Splish, splash, we were… having a bath? Nah, swimming the Bristol Channel more like. Not Mick, Hannah and Jen – OBVS! – but the Henley Mermaids are undertaking this epic open-water challenge to raise cash for the Sunrise charity for brain conditions. Three fifths of them chat to Jen about the whats, whys and hows, as well as the many joys of being self-defined “middle-aged ladies”. Mick and Hannah have a bloody lovely time chatting with Georgia Pritchett, multi award-winning screenwriter of top-...
Jul 21, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 525
Helen Thorn's new book Get Divorced, Be Happy is an account of what she’s learned over a pretty big year, a sharing of the best tips she’s picked up along the way, a huge hug for anyone going through similar and a clink of the fizz glass to female friendship. It is *hugely* uplifting. In this Chops, the Australian half of the Scummy Mummies chats to our Mick about self-reclamation, getting through life’s shitty bits, the joy as well as the tough parts of single mumming, and how what feels like t...
Jul 18, 2021•38 min•Ep. 524
How are we in July already? Who knows, but if you're not planning on watching the Olympics this month, maybe you'd like to know what TV to get into your eyes and what to avoid. In this episode, Hannah and Mick finally catch up with The Nevers and tuck into the second half of Lupin, while Jen's been watching Sex/Life and it's important to point out that we didn't make her. Jen and Hannah chat about Epstein's Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell and there's other documentary news. And Mickey's been watching ...
Jul 16, 2021•47 min
Ever wondered if the economy is built for men and whether or not that might be doing us all a massive disservice? You’d be right, says financial journalist Katrine Marçal. She chats to Mick about Mother of Invention , her excellent new book shining a light on how understanding the consequences of sexism in our economy could be what saves us all. Ahead of this summer's Paralympics, disability rights charity Scope has published some shocking findings about declining rates in sports participation a...
Jul 14, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Last year marked 200 years since the birth of Anne Bronte and then, well, you know the rest. But the good people at The Bronte Parsonage aren't going to let a global pandemic rob her of a celebration and its exhibition dedicated to Anne is back in business. So Hannah got on the Zoom with events officer Lauren Livesey to chat about why the youngest Bronte is absolutely not "a lesser one", why The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is fiercely feminist, hugely complicated and potentially un-adaptable, and wh...
Jul 11, 2021•42 min
How much sport is too much sport? Let's find out. In this week's podcast, Jen is trying to compress Wimbledon, the Euros and the Olympics into one Jenny Off The Blocks and it's a valiant effort, if we do say so ourselves. She's also been chatting to author Zen Cho about representations of Malaysia, haunting grannies, and her new book Black Water Sister. Cinemas need bums on seats, so Hannah's been on the Zoom with our favourite film fan, Yosra Osman, to talk about what new flicks are absolutely ...
Jul 07, 2021•1 hr 19 min
After four years of being constantly yelled at by Donald Trump, covid reports aside, it’s been eerily quiet since 46th US President Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20 this year. Independence Day seems the perfect time to have a look at how Biden’s doing, what’s currently going down in Washington and what the future may hold, and so Mickey and Hannah got on the Zoom with leading UK journalist Helen Lewis, who, as staff writer for The Atlantic , knows a thing or two about American politics. Th...
Jul 04, 2021•48 min•Ep. 519
It's our resident film buff Yosra Osman's pick this month, and she's shamed Mick, Hannah and Jen by being the first to choose a film with a female director. Yosra's a big fan, but what do Hannah and Mick make of Amy Heckerling's iconic teen rom-com, Clueless ? Is it a yes please or a *makes W with thumbs and forefingers* whatevah? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
Jul 03, 2021•24 min•Ep. 519
CATS. What could be better, eh? Well, how about cats + excellent comedian Suzi Ruffell? Exactly! This week, Hannah catches up with Suzi to chat cats. And if you need more info than that 1. Why, what’s wrong with you? And 2. Because in Suzi’s new Radio 4 show, My Cat, The Judge , she and her cat Velma embark on a scientific quest to find out if cats and humans can ever truly understand each other. Mow. Mick’s chatting to artist Carolyn Defrin about period power, overcoming the woo-woo and her lat...
Jun 30, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 518
Sometimes a book has you nodding along so furiously, you give yourself neck ache. That’s what happened when our Mickey read Girlhood , Melissa Febos’s collection of eight personal essays examining what it means to come as age as a woman and how the hell we stop landing girls with baggage they’ll carry with them for life. Mick chats to Melissa about patriarchy attacks, why it’s so difficult for girls and women to say no, “empty consent”, mums and daughters, and, erm, cuddle parties. Support this ...
