conducted research into AI toys, which are marketed to children as young as three. But what are they, and what is the impact of this tech on such young children? Joining Anita is Dr Emily Goodacre from the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Education.
 
Monika Radojevic tells Anita why she took the inspiration for her debut novel Strangerland, from her own parents' love story. Set in the early 1990s, these two immigrants from Brazil and Montenegro, then part of Yugoslavia, fall deeply in love in London. However, it takes journeying across continents and into the start of a civil war for them to be together. She joins Anita.
 
Maimuna Memon is an actress, singer, composer, and playwright. Last year, she won a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in the musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 at the Donmar in London. Maimuna talks to Anita about the real-life stories behind her latest show Manic Street Creature.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Corinna Jones

CPR on women, AI toys, Maimuna Memon

Over the past few weeks, Woman’s Hour has been telling the stories of young people, staff and parents involved in SHiFT in Greater Manchester. SHiFT is a new approach to helping young people at risk of getting into serious trouble and it is all about relationships. Skilled professionals called ‘guides’ work with teenagers for an 18-month period and they just keep showing up. Our reporter Jo Morris went out and about with the team and spoke to teenagers and a mum about the impact of this new approach.

In this special podcast episode, our presenter Nuala McGovern guides you through the stories you might have missed.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern 

Reporter: Jo Morris 

Producer: Erin Riley

Woman's Hour special: Breaking The Cycle

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

Other podcasts you might like ...