The Irish musician and activist Sinéad O Connor has died, aged 56. She was best known for her single Nothing Compares 2 U, released in 1990, which reached number one and brought her worldwide fame. She was outspoken in her social and political views, and released 10 studio albums during her career. We hear a special performance that Sinéad gave to Woman’s Hour in 2013, and Krupa speaks to the journalists Sinéad Gleeson and Una Mullally about her legacy. Singapore is due to execute a woman for th...
Jul 27, 2023•57 min
What role should men play in stopping sexist behaviour? Several campaigns have aimed to tackle this, the most recent being the Mayor of London’s Maaate initiative. To discuss Nuala is joined by Karen Whybro who is a Woman’s Safety Consultant and Graham Goulden, the former Chief Inspector at Police Scotland, and who now offers training to organisations to improve team culture. The play, Beneatha's place, currently running at the Young Vic, shows the main character Beneatha in two different period...
Jul 26, 2023•57 min
Over the last few months we have been hearing the stories of women who believe that they were raised by mothers who have Narcissistic Personality Disorder. And, a woman who has been labelled a narcissist by her daughter. Today, two psychotherapists who have worked extensively in this field, Dr Jan McGregor Hepburn and Helen Villiers, who has an MA in working therapeutically with adult children of narcissists, join Nuala to answer some of the questions raised by the powerful testimonies heard in ...
Jul 25, 2023•57 min
There has been a significant increase in the number of non-surgical aesthetic procedures over the past decade. And now the largest academic survey to date in the UK has just been published, relating the lived experience of over 500 people who have experienced an adverse event following administration of Botulinum Toxin. The study finds that a lack of awareness of reporting structures and the lack of regulation within the UK’s cosmetic injectables sector represents a significant public health cha...
Jul 24, 2023•51 min
The law on flexible working changed this week. New rules should make it easier for employees to argue for a flexible working arrangement. It’s the culmination of years of hard work and campaigning for more family friendly workplaces. Anita speaks to the Minister for Small Business, Kevin Hollinrake, and Amy Butterworth from the flexible working consultancy Timewise. Dr Gladys McGarey, cofounder of the American Holistic Medical Association, began her medical practice at a time when women couldn't...
Jul 22, 2023•53 min
As the film Barbie opens in cinemas today, Set Decorator Katie Spencer and Production Designer Sarah Greenwood discuss how they created Barbieland in a real life space, the invasion of everything pink, and how they approached the film having never played with Barbies themselves. This Sunday, Spain is holding a general election, after the current Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, dissolved parliament in May and called for a snap election. Aitor Hernández-Morales, a reporter for Politico Europe and P...
Jul 21, 2023•57 min
The law on flexible working changes today. This should make it easier for employees to argue for a flexible working arrangement. It’s the culmination of years of hard work and campaigning for more family friendly workplaces. Anita speaks to the Minister for Small Business, Kevin Hollinrake, and Amy Butterworth from the flexible working consultancy Timewise. An investigation by BBC Newsnight and the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has uncovered a row over controversial research about the impact of ...
Jul 20, 2023•52 min
The mother whose daughters were murdered, and their photographs then shared on a police WhatsApp group gives a keynote speech this morning at the launch of a new organisation designed to help stamp out misogyny, sexism and racism in the police. Mina Smallman has become an activist since the death of her daughters in 2020. Nuala McGovern will speak live to our reporter Melanie Abbott who will be at the launch and to Mina Smallman. Are you guilty of 'phubbing'? This means snubbing someone to look ...
Jul 19, 2023•54 min
Zoe Saldaña has appeared in the top three grossing movies of all time – Avatar, Avatar: Way of Water and Avengers: Endgame. You may know her as Uhura in the Star Trek reboot films, Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, or as Neytiri in Avatar. Now Zoe is taking a break from sci-fi and fantasy to star in a new, Earth-based TV series called Special Ops: Lioness. It’s a spy thriller about a covert programme that trains and dispatches women around the world as undercover operatives. Zoe joined Nuala to...
Jul 18, 2023•57 min
Nuala McGovern is joined by one woman who has had a huge impact on the women's game over many years - Hope Powell - the former Lioness head coach will discuss England's chances, the growth of the game and how to continue building a legacy for women's sport. A fifth of young women suffering a mental health crisis were asked if they were on their period, a new survey has found. Research by the prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) also found that women’s calls for help were s...
