Afleveringen
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Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights' has become a popular placard at women's rights events around the world. The singer behind the anthem that inspired it is none other than Cyndi Lauper. She joins Anita Rani to reflect on her 40-year career, becoming a feminist figure and performing on the iconic Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.
Wimbledon starts next week and amongst the usual pre-match discussions about favourites and performances, there’s also been a serious conversation about how top-level tennis handles allegations of domestic abuse. Clare McDonnell is joined by the host of the Tennis podcast, Catherine Whitaker to discuss recent cases.
Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl is best known to British viewers for her role as Sarah Lund in Scandi Noir crime drama The Killing. Now she’s returning to our cinema screens in a new film, Rose. Sophie plays Inger, a woman with serious mental health challenges, who takes a bus trip to Paris with her sister, Ellen. She discusses how she researched the character of Inger, by talking to the real woman that she is based on.
Novelist Helen Heckety joins Nuala to talk about her debut work, Alter Ego. It’s about a young woman who decides to leave her old life behind and move to a new place where no one knows she is disabled. Helen, who has a physical disability that can sometimes be invisible, was compelled to write about a disabled character she had never seen represented in literature.
The term ‘matrescence’ has been around since the 70s, but it’s only recently becoming more commonly known as a concept. It describes the process of becoming a new mother, and the emotional and physical changes you go through after the birth of your child. But then how should we talk about the experience of matrescence when your kids are teenagers, you’re in mid-life and you start the menopause? The parenting expert and childcare author Sarah Ockwell-Smith has a name for that – inspired by a Greek goddess, she calls it ‘demetrescence' and she explains all to Nuala McGovern.
Corinne Bailey Rae's latest album is a complete departure from her previous work. Black Rainbows is inspired by a trip to Stony Island Arts Bank, a Chicago-based archive of black art and culture. The record spans punk, rock, experimental jazz, electronica and more. She joins Anita for a very special performance live from the Woman's Hour Glastonbury picnic table.
Presenter: Claire McDonnellProducer: Annette WellsEditor: Rebecca Myatt
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'Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights' has become a popular placard at women's rights events around the world. The singer behind the anthem that inspired it is none other than Cyndi Lauper. She joins Anita Rani to reflect on her 40-year career, becoming a feminist figure and performing on the iconic Pyramid Stage.
Corinne Bailey Rae's latest album is a complete departure from her previous work. Black Rainbows is inspired by a trip to Stony Island Arts Bank, a Chicago-based archive of black art and culture. The record spans punk, rock, experimental jazz, electronica and more. She joins Anita for a very special performance live from the Woman's Hour Glastonbury picnic table.
Would you ever go to a festival on your own? Woman's Hour listeners give their tips for how to do a festival solo.
Glastonbury is the biggest festival in the UK, hosting around 200,000 people over five days. It’s a massive operation that involves security, transport, food, water, and electricity-supply infrastructure and 11,000 people are there as staff and volunteers. So who are some of the women working hard behind the scenes to make it all possible? Two of them join Anita live: Jade Dunbar is the stage manager at Circus Big Top, and Martina Brown owns Jerk Village, a stall serving Jamaican food.
This year Glastonbury hosts its first ever dedicated South Asian space, Arrivals. It’s been created, designed and built by a South Asian team and is a collaboration between South Asian collectives. Anita talks to revered icon of the 90s underground scene DJ Ritu and to up and coming star DJ Nadi who are both performing at Arrivals.
Presenter: Anita RaniProducer: Emma Pearce
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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In the next of the Woman’s Hour interviews with the leaders of the main political parties in the run-up to the General Election, Clare McDonnell speaks to John Swinney, Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party.
What does it mean to be an adult orphan? Does the term still apply if you lose both parents when you’re no longer a child? Playwright Naomi Westerman was writing about death rituals when she lost her whole family, turning the academic into the deeply personal. Naomi talks to Clare about her experiences and is joined by Flora Baker, the author of The Adult Orphan Club.
Wimbledon starts next week and amongst the usual pre-match discussions about favourites and performances, there’s also been a serious conversation about how top-level tennis handles allegations of domestic abuse. Clare is joined by the host of the Tennis podcast, Catherine Whitaker to discuss recent cases.
