The period in a woman's life between adolescence and menopause has no name, something journalist Nell Frizzell wanted to change when she set out to write The Panic Years , a hilarious and candid memoir about her experience of this time of flux. Jen caught up with Nell to chat about fertility, how we're not talking about it - or even bothering to research it - properly, and how all of the responsibility around it is foisted upon women. They also talk about the myths around male and female sexuali...
Feb 07, 2021•47 min
Powerhouse performances, intriguing aspect ratio and fidget-inducing discomfort: Yosra's pick of 2014's Mommy from wünderkind director Xavier Dolan is a fresh watch for Mick and Jen. What do they make of it? Who knew middle-age women given meaty storylines could have so much fun? And when did they last phone their parents? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...
Feb 06, 2021•27 min•Ep. 464
In 2018, Professor Olivette Otele became the UK’s first black female history professor. 2018! She chats to Mick about missing stories, her book African Europeans , and the toppling of Edward Colston. Hannah catches up with writer Kerri Ni Dochartaigh to talk growing up in The Troubles, how nature can help your mental health and Kerri’s beautifully written debut, Thin Places . In Jenny Off The Blocks, ahead of next week’s Australian Open, Jen’s on the blower to Jo Durie, tennis pundit and former ...
Feb 03, 2021•1 hr 30 min
Cerys Matthews – singer, songwriter, author, broadcaster and indisputable champion of unusual sounds on the radio (hello yodelling!) – chats to journalist Hazel Davis about all manner of things in this week’s Sunday Chops. Wide-ranging topics include why Cerys isn’t a nurse, the lost opportunities of the pub, growing up singing, cuisine and where it comes from, and why you should always make time to poo. Oh, and they also talk about her new collaborative album, We Are From The Sun , a gorgeous, ...
Jan 31, 2021•31 min•Ep. 462
There’s plenty to be making noise about at the moment, but activism can take many different forms, so in this week’s podzine, Hannah gets on the blower to comedian, writer and Standard Issue fave, Jenny Éclair, to chat about her new BBC show Craftivism: Making a Difference , and the power of picking up your pins and needles. Since January is the perfect time to curl up with a good book, Jen is chatting to author Susie Yang about her debut novel, White Ivy , an alternative immigrant narrative and...
Jan 27, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Political commentator, indefatigable activist and all-round top woman, Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu is a familiar face fighting the anti-racism fight on TV screens, social media and now, um, Tik-Tok. Her book, This Is Why I Resist , is a powerful, passionate polemic against structural racism. In this Chops, she tells Mickey why she had to write it. They also talk about the problem of performative allyship, the insidiousness of structural racism, and why the angry black woman trope is so pernicious. S...
Jan 24, 2021•39 min•Ep. 460
January is a good time to try to get on top of your finances, so Hannah's been on the Zoom to author and podcaster Selina Flavius to talk about her new book Black Girl Finance and why we should all talk a bit more about money. There's a preview to this week's cracker of a Chops, as Mickey catches up up with political commentator and activist Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu to talk about dismantling structural racism, the big problem of performative allyship, and handing Piers Morgan his arse on a plate....
Jan 20, 2021•1 hr 13 min
As America experiences its most contentious transfer of power in generations, Hannah chats to historian Mary Beard about why succession is always a fraught and dangerous time, how society deals with "the losers" and the latest series of her BBC show, Inside Culture . They also talk about the politics of how language evolves, how future historians are going to make sense of the wild times we're living through, and whether "the right side of history" actually exists. Support this show http://suppo...
Jan 17, 2021•36 min
Covid is hitting cancer patients especially hard, and Professor Pat Price, chair of the charity Action Radiotherapy and founder of Radiotherapy4Life and the #CatchUpWithCancer campaign, talks to Jen about what that means in human terms, the state of the NHS, what can be done, and how the Catch Up With Cancer campaign can help. The miracle of science that is Dr Suze Kundu gets on the Zoom with Mick to talk vaccines, what’s happening in the world of STEM, how to tackle those home-school science le...
Jan 13, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 457
Since it's January, and you might be thinking about getting all Joe Wicks for the new year, Jen caught up with pilates expert, PT and founder of wellness brand Niix, Nicki Philips. They chatted about the new fitness app the brand has launched, how Covid has changed the fitness world, and why it just doesn’t matter if you want to eat that doughnut. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about you...
