Mick’s picked one of her all-time favourites this week: 1979’s Life of Brian. And she’s not alone in loving this funny AF biting commentary about the danger of mass movements and the inherent weakness of any faith or ideology that eschews critical thinking, which still regularly tops ‘best comedy film’ lists. But do Hannah and Jen feel the same? Does the Pythons controversial at the time satire stand the test of time? And is Mick still legally bound to Michael Palin? Find out! Learn more about y...
Oct 09, 2024•33 min
Musician Pauline Black is best known as the frontwoman of 2-tone band The Selecter, and wrote about her experiences in the band and life in her memoir Black by Design: A 2-Tone Memoir. On reading her book, filmmaker Jane Mingay was inspired to get in touch with Pauline and the result of their collaboration is the new documentary, Pauline Black: A 2-Tone Story, which is showing at the London Film Festival. Jen caught up with Pauline and Jane to chat about Pauline’s experiences, the impact of the ...
Oct 08, 2024•25 min
Feminist, activist and best-selling author Laura Bates first came to attention as a fierce feminist voice 12 years ago when she started the Everyday Sexism Project. She’s since written a slew of brilliant, if enraging, non-fictions about how women and girls are treated, and quite rightly become a bona fide icon. In this episode, she’s chatting to our Mick about the grim state of the world when it comes to male violence against women and girls, how she holds onto hope, why she’s reimagining the A...
Oct 07, 2024•26 min
Actor, playwright and Essex girl Anne Odeke was thrilled when she learnt about little-known historical figure Princess Dinobolu, the first woman of colour to enter a beauty pageant in the UK. Her reimagining of what led the “princess” to take to the stage at Southend-On-Sea’s Kursaal back in 1908 forms the basis of Princess Essex, the play she wrote and is currently starring in at The Globe. Fellow Essex girl Jen, caught up with Anne to talk about the play, Essex, identity, and learning from Sha...
Oct 03, 2024•28 min
Mick and Jen are on Bush Telegraph duty this week, and turning the colour of a Gen Z bathroom suite as they look at what’s happening at the Conservative Party Conference. Mick’s been watching Panorama’s episode about the menopause industry and screaming BUT WHY into a pillow, while Jen’s reliving one of her best moments being holy watered by a vicar during the 2008 London Marathon. The Boss, Sarah Millican, is back with some more Light Relief for our £5 and above Patreons, talking wet undereyes ...
Oct 03, 2024•31 min
Peter Jackson's 1994 fantasy/true crime/coming-of-age/period/romance/horror Heavenly Creatures gave Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey their first screen roles. Why was one an instant star and the other a much-delayed one? Can a man capture the intensity of teenage girls? Who, if anyone, is mad in this case? Find out the answers to these questions and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 01, 2024•29 min
Michelle Ovens MBE, founder of Small Business Britain and huge champion of female business owners, is a total powerhouse and inspiration. She’s chatting to our Mick about small businesses, where they’re at, what’s in store, why more women are starting them, and the work being done by Michelle and her team to make the word 'entrepreneur' way more diverse than tech bros and wannabe Alan Sugars. You can find Small Business Britain on all the socials @britainsmallbiz. And not a Sam the Eagle in sigh...
Oct 01, 2024•26 min
It's our birthday! So, here's a very special episode - a chat about the last decade with the boss herself, Sarah Millican. We're talking about what we've learned in the last 10 years, the time Mickey and Hannah got shut into a service station and the mystery meeting that only Jen remembers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 29, 2024•39 min
Based on the much-lauded Nick Hornby classic, our Jen has picked filmic festival of football, Fever Pitch. But will protagonist and giant man-child Paul, played by Colin Firth, float Hannah or Jen’s boat? And what is the film trying to say, other than that women don’t like football? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 25, 2024•30 min
Having been involved in some of the country's most high-profile cases, lawyer and fearless campaigner for justice, Harriet Wistrich has some incredible stories to tell. Many of which are in her new memoir, Sister In Law. Hannnah chats to Harriet about the Stockwell shooting, Spycops, the media and Sally Challen, and asks if some of us are better built for legal battle. Hannah's Spycops interview is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/sim-ep-744-chops-255-groomed-gaslighted-ghosted/id1080...