Marine biologist Christine Figgener went viral after sharing a video of a turtle with a plastic straw lodged in its nose, bolstering the campaign to get rid of plastic straws altogether. She joins Clare to discuss her new book about her efforts to protect sea creatures, My Life With Turtles.
Presenter: Clare McDonnellProducer: Olivia Skinner
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Woman’s Hour has invited the leaders of all the main political parties for an interview in the run-up to the General Election. Today, in place of the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, Nuala McGovern is joined by Christine Jardine, the party’s Women and Equalities spokesperson.
Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl is best known to British viewers for her role as Sarah Lund in Scandi Noir crime drama The Killing. Now she’s returning to our cinema screens in a new film, Rose. Sophie plays Inger, a woman with serious mental health challenges, who takes a bus trip to Paris with her sister, Ellen. She discusses how she researched the character of Inger, by talking to the real woman that she is based on.
At the start of the month, comedian Grace Campbell wrote candidly about her mental health struggles after having an abortion and the response to her piece has been overwhelming. She speaks to Nuala about her experience, being pro-choice and how she’s sharing this as part of her stand-up.
Last weekend protests were held in four cities in the Republic of Ireland calling for justice after a serving soldier was given a suspended sentence for an attack on a woman which left her unconscious and with a broken nose. The Irish Defence Forces have confirmed that a review has been launched. Yesterday the protests continued outside the Dail, the Irish Assembly and Natasha was given a standing ovation inside as she watched from the public gallery.
Presented by Nuala McGovernProducer: Louise Corley
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With just over a week to go until the UK heads to the polls for the general election, what’s the situation for women voters in Northern Ireland? BBC Northern Ireland political correspondent Jayne McCormack joins Nuala McGovern to discuss what political candidates there are offering women.
Days ahead of a UN summit on Afghanistan, which is set to exclude Afghan women, reports are surfacing from teenage girls and young women arrested by the Taliban for wearing 'bad hijab' that they have been subjected to sexual violence and assault in detention. Zarghuna Kargar joins Nuala.
The term ‘matrescence’ has been around since the 70s, but it’s only recently becoming more commonly known as a concept. It describes the process of becoming a new mother, and the emotional and physical changes you go through after the birth of your child. But then how should we talk about the experience of matrescence when your kids are teenagers, you’re in mid-life and you start the menopause? The parenting expert and childcare author Sarah Ockwell-Smith has a name for that – inspired by a Greek goddess, she calls it ‘demetrescence' and she explains all to Nuala.
Faith Omole is best known as an actress but now she’s well on the way to be know at least as well for her writing too. Last week her first performed play, My Father’s Fable, premiered at Bush Theatre in London. It tells a gripping story of grief, belonging, and a family on the edge.
And in a BBC first, Radio 3’s Georgia Mann will be at Glastonbury this year. She is opening the Crow’s Nest stage on Friday, spinning classical tunes in a DJ set. She joins Nuala McGovern to discuss how she has selected the music for her set and how prepared she is for camping.
Presenter: Nuala McGovernProducer: Laura Northedge
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Rachel Stevens was one of the founding members of S Club 7, the pop band that took the world by storm in the early 2000s. She joins Anita to talk about her memoir Finding my Voice: A story of strength, belief and S Club, which covers her time in the hit-making band, her solo career and what it's been like being in the public eye.
In a special extended 90 minute programme, Nuala McGovern hosted the Woman's Hour Election Debate. Senior women from the main political parties of Great Britain outlined their priorities for women and answered your questions.Taking part were: Scottish National Party spokesperson for Consular Affairs and International Engagement Hannah Bardell; Reform UK candidate Maria Bowtell; Green Party spokesperson for Housing and Communities Ellie Chowns; Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper; Conservative Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work Mims Davies; Labour's Shadow Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation Sarah Jones and Plaid Cymru’s Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts.
Actor Jill Halfpenny has starred in popular TV series such as Byker Grove, Coronation Street, EastEnders and The Cuckoo. She won an Olivier Award for her role in the musical Legally Blonde and she won the second series of BBC 1's Strictly Come Dancing. But, two tragic events have framed Jill’s life story; when she was four years old her dad died suddenly of a heart attack. Then in 2017, in similarly tragic circumstances, her partner Matt died. Jill talks to Clare about confronting her grief head-on, something she examines in her new book, A Life Reimagined.