Jan 10, 2021•27 min
Rev up your petrol lawnmower, clamber aboard and come on a journey of discovery as Yosra watches Mick's pick of 1999's The Straight Story for the very first time. Does she like it? Is Hannah happy to sit through it again? And what magic happens when Walt Disney, David Lynch and an old cowboy get together? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Jan 09, 2021•23 min•Ep. 455
As the UK teeters on the edge of another economic crisis, Hannah gets on the blower to Dr Jodi Gardner to chat about austerity and what the Government could be doing to avoid the mistakes of the past. Is it, do we think? *hollow laughter* Jen chats to Judy Murray about her new women’s sports series, Driving Force , and how to turn your kids into tennis champions. And hold on to your stolen leather jackets, because in this week’s Rated or Dated, we’re taking an inappropriate extra-curricular play...
Jan 06, 2021•1 hr 18 min
What a year, eh? The almost constant doom and gloom of 2020 is why we decided to record a relentlessly chipper gigcast for the start of 2021. And so we got the Standard Issue family – Mick, Hannah, Jen and the boss Sarah Millican – together for a Zoom natter. Chat includes flotation tank horror, contouring with Marmite, tiny hats for rats, playing find the poo, Penguin Ski Sunday, book recommendations, and the unmitigated joy of a good cackle. This podcast was recorded at the beginning of Decemb...
Jan 03, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 454
2020 has been wild/weird/traumatic/a relentless knobhead (delete where applicable) so for our review of the year we've brought in the big guns: Ayesha Hazarika and Helen Lewis. We talk about how the Government has coped with the pandemic and how the public has coped with the lockdown, as well as cancel culture, woke capitalism, Biden's victory and zombie minks. Tuck in! * This podcast was recorded on December 16, 2020 * The tale of the exploding whale is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPu...
Dec 30, 2020•1 hr 18 min
Christmas probably hasn't been what you planned this year, but we can at least help keep you entertained for the rest of December. In this month's Outside The Box, we talk about the Ghosts Christmas special, Ridley Scott's HBO sci-fi Raised By Wolves and the upcoming Beeb mini-series Black Narcissus . And we're doing a TV review of the year and chatting about some of our faves of 2020, including I May Destroy You, I Hate Suzie, Crip Camp, The Plot Against America, The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, Mi...
Dec 27, 2020•38 min
Our Christmas interview special has light, shade, laughs and a slice of Hope. Ellie Gibson – games journalist, co-host of the Extra Life podcast, and "the common one " (her words) from the Scummy Mummies – is here to tell you all about the joys of gaming. She chats to our Mick about navigating the uber-male world of gaming, letting your kids loose online, and the strangely therapeutic powers of virtual farming. Meanwhile, our Jen chats to Liz Scowcroft, head of research and evaluation at Samarit...
Dec 23, 2020•48 min
We can all agree there has been too much news this year, right? So, our final Chops of 2020 is all about froth, as Hannah chats to screenwriter Sian Harries, co-host (with her husband Rhod Gilbert) of the podcast, The Froth . They talk about the joys of figuratively chatting shit, why this so often turns into literally chatting shit, why Four Seasons Total Landscaping is 2020's funniest joke, how Wales has fared during the pandemic and who - WHO? - is missing their signed photo of Judi Dench. Tu...
Dec 20, 2020•32 min
Should there be a disclaimer on The Crown that it’s a drama not straight history? It’s just one of the questions about television’s depictions of history that Hannah puts to historian and author Hallie Rubenhold, as they chat accuracy in period dramas. Hazel Davis and Jenny Landreth share their love of amateur dramatics, wonder why some people *cough* are a bit sniffy about it, and talk Break A Leg , Jenny’s book extolling the joys of community theatre. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Tom Allen’s been ...
Dec 16, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 449
Depression is, to put it bluntly, a big bag of dicks. And it’s equally a bag of dicks for those watching someone they love go through it; something which international bestselling author Amanda Prowse knows all too well, having watched her son Josh suffer from such severe depression that he planned to take his own life. We're often told it's good to talk and it's okay to not be okay – both cracking bits of advice – but it’s not always that easy in practice. And so Amanda and Josh found a new way...
Dec 13, 2020•32 min•Ep. 448
After the year we've all just had, staying hopeful is hard, but Mick's been to an expert - bona fide entertainment legend Ruby Wax - for some tips. Lucy Nichol is back with us, chatting to positive psychology coach Ruth Cooper-Dickson about coaching and supporting volunteers working with refugees, and how to handle our own expectations regarding post-traumatic growth in the pandemic. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's looking at the return of the crowd to sports events and in the Bush Telegraph we'r...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 13 min
Been cooking more in lockdown? Or less? Either way, you're going to like what we're serving in this Chops as Hannah chats to chef, TV presenter and all-round gem Nadiya Hussain about her new series for the BBC, Nadiya's American Adventure . They talk about what food can teach us about immigration, how it connects people to the past and how it brings cultures together. Tuck in! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...
