Dirty Mother Pukka with Anna Whitehouse

Happiness is a fairly elusive concept. Fleeting, perhaps. While contentment feels a little more accessible. In this episode, Anna and Polly question where their happiness lies - however momentary - and why we’re struggling to celebrate people’s happiness in 2023.

In this episode Anna opens up about the stress of her kids fighting constantly. How to break the sibling rivalry cycle. And how to regroup as a family when the fighting gets tough. Practical tips and emotional confessions abound in an episode that unites our brothers and sisters.

In this episode Anna and Polly celebrate the power of platonic love. Inspired by two women who chose to live as PLP’s (Platonic Life Partners) over settling down with a romantic partner, there’s a question for Team Dirty Mother Pukka: should we just move in with our best mate and be done with it?

In this open-hearted chat, the author and podcaster Kate Ferdinand opens up on life married to Rio and what it took/takes to raise another woman’s family (after Rio’s wife Rebecca sadly passed away before they met). From step parenting to blending families, this is an episode that opens up what family really means in 2023.

Far from some frantic fingering in the 90s, Anna and Polly have found the true meaning of foreplay. If you awkwardly get into bed buttoning up your PJs for fear of a sexual move from your partner, this one’s for you. From desire and sexting to erotic looks and massage, this is another world of sexual healing.

Fats has been discriminated against from the moment she was born. She describes herself as a ‘little person’ but what she has faced has been huge. At school she was thrown into an industrial bin and left - and throughout her life she’s had to question who really loves her, who really wants to be with her. This episode is on self love, self confidence and how one women rebuilt herself when everyone was trying to take her down. It’s beautiful and informative if you’ve ever been bullied and wondered how to heal those scars.

The tables have turned and after speaking about Polly’s ADHD diagnosis last week, she asks Anna about her anxiety. How to know if it’s severe, when to go to the GP and how to navigate everyday life without having as many panic attacks.

We're digging this incredible conversation out from the archives. Stella opens up about the reality of being a mother in Parliament and what needs to change across the board. In this punchy chat, she cracks open the issues surrounding motherhood and work. And, well, how to make it work.

In this open chat Polly opens up about her ADHD diagnosis and how she found out. How she has felt and if the drugs really do work. The pair then talk to chef Gizzi Erskine about her ADHD diagnosis and the trio wonder why this specific neurodiversity is only just being understood in women.

The brilliant organisation expert opens her doors, cupboards and drawers to show the beauty of living less chaotically. Far from just being a clean queen, this episode is about the mental health associations with clearing out your home, how to do it realistically when you have a family. And what it feels like to finally sort your life/ home out.

In this episode we go back to one of our most popular episodes where we talk to presenter Cherry Healey on exiting her marriage. How she did is calmly and kindly. And how to know when to get out. This episode is a deep-dive into irretrievable breakdown and, well, not breaking in the process.

You may know her as Mandy from Hollyoaks but actress Sarah Jayne Dunn was fired from the show for daring to start an OnlyFans account. She speaks up about the double standards of a TV industry that had her posing topless on every lads mag but fires her for doing it for herself. In this episode we go back to a 90s era of Nuts, Zoo and FHM, questioning what has actually changed since those magazines closed.

Why is it so hard to actually sleep? We are the most exhausted we’ve ever been and could barely string a sentence together - and yet sleep does not come. A lot of that is children hollering but also when we do have time, it’s impossible to wind down. But what does this level of sleep deprivation actually look like? And how does it impact your life?

The revered beauty writer doesn’t hold back on the grip sugar has had on her life. Having been recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, Ateh reflects on her binge-eating and childhood trauma to understand the magnitude of what some might minimise as a ‘sweet tooth’. She also opens up about her experience of being a Black woman in a white woman’s magazine world. She worked at Vogue House as a beauty writer and considers what it took to survive - not even thrive - in those abundantly privileged towers.

One word: oxytocin. If you aren’t getting it through shagging your partner, then you can get it by simply reaching out to others. In this episode Anna and Polly dig deep on who has made them feel the love hormone unexpectedly. From Polly’s NICU nurse to a woman called Becky in seat 32E on a Ryanair flight to Stanstead, this episode is about looking up and reaching out to the people in front of you.

