This episode features two authors one Danish and one Irish: Sofie Hagen is a London-based Danish comedian and fat acceptance campaigner. She has been starting conversations all over the place with her new book ‘Happy Fat: Taking up space in a world that wants to shrink you’. Sofie talked to Roisin Ingle about fatphobia and about why she is on a mission to change the way people talk to and about fat people. Jane Casey is an Irish-born author of crime novels. From Castleknock in Dublin, Jane studi...
Jul 04, 2019•55 min
Dublin songwriter Ruth-Anne Cunningham chats to Róisín about her incredible career which took with a bang when she won the ASCAP Songwriters ‘Best Pop Song’ award for a song she wrote when she was 19. Since then she has written a string of hits for the likes of Britney Spears, One Direction and John Legend, but in the last two years she has been focusing on her own singing career. Ruth-Anne has just released her new single ‘Superman’, which she says is "anthem for women who have felt men took ad...
Jun 27, 2019•52 min
On today's show Róisín talks to number one bestselling author Karin Slaughter. Karin, who has sold over 35 million copies of her books, was in Ireland recently for the Murder One Festival’s Midsummer series of talks – a visit which coincided with the publication of her new novel, The Last Widow. In this podcast she talks to Róisín about the violence in her books, how she likes to divide the gore evenly among the sexes, and about the fact that she keeps a gun in her home. They also talk about Don...
Jun 24, 2019•40 min
This week, two 14-year-old boys were convicted of the murder of schoolgirl Ana Kriégel on May 14th 2018. Irish Times Crime Correspondent Conor Gallagher was in court for the duration of the trial. He talks to Róisín about the trial and about Ana Kriégel, the beautiful young girl who was brutally murdered aged just 14.Later: Róisín speaks to Orla O’Connor, director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, about former garda Majella Moynihan, who was threatened with dismissal from the force in ...
Jun 20, 2019•35 min
In today’s show, Roisin Ingle speaks to the Irish-Nigerian journalist, author and academic Emma Dabiri about her book Don’t Touch My Hair. The book is about the history of black people’s hair and for Emma, this story begins with an upbringing in Ireland where her hair was a “constant source of deep, deep shame”. Emma, who lives in London, talks to Róisín about growing up in inner city Dublin, why she had a lot of anger towards Ireland when she left and why she believes Michelle Obama would never...
Jun 17, 2019•43 min
In her latest book, Home Grown: How Domestic Violence Turns Men Into Terrorists, Joan Smith writes that the violence perpetrated by men against women – whether it is sexual, physical, psychological, or all of the above – creates terror but is not recognised as a form of terrorism. In today's podcast she speaks to Kathy about how this link was identified decades ago, but never acted upon.Later: Róisín talks to newly elected Labour councillor Annie Hoey about the gendered questions she has faced a...
Jun 13, 2019•59 min
Award-winning Irish Times reporter Rosita Boland has been enthralled by travel ever since gazing out at the Atlantic Ocean near her childhood home. In the last 30 years she has visited some of the most remote parts of the globe carrying little more than a battered rucksack and a diary. Now she has written a book about some of the stories from those adventures, Elsewhere. She shares some of them with Róisín and tells her what's next on her travel itinerary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy ...
Jun 10, 2019•45 min
France will host the Fifa Women's World Cup for the first time when the tournament kicks off tomorrow – Friday 7th June. Ireland and Arsenal footballer Louise Quinn tells Róisín who to look out for.Also today: Irish Times business journalist Laura Slattery on sexist advertising, the Spice Girls and the French Open.Plus: At their AGM this week, the National Women’s Council of Ireland brought together newly elected women councillors, and others who were unsuccessful this time, for a discussion abo...
Jun 06, 2019•46 min
As a nine-year-old girl, French author Adélaïde Bon was raped by a stranger in the stairwell of the affluent Parisian block of flats where she lived. Now her memoir, The Little Girl on the Ice Floe, has been translated into English, telling the story of the rape she suffered that day and the self-harm and self-hatred that followed. Most movingly, though, it captures the way Adélaïde’s pain was hidden from her family and friends through the decades that followed, until the day that she received t...
Jun 03, 2019•38 min
What is rewilding? Well, it’s an adventure that exists somewhere between a holistic retreat in the wilderness and an uncivilised summer school, designed to re-kindle our connection to our untamed nature. On today's show Róisín talks to Carol McInerney a movement therapist and meditation teacher, Siobhan de Paor, a poet and performance artist, and Kathy Scott of the Trailblzery, about Solstice, a one-day rewilding event in the Dublin mountains. Plus - Irish Times features writer and columnist, Je...