Dec 06, 2020•29 min
Grab your favourite jumper, wrap it around your head and safety pin your backless swimming costume together, as this month's Flicking sees Mick and our resident film buff Yosra Osman visit the iconic Grey Gardens at Hannah's behest. The Maysles brothers' cult 1975 documentary throws up a lot of questions: What will they make of Big and Little Edie Beale? What does it tell us about mums, daughters, mums and daughters, and women in general? How did it change documentary making? And just how many r...
Dec 05, 2020•29 min•Ep. 445
Meghan Markle has put the little-talked-about subject of miscarriages on the front page, so Hannah chats to director Frances Loy about Swings and Roundabouts , her debut short film about grief after a miscarriage. Journalist and author Tina Jackson tells Mickey about her book The Beloved Children , a razzle-dazzle slice of magic realism set in wartime London and inhabited by gloriously defiant women. Jen’s back and so is Jenny Off The Blocks, in which she’s tackling the ever-thorny issue of BBC ...
Dec 02, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 444
The Good Lad Initiative is a gender equality charity, working to tackle the root causes of inequality and promote positive masculinity. Mickey caught up with director Dr Dan Guinness and head of facilitation and training Ben Hurst to find out more about the power of conversation, lightbulb moments and being a work in progress. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
Nov 29, 2020•33 min•Ep. 443
We might all be tiring of inside life but at least there's a whole lot of TV on to keep us entertained while we're at it. In this month's Outside The Box, Hannah and Mickey chat about The Queen's Gambit, Small Axe, The Good Lord Bird, The Crown, The Undoing and My Octopus Teacher . Tuck in! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 27, 2020•54 min
It's been a while since we've had the boss - Sarah Millican - on the podcast, but this week she has some exciting news to share. But that's not all we have to offer in this episode. Hannah chats to journalist and Loose Woman Kaye Adams about Still Hot , the collection of essays about the menopause she's co-edited with Vicky Allan, and why some of us are most definitely in denial. Mickey talks to serial entrepreneur Shaa Wasmund about business in the time of Covid, why women aren’t getting the br...
Nov 25, 2020•1 hr 26 min
Would it even BE International Men’s Day without some sort of Richard Herring interaction? Not as far as we’re concerned. And it just so happens that Richard has written a new book: The Problem With Men, When Is International Men’s Day (And Why It Matters) . It is, as you’d expect, very funny indeed, charting Richard’s journey from pedant hoisted by his own petard answering every ‘When’s International *Men’s* Day?’ asked on International Women’s Day, to his understanding of why IMD is necessary ...
Nov 22, 2020•35 min•Ep. 440
Welcome to our annual MAN GIG, an absolute smasher of a natter Mick and Hannah had with comedian Daliso Chaponda and screenwriter and actor Laurence Rickard. Chat includes pet cavemen, Jacinda Ardern, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Alton Towers, and selling Ed Sheeran, as well as providing answers to the questions "where did the Dunleavys get that Sanyo VHS recorder from?" and "what exactly is Mick’s granddad playing at?" On the subject of MEN, please do have a listen to our IMD2020 series of Chops, where...
Nov 18, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 439
The indomitable Carmen Callil – mother of Virago Press, writer, publisher, fierce feminist, joyful crone, enraged person and self-proclaimed difficult woman – is one hell of a role model. And one hell of a writer. Callil's latest book, Oh Happy Day: Those Times And These Times , brims with eloquent rage as she delves into her ancestors’ lives to tell a gripping story of Empire and the poverty and injustice of 19th Century England, and how that led to her family's migration to Australia. It’s bri...
Nov 15, 2020•34 min•Ep. 438
Jen catches up with comedian and writer Michael Spicer, who you’ll know from his excellent The Man In The Room Next Door sketches (and if you don't, do check them out – they're pitch perfect), and now new book The Secret Political Adviser: The Unredacted Files Of The Man In The Room Next Door . They chat being a man online, being Matt Hancock online, and contemporary political heroes – spoiler alert, they’re a bit thin on the ground in the UK at the minute. Support this show http://supporter.aca...
Nov 15, 2020•35 min•Ep. 437