If you want to laugh through the pain of procreation, Jen Brister is your woman. From taking the piss out of herself as the seemingly ‘awkward friend’ next to her wife at the birth of her twins to acknowledging the madness of an IVF pregnancy, this is a one-woman-show that brings everyone else in. From same sex parenting to raising the next generation to truly understand inclusion, this episode is a reminder of how to be, well, human.

This episode pays tribute to Jacqueline Gold, a woman who sat at the helm of Ann Summers all her working life. She single-handedly changed the face of the sex toy industry, removing shame and pioneering the iconic rampant rabbit. Anna and Polly only spoke to Jacqueline last year before she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She sadly passed away last week and the girls wanted to take a moment to hold onto her words.

This is one for anyone wanting to understand autism. In adults or kids. This isn’t one to gloss over because you haven’t been diagnosed or feel it isn’t relevant. We all need to understand neurodiversity to truly be inclusive and this is a heartfelt, informed conversation between three women - one who has been diagnosed, one whose son is going through the process - and what to consider - and one who truly wants to understand more. The language to use, the nuance and the way forward in education.

The backdrop to Dirty Mother Pukka is, well, more than a podcast. We decided to start it in - quite frankly - our lowest moment. To give each other structure and accountability week-in-week-out. Isolation and loneliness happens in the least likely places sometimes. Whether in a marriage, in a home, in motherhood, this episode is our love story to you. Our love story for each other. Because no matter how something looks, how popular someone appears, how shiny their Instagram, you never know the full story.Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

God we love this woman. From dancing to Hear’Say in our student unions to partying - what felt alongside her - in sticky-floored nightclubs, Suzanne Shaw was the girl-next-door who knew how to party. But at what cost? And who was she underneath what the music label had decided? In this open-hearted episode Anna and Polly talk about the complexity of binge-drinking and how grey area boozing wasn’t helping her in motherhood. Listen in if you are thinking about wine o‘clock as soon as you get up.Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

When Helen Thorn’s husband cheated on her, she found love with her best friend and work wife Ellie Gibson. This episode is the happily ever after we were never sold. The one where woman falls for women amid the pain of infidelity.Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

This episode cracks open the reality of abuse in a relationship. Physical and non-physical. What are the signs? And how do you support someone going through it - and how to get out of it. Malin talks to Anna and Polly about rebuilding after Love Island and finding her inner strength outside of the male gaze.Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

Bored of missionary? Done with doggy? There are no words for what Polly says in this episode. Left complete tumble weed as we discuss new sex positions to try. But there’s ONE that truly works and after raking through a list of 48 others, it’s time to mix it up. Let’s talk about sex, indeed. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

In this episode Anna and Polly go deep into the postnatal trenches and talk about the impact kids have had on their relationship. From birth trauma to pure anger, this episode is a cathartic listen for anyone with pent-up maternal rage with nowhere to put it - other than on your partner.

It’s been exactly a year since Dirty Mother Pukka launched and the first episode with Myleene Klass landed. She spoke so beautifully and openly about her experience of miscarriage and the one thing she said in that episode has stayed with me - and so many of you - since. It’s given me peace where there was pain and emptiness. So many of you keep asking for this clip so here it is for you to share with anyone that might need it. Thank you for your support over this year and here’s to many more heartening and, also, heartbreaking chats. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

In this episode Anna and Polly bare their relationship souls to Married At First Sight’s relationship coach Mel Schilling. There is no stone left unturned in this open-hearted chat about what it is to make a marriage work - and when to get out. The one piece of advice she gives here has already turned Anna and Polly’s relationships around. Til death do us part indeed. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

From the ick factor with a long-term partner to extreme fantasies with fictional folks, how can reality and fantasy be so poles apart? Anna and Polly open up about the biggest turn ons and turn offs in their relationships - and where sexual fantasy might lead them. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