For over a century, many Americans believed that interracial marriage was illegitimate and until the late 1960s, the American legal system supported that belief. Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White is a play written in the 1960s that explores the impact of these laws. Anita is joined by Monique Touko, the director of a new production of the play, and American historian Dr Leni Sorensen who had a black father and white mother in 1940s California.
Can you ever really be just best friends with the love of your life? Laura Dockrill talks to Nuala about the thrills and awful heartache of first love, the inspiration for her first adult novel, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’
Presenter Clare McDonnellProducer: Annette WellsEditor: Louise Corley
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Novelist Helen Heckety joins Nuala to talk about her debut work, Alter Ego. It’s about a young woman who decides to leave her old life behind and move to a new place where no one knows she is disabled. Helen, who has a physical disability that can sometimes be invisible, was compelled to write about a disabled character she had never seen represented in literature.
According to The Times, Labour – if elected – would make it easier for people to legally transition by removing the need for them to prove they have lived as their preferred gender for two years. They will instead be given a two-year cooling off period after applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate. The Labour Party say there is nothing new in their policy on this. Nuala is joined by Geri Scott senior political correspondent at the Times to discuss.
This weekend marked the final dates of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in the UK - until she returns again in August. The show has been described as a ‘masterpiece’ and ‘seven shades of incredible.’ Journalists Polly Vernon and Anna Willis were lucky enough to attend, and they join Nuala to go over their highlights.
Have you been enjoying Euro 2024? While many fans are cheering on their teams, there are some who dread these major sporting tournaments. Research by Lancaster University found that cases of abuse increased by 38% when England lost a football match and by 26% when they won or drew. The BBC’s Daniel Sandford, has been out with Sussex Police, who have been supporting potential victims. He joins Nuala along with Nik Peasgood, Chief Executive of Leeds Women’s Aid
Today marks the start of World Female Ranger Week, an initiative set up by adventurer and conservationist Holly Budge. It is estimated that only 11% of rangers across the world are female. These women do an important but dangerous job, protecting wildlife from poachers. Holly is also the founder of How Many Elephants, an anti-poaching conservation charity. She joins Nuala to talk on how her adventures led to becoming an advocate for female rangers and animal conservation.
Presenter: Nuala McGovernProducer: Maryam MarufStudio Manager: Donald McDonald
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Paloma Faith is an award-winning singer, songwriter and actor. She has released six albums, including her most recent The Glorification of Sadness, received a BRIT Award, been a judge on The Voice UK as well as an actor in films such as St Trinian’s and TV’s series Pennyworth. She is also the mother of two daughters. She joins Clare to discuss her book – MILF - in which she delves into the issues that face women today from puberty and sexual awakenings, to battling through the expectations of patriarchy and the Supermum myth.
Far-right parties across Europe made significant gains in the European elections, and women have been at the forefront of this right-wing shift in several countries. Right-wing groups which include those led by Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, France’s Marine Le Pen and Germany’s Alice Weidel are set to gain further seats in European parliament. To hear about the female leaders of Europe’s far-right and what this shift could mean for women, Anita is joined by the host of EU Confidential Politico's Sarah Wheaton and Shona Murray, Europe correspondent for Euronews.
Nearly 300 rapes and sexual assaults reported by sex workers during the Emma Caldwell murder investigation were not dealt with by police at the time, the BBC has learned. 276 reports of sex crimes made by sex workers working in Glasgow during the murder inquiry were filed away and not acted upon. Investigate journalist Sam Poling, whose work was pivotal in bringing Emma Caldwell’s killer, Iain Packer, to justice in February of this year, joins Clare McDonnell to discuss, along with former Detective Sergeant Willie Mason.
The American singer-songwriter, Chaka Khan, known as the Queen of Funk, is celebrating her 50th anniversary in music this year. With hits such as Ain't Nobody, I Feel for You and the anthem I'm Every Woman her music has sold an estimated 70 million records, winning her 10 Grammy Awards. She is curating Meltdown 2024 at the Royal Festival Hall, and opens the festival tomorrow night. She shares her plans and discusses her favourite songs.
Presenter: Anita RaniProducer: Annette WellsEditor: Rebecca Myatt
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Stealthing is the crime of removing a condom during sex without consent and is a form of rape. Clare McDonnell discusses why this is an under-reported crime with Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Local Policing, Helen Millichap, who leads the Met’s focus on violence against women and girls, and Gemma Lindfield, Barrister at Five St Andrew's Hill Chambers.
