Datshiane Navanayagam talks to Whitley Fund for Nature winners from India and South Africa who are protecting endangered frogs and salamanders. Dr Barkha Subba is leading the first grassroots protection for the Himalayan Salamander in Darjeeling. The scientific adviser at local NGO, Federation of Societies for Environmental Protection (FOSEP), Barkha is working to restore habitat, remove invasive species and screen for deadly diseases, as well as engage local people in awareness programmes promo...
May 25, 2026•26 min
Online romance fraud and 'catfishing' – when someone pretends to be someone they’re not - is a problem across the globe. It causes financial and emotional devastation, yet many people refuse to take it seriously. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women from the UK and Sweden who have spent years rebuilding their lives after being targeted by men they met on dating sites. Pernilla Sjöholm is from Sweden. She was conned by the infamous Simon Leviev, the so-called "Tinder Swindler" and allegedly ...
May 18, 2026•26 min
Datshiane Navanayagam meets the women behind leading nurseries and flower farms in Germany and America. From a vase of cut roses to the perennials that brighten our gardens, these women cultivate beauty from bare earth. Danielle Dall’Armi transformed a derelict lemon and avocado farm in California into a rose farm with an international reputation. A self-taught horticulturalist, she now has 25,000 rose plants and supplies high-end customers. Anja Maubach runs the nursery founded by her great-gra...
May 10, 2026•26 min
Divorce and separation are often a time of upset and distress. Ella Al-Shamahi talks to women in Latvia and the UK whose work as mediators is about trying to find calm and co-operation in conflict. Evija Kļave is a certified mediator and sociologist. She’s also an associate professor teaching mediation at masters level at Turiba University (a business school) and sits of the Commission of Certification and Attestation of Mediators which regulates mediators in Latvia as well as running her own pr...
May 04, 2026•26 min
Newspaper cartooning has a long history of using satire and humour to provide social commentary on the issues of the day – but how do female perspectives inform the approach, themes and tone of newspaper cartooning? Andrea Arroyo is from Mexico City. Her work as a dancer took her to New York in the early eighties. In the US, an exhibition of her visual art was picked up to feature in the New York Times and spawned a career as a newspaper cartoonist. Her influence as a dancer can be seen in her r...
Apr 27, 2026•26 min
Rice nourishes 3.5 billion people worldwide with women providing the majority of agricultural labour – especially in poorer countries. Datshiane Navanayagam talks to women from India and Tanzania about their work improving the resilience of rice to climate change, and about the lives of female rice farmers. Ranjitha Puskur is a socio-economist in India leading gender and youth research at the International Rice Research Institute. She's working on innovations that would lead to more equitable ou...
Apr 20, 2026•26 min
As war flares across the Middle East, and conflicts rage in other parts of the world, it is often said that women and girls are the hardest hit by war. But what does that actually mean in practice? What are the key statistics that tell us how conflicts impact women? And what role are women playing in peace processes too? Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women who look at how war shapes women’s lives. Idil Absiye is a policy advisor on Women, Peace and Security at the United Nations, and is ba...
Apr 13, 2026•26 min
From “deepfakes” to “stealth filming”, women around the world are having their image stolen and shared online. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women tackling this problem. Uma Subramanian works for an Indian helpline called Meri Trustline, run by RATI Foundation, which offers help for women whose image has been used. Kirana Ayuningtyas had her image digitally manipulated and shared online. She uses her social media profile, @k.for.kirana, to help other women in Indonesia. Warning: this progr...
Mar 30, 2026•26 min
It's thought that around one in ten women of childbearing age have endometriosis, yet it often takes years of excessively painful periods and struggles to conceive before a diagnosis. And while there's no cure, surgery can help relieve symptoms. Datshiane Navanayagam talks to women from Hungary and South Africa working to improve treatment and diagnosis. Adrienn Salamon lives with endometriosis. She waited many years for a diagnosis, and surgery enabled her to get IVF treatment. She started Női ...
Mar 23, 2026•26 min
Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women who research what happens to our thoughts, feelings and behaviours when we speak many languages. To what extent do we have a “mother tongue” – and what happens if we stop using it? Dr Aneta Pavlenko is a Ukrainian-American linguist who looks at the emotional impact of moving between languages. Professor Núria Sebastián Gallés is a Spanish cognitive psychologist who studies bilingual toddlers and young babies. Produced by Rebecca Moore and Hannah Sander (...