This episode is about all those moments you’ve been made to feel ‘lucky’ your partner is doing the bare minimum of childcare. Those moments ‘daddy daycare’ is mentioned or it’s insinuated he’s somehow babysitting his own child. This is about the domestic load and what equality looks like in the home. Whether he picks up the childcare slack or you do. Strap in for the domestically-loaded ride. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

This episode heads into the heart of the family unit and looks at what toxic behaviours might lie within. Anna and Polly look at their own behaviours within that family dynamic and what a boundary looks like with your blood relatives. Happy families, indeed. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

Quite a turnaround, Anna's husband Matt joins the team this episode to talk about his new platform Typical Man. A place for those who want to break the toxic masculinity mould. The trio talk Andrew Tate, misogyny and how to raise sons and daughters in a world that's still telling 'boys to be boys'. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

Due to popular demand, we’ve got sexologist Karen Gurney back on the podcast to strip back your/our sex lives. The big issue is: how do you stop griping and start fancying someone who you’ve seen on the toilet, in birth and snoring in bed with you? Listen in and, well, hop on. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

If you’ve ever been pushed out of work or made redundant - usually for having a baby - then this episode is for you. The former editor-in-chief Jo Elvin speaks about the moment she was made redundant after 17 years at the helm of Glamour. The crisis of identity that ensued and how she has redefined success. Anna also speaks about the power of ‘average’ and how ‘having it all’ is really just code for ‘doing it all’, which equals burnout and essentially losing everything. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

In this episode Anna and Polly strip down to their undercrackers and lay their sexual souls bare to sex therapist Dr Karen Guerney. How much is ‘enough’ sex? Should you worry if you aren’t doing it at all? Is the ‘maintenance shag’ a healthy tool or just another way to quash true sexual connection? So many questions and so many sexually-charged answers from a woman who has helped thousands of couples wade through the sexual quagmire. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

This episode digs into life’s biggest common denominator - death. We’re all going to exit stage left at some point so why don’t we talk about it? Author and comedian Caria Lloyd opens up about the death of her Dad and the complicated grieving process that hit her. Far from morbid this episode looks at your life after someone else’s death and how to pick up the probate pieces. An episode that will make you (hopefully) laugh as much as you cry. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

Anna has been described as ‘over’ emotional her whole life, while Polly describes herself as an ‘unmoving statue’ emotionally. Anna cries at everything, while Polly struggles to shed a tear in even the toughest of moments. The duo dig deep on how they’re really feeling and what emotional health looks like. This is - as it says on the tin - a very emotional episode that sees Polly digging into the postnatal trauma around the medical complications her disabled twins navigated. Bring tissues. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com

Ooof, this one hit hard. Illana Gambrill, founder of Dancebox, opens up about the moment she divorced her husband. The exact moment she knew it was the end and had to walk out and learn to love herself again. And the years it took to shake off and dance through the pain of losing herself. She speaks about wishing there was some easy ‘out’ like an affair or something more dramatic. But the reality was they were just not meant for each other and that’s sometimes harder to leave. This is one woman who is empowering other women through dance to be themselves. Live their lives. However that looks. Whoever they want that to be with. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

BOUNDARIES. We need them. Anna and Polly take the boundary test and find out they are eternal people pleasers who will take whatever a friendship throws at them. (Anna more than Polly, perhaps). But maybe 2023 is time to break up with the notion that every friendship is, in fact, friendly. Take the boundary test in this episode and work out if your friendships are two-way. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com

This is a complete one-off. Prue Leith dusts off the Great British Bake Off apron and gets down (and relatively dirty) with Anna and Polly. The trio talk sex in your 80s and what’s needed to make it work (an IKEA sheepskin rug among other accoutrements) and THAT story about Prue attending a gang bang. Beautifully honest, searingly open and quite the start to 2023. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

Anna and Polly are here to party like it’s 1999. Kinda. On hearing that anyone clubbing over 40 is ‘tragic’, your Dirty Mother Pukka hosts ask if their clubbing days really are over? And reflect on years gone by with sticky floors, alcopops and getting down and dirty on the podium. Free entry. Everyone welcome. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com