Actor Jill Halfpenny has starred in popular TV series such as Byker Grove, Coronation Street, EastEnders and The Cuckoo. She won an Olivier Award for her role in the musical Legally Blonde and she won the second series of BBC 1's Strictly Come Dancing. But, two tragic events have framed Jill’s life story; when she was four years old her dad died suddenly of a heart attack. Then in 2017, in similarly tragic circumstances, her partner Matt died. Jill talks to Clare about confronting her grief head-on, something she examines in her new book, A Life Reimagined.
Experts from across the world from a broad range of academic disciplines including psychology, medicine, policy studies, law and humanities are coming together with an aim to research an area which some say is underfunded and poorly understood. 4M Conference 2024 organiser, Professor Gemma Sharp, from the University of Exeter's School of Psychology, joins Clare to talk about her vision.
The wives of Henry VIII are often reduced to the simplistic rhyme, ‘Divorced, Beheaded, Died. Divorced, Beheaded, Survived’. But a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens, seeks to focus on the stories and identities of these six individual women – rather than their infamous husband – and their transformation into popular icons. Clare is joined by curator Charlotte Bolland.
Presenter: Clare McDonnellProducer: Rebecca MyattStudio manager: Bob Nettles
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Rachel Stevens was one of the founding members of S Club 7, the pop band that took the world by storm in the early 2000s. She joins Anita to talk about her memoir Finding my voice: A story of strength, belief and S Club, which covers her time in the hit-making band, her solo career and what it's been like being in the public eye.
Anita is joined by Ella Janneh who has won a civil case against her former therapist, over claims he raped her during a therapy session at his clinic in London. She has been awarded more than £200,000 in damages. A day after the incident in 2016, she went to the Metropolitan Police, but the case was dropped two years later. Ella explains why she decided to pursue a civil case and how she’s been affected.
Two new studies from Scandinavia suggest that having children doesn’t harm women’s pay, at least not in the long run. Christian Odendahl, the European economics editor at The Economist, talks Anita through the findings of the new research into the “motherhood penalty.”
For over a century, many Americans believed that interracial marriage was illegitimate and until the late 1960s, the American legal system supported that belief. Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White is a play written in the 1960s that explores the impact of these laws. Anita is joined by Monique Touko, the director of a new production of the play, and American historian Dr Leni Sorensen who had a black father and white mother in 1940s California.
Presenter: Anita RaniProducer: Olivia Skinner
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A survey published today by Women in Football shows that 88% of women working in the industry believe they have to work harder than men to achieve the same recognition and benefits - the research also found that 74% of men agree with them. It also found that 89% of women working in the game have experienced discrimination in the workplace. Nuala speaks to Yvonne Harrison, Chief Executive Officer Women in Football.
Can you ever really be just best friends with the love of your life? Laura Dockrill talks to Nuala about the thrills and awful heartache of first love, the inspiration for her first adult novel, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’
Having more women on surgical teams is associated with fewer complications for patients and a lower rate of morbidity after 90 days, a major study from Canada has found. The lead author of the study Dr Julie Hallet explains the findings and Nuala is joined by Ms Tamzin Cuming, consultant colorectal surgeon and Chair of the Royal College of Surgeons of England's Women in Surgery Forum..On Friday a prominent activist in China’s #MeToo movement, Sophia Huang, was sentenced to five years in prison for "subversion against the state”. As a journalist, Sophia reported ground-breaking stories about sexual abuse victims and gender discrimination. Journalists Jessie Lau and Lijia Zhang join Nuala live in the studio to bring us up to date with the latest in her case and discuss the wider experience of women in China.
Presenter: Nuala McGovernProducer: Laura Northedge
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In a special extended 90 minute programme, Nuala McGovern hosts the Woman's Hour Election Debate. Senior women from the main political parties of Great Britain outline their priorities for women and answer your questions. Taking part are: Scottish National Party spokesperson for Consular Affairs and International Engagement Hannah Bardell; Reform UK candidate Maria Bowtell; Green Party spokesperson for Housing and Communities Ellie Chowns; Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper; Conservative Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work Mims Davies; Labour's Shadow Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation Sarah Jones and Plaid Cymru’s Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts.
