Trump's back in the White House, so what better time for a big quiz about what's real news and what Hannah has just made up? Good luck, Jen. Also, there's more on the Online Safety Act, the ceasefire in Gaza and women's prizes in sport. And in Jenny Off The Blocks, we're talking tennis, cricket and what's in that little jar they win in The Ashes. Plus, if you're a Standard Issue supporter, it's time for some more Sarah Millican's Light Relief. You're welcome! Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
Jan 23, 2025•28 min
They said it could never be done, but Tits Ahoy, Tits Akimbo and Tits McGee come together in Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 erotic drama/satirical masterpiece/car crash of nudity* and it’s more aggressively aggressive than is ever necessary. Showgirls bombed and took a critical spanking at the time, but 30 years on, opinion has softened. Well, some opinions. Do they include those of our Mick, Hannah and Jen? Find out. *delete as appropriate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 22, 2025•29 min
Psychotherapist Jen Cox and life coach Salima Saxton, are best mates and co-hosts of the podcast Women Are Mad. Together they’ve created a space to show women that emotions are a superpower. And it has – as the name of their podcast suggests – a healthy focus on rage as a source of fuel and change. They chat to Mick about the power in sharing, the joy of rage, and why we need to let it out. Women Are Mad is available wherever you get your podcasts and Jennifer’s book, Women Are Angry: Why Your R...
Jan 21, 2025•25 min
Is your New Year's resolution to stay in and watch more telly? Unlikely, but let us recommend some things to watch regardless. This time we're chatting about What We Do In The Shadows, 100 Years of Solitude, Playing Nice, Somebody Somewhere, SAS Rogue Heroes, Missing You and Dr Odyssey (OMFG!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 17, 2025•45 min
Bryan Singer’s much lauded, twisty-turny, Oscar-winning classic starring Kevin Spacey has us separating art from artist this week. But is the art all that interesting? What is Pete Postlethwaite’s head-scratcher of an accent? And when the surprise ending's all everyone talks about, how does it fare on a second watch? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 15, 2025•26 min
Fiona MacKenzie is Standard Issue’s original ‘random angry woman’, a tag she gave herself when she first came on the pod to talk about her campaign, We Can’t Consent To This. Her work led to a change in the law and the scrapping of the ‘rough sex defence’. Fiona’s now exploring how Westminster can work better for women with The Other Half, a non-partisan think tank developing policy in women’s interests and spanning public life, justice, Mothers and Others. This includes assisted dying safeguard...
Jan 14, 2025•25 min
That great sporting rivalry the women’s Ashes got underway in Australia on Saturday. Jen caught up with two of England Cricket's finest, tournament debutant Ryana MacDonald Gay, and team stalwart Tammy Beaumont, to talk rivalry, excitement, and where the women’s game is at right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 13, 2025•25 min
Coralie Fargeat’s gonzo body horror comedy The Substance just bagged Demi Moore a Golden Globe and started a lot of conversations when it hit cinemas last year. Conversations in which the word “feminist” came up a lot. And so, for the first Flicking of 2025, Mick, Hannah and Yosra hold onto their boob vomit to talk ageing, bodies, ageing bodies, the relationship between younger and older self, and how they may never get over Dennis Quaid eating shrimp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...
Jan 10, 2025•35 min
New year, new news-storms, and grooming gangs have dominated 2025’s early headlines. But, asks Mick, how much do the people “leading” this debate care about the working-class girls at the centre of the story and what really needs to shift for that to happen? Meanwhile, Jen’s chatting about the foster care crisis, and some intriguing new fitness trends. In Sexism of the Week, we’re wondering how great a tourist destination Afghanistan actually is, and there’s cricket and tennis in JOTB. And for o...