Good God where to start? For our Christmas party we decided to go to The Box - a club that has been described as ‘intensely hedonistic’. Polly once went and a man pooed on stage so the Dirty Mother Pukka team wanted to see if it was all it was cracked up to be. Let’s just say we won’t be likely to get an invite back. Listen in to find out why and a huge Merry Christmas you Dirty Mother Pukkas. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com

If you find yourself wondering when the joy begins for you at Christmas, we’ve got you. Sure it’s lovely to see the kids whipped up into an excited festive frenzy but where do you come in? In this episode Anna and Polly are feeling mentally overloaded and, well, download the reality. If you are lying up at 3am wondering if you’ve bought an equal number of presents for the kids, this one’s for you. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

She describes herself as having a ‘gob like Dyer and hair like Demi’. She’s now clear of breast cancer but having forged a friendship with co-hosts Rachel Bland and Deborah James through the podcast ‘You, Me and The Big C’, she speaks openly about her diagnosis and how to practically check your boobs for breast cancer. This episode looks at a woman who has lost two mates in the cancer process. And is here to explain what it is to truly live life. Expect tears, laughter and a significant amount of tit jiggling.

‘Loneliness’ has long been attached to old age, but this week Anna and Polly dig into feelings of disconnect in motherhood, marriage and beyond and how they have never felt more alone than when they seemed fine. Alone in a relationship. Alone despite a following online. Alone in a group of mates. This episode is a huge hug in podcast form for anyone feeling lonely despite appearances. This is our ramshackle 21st century women’s healing circle and we are so glad you are in it ♥️ Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

Money allegedly makes the world go round. It can make or break a person. But getting your cash flow wrong can come at a huge cost as Lou Featherstone found out. By the time she was 17 she had court orders for unpaid credit cards. She’s been in the red as long as she can remember and she speaks to Anna and Polly about the effect her shopping addition had on her life, relationships and future. This is a no holds barred chat on how there’s two sides to the shopping coin. The buying high and the crushing financial low. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

Have you cheated? Has your partner? In this episode Anna and Polly talk about James Corden’s new sitcom ‘Mammals’ that questions if marriage is truly resistant to infidelity. Are you meant to be with one person until ‘death do us part’ or are we polyamorous mammals searching for love and lust at every corner? One quote from the series is: “aren’t faithful couples just watching porn separately and exchanging logistics together?” Listen in to see where Anna and Polly sit… Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com

This is a trip down memory lane into a world of 90s celebrity. Beach body-shaming? Or celebrity profile-boosting? Lucie Cave, the former editor of Heat Magazine strips back the front cover to reveal what was really happening under the glossy, celeb surface. This is Lucie and her best mate Keith Lemon taking you back to The 90s. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

Have you had your flexible working request denied? In this episode Anna opens up about the new Flex Appeal app she’s launched with co-founder Tim Grimes called ‘Work Your Way’. It’s a human approach to business and this episode is a call to arms for businesses to get with the flexible working programme - before they lose talent. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com

In this episode Anna and Polly talk to four-time Olympic gold champion swimmer Rebecca Adlington on life outside of the swimming pool. She speaks about the heartbreak of miscarriage and how her partner opening up about his grief helped her heal. Losing a baby isn’t just something women go through and this episode tackles what it means to grieve the loss of a little life. Together. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com

This is no man-bashing exercise but good GOD the mental load women carry compared to men is skewed. From meal planning, kids party-planning to school What’s App-grouping, Anna and Polly are feeling the strain. And that’s before even mentioning Christmas. Join us for a vent/ therapy session to clear away some weighty inequality cobwebs. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com.

Who else remembers Special K suggesting you’ll get skinny by eating a couple of bowls a day? What is diet culture? And why did we so easily buy into it? Anna and Polly sit down with journalist and author Alex Light to shine a light on eating disorders and the grimness of an industry that told us ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’. The trio talk body shaming, body dysmorphia and how to raise the next generation of girls to love themselves. Original music by Matt J Brown at WeAreOK.com