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Last week, listener Charlotte got in touch with the programme to share her story. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer in April and was told she might only have months to live. She talks to Nuala about staying optimistic, juggling the admin of an illness with childcare, and the impact it’s having on her family. Adrienne Betteley, Strategic Advisor for End of Life Care at Macmillan Cancer Support, discusses dealing with a terminal diagnosis, how best to tell your children, and the support that's available.
Tinessa Kaur has become the first Sikh woman to win the prestigious Young Pro-Bono Barrister of the Year award 2024 .She dedicates around 30 hours a week to her pro bono work in underrepresented communities. Her journey to the Bar hasn’t been easy, At just 17, while pursuing her A levels, she faced homelessness in Leicester where she lived. Now 32, the pupil barrister is hoping to inspire others from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue a career in the profession.
Debbie Wileman is the British singing sensation who captured world-wide attention during the pandemic when her uncanny impersonations of Judy Garland went viral. She’s since performed at Carnegie Hall and now she'll be making her West End debut as Judy – while still doing day job at an optician’s.
Producer: Maryam MarufStudio Managers: Emma Harth and Duncan Hannant
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Earlier this month, the British Olympic Association announced the 42 athletes selected to represent Team GB in rowing at 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Among them is the two-time Olympic gold medallist Helen Glover competing at this level for the 4th time as part of the Women’s four. In 2015 Helen was ranked the top female rower in the world and went on to become the first mother to row for Team GB in 2021. Now having had three children she has her sights set on the podium once more - joining the ranks of other athletes who've achieved sporting success after having a family - cyclist Dame Laura Kenny, sprinter Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, and tennis players Elina Svitolina and Serena Williams. Helen joins Anita Rani.
In the next of the Woman’s Hour interviews with the leaders of the main political parties in the run-up to the General Election, Anita speaks to Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales.
Weight loss drugs are now easily available on line with dozens of pharmacies including Boots and Superdrug offering them. For women weight loss is a multi-million pound industry with so many of us concerned about the numbers on the scales. Ozempic and other drugs involving semaglutide are available on the NHS - only for patients who are severely obese or who have type 2 diabetes. But this morning there are newspaper reports stating that some healthy weight young women, who don't have these conditions, are buying Ozempic to get ‘beach body ready’ and ending up in A&E. Doctors report seeing increasing numbers of people of a healthy size using weight-loss injections — with life-threatening consequences. Dr Vicky Price is a consultant in acute medicine and president-elect of the Society for Acute Medicine.
Meltdown festival opens at the Southbank Centre in London on Friday. Anita Rani hears from one the acts selected by the legendary American singer/songwriter Chaka Khan. It's the pan-African, all female super group Les Amazones d'Afrique, who shot to global fame in 2017, when President Obama included one of their songs among his 20 favourite tracks of the year. They were formed in Mali in 2014, with the goal of campaigning for gender equality and eradicating ancestral violence.
Presenter: Anita RaniProducer: Kirsty StarkeyEditor: Karen Dalziel
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Up until the 1980s, stillborn babies were swiftly taken from their mothers who weren’t always told what had happened to them. Now one of those mothers is calling for an apology after finding the grave of her stillborn son more than five decades after he was born. Gina Jacobs talks to Anita about how she found where her son Robert had been buried and how she’s working to help other women do the same.
In April the European Court of Human Rights passed a landmark ruling saying that Switzerland was violating the human rights of its citizens by inadequate action on climate change. The case was launched by a group of Swiss women over 65 called "climate seniors", calling for better protection of women's health from the effects of climate change. But yesterday, the Swiss parliament voted to reject the ruling, saying that it already has an effective climate change strategy. Elisabeth Stern, one of the climate seniors, joins Anita to share her reactions to the news.
The American singer-songwriter, Chaka Khan, known as the Queen of Funk, is celebrating her 50th anniversary in music this year. With hits such as Ain't Nobody, I Feel for You and the anthem I'm Every Woman her music has sold an estimated 70 million records, winning her 10 Grammy Awards. She is curating Meltdown 2024 at the Royal Festival Hall, and opens the festival tomorrow night. She shares her plans and discusses her favourite songs.