Sep 23, 2024•28 min
Best known as Coronation Street’s loveable matriarch, Eileen Grimshaw, Sue Cleaver is a woman of many talents. As well as treading the boards as Mother Superior in Sister Act the musical, she’s written a book - A Work In Progress. Part memoir, part manifesto, it champions women in midlife and beyond. Our Corrie fanatic, Jen, caught up with Sue to chat about the ways women can be put out to pasture once they hit middle-age, letting go of negative thoughts, life as a Corrie legend and spending tim...
Sep 23, 2024•26 min
Hannah’s picked Martin Scorsese’s take on the string of brutal murders of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation that took place in 1920s Oklahoma. It stars Robert de Niro (natch) and Leonardo DiCaprio (also natch) and features a brilliant performance from newcomer Lily Gladstone. But does it warrant the stonking three-and-a-half-hour run time? WTF is going on with Leo’s face? And will both Mick and Yosra manage to stay awake? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 20, 2024•38 min
Hannah and Jen are on duty this week and, naturally, they’re wondering (like the rest of us) WTAF is “Britcore”? They’re also pondering the benefits of Brexit and, across the pond, just how many copies of his self-published book is a would-be Trump assassin likely to sell? The Boss, Sarah Millican, is back with some more Light Relief for our £5 and above Patreons, talking bad weather for (little) dogs and the perils of online shopping. SOTW lends itself nicely to some Thierry Henry objectificati...
Sep 19, 2024•31 min
It’s a first time watch of Larry Kramer and Ken Russell’s erotically charged adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s 1920 novel for both Mick and Jen. Will they finally understand teenage Hannah’s obsession with Alan Bates? How many times can Mick sing Liberty X? And what’s (young) Olly Reed doing to Jen’s bloomers? Also contains – and no one was expecting this – that time David Blunkett was attacked by a cow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 18, 2024•31 min
Slow Horses is back for a fourth series on Apple TV and Hannah's been on the Zoom with one of its stars, Saskia Reeves, to talk about the wonder of Catherine Standish, the odour of Jackson Lamb and how the series keeps on creating great roles for women over 50. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 15, 2024•21 min
This week, Mick and Jen are focusing on two stories gripping most women they know: the horrific mass rape case currently going through the French courts (and the astonishing bravery of Gisèle Pélicot), and the brutal murder of Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei. We’d apologise for it being so grim, but it’s hardly women’s fault, eh? For balance, there’s not only one but two slices of good news, a phenomenal feat of athleticism, and an incredible Jean-Michel Jarre impression to enjoy. Learn more about yo...
Sep 12, 2024•33 min
Sideways might be regarded as one of the best films of the century, but is it just two middle-aged men on a drunken road trip? Let's find out... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 10, 2024•26 min
Award-winning poet Vanessa Kisuule is, in her own words, “a recovering Michael Jackson obsessive”. Yeah, that’s a tricky one to negotiate. Fame and all of its disciples are at the heart of Vanessa’s debut non-fiction (non-poetry), Neverland: the Pleasures and Perils of Fandom, in which she explores the fan/celebrity relationship, the big feelings when someone we love – famous or not – falls from grace, and the problem with “monsters”. Our Mick got on the Zoom to find out more. Neverland is publi...
Sep 10, 2024•25 min
When journalist Marina Gerner heard about a potentially life-changing innovation in heart health for women, she was keen to spread the word. But why were none of her usual editors interested in this “niche” subject area? In her new book, The Vagina Business: The Innovative Breakthroughs that Could Change Everything in Women’s Health, Marina takes us through the new technology that could make women's lives infinitely better – and the reasons why many of these innovations are not getting the finan...
Sep 09, 2024•27 min
Hannah and Mick have looked at the news, had a big scream and are now ready to talk to you about Ticketmaster chaos, the ‘duty of candour’ law and why it’s a no-brainer to apply it to the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and why just because Peter Boghossian hasn’t heard feminists talking about Afghanistan doesn’t mean feminists aren’t talking about Afghanistan. There’s also a teeny-tiny police cordon, and some unwelcome visitors in Sarah Millican’s house. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...