May 30, 2019•39 min
Executive Director of Oxfam International Winnie Byanyima talks to the Women's Podcast about her early life growing up in Uganda during the regime of Idi Amin, her activism at university which led her to flee to England, the role she played in writing the country’s constitution and her work on global gender inequality. Ms Byanyima has just begun her second term as Executive Director of Oxfam International and she speaks to the Women’s Podcast about the work they do. She also talks about the sexu...
May 27, 2019•36 min
This time last year we were gearing up for May 25th, the date of the referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment. It was a momentous time, so today the Women’s Podcast looks back, forward and outward. This episode focuses on what has happened in Ireland in the past year and what needs to happen next. It also looks at the situation in Northern Ireland where abortion is still illegal, the United States where there has been a dangerous row back on women’s reproductive rights under President Trump and to...
May 23, 2019•1 hr 1 min
On today's show, Kathy talks to acrobats Molly Keczan and Glory Dearling - AKA The Silver Starlets – about how they got into their line of work, what it's like to be women street performers and their participation in the Laya Healthcare City Spectacular, which returns to Dublin and Cork this July.Later: Róisín meets architect and interior designer Denise O’Connor, who runs her own design consultancy, Optimise Design. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 20, 2019•40 min
566 out of a total of 1,960 candidates running in next week’s local elections are women. That’s 29 per cent and marks an increase of more 100 on the 2014 local elections – or just shy of 22 per cent. So, progress is being made, but is it happening quickly enough? Kathy talks to Women for Election chief executive, Ciairín de Búis.Later: We meet three more women who are entering politics for the first time in the local elections on May 24th. Kathy talks to Grace McManus who is running for Sinn Féi...
May 16, 2019•1 hr 5 min
Following her own brilliant short story collection Multitudes, Lucy Caldwell has guest edited the sixth volume of Faber's long running series of new Irish short stories. This collection is called Being Various and it includes stories by writers living on both sides of the Irish border - Sally Rooney, Jan Carson, Kit de Waal, Lisa McInerney and Kevin Barry to name a few - in a bid to capture the energy of Irish writing, from crime to magical realism, and everything in between. On today's show Luc...
May 13, 2019•26 min
First: A new report has found that thousands of women who are currently "on home duties" represent a major source of untapped potential in terms of addressing skills shortages. The research, carried out by the state's further education and training authority SOLAS, shows that of the 218,000 women between the ages of 20 and 64 who are not currently participating in the workforce, 16,000 could potentially be attracted to return to work with supports such as flexible working models and training cou...
May 09, 2019•53 min
On today's show, Róisín talks to Bollywood superstar Yami Gautam. The Indian actor’s latest film – the 2019 blockbuster Uri: The Surgical Strike – is currently the highest grossing film in Indian cinema so far this year, but it was the critically acclaimed romantic comedy Vicki Donor that made her a household name in 2012. Yami talks to Róisín about women in her country and the Me Too movement, her unlikely start in Bollywood and, if you can credit it, cricket’s EuroT20 Slam competition. Hosted ...
May 06, 2019•25 min
In the last decade, the Irish author Tana French has become known for her brilliant crime thrillers narrated by various police in Dublin’s fictional Murder Squad, who tended to be outsiders in some way. In her latest book, the Wych Elm, she has done something a little bit different. Regular book clubbers on the Women's Podcast Bernice Harrison, Niamh Towey and Ann Ingle join Róisín to discuss the book that Stephen King called 'extraordinary' in his review in the New York Times.Plus: Ciara Kenny,...
May 02, 2019•37 min
This weekend (3rd-6th of May) the All Woman’s long boat team from St Michael’s rowing club in Dun Laoghaire will be one of two teams from the club competing in the Celtic Challenge race from the coast of Ireland to the coast of Wales.The race is a biennial event covering the 155 kilometre distance from Arklow in Wexford to Aberystwyth in Wales and the St Michael's All Woman’s team will be hoping to retain their title from the last race in 2017.On today's show four women from the crew, Liz O’Tool...
Apr 29, 2019•18 min
Jan Carson is a writer and community arts officer based in Belfast. Her first novel, Malcolm Orange Disappears, was published in 2014 followed by a short story collection, Children’s Children, in 2016. Her latest novel, The Fire Starters, is a dark, propulsive and original tale of fierce familial love and sacrifice, fizzing with magic and wonder. On today’s show she talks to Róisín about magic realism in her writing, her love of Belfast and the complexities of identity in Northern Ireland, her c...