Jun 27, 2021•34 min•Ep. 212
If you’re baffled by computers and the like, you’re absolutely not on your own – but there's hope! This week, Mick catches up with Dr Sue Black to chat about computer science, why it’s a good idea to know at least a little bit about this witchcraft, and how Sue's new podcast, 100 Moments That Rocked Computer Science , can help you do just that. With a referendum about to take place in Gibraltar – a country with some of the harshest abortion laws in Europe – Hannah chats to Kayley Linares from Gi...
Jun 23, 2021•1 hr 23 min
At 27 years old, queen of chicken shop chat Amelia Dimeldonberg has been dominating content creation for the best part of a decade. As she launches Who Cares? , her new series for UKTV and Dave, she chats to Jen about capturing the mood of the nation, launching her own production company, the enigma that is Big Narstie, and Olivier Giroud's facial hair. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more abo...
Jun 20, 2021•27 min
There's loads of meaty drama to get your teeth into this month, as we chat about the last episodes of Mare of Easttown , as well as Time, The Underground Railroad, The Beast Must Die and Fargo 4 . But there is time for some comedy too, because we've been watching Motherland and Inside No 9. And for those of you wondering if Inside No 9 really is a comedy, we talk about that too. Tuck in! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...
Jun 18, 2021•43 min
It's Refugee Week, so Mickey has been on the Zoom with Agnes Tanoh and Sam Hudson from Women For Refugee Women about how Yarl’s Wood is a prison not sanctuary, the plight of refugee women in the UK, and the fight to halt the building of a new detention centre in County Durham. Euro 2020 is finally underway, so Jen chats to Scotland Women's football manager and BBC Sport pundit, Shelley Kerr. With all this talk about "the health of the nation", Hannah's got a barrage of facts in BT that might mak...
Jun 16, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Mary Wollstonecraft is the subject of Samantha Silva’s latest book, Love And Fury , an historical fiction reanimating the life and legacy of arguably the world’s first feminist. And what a life. Samantha chats to Mickey about being an 18th Century radfem, why Wollstonecraft is still all-too relevant today, the importance of women – obvs! – and *that* Newington Green statue. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...
Jun 13, 2021•39 min
Curtis Sittenfeld’s latest novel, Rodham , imagines an alternative history for Hillary Clinton – one in which she never married Bill – and she chats to Hannah about how exactly you go about blending fact and fiction, the highs and lows of 2016, and that time Hannah predicted a tit explosion in a political debate. Rubbish research, wandering wombs and the ol’ “women are making shit up” come into play AGAIN, as Jen talks to Dr Elinor Cleghorn about women and medicine and the litany of ways women’s...
Jun 09, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 511
Best-selling author Jane Thynne's upcoming novel, Widowland , was inspired by reactions to Jane herself, after the death of her husband, fellow best-selling scribe Philip Kerr. She chats to Hannah about Widowland , and why some alternative histories are closer to reality than we might think, as well as the status of widows, in the past and today. Jane also chats refreshingly openly about her experiences of losing her husband, and how it has altered her attitudes to life, possessions and the wisd...
Jun 06, 2021•34 min
Ever read a book and thought, "I'd love it if (child I know) could read it, but it's still a bit old for them?" Well, Victoria Hislop has solved that problem with at least one of those books, rewriting her novel The Island , as Maria's Island, a book for kids. Jen caught up with her to find out more, and also learned a lot about why leprosy is still a real problem in some parts of the world. Hannah's been chatting about the Celebrating City Women initiative with Wendy Hyde, from The City of Lond...
Jun 02, 2021•1 hr 17 min
It’s hard for teenage girls to make their voices heard at the best of times, let alone in the midst of a global pandemic. This week Mick chats to playwright and co-director of Illumine Theatre, Lisa Parry, who's written an excellent play, The Merthyr Stigmatist , about just this. They also talk about small-town Wales, and that time a cockatiel decapitated the baby Jesus. Prepare for your mind to be blown as Hannah gets on the Zoom with writer Judith Mackrell, to talk about her new book Going Wit...
May 26, 2021•1 hr 7 min
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Misuse of Drugs Act, so Hannah's been on the Zoom to Jane Slater, of the campaign group Transform Drugs, to talk about where and why reform is needed. They discuss the pressure UK drugs laws put on the justice system, prisons and health services, as well as communities and individuals, why we have fallen so far behind other countries when it comes to marijuana policy, and why a law that's not enforced equally shouldn't be enforced at all. Have at it. ...
