Episode description

Political women, gender and speech: Laurie Taylor talks to Deborah Cameron, Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford, about her analysis of the performances of the three female party leaders who took part in televised debates during the 2015 UK General Election campaign. What were the similarities and differences between the women and their male colleagues, as well as between the women themselves and how was it taken up as an issue in media coverage of the campaign? Also, the morality of sleep medications. Jonathan Gabe, Professor of Sociology at Royal Holloway, University of London, talks about his study into attitudes towards the prescribing and taking of sleeping pills. Producer: Jayne Egerton.