PODCAST

Woman"s Hour

BBC Radio 4

Women"s voices and women"s lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

society & culture

All Episodes

27:20

Weekend Woman's Hour: Annie Lennox, Motorway anxiety,...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/27

Journalist Mary McCarthy has been avoiding motorways for years, even planning her life around how to dodge them. She's discovered it’s a far more common problem than you might think, especially among women in mid-life.The multi award-winning singer, songwriter and Global Feminist Activist Annie Lennox OBE has been part of the musical landscape for almost 50 years, from her days in The Tourists, to the Eurythmics and then going solo. Now at the age of 70, Annie has brought out a book of photographs

57:31

Penny Lancaster, New play Punch, Rugby grounds-women

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/26

Penny Lancaster is a special constable, TV personality and photographer. She’s also married to rock legend Rod Stewart. Penny talks to Anita Rani about her life so far - from being bullied at school and living with severe dyslexia, to her IVF journey and educating her boys about the menopause. Penny also shares insights into her marriage to Rod and how for the past four years she has served as a Special Constable with the City of London Police.We examine the part that women’s safety is playing in

57:34

Child benefit cap, Prof Edith Heard, Book banning

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/25

More than 100 Labour MPs are calling this morning for the Government to put up gambling taxes to pay for scrapping the two child cap on universal credit. Lifting the cap would cost an estimated £3 billion a year. Chancellor Rachel Reeves already has a £20 to £30 billion deficit to try and balance in the November budget. So, should she do it? Anita Rani talks to Iain Watson, BBC Political Correspondent, and Director of policy, rights and advocacy at Child Poverty Action Group, Sara Ogilvie

57:19

Post childbirth and sex, Juliet Stevenson, Ruby Tui

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/24

There has been a renewed conversation regarding sex after childbirth following a recent episode of the CBeebies Parenting Helpline podcast which tackled the topic of libido in the time after having a baby. It can be a very confusing time when it comes to your relationship with your body, so how do you navigate those ‘blurred lines’ between your roles as mother, partner, and sexual being. Nuala McGovern is joined by journalist and author Nell Frizzell, who's written about her own experiences, and

55:53

Annie Lennox, Paracetamol in pregnancy, Liquid BBLs,...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/23

The multi award-winning singer songwriter Annie Lennox has been part of the musical landscape for almost 50 years, from her days in The Tourists, to the Eurythmics and then going solo. Now at the age of 70, Annie has brought out a book of photographs called Annie Lennox: Retrospective, and talks to Nuala McGovern about her life and career.President Trump has said that pregnant women should avoid paracetamol because of the risks of autism and that US doctors will soon be advised not to prescribe

57:02

Driving anxiety, Erika Kirk profile, Marie Antoinette...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/22

Journalist Mary McCarthy has been avoiding motorways for years, even planning her life around how to dodge them. She tells Kylie Pentelow how she discovered it’s a far more common problem than you might think, especially among women in mid-life.England are through to the Rugby World Cup final. They face Canada next Saturday but who will we see lift the trophy? Former player Kat Merchant gives her view.Who is Erika Kirk? Kylie speaks to Anne McElvoy, executive editor at Politico and host of the Sam

56:56

Weekend Woman’s Hour: Baroness Hale, Race Across the...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/20

How well does the law serve women? That’s a question Nuala puts to Brenda Marjorie Hale, The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Hale of Richmond, DBE a former judge who served as the first female President of the Supreme Court. She was the first woman and the youngest person to be appointed to the Law Commission, where she led the work on what became the 1989 Children Act. In 2019 she announced the Supreme Court’s judgement that the prorogation of Parliament was ‘unlawful, void and of no effect’. She discusses

57:51

Surgeons, Susie Dent, Model diversity, Nepal's Prime...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/19

If your doctor or surgeon was convicted of rape you might expect them to be struck off. But that isn't always the case according to new research out today. The study by the Royal College of Surgeons looked at decisions by the medical practioners tribunal service, which rules on misconduct cases and decides on the sanctions. In a quarter of cases, they were more lenient than recommendations from the General Medical Council. They looked at 46 cases. In 11, the doctor was suspended instead of being

57:39

Nuclear energy, SEND reform, Anita on Celebrity Race...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/18

A group of cross-party MPs has called for root and branch transformation of the way mainstream education caters for children and young people with special educational needs and disablities, including new statutory minimum standards. One of the recommendations of the Education Select Committee is that individual care plans for children with special educational needs EHCPs should NOT be scrapped in England. The Government is expected to publish its plans on how to reform SEND provision in England this

56:22

Cryptic pregnancy, actor Karen Pittman, writer Nikita...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/17

To so many women the symptoms of pregnancy are instant, intense and unmistakeable; however some make it the full nine months without having any idea they’re even pregnant. This phenomenon is known as cryptic pregnancy, and the British Medical Journal suggests it’s more common than triplets. Nuala McGovern is joined by two women who have experienced this first-hand, plus Professor of Midwifery, Helen Cheyne to discuss.Actor Karen Pittman earned an Emmy nomination for her performance as The Morning