Jan 09, 2025•23 min
Danny Boyle's debut film won awards for Ewan McGregor but is he really the star of the show? Did anyone want to see that much of Keith Allen? What's Boyle's problem with friendship? All the answers lie within. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 08, 2025•30 min
A new version of Oscar Wilde’s iconic play The Importance of Being Earnest is enjoying a sold-out run at the National Theatre. Jen caught up with its stars, Sharon D Clarke, Ronke Adekoluejo and Eliza Scanlen, to chat about the enduring appeal of the play, how they’re bringing it to a fresh audience, and accessibility of theatre in the UK. The run is now sold out except for Rush tickets, but you can catch it on NT Live from February 20. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...
Jan 07, 2025•29 min
As a teenager, American comedian Spring Day was in a cult. Her latest show, Exvangelical, explains why she joined and why she left. She and Hannah chat about that and a lot more besides, including the differences in being disabled in the US and the UK. * Tickets for the Soho Theatre shows, on January 7 & 8, are here: https://sohotheatre.com/events/spring-day-exvangelical/#:~:text=As%20seen%20on%20BBC's%20Live,dark%20comedy%20for%20nice%20people.&text=Spring%20joined%20a%20Christian%20cult,think%...
Jan 06, 2025•22 min
Money makes the world go round, and that doesn’t look likely to change anytime soon. So why do so many of us put our head in the sand when it comes to cash? And how do we get more fluent at the money talk? Our Mick definitely needs a little guidance where budgeting, saving and investing is concerned, so she got on the Zoom with financial literacy expert Wendy Grace. They’re chatting fears and anxiety around money, how we can change our relationship with it, when and how to get kids financially s...
Jan 03, 2025•26 min
With the New Year approaching, some of us will be thinking about resolutions for the year ahead. Not Laura Tristram, founder of new app, Lumii Life, an AI-powered mental health companion, who believes that shaming ourselves into “better” behaviours is never the way forward. Jen caught up with Laura to talk about how New Year’s resolutions can actually be bad for our mental health, why we should treat ourselves with compassion, and what led her to found Lumii Life. Learn more about your ad choice...
Dec 30, 2024•26 min
It's our second revisit of a classic festive Rated or Dated and this time it's picked by Jen. How did 1990's Home Alone stand up when we watched it all the way back in 2020? Ahh, 2020. I'd say happy days, but you know... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 27, 2024•18 min
We're having a week off, so here's a classic from the Rated or Dated files. But what did Mickey, Jen and Hannah make of Richard Curtis's 2003 Christmas offering? You can probably guess, but if you haven't, it's probably best not to listen with your Nan while you're prepping the sprouts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 23, 2024•22 min
In the last Outside The Box of 2024, we've been watching Say Nothing, Shetland, Until I Kill You, The Day of the Jackal, Bad Sisters, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, Mrs Davies and, you've guessed it, more Attenborough, in the form of Asia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 20, 2024•56 min
Christmas classic or RSPCA headache? Chris Columbus and Joe Dante’s creature feature had a lot of input from one Steven Spielberg and it shows. But will this horror/comedy/action combo for kids still surprise and delight Mick, Hannah and Jen? Is Gizmo still a charming little nugget? Are the gremlins mischievous, anarchic fun or irritating? And WHEN THE HELL IS BREAKFAST? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 18, 2024•35 min
Dr Laura James ND specialises in naturopathic breast oncology and is on a mission to get breast cancer recognised as a feminist issue. That means her approach to breast cancer is holistic – imagine that, she takes the whole woman into consideration. Her argument is compelling and in this episode she’s explaining to our Mick how a breast cancer diagnosis pretty much always shines a light on the existing challenges women face. Laura has also created a line of products for women who have or have ha...
Dec 17, 2024•26 min
It’s Hannah, Yosra and Mick’s final review of a film of 2023, and Hannah’s picked another celebrated “feminist” movie from that year. Neither Poor Things nor Barbie impressed us much, so the pressure’s on for Justine Triet’s awards-bothering legal drama, Anatomy of a Fall. Will Sandra Hüller impress as a woman on trial after the sudden death of her husband? Will young Milo Machado-Graner’s acting chops blow us away as Daniel? Is Messi the French Border Collie more than just a “good boy” as Snoop...