Far-right parties across Europe made significant gains in the European elections, and women have been at the forefront of this right-wing shift in several countries. Right-wing groups which include those led by Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, France’s Marine Le Pen and Germany’s Alice Weidel are set to gain further seats in European parliament. To hear about the female leaders of Europe’s far-right and what this shift could mean for women, Anita is joined by the host of EU Confidential Politico's Sarah Wheaton and Shona Murray, Europe correspondent for Euronews.
A new report has found that women artists made up just 2% of the most-played songs on Irish radio in the past year. To find out why women aren’t getting more airplay in Ireland, Anita is joined by Linda Coogan Byrne, the founder of Why Not Her? which champions gender diversity in the Irish culture sector.
Presenter: Anita RaniProducer: Olivia Skinner
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Paloma Faith is an award-winning singer, songwriter and actor. She has released six albums, including her most recent The Glorification of Sadness, received a BRIT Award, been a judge on The Voice UK as well as an actor in films such as St Trinian’s and TV’s series Pennyworth. She is also the mother of two daughters. She joins Clare to discuss her book – MILF - in which she delves into the issues that face women today from puberty and sexual awakenings, to battling through the expectations of patriarchy and the Supermum myth.
In the first of our Woman’s Hour interviews with the leaders of the main political parties in the run-up to the General Election, Clare McDonnell is joined by Rhun ap Iorwerth, who leads Plaid Cymru, or the Party of Wales.
A new study in England says that a third of cases where newborns are at risk of being taken into care involve parents who have learning disabilities or learning difficulties. The research – which was commissioned by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory – also finds that in over 80% of these cases, the parents’ learning disabilities or difficulties had not been identified until their cases reached court. Clare is joined by the report author Katy Burch, child protection lawyer Reagan Persaud and she also hears from a parent whose children were recently taken into care.
And following golfer Rory McIlroy's announcement that he and his wife Erica have "resolved their differences" and dismissed the divorce petition he filed for last month, we ask what keeps some couples returning time and again to particular relationships. Clare talks to behavourial psychologist & relationship coach Jo Hemmings.
Presented by Clare McDonnellProducer: Laura Northedge
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Thornaby Football Club’s committee is facing criticism after they announced that the Teeside-based club would be dropping all of its women’s section. First team manager Abbey Lyle tells Clare McDonnell what this means for the women and girls in the club, the support they’ve received since, and what it says about grassroots women’s sport. Clare also discusses the issues with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, former Paralympian and Chair of Sport Wales and the CEO of Women in Sport, Stephanie Hilborne.
Clare talks to the Canadian writer and social activist Naomi Klein about her book Doppelganger, now out in the UK in paperback. The book is a result of her being mistaken for another Naomi – Wolf, for years. Naomi Klein uses her doppelganger as a metaphor to explain many of the issues facing the modern world, from climate change and politics, to obsession with wellness and the ways we parent our children.
British writer Lucy Foley began her career writing historical fiction before making an extremely successful switch to crime and thrillers, and with New York Times bestsellers The Paris Apartment and The Guest List under her belt, Lucy has sold more than five and half million books. She joins Clare to discuss her latest novel, The Midnight Feast, which takes place during the opening of a luxury wellness retreat and explores the clash between the insta-ready super-rich and some very disgruntled locals.
Grammy-award winning American folk singer/songwriter Aoife O’Donovan has released three critically-acclaimed solo albums, is co-founder and front woman of the string band, Crooked Still, and is also one third of the all-female group I’m With Her. Her latest album, All My Friends, is inspired by the passage of the 19th amendment and the evolving landscape of women’s rights in America over the past century. She joins Clare to discuss the themes and to perform live in the studio.