May 23, 2021•35 min
What have the Greek myths ever done for us? Loads, it turns out, as writer, broadcaster, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes explains to Mickey in this week’s podzine. They chat about how the Classics still resonate, why they’re for everyone, and how the women in Greek myth have been given short shrift by (relatively) modern interpreters. What a surprise, eh? We can all agree that panic attacks are fucking horrible, but they’re still quite often dismissed or lumped in with other mental health...
May 19, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 504
You’ll no doubt recognise award-winning actor Rakie Ayola from her wide-ranging stuff on the telly – from Black Mirror to EastEnders to Doctor Who to Noughts + Crosses to Holby City – or you may have seen her at the theatre in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime or as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter And The Cursed Child or, most recently, in her award-winning turn as Noni in On Bear Ridge at the Royal Court. As of tomorrow, Monday 17 May, you can catch Rakie as DS Holland in The Pa...
May 16, 2021•30 min•Ep. 503
Lots of returning BBC comedy series this month, but we still had time to take a look at the finale of Line of Duty , Viewpoint and its ensuing shitshow, Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown and Ian Wright's Home Truths. We tackle one of those newly-returned series, This Time With Alan Partridge , and Hannah's also been laughing at Leonardo , although not sure that's what they were hoping when they made it. And Mick's been learning about makeup and its glamorous history in, er, MakeUp: A Glamourous H...
May 14, 2021•49 min
The old world slowly returns, so Hannah's been on the blower to Standard Issue fave and new comedian Vix Leyton to chat about how she's salvaged a good year from a very bad one and our gradual reset to "normal". With Covid vaccine take-up still low among black and ethnic minority communities, Jen's been chatting to the Runnymede Trust's Halima Begum to find out why, as well as what the proposed Covid passport (er, no thanks) might mean for those groups. There's maternity rights in Jenny Off The ...
May 12, 2021•1 hr 24 min
For millennia, men have written the narrative around women's bodies and sexuality, and this applies to visual representations too, says Dr Catherine McCormack, art historian, independent curator, and author of the new book Women In The Picture: Women, Art And The Power Of Looking . Jen caught up with Catherine to talk about just that, as well as the debate around censorship and whitewashing history, the difference between liberation and exploitation, and errrr, Nuts magazine. Catherine refers to...
May 09, 2021•39 min
Masturbation, owed orgasms, shame, grief and the word 'moist': all of them get a look-in during Mick's wide-ranging chat with excellent poet Hollie McNish, whose brilliant new book, Slug is a bona-fide gem. Hannah catches up with Julie Gearey, writer and creator of new SkyOne sci-fi series Intergalactic , to chat the joys of a feminist Con Air in particular, and women in sci-fi in general. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's loving the work of Katie Taylor and Emma Hayes, and there’s a need for great...
May 05, 2021•1 hr 23 min
Leone Ross’s incredible third novel, This One Sky Day (published as Popisho in the US), is a joyous magic realism adventure into self-acceptance and the power of people. It led to Leone and our Mick having a wide-roaming natter, which covers self-discovery, self-acceptance, the joy of sauce, the food we need, workaday magical powers, the power of pum-pums (vulvas, if you’re wondering), transformative sex, politics with a big and a small ‘P’, imagining an island with no colonial history and the e...
May 02, 2021•43 min•Ep. 498
This month Mick takes us on a nostalgic voyage as the team revisits one of her childhood favourites, 1980's Leslie Nielson comedy vehicle, Airplane! Daft as you like and full to the brim with gags, but just how recently has Mick watched it and how will her Millennial co-pilots, Yosra and Jen, feel about it? 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/adchoice...
May 01, 2021•27 min
How do you feel about being sad? It might be hard to feel good about it, but journalist Helen Russell has some excellent reasons to stop fearing it, as she chats to our Jen about her new book, How To Be Sad: Everything I've Learned About Getting Happier, By Being Sad, Better . Mick’s been on the Zoom with Lara Parmiani, artistic director of Legal Aliens Theatre Company, to chat about Things I Am Not , a ten-part series of podcasts turning assumptions around migrant women on their head. There are...
Apr 28, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 496
Personal testimony is a powerful part of the national debate about sexual abuse and in this week's Chops, Hannah gets on the Zoom with Journalist Lizzy Dening to find out more about her website Survivor Stories. They chat about how lockdown has impacted survivors of sexual abuse, how "telling your story" can help you to move on and why the words "what was she doing out at that hour?" should get in the bin forever. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast . Hosted on Aca...
Apr 25, 2021•30 min