Dec 13, 2024•30 min
This week we're watching Fathers for Justice blueprint and Oscar-nabbing weepathon, Kramer vs. Kramer. But how up to date will Jen and Hannah find the sexual politics? What will they make of Dustin Hoffman's method acting? And how much will Hannah want to give Meryl Streep a hug? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 11, 2024•26 min
Ultra-runner and delightful human Sabrina Verjee loves a crazy adventure. She held the overall record for the 325-mile circuit of the Wainwrights between June 2021 and May 2022, and also held the female record for the Pennine Way between September 2020 to August 2021. On December 21, she’s about to take on a new challenge, running the 100-mile trail of Lakes, Meres and Waters in honour of legendary fell-runner Joss Naylor. Jen caught up with her to talk about loving a challenge, how much sleep i...
Dec 10, 2024•25 min
New BBC audio drama Purple Heart Warriors is about some of the Second World War's least talked about soldiers, the Japanese Americans of the 442nd. We all know Hannah is fascinated by war stories, but not everyone is, so she's asking director Jessica Dromgoole about how you make a story like this accessible to everyone, and what it tells us about war, loyalty, immigration and much more. * Purple Heart Warriors starts on the BBC World Service on December 11 and the whole series will be available ...
Dec 09, 2024•21 min
When we talk about the politics of motherhood, it's often around isolated topics, such as the cost of childcare. But, in her new book Mother State: A Political History of Motherhood, academic and writer Helen Charman argues that this isn’t enough to understand the inherently political act of mothering. Jen chats to Helen about bodily autonomy, the paradoxes around our understanding of motherhood, why we should all be interested in mothering, and why Margaret Thatcher wouldn’t have much liked Jen...
Dec 06, 2024•31 min
What's going on in South Korea? Does anyone know? And, potentially related, has seen Liz Truss, recently? Hitler? Over here, the Government is finally shaking up the laws around stalking, which is a definite step in the right direction. In Sexism of the Week, our duo of "women of a certain age" have some thoughts on the allegations surrounding Masterchef presenter, Gregg Wallace. And finally, in Jenny off the Blocks, there’s Welsh joy and Suffolk sadness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Dec 05, 2024•27 min
It's well loved, it's influential, it's got Carrie Fisher in it. Got to be rated, right? Well, what about that thesis about male-female friendships? Is Mickey invested in the relationship? Does Jen think it's relatable? Why doesn't Hannah hate this? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 04, 2024•27 min
It’s a staggering six years since we first had Hannah George and Taylor Glenn, the women behind the Drunk Women Solving Crime podcast, on Standard Issue. Since then, many drinks have been drunk and many crimes have been solved*, and now their award-winning podcast is about to get even bigger. From January, there’ll be two episodes of Drunk Women Solving Crime a week, available wherever you get your podcasts. Mick chats to Taylor and Hannah about crime, drinking, and US presidents. *no crimes hav...
Dec 03, 2024•24 min
Back in May, Laura Williamson took over the reins as international editor-in-chief at pioneering sports media platform, The Athletic. Jen caught up with her to talk about being the only woman in the room, how things have changed for women in sports media, her ambitions for women in the profession, and supporting rubbish football teams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 29, 2024•26 min
As a petition threatens the nascent Starmer Government (it totally doesn't), Jen takes a look at the plan to "Get Britain Working". Hannah's talking about the aftermath of the Conor McGregor rape trial in Ireland. If you thought that leaving Earth was a way to avoid sexism, we've some bad news for you, but there's good news in the form of some Rosa grants for women and girls' groups. And in Jenny Off The Blocks, we're talking cricket, tennis and some confusion over where East London is. Hannah's...
Nov 28, 2024•22 min
Groundbreaking visuals, brilliant storytelling and a ragtag bunch of characters that celebrate difference and being your true self: is there a bigger must-see movie for young and old alike than this musical fantasy classic? Has time been kind to it? Will the flying monkeys still lead to soiled underwear? Mick, Hannah and Jen have answers. And also questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 27, 2024•32 min