Presented by Clare McDonnellProducer: Louise Corley
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Nearly 300 rapes and sexual assaults reported by sex workers during the Emma Caldwell murder investigation were not dealt with by police at the time, the BBC has learned. 276 reports of sex crimes made by sex workers working in Glasgow during the murder inquiry were filed away and not acted upon. Investigate journalist Sam Poling, whose work was pivotal in bringing Emma Caldwell’s killer, Iain Packer, to justice in February of this year, joins Clare McDonnell to discuss, along with former Detective Sergeant Willie Mason. Baroness Delyth Morgan, the chief executive of Breast Cancer Now, the largest breast cancer charity, is stepping down after 23 years. She joined Breakthrough Breast Cancer in 1995, where she led fundraising efforts that resulted in the opening of the UK's first dedicated breast cancer research facility in 1999. The crossbench peer, who sits in the House of Lords, joins Clare McDonnell to reflect on her tenure as well as the treatment and outlook for breast cancer. Conservationist Isabella Tree tells Clare about turning her failing farmland estate into one of Europe's most significant rewilding experiments. Her bestselling book about the Knepp Estate project has now been made into a film. Later this week, Wilding is released in cinemas. Virginie Viard, the creative director at Chanel, has announced her resignation from the fashion house. Only three people have held this prestigious position in the brand’s 114-year history: Viard, Karl Lagerfeld, and Coco Chanel. Who is in the frame for this esteemed role? And what will be the impact of a change in creative vision at Chanel on the fashion industry at large? Clare talks to Justine Picardie, writer and biographer of Coco Chanel, and Victoria Moss, fashion director at the Evening Standard. Presenter: Clare McDonnell Producer: Dianne McGregor
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Scotland's most senior law officer has asked nine of the country's judges to overturn an 87-year-old rule on evidence in cases involving rape and other sexual offences. Since she became Lord Advocate in 2021, Dorothy Bain KC has often spoken of her desire to improve the criminal justice system for victims, particularly women and girls. She is now seeking radical changes which would allow more rape cases to reach court. Anita Rani talks to David Cowan, BBC Scotland's home affairs correspondent.
A group of state secondary schools in Southwark, south London, has decided to act as a collective and shift their pupils away from smartphones. Children's use of smartphones, particularly in schools, continues to be a hot topic issue, and many schools have decided to create new policies to try and tackle what they call the damaging effects of smartphone use. One of those schools is Ark Walworth Academy in Southwark, and their headteacher, Jessica West, joins Anita to talk about the plans.
This evening, Taylor Swift will take to the stage at Murrayfield in Edinburgh for the first part of her UK tour. It is the first of 17 UK dates, which will finish in a record-breaking eight-night run at London's Wembley Stadium. By then, she will have played to almost 1.2 million UK fans. Her international Eras tour is expected to make more than $2 billion (£1.5 billion) by the time she performs her final show in Canada this December. Jolene Campbell, reporter at The Daily Record, talks to Anita about the Swifties who have descended on the city.
As a newborn baby in 1968, Helen Ward had been wrapped up warmly in a tartan bag and abandoned in a phone box in Ireland. She would spend years searching for her biological mother, but what she found instead were two full siblings who had also been abandoned as babies. Helen talks to Anita about the story she's spent a lifetime unravelling.
As we enter wedding season, some listeners will be spending every weekend for the rest of summer at either a hen do or a wedding. But what is the etiquette when it comes to plus ones? Anita talks to Liz Wyse, Etiquette Adviser for Debrett's and journalist Rebecca Reid.
Presenter: Anita RaniProducer: Rebecca MyattStudio manager: Tim Heffer
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The singer-songwriter Natasha Khan, known by her stage name Bat for Lashes, joins Anita to talk about her new album, The Dream of Delphi. Named after her daughter Delphi, her new music explores motherhood through lush orchestral sounds. She discusses having a baby during the Covid lockdown and how the experience informed her song-writing.
Vengeance is award-winning journalist and writer Saima Mir’s second novel, and the sequel to her crime thriller debut The Khan. The book continues the story of Jia Khan as she’s fighting to keep her position at the head of a crime syndicate her father created, and as the mysterious corpses of men begin to appear around the city. Saima joins Anita in the studio to discuss writing a British Asian crime family, creating the characters she wants to read, and why sisterhood is at the heart of her new novel.
The mother of a 16 year-old-boy who ended his life after becoming the victim of a sextortion gang says the tech giant Meta has taken too long to hand over data which might help the investigation into his death. Joe Tidy, the BBC’s first Cyber Correspondent, explains how he’s been investigating Sextortion – a type of online blackmail which involves threatening to share intimate pictures of the victim.
Today marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when thousands of Allied troops landed on beaches across Normandy, marking the start of the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied northern Europe. What’s often forgotten is the important role that women played in organising this huge military project and making the D-Day happen. Anita Rani speaks to historian, teacher and writer Shalina Patel, who has told some of these women’s stories in her book The History Lessons, which celebrates stories and people beyond the usual narratives.
Presenter: Anita RaniProducer: Olivia Skinner
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