57:24

16/09/2025

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/16

As Donald Trump arrives in the UK for his second state visit, we examine how women feel about the US President now and how the Epstein scandal might feature in discussions as Keir Starmer faces more pressure about how he handled Lord Mandelson’s resignation. Nuala McGovern speaks to Katy Balls from The Times, women’s campaigner Alix Valentine and Mischa Smith, the news and features editor for Marie Claire UK. How well does the law serve women? That’s a question Nuala puts to Brenda Marjorie

57:40

Patricia Lockwood, SEND rally, Maternity review,...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/15

Patricia Lockwood is a poet, memoirist and novelist whose work straddles the literary world and the wilds of the internet. Patricia first went viral with her traumatic poem Rape Joke, while her memoir Priestdaddy, about being the daughter of a Catholic priest, has been called a modern classic. Patricia talks to Nuala McGovern about her new book, Will There Ever Be Another You, which explores the surreal disorientation of illness, memory and recovery in the wake of Covid. The list of hospital trusts

55:13

Weekend Woman’s Hour: Davina McCall, Papua New...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/13

Davina McCall, one of TV’s most popular presenters has a new book out, Birthing, co-written with the midwife, Marley Henry. Davina joined Anita Rani to talk about her stellar career so far, including hosting Big Brother for 10 years, campaigning for better menopause care and building a fitness empire. What makes her tick? And what drives her forward to clear hurdles such as an usual childhood, drug addiction and most recently, brain surgery for a benign tumour that she nicknamed Jeffrey?As the 50th

57:28

Davina McCall, Highland Games, Essex accents

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/12

Davina McCall, one of TV’s most popular presenters has a new book out, Birthing, co-written with the midwife, Marley Henry. Davina joins Anita Rani to talk about her stellar career so far, including hosting Big Brother for 10 years, campaigning for better menopause care and building a fitness empire. What makes her tick? And what drives her forward to clear hurdles such as an usual childhood, drug addiction and most recently, brain surgery for a benign tumour that she nicknamed Jeffrey.Funding of at

56:10

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Pregnancy drug DES, Novelist...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/11

For decades thousands of pregnant women across the UK were prescribed the drug Diethlystilbestrol or DES, a synthetic hormone that was meant to help prevent miscarriage. But the drug left a legacy of life-altering health problems for some of their children, including infertility and rare cancers. Anita Rani speaks to ITV Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker who has investigated what they are calling a medical scandal that continues to devastate lives, talking to the women who say more must be

57:05

Noel Clarke libel case, Bras after cancer, Comedian...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/10

On 22 August, the High court rejected Noel Clarke’s claim that accusations against him by more than 20 women were false and part of a conspiracy.The writer, actor and producer of the Kidulthood trilogy sued the Guardian News & Media over seven articles and a podcast published between April 2021 and March 2022 in which women accused him of sexual misconduct. He was seeking £70 million in damages. In a high court judgment with a 220-page document, Mrs Justice Steyn rejected Clarke’s claims, and

57:34

Jung Chang, Labour deputy leader race, Jaysley Beck's...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/09

Jung Chang’s Wild Swans, the epic family memoir that followed the lives of Jung, her mother and grandmother through China's 20th century, was banned in mainland China, but was a smash hit worldwide upon publication in 1991. Now Jung’s sequel, Fly, Wild Swans, brings her family’s story up to date. She joins Nuala McGovern.The Labour deputy leadership race could be an all-woman affair, with all current declarations coming from female MPs. Nuala gets the lowdown from Kitty Donaldson, chief political

57:21

Angela Rayner fallout, Do we need to take creatine?...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/08

The fallout from Angela Rayner's departure continues to dominate the headlines today as Labour's National Executive Committee is expected to meet to agree the timetable for the race to replace Rayner as the party's deputy leader. Since the reshuffle, women fill three of the four great offices of state for the first time, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Home Secretary, and the Foreign Secretary. To discuss the role of women in Labour’s reshuffled cabinet and the party's future leadership - as

56:34

Weekend Woman’s Hour: actor Robin Wright, life after...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/06

Actor Robin Wright joined Nuala McGovern to discuss directing and starring in new series The Girlfriend, based on the book by Michelle Frances. Best known for her award-winning role in House of Cards and much-loved movies such as Forest Gump and The Princess Bride, Robin plays Laura in the psychological thriller, a protective mother who is deeply suspicious of her son’s new girlfriend Cherry, played by Olivia Cooke.Woman's Hour spoke to women who have had the experience of someone close to them

57:27

Menopause and severe depression, Disliking your...

Woman"s Hour ·

2025/09/05

In the last of our series on life after suicide, our reporter Jo Morris meets Stef whose mother took her own life when Stef was 19. On experiencing severe depression as she approached the menopause herself, Stef found herself considering ending her own life. This has led her to thinking her mother’s death was also menopause related.So is there a link between menopause and women who choose to end their own life? Research in this area is all relatively new, but our guest Professor Pooja Saini,

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