Jul 17, 2023•58 min
In her only broadcast interview, Louise Townsend, the mother of Olivia Perks who took her own life in 2019 whilst at Sandhurst Military Academy, speaks to Woman’s Hour. Louise discusses her view that there was a lack of welfare support from the academy towards her late daughter and what steps need to be taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again. According to the ONS, only 2.4% of plumbers are women. We speak to two female plumbers about why that figure is so low and whether they recommend the job ...
Jul 15, 2023•56 min
Gracie Nuttall, sister of Laura Nuttall who died aged 23 in May of a glioblastoma, and Megan Fryer-Kelsey, whose brother Ezra died eleven years ago of leukodystrophy, join Anita to discuss what it's like to grow up with a sibling who is ill, and how parents can support non-sick siblings. Young people in Italy are expressing outrage on social media after Italian judges decided to clear a man of groping a teenager because it lasted less than 10 seconds. The BBC's Sofia Bettiza joins Anita from Rom...
Jul 14, 2023•57 min
Almost half of women in England and Wales don’t trust the police enough to report a crime. That’s according to a recent report from the Tony Blair Institute. How can the police regain women’s trust? What needs to be done to fix the issue of public trust in the police overall? Anita speaks to the author of the report, Harvey Redgrave and the Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex, Katy Bourne. As part of the Woman's Hour series about narcissistic mothers, we hear from a mother who ...
Jul 13, 2023•57 min
In her first broadcast interview, Louise Townsend, the mother of Olivia Perks who took her own life in 2019 whilst at Sandhurst Military Academy, speaks to Woman’s Hour. Louise discusses her view that there was a lack of welfare support from the academy towards her late daughter and what steps need to be taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Today is a big day coming up with the Women's Ashes series where England face Australia. The Aussies have surged ahead in the women's multi-format series...
Jul 12, 2023•57 min
The inclusion of a particular word in the title of the documentary has caused controversy. For many, it is an extremely offensive term and some contributors have made it publicly known and have withdrawn their contribution from the programme. Rosie talks to Nuala McGovern about the project. A growing trend in the wedding industry is to add wax seal to your invites. If you scroll through any wedding stationary images on social media, you’ll see people using little round wax seals in all sorts of ...
Jul 11, 2023•58 min
We look at the effect of being a victim in high-profile cases, after the BBC suspends a presenter accused of paying a teenager for sexually explicit photos. Nuala speaks to former Chief Prosecutor for the CPS, Nazir Afzal. Ruchira Gupta is a journalist, social justice activist and Emmy-award winning documentary maker who has dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of women and young girls. She is the founder of Apne Aap Women Worldwide, an anti-sex trafficking organisation that has helped ...
Jul 10, 2023•57 min
Caitlin Moran’s multi-award-winning bestseller How to Be a Woman has been published in 28 countries. Now she has turned her attention to men; what's wrong with them, what they should do about it and why they need feminism to help. Caitlin joins Anita to discuss her new book What About Men? Trichotillomania is often referred to as “hair-pulling disorder”. There is little research in this area, but statistics suggest 1.1m people in the UK could have the condition, with 80% of them women. Half of t...
Jul 08, 2023•53 min
A woman from Manchester is battling to have a criminal conviction overturned because she was a victim of modern slavery at the time. Tina - that's not her real name - was beaten and forced into prostitution by her ex-husband. He controlled her life - and it was during that time that she was convicted of theft. We hear from BBC Radio Manchester's Richard Stead to find out more about the case. Professor Dame Sara Thornton, Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner until April 2022, joins Anita alongsi...
Jul 07, 2023•58 min
Anita is joined by the five time Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Simmonds to discuss her new documentary where she sets out to find her birth parents. Ellie was adopted within months of being born and whilst she has always known she was adopted, she hasn't previously tried to find her birth parents, until now. Five times Grammy award winner, the bassist, lyricist and composer, Esperanza Spalding has become a prominent voice in the jazz world. At 38 she has released eight albums and has collabora...
Jul 06, 2023•56 min
Trichotillomania is often referred to as “hair-pulling disorder”. There is little research in this area, but statistics suggest 1.1m people in the UK could have the condition, with 80% of them women. Half of those never seek treatment. What exactly is it? Why do people do it? And what can be done to help them stop? Clare MacKay is Professor of Brain Imaging at Oxford University. She joins Nuala to share her personal experience for the first time, and discuss the academic review she is doing in t...