Mar 16, 2026•26 min
Ella Al-Shamahi talks to women in Switzerland and the UK about how job sharing can boost a career and bring many benefits to both work and home life. Irenka Krone-Germann is Swiss and has written several books about job-sharing and part-time working. She co-founded the information platform, Go4jobsharing.ch and We Jobshare, an online platform which helps people find a job or topshare partner. Irenka has job partners, both female and male, in several different senior roles. Charlotte Cherry and A...
Mar 09, 2026•26 min
Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women in Pakistan and America who use numbers to help others understand and take control of their pregnancies - by unpacking the data. Emily Oster is a bestselling author and leading expert on pregnancy, championing a data-based approach and unpacking studies and advice for mothers. She is also Professor of Economics at Brown University in America. Maryam Mustafa is a computer scientist based in Pakistan, which has one of the worst rates of maternal mortality in the ...
Mar 02, 2026•26 min
Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women in France and Canada about why single-sex living spaces appeal to older women. Pat Dunn is 75 and started a Facebook group for senior women wanting to share a living space, after her husband died six years ago. There she found two housemates with whom she has lived ever since. Pat now runs a non-profit called SWLT (Senior Women Living Together) that helps other women in Ontario find similar setups. Her Facebook community has over two thousand members. Han...
Feb 23, 2026•26 min
Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women whose life changing illnesses led them to set up new businesses after they discovered high street clothes are uncomfortable and difficult to wear when you have restricted mobility or medical needs. Victoria Jenkins is one of the UK's leading adaptive fashion experts. She worked as a freelance garment technologist for fashion labels like Victoria Beckham and Jack Wills before founding the award winning universally designed fashion brand Unhidden. Victoria ...
Feb 16, 2026•26 min
Have you ever wondered if there were a scandal buried in your family history? Datshiane Navanayagam meets two female genealogists from the US and Ireland to discuss the desire many of us have to dig into our heritage. Michele Soulli is an American genealogist who made headlines around the world when she tracked down the real "Brenda" from rap superstar Tupac's hit song Brenda's Got A Baby, and reunited her with the child she had put up for adoption. Hilary McDonagh helps clients who want to trac...
Feb 09, 2026•26 min
Datshiane Navanayagam brings together two women from the US and Australia to discuss the art of writing a political biography and whether women in politics are placed under more scrutiny than men. Helene Cooper is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times correspondent who fled Liberia with her family following the military coup of 1980. Her biography Madame President documents the life and political career of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – the first democratically elected female head of s...
Feb 02, 2026•26 min
Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women who changed paths to design and manufacture their own shoes in their own countries. A former environmental engineer in India and former interior designer from Egypt explain how they found their passion. Anita Soundar was a chemical engineer before deciding to follow her need for self-expression and footwear design. While working at her father’s small factory in Chenai she studied footwear design from Italy to the Netherlands to China, learning about desig...
Jan 26, 2026•27 min
How do video and board games get from idea to reality? Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women who invent, tweak and perfect the games that so many of us love to play. Sigurlína Ingvarsdóttir from Iceland has produced some of the world’s biggest video game titles, including FIFA and Star Wars: Battlefront. She now invests in start-up gaming companies as a venture capitalist. Natalie Podd invented the board game Confident while canoeing up the Amazon, and quit her corporate job in the UK as an actuary...
Jan 19, 2026•26 min
Two women with art galleries in Switzerland, London, Nigeria and the US talk about discovering and promoting new artists, building relationships with art collectors and the importance of supporting women in the art world. Maria Varnava is Greek Cypriot and grew up in Lagos. She founded Tiwani Contemporary which has galleries in Lagos and London. It champions artists from Africa and its diaspora to raise their profile to collectors and institutions based both in and beyond the continent. Maria’s ...
Jan 12, 2026•26 min
Skeleton is one of the oldest winter sports in existence. Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two Olympic medallists whose careers have seen them sliding down an icy track – face first – at speeds of up to 140 kilometres an hour. Lizzy Yarnold won gold medals for skeleton at successive Winter Olympics. She joined the Great Britain national squad in 2010, winning Olympic gold in 2014 and 2018, and is the most successful British Winter Olympian and skeleton athlete of all time from any nation. Kimberley Bos ...