Sep 05, 2024•27 min
PJ Hogan’s 1994 classic, Muriel’s Wedding, launched his own career, as well as those of Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths. But has Jen misremembered the Aussie comedy as a “feel-good” movie? Is Muriel/Marial/Muriel a likeable protagonist? And will Mick and Hannah ever stop laughing about an unzipped beanbag? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 04, 2024•29 min
When Reah Bravo encountered sexual misconduct at the hands of a former employer during her time as a broadcast journalist, she was surprised by the way she handled it. As, she discovered, were many other women in similar situations. As Reah questioned the impact of the #MeToo movement, she set about examining the ways in which women are socially conditioned to not just tolerate abuse but even prop up abusive systems. That forms the premise of her new book, Complicit: How Our Culture Enables Misb...
Sep 03, 2024•25 min
We often talk about how social media is radicalising men and boys, but it absolutely happens to women and girls, too. In a new BBC3 documentary, America's New Female Right, Layla Wright heads to the US to find out why so many young women are advocating against their own interests. She chats to Hannah about domineering dads, the church, the thrill of clicks, going down a right-wing wormhole and working for Louis Theroux. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 01, 2024•22 min
Who doesn’t love a good night’s sleep? And yet, 40% of us in the UK struggle with some sort of sleep issue. And yes, you guessed it, it affects women more than men. Sunday marks the start of Sleeptember, so Mick grabbed the opportunity to get Lisa Artis, deputy CEO of The Sleep Charity, on the Zoom to talk about those all-important zeds – and why we’ve become so bad at getting them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 30, 2024•24 min
It's Bush Telegraph time again and this week Hannah and Mickey are covering perhaps the widest range of topics ever: Oasis, menstrual blood, coercive control and cutting a whale's head off with a chainsaw. You are welcome. And in Sexism of the Week, Mickey's looking at how life is worsening for women in Afghanistan. We didn't say it was cheery. But it does need talking about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 28, 2024•22 min
Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy x2 star in this satirical comedy from 1999, which is a firm favourite of both Hannah and Mick. Pressure. Which Eddie Murphy will steal the show? Will Heather Graham out Heather Graham herself? Will Hannah be able to stop watching the same three minutes of the film to watch all the film? Why is Mick practicing her kung-fu moves? Can Hannah get down from that mid-height platform? And, vitally, has Mick pushed her luck by picking Bowfinger for Rated or Dated? Learn mor...
Aug 28, 2024•28 min
Adjusting to life on the outside is, for a lot of prisoners, very hard. But there's a wealth of advice on hand from the Life After Prison podcast and in this episode, Hannah chats to one of its co-hosts, Jules Rowan. They talk about what prison is for, who should and shouldn't be sent there, and how Jules has been using her experiences "inside" to help others navigate theirs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 27, 2024•18 min
Tissues at the ready, because Yosra's picked a surprisingly dark Marvel film for this month's Flicking. The final outing for James Gunn's ragtag family of heroes led by Chris Pratt's Peter Quill puts half its focus on Rocket's (hellish, heartbreaking) backstory and the other on saving a Guardian in mortal peril. But does it have enough of its usual irreverent swagger to charm Guardians fan Hannah? And how much sobbing at sci-fi can Mick do in a week? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...
Aug 23, 2024•34 min
Hannah and Mick are finding glimmers of good in the bad news this week, as they celebrate the brave women seeking justice in cases involving sexsomnia (sure, yer Honour) and, separately, mesh complications. And what’s that? Extreme misogyny being recognised by the Government as an ideology dangerous to women and girls? There have never been such times. Like, literally; it’s a new dawn and we’re glad to see it. There’s also critical thinking, beavers, the ghost of Alec Guinness and a rendition of...
Aug 22, 2024•23 min
Is Wikus a hero, a villain or neither? Is Mickey over her aversion to gore? Does Hannah do a decent Johannesburg accent? Find out in this week's Rated or Dated, as we watch 2009's District 9. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 20, 2024•32 min