Jul 05, 2023•53 min
Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell joins Nuala McGovern in an exclusive interview for the BBC. He'll be discussing a new report inspecting the work undertaken and progress made by the Probation Service over the last 5 years to protect victims and reduce domestic abuse by those on probation. When librarian Rosie Grant was researching cemeteries, she stumbled across a gravestone with a cookie recipe on it. She decided to make it and post a video of her cooking experiment to social media. ...
Jul 04, 2023•57 min
The award-winning Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina has died from her injuries after a Russian missile hit a pizza restaurant in the eastern city of Kramatorsk on Tuesday, where she was eating. Journalist Christina Lamb was a friend of Victoria’s – she tells Nuala about her and the impact her death has had. Half of prison officers in England and Wales do not feel safe at work, according to a recent large-scale survey. Alex South spent 10 years working as a prison officer, and she’s written a boo...
Jul 03, 2023•58 min
The Oscar-winning actor Olivia Colman is the patron of the arts charity Tender, having previously played a survivor of domestic violence in the film Tyrannosaur. She speaks to Woman’s Hour alongside Tender CEO Susie McDonald about the work they’re doing to try and prevent domestic violence. Do you breakdown your ‘to do’ list into hours and minutes? What if you broke down your day into how much energy you had instead? We discuss Energy Management Techniques with Lauren Walker, an Occupational The...
Jul 01, 2023•57 min
Actress Olivia Colman is the patron of the arts charity Tender, having previously played a survivor of domestic violence in the film Tyrannosaur. She speaks to Woman’s Hour alongside Tender CEO Susie McDonald about the work they’re doing to try and prevent domestic violence. A special police unit used to spy on left wing political and activist groups was not justified and should have been disbanded in its early days. That’s one of the conclusions of the first part of a judge led inquiry into und...
Jun 30, 2023•57 min
A new study has suggested that women who take hormone replacement therapy to relieve their menopause symptoms may increase their risk of dementia. Scientists at Copenhagen University found that women who had taken HRT were 24 per cent more likely to get dementia or Alzheimer’s disease than women of the same age and background who did not use the treatment. But other researchers have said that the cognitive declines may not have been due to treatment. Joining Hayley are Professor Pauline Maki fro...
Jun 29, 2023•58 min
On Monday, the TV journalist Daisy Goodwin accused the Tory mayoral candidate Daniel Korski of groping her breast during a meeting at No 10 in 2013. He has denied the allegation "in the strongest possible terms". She has now contacted the Cabinet Office asking to make a formal complaint. Nuala speaks to the assistant editor of The Spectator, Isabel Hardman for her take on the situation. Ensuring fairness in sport is a much debated topic, most recently following World Athletics and British Cyclin...
Jun 28, 2023•58 min
The actress Archie Panjabi made her film debut in East is East and then went on to play Pinky in Bend it Like Beckham. She won the Primetime Emmy Award in 2010 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in “The Good Wife”. She joins Nuala to discuss her latest role in Hijack, a thriller that follows the journey of a hijacked plane in real time across seven hours and seven episodes. The English Cricket Board has been told to secure equal pay for its male and female cricketers by 2030 as part of the repor...
Jun 27, 2023•58 min
The all-female motor racing championship, the W Series, has goneinto administration. The series was founded in 2019 in response to the lack of female representation at the highest levels of the sport - Formula 1 has not had a female driver compete in a race since 1976. The W Series saw three seasons of racing, where it showcased the talents of racers such as three time champion Jamie Chadwick, Alice Powell and Sarah Moore. Rebecca Clancy, motor racing corrrespondent at the Times and Sunday Times...
Jun 26, 2023•57 min
On Thursday, the UK celebrated the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush which made the 5,000 mile journey from the Caribbean to England in 1948. The passengers were mainly made up of ex-servicemen along with over 200 bold, pioneering women. Veteran nurse and founder of the Windrush Cymru Elders, Roma Taylor, former nurse Allyson Williams and journalist Amina Taylor join Nuala to discuss their experiences of leaving home to help rebuild Britain after WWII. As visitors walk throu...
Jun 24, 2023•52 min
For Woman's Hour's first ever live broadcast from Worthy Farm Anita is joined by BBC 6 Music's Jamz Supernova. Jamz gives Anita her top tips and talks us through the women she's most excited to see perform this year. Emily Eavis has been co-organising Glastonbury since 1999, working alongside her father and founder of the festival, Michael Eavis. Over the years, she's booked some of the biggest names in music, from Beyonce and Adele to the Rolling Stones. Emily has been committed to making the f...
Jun 23, 2023•53 min