Jan 05, 2026•26 min
In the season of giving, Datshiane Navanayagam talks to philanthropists from France and Nigeria about using their wealth to help others thrive. Historically philanthropic giving has been dominated by men, but as women’s global wealth grows so does their capacity for donating money to charitable causes and enterprise. The Conversation talks to a French heiress who felt compelled to give away her money following the death of her son in a helicopter crash and a former corporate banker from Nigeria ...
Dec 22, 2025•26 min
Having a severe allergy doesn’t just affect physical health - it’s often the social isolation and mental toll of dealing with a somewhat ‘invisible condition’ that people with allergies also have to contend with. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women from the US and Spain who’re advocating for more awareness and visibility around the real-life impacts. Sarah Ackerman is from the US. Her sensitivity to certain nuts and other foods puts her at risk of anaphylaxis, a rapid-onset reaction that c...
Dec 15, 2025•26 min
Jamaica to the Philippines, Cuba to Vietnam – countries around the world are dealing with aftermath of heavy storms and flooding; with hundreds dead and billions in damage. The role of meteorologists warning of extreme weather is increasingly valuable. Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women tracking hurricanes and cyclones about the importance of their work. Kathy Ann Caesar is chief meteorologist at the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology in Barbados. As well as lecturing and teaching...
Dec 08, 2025•27 min
What's it like navigating the world as a disabled parent? Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women from the US and Italy about the reality of parenting with a disability and about why it’s important to reconsider some of the common misconceptions that exist within society around the kind of life that disabled mothers can provide for their children. Jessica Slice is an American disabled author, speaker and essayist who now lives in Toronto with her husband and two children. She was diagnosed wit...
Dec 01, 2025•26 min
Across continents and generations, the art of weaving has connected humans for thousands of years. But it’s dying out. Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to two women from The Netherlands and Turkey about their passion for preserving the traditional craft. Turkish social entrepreneur Damla Saydam founded Qirqit Studio to help preserve the endangered tradition of handwoven Turkish rugs. She was inspired by her family’s weaving heritage and memories of helping her aunt weave as a child. Damla collaborates wit...
Nov 24, 2025•26 min
After the discovery of a new gene therapy for Huntington's, a devastating brain disease, Datshiane Navanayagam talks to one of the women in the UK who worked on it and a biologist from India who's made recent discoveries that could improve treatment for TB, which still kills over a million people globally each year. Anne Rosser is Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at Cardiff University, combining both academic and clinical work specialising in patients with Huntington’s Disease. Huntington’s is...
Nov 19, 2025•26 min
Artistic swimmers are known for making perfect synchronicity look effortless. Datshiane Navanaygam talks to athletes from Spain and Slovakia to reveal why the sport is far tougher than it appears. Silvia Solymosyová from Slovakia was the first artistic swimmer to reach 1 million followers on social media after videos of her dancing underwater went viral . She is a multiple World Championships finalist and double European Championships medallist in the sport. Silvia used to compete in the mixed d...
Nov 10, 2025•26 min
Can women earn more than their partners and still be happy at home? How does a higher income affect family dynamics and the division of household chores? Datshiane Navanayagam talks to an author in the UK and a South African academic who've researched the issues. Dr Bianca Parry is a social psychology lecturer at University College London. While working at the Centre for Mediation in Africa (CMA) at the University of Pretoria, she carried out several research projects on female breadwinners, foc...
Nov 03, 2025•26 min
Datshiane Navanayagam talks to an ice hockey referee from Austria and a football referee from Denmark about their experiences as female officials in men's leagues. Austrian Julia Kainberger played ice hockey professionally for the Salzburg Eagles while also pursuing a career in officiating. She was one of the 12 European officials for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and, in 2024, became the first female referee in a men's Champions League game. Julia looks forward to a day where no female refer...
Oct 27, 2025•26 min
What can the sounds of the natural world tell us about the health of our ecosystems? Datshiane Navanayagam talks two sound ecologists in Scotland and Australia about using soundscape monitoring as a tool to help in conservation work. Dr Elizabeth Znidersic is an Australian environmental scientist with a particular interest in sound ecology. She has worked extensively in the US and in Tasmania with the Parks and Wildlife Service. Her current project, 'Eavesdropping on wetland birds' uses sound re...
Oct 20, 2025•26 min
