Street artists from Switzerland and Uganda talk to Kim Chakanetsa about creating public art to enrich lives and bring about change. The Swiss artist Mona Caron is best known for her multi-story murals celebrating the rebellious resilience of weeds. She first became a muralist in her adoptive hometown of San Francisco, and creates images on a massive scale in public spaces. She blends her artivism with social movements, and enjoys working in collaboration with kindred-spirited artists and activis...
Sep 27, 2021•27 min
Dazzling lights, fancy costumes, thrilling dance routines and the nightly applause of an adoring audience - what's it like to sing on the world's biggest stages? Kim Chakanetsa talks to two musical theatre stars about life on stage - and the challenges that Covid-19 restrictions have brought. Australian actress Jemma Rix is starring as Elsa in Disney’s Frozen the Musical. With no formal training she moved to Japan to start her career singing and dancing at the Universal Studios theme park in Osa...
Sep 20, 2021•27 min
What does it take to run a country? Kim Chakanetsa is joined by two international leaders who have championed women’s health, equality and empowerment throughout their careers. They will discuss their personal journeys, the impact Covid-19 has had on the wellbeing of women around the world, and why more women should join the political arena. The guests will also be taking questions from two young female activists and leaders in women’s rights, health and climate change. Michelle Bachelet became ...
Sep 18, 2021•49 min
What's the appeal of a nomadic existence with no settled place to live? The award-winning film, Nomadland shone a light on the sense of community, support and friendship that exists among people in the United States living in their vehicles and moving from place-to-place. How much do these modern-day nomads have in common with traditional communities around the world? Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women from Somalia and US about life on the move. Shugri Said Salh was sent to live with her grandmo...
Sep 13, 2021•28 min
While drag queens sit brightly under the pop culture spotlight, fewer people know about drag kings, the mostly female or non-binary performers who create male characters on stage and poke fun at the patriarchy. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two drag kings who have found a community through performance and are using their characters to explore their own masculinity and femininity. Mētra Saberova is an artist and drag king from Latvia, who performs as Timmy, and also manages the Latvian Drag King Colle...
Sep 06, 2021•27 min
Kim Chakanetsa explores the rich and long history of body-bending work and hears about the complex skills that you need to succeed. Sosina Wogayehu is a contortionist and juggler from Ethiopia. She started performing at the age of six in the streets of Addis Ababa. After a long career travelling around the world, she has moved back to Ethiopia where she’s now training new performers and planning on opening the first circus venue in the country. Leilani Franco is a British-Filipina professional c...
Aug 30, 2021•27 min
Around the world, languages are disappearing. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women who are helping to keep their endangered languages alive – how has learning the words of their ancestors shaped their identities? Mshkogaabwid Kwe from Turtle Island, an indigenous name for Canada, learned her clan’s language, Anishinaabemowin, as an adult. She is now raising her children in an English-free home. She has a deep gratitude to those who walked before her and kept the words alive, knowing the persecutio...
Aug 23, 2021•27 min
Kim Chakanetsa in joined by two pioneering dermatologists to talk about the challenges and satisfaction that come with working with one of the body’s most fascinating organs. Dr Margaret Yaa Lartey is a Professor of Medicine and Dermatology at the University of Ghana, and the first woman to lead the Ghana Society of Dermatology. She had very personal reasons to become a skin specialist, and she is committed to fighting misinformation and myths around skin care and disease. Dr Rashmi Sarkar is a ...
Aug 16, 2021•27 min
For many women having a newborn baby is one of the happiest times of their lives - but for a tiny proportion that new arrival begins a terrifying nightmare. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women who experienced extreme psychosis after the birth of their child. When Catherine Cho’s first child was three months old she and her husband embarked on an extended trip to visit family and friends back home in the US. Their Korean relatives warned that they shouldn’t be travelling so far before the baby was ...
Aug 09, 2021•27 min
Despite its long and rich history, the ukulele has often been snubbed or dismissed as a novelty instrument by the music world. But over the years, rock stars have embraced the guitar’s smaller cousin, from Elvis Presley to the Beatles to Taylor Swift. Kim Chakanetsa meets two women who turned their love for the ukulele into a successful musical career. When Taimane was gifted a ukulele at 5 years old, it was the start of a musical journey that would take her from busking on the streets to appear...