Apr 25, 2019•31 min
Mary Pat Kelly, named one of the Top 100 Irish Americans, is an author and a documentary filmmaker. She has also worked in TV on the show Good Morning America and once trained as a nun. Born and raised in Chicago, she lives on New York's Upper West Side with her husband the app developer Martin Sheerin, originally from County Tyrone. Mary was in Ireland recently to speak about her latest book – a novel called Irish Above All – and she came in to speak to Róisín Ingle while she was here. They tal...
Apr 22, 2019•33 min
Young And Trans In Rural Ireland is a new resource that has just been launched by Youth Work Ireland to be used by those who work with young people and in schools, in order to make them the best trans allies they can be and to make Ireland more trans-inclusive. Julie James has personal experience of life as a young trans woman in rural Kildare and in this podcast she talks to Róisín about her life and how this Youth Work Ireland resource can help to make things better for trans people in Ireland...
Apr 18, 2019•53 min
Award-winning Irish Times reporter Rosita Boland traveled to India recently with her colleague, this paper's photo editor Brenda Fitzsimons, to investigate waste pickers and innovative recycling projects taking place in Bangalore.One part of what they discovered during their time there was the shocking story of a multi-billion euro industry in the city’s slums, where human hair is a valuable commodity that fetches a high price in beauty salons in the west.Rosita spoke to Kathy about the trip, wh...
Apr 15, 2019•24 min
In 2009, at the height of the recession, Geraldine Swarbrigg and her daughter Jane decided to start a new business. Together they brought the cosmetics brand Inglot to Ireland and ten years on - with Jane's brother Peter also part of the family business - the company employs 300 people, is expanding at breakneck speed and has just announced an exciting new partnership with Next in the UK.On today's show, Geraldine and Jane speak to Kathy about all of this, they also explain what the “lipstick fa...
Apr 11, 2019•36 min
Mairead Buicke reckons she has been lucky in her career as a singer, from stepping in at the last minute for her first every professional performance at the National Concert Hall, to the teachers she has had the privilege of studying under. Ahead of her one-night-only performance in the Puccini Scandal at the NCH on April 24th, she talks to Kathy about her trad music roots, her big break and why it's all about the core for opera singers these days. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...
Apr 08, 2019•27 min
On today’s show, Róisín speaks to Éanna Ni Lamhna, renowned environmentalist, broadcaster and author – who many of you will recognise as a long-standing member of the panel of experts on RTÉ’s wildlife programme ‘Mooney goes Wild’. Éanna is the author of several books including: Talking Wild, Wild and Wonderful and Straight Talking Wild – and she was in the middle of promoting National Tree week when she came into studio to talk to Róisín about her life and career.Plus: Kathy and Róisín discuss ...
Apr 04, 2019•40 min
Aimée Johnston has swapped Ireland for the white sands and sunshine of the Maldives, after beating thousands of applicants to become the Barefoot Bookseller. The 'Best Job in the World' is in the luxury eco resort of Soneva Fushi in the exotic Indian Ocean destination and was advertised online last year by hotel library curator company Ultimate Library. Aimée has been shoeless on the island for a month now and she speaks to Jennifer Ryan on today's podcast about how it’s all going.Later: Róisín ...
Apr 01, 2019•32 min
Máirín de Búrca has been a tireless social justice activist for women's rights, housing, prisoner rights, anti-apartheid, and many other issues throughout her life. She has, at times, been a committed member of Sinn Féin and, as a founder of the Women’s Liberation Movement, played a key role in that organisation's infamous Contraceptive Train. Máirín was also a prime mover in a legal case which secured for women the right to sit on juries, has been jailed for her anti-Vietnam War activities and ...
Mar 28, 2019•57 min
The gap between what it's really like to be a woman and what people expect women to be is the primary cause of burnout. Why? Because we exhaust ourselves trying to close the space. On today's show we speak to identical twin sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski, authors of a groundbreaking new book about women and stress. It is called Burnout: The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle and it is a science-based book also drawing on the writers' personal experiences and those of the hundreds of women the ...
Mar 25, 2019•24 min
On today's show Kathy meets Maria Ní Fhlartharta and Róisín Ní Hacéid – two disabled women under the age of 30 and members of Disabled Women Ireland. The organisation was founded in May 2018, partly out of a frustration with the voices of disabled people not being heard in the debate around the referendum to repeal the 8th amendment. Maria and Róisín tell Kathy what Disable Women Ireland are about, what they hope to achieve and getting down to the "nitty gritty", one year into their campaignLate...
Mar 21, 2019•43 min