Aug 02, 2021•27 min
What does it take to run a country? Kim Chakanetsa is joined by two international leaders who have championed women’s health, equality and empowerment throughout their careers. They will discuss their personal journeys, the impact Covid-19 has had on the wellbeing of women around the world, and why more women should join the political arena. The guests will also be taking questions from two young female activists and leaders in women’s rights, health and climate change. Michelle Bachelet became ...
Jul 26, 2021•27 min
Some people live the most amazing lives but aren't always the best at putting those experiences into words. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two ghostwriters about collaborative writing - what do they enjoy about telling someone else's story? Michelle Burford is a celebrity memoir collaborator who’s written for hugely successful women like Cicely Tyson, Alicia Keys and Simone Biles. Having carved out a niche writing with famous Black women she’s also collaborated on the traumatic memoir of Michelle Knigh...
Jul 19, 2021•26 min
Two women restoring forest in Brazil and Nepal tell Kim Chakanetsa about working with local communities to plant thousands of trees and restore the natural environment. Francy Forero Sánchez is a Colombian primate researcher who volunteers with the environmental organisation Copaiba. It works with the community to restore parts of the Atlantic Forest in south eastern Brazil - one of the most endangered and biodiverse in the world. Run mainly by women the project produces native tree seedlings, p...
Jul 12, 2021•27 min
Women throughout the centuries have put their hiking boots on and set out into the great outdoors, but their stories are rarely told. Kim Chakanetsa is joined by two women who, through their own writing and journeys, are helping to change that. Cheryl Strayed is the author of Wild, a bestselling memoir of her 1100 mile solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. Cheryl impulsively embarked on the hike after her mother suddenly died of cancer and her marriage crumbled, without any experience of long...
Jul 05, 2021•27 min
Kim Chakanetsa talks to two choreographers whose careers took off after they posted dance routines on social media. Sienna LaLau is an Hawaiian choreographer and dancer. Her routine with K-Pop sensations BTS, for the music video 'ON', where she also dances, was watched 7 million times within 3 days of its release. Just 20 years old she's gained an international reputation, working with artists like Jennifer Lopez and Justin Bieber. Rwandan Sherrie Silver, won the MTV Video Music Award for Best C...
Jun 28, 2021•27 min
For a long time there was a wall of silence around the menopause, but more women are choosing to speak candidly about their complicated and illuminating experiences. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women on a mission to demystify the menopause. Dr Nighat Arif is a British Pakistani family doctor specialising in women’s health. She is passionate about making the menopause a less taboo subject for all, but particularly for women for whom English is not their first language, and she often uses her soci...
Jun 21, 2021•27 min
As a woman with autism you're likely to receive a diagnosis much later in life than if you are a man with the condition. Why is that and what impact does a late diagnosis have? Kim Chakanetsa is joined by two autistic women who are speaking up about their experience of the condition and seeking to help others. Morénike Giwa Onaiwu is part of the Autism Women's Network in US. She says many of her early symptoms of autism were dismissed or ignored because she is Black and explains how autism can a...
Jun 14, 2021•28 min
Skateboarding is no longer an outsider sport for rebellious young men: more women are getting on the board and embracing the lifestyle that comes with it. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women who are trying to make skating a more inclusive and welcoming community for women across the globe. Annina Brühwiler is a Swiss downhill skateboarder – which means skating down hair-raising mountain routes at high speeds, sometimes getting up to 90 km/h. She started skating at 24 and within two years was compe...
Jun 07, 2021•27 min
Over 79% of the world's trafficking victims are subject to sexual exploitation, and an overwhelming number of them are women and girls. Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women who not only survived and escaped that experience, but have gone on to change laws and create support networks for fellow survivors. Shandra Woworuntu was a successful Indonesian banking analyst but lost her job when her firm ran into trouble. She applied for a job in a Chicago Hotel for six months to tide her family over - but...
May 31, 2021•27 min
Vital for the planet's health, bees are a key part of pollinating the world's fruits, flowers and crops. And beekeeping seems to be growing in popularity, even the Queen B, Beyoncé, has bee hives in her garden. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women about what ignited their passion for bees and honey. South African, Mokgadi Mabela was only interested in her father's bees because she thought they could make her money. She sold the honey to colleagues in her office in Pretoria. When demand became too g...
May 24, 2021•27 min
A decade after the uprisings that changed the political landscape of many countries in North Africa and the Middle East, Kim Chakanetsa looks at what impact the Arab uprisings had on the lives of women in Egypt and Syria. Mona Eltahawy is an Egyptian-American author and commentator. She was at the frontline of clashes between protesters and the military in 2011. Mona is now based in the USA, where she keeps writing about feminism in the Arab world. Her latest book is The Seven Necessary Sins for...
May 17, 2021•27 min
Large scale wildfires have increasingly made headlines in recent years. Fires have devastated areas of California, Australia, Siberia and the Pantanal that used to be relatively unaffected. We speak to two women helping stop the spread of wildland fires, protecting precious ecosystems, national parks and people's homes. Being a professional fire fighter is out of the question for Olga Serova who lives in Russia, where women are not allowed to join the profession. However, Olga volunteers with te...
May 10, 2021•27 min
In April 2020, Kim Chakanetsa spoke to two young nurses who were putting their lives on the line by treating the sickest covid-19 patients in intensive care units. At that point, only a couple of months into a global pandemic, they were exhausted but optimistic about things getting better. Kim catches up with them and asks how they are coping a year on after another wave of infections and an incresing death toll. Hannah Grey is a 24-year-old nurse based in London. She worked as a busy Intensive ...
May 03, 2021•26 min
The extraordinary measures put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ebola crisis placed restrictions on much of people’s lives, including the rituals and ceremony around death. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women whose work has supported grieving families during a time of crisis. Lianna Champ is a British funeral director and author of How to Grieve Like a Champ. She’s based in Lancashire, one of the areas worst hit by Covid-19. She always knew she was going to be a funeral director and s...
Apr 26, 2021•27 min
Eating ice cream in the early hours, naked dancing and not having to tidy up behind anyone else are just some of the benefits of living alone described by Kim Chakanetsa’s guests on The Conversation this week. Solo living is a rising global phenomenon, tied to increasing economic empowerment of women. It's a trend seen in all countries, including in more traditional, conservative cultures. But it's rarely written about and often overlooked in government strategy. So why are more women choosing t...
Apr 19, 2021•28 min
Insects have been around for more than 350 million years, longer than dinosaurs and flowering plants. We are vastly outnumbered by them – there are approximately 1.4 billion insects for every person on earth. And although we tend to treat them with disdain, they are absolutely essential to our survival. Kim Chakanetsa talks all things buzzing, crawling and flying with two insect enthusiasts who have made a career out of their love for bugs. Dr Jessica L Ware is a Canadian-American entomologist s...
Apr 12, 2021•27 min
In many countries around the world more women than men take law degrees but they're still much less likely to make partner or become a judge. Kim Chakenetsa talks to two lawyers from Egypt and the UK about the discrimination they face and the need for a more diverse legal profession. Omnia Gadalla is a professor of law and sharia at Al-Azhar University. She founded an initiative called Her Honour Setting the Bar which aims to encourage and support female law graduates and to challenge discrimina...
Apr 05, 2021•27 min
Have you ever been so absorbed in an activity that you lost track of time? Experiencing moments of intense focus is something most of us can relate to; but did you know you can train for it? Kim Chakanetsa discusses tips and best practice with two women whose careers demand their absolute concentration. Lorraine Huber is a Freeride World Champion and a mental strength coach. Freeriding is a discipline that involves skiing off-piste and performing acrobatic jumps on natural terrains. For Lorraine...
Mar 29, 2021•26 min
Two award winning chefs talk to Kim Chakanetsa about how they've adapted to restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the pressures it's put on their business and the continuing importance of food and their restaurant staff in their lives. Ana Roš won two Michelin stars after transforming her family restaurant Hisa Franko into a globally renowned dining destination in Slovenia. As a young woman she was a member of the Yugoslavia alpine ski youth team and learned to cook when sh...
Mar 22, 2021•27 min
Is science fiction too white? Kim Chakanetsa meets two women who are diversifying the genre. They talk about finding inspiration, dealing with rejection, and what Afrofuturism means to them. N.K. Jemisin is an African-American psychologist and science fiction writer. Her Broken Earth trilogy won the Hugo Award for Best Novel three years in a row. She’s the first and only author to have achieved that recognition. In her latest book, The City We Became, she addresses the legacy of racism in scienc...
Mar 15, 2021•27 min
