Woman's Hour

The Winter Olympics begin on 4th February in Beijing and Team GB will be sending around 50 athletes with the hopes of bringing back a clutch of medals. The run up to the Games has been challenging – Covid has made competition extremely difficult for athletes and there have been diplomatic rows over China’s human rights records - but who are our medal prospects? Chloe Tilley speaks to Georgina Harland, Britain’s first ever female Chef de Mission and Lizzy Yarnold, Britain’s most successful Winter Olympian. On Wednesday afternoon, 23-year-old school teacher Ashling Murphy was murdered while jogging along the banks of the Grand Canal in Tullamore, Ireland. It is believed that she was assaulted and killed by a man acting alone. The case has shocked the nation and revived concerns about women’s safety in public spaces in Ireland and the UK. We speak to Irish Times reporter Jade Wilson and veteran activist Ailbhe Smyth, who spoke at a vigil for Ashling outside Irish parliament. Women diagnosed with cervical cell changes following cervical screening can be unprepared for the experience - they can feel ashamed, isolated and frightened, that's according to new research by Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. Kate Sanger is head of policy, from the Trust. In a recent interview on Woman’s Hour one guest talked about the limits having a child has placed on her and said she’d “make a better father than mother”. We explore what motherhood and fatherhood mean and the gender roles parents take on in society today. Lawyer Lucy McGrath is the biological mother of a six year old. She’s also her family’s main bread winner and known as mum. Her wife is mummy and the full time care giver. Do same sex relationships model alternative parenting styles or simply replicate the same power dynamics in a different guise? Lucy joins Emma Barnett to discuss the issues with the academic Dr Charlotte Faircloth.£29.4 billion was invested into UK tech companies in 2021. A record amount. Yet female founded companies only saw 1.1% of it. Down from 2.4% in 2020. Why are female run businesses finding it so hard to get investment funding? Debbie Wasskow OBE, entrepreneur and founder of Allbright, and Samira Ann Qassim, founder of Pink Salt Ventures, explain some of the problems women founders face when starting-up businesses - including finding funding. Presenter: Chloe Tilley Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Jade Wilson Interviewed Guest: Ailbhe Smyth Interviewed Guest: Georgina Harland Interviewed Guest: Lizzy Yarnold Interviewed Guest: Kate Sanger Interviewed Guest: Lucy McGrath Interviewed Guest: Dr Charlotte Faircloth Interviewed Guest: Debbie Wasskow Interviewed Guest: Samira Ann Qassim

A midwife from a maternity unit tells us why she and over thirty of her colleagues are refusing to have the Covid jab. We hear from the Royal College of Nursing who want the Government to pause the vaccine mandate for NHS staff immediately because of the threat to an already understaffed NHS. And we speak to Professor Ian Jones, a Virologist at the University of Reading about the science of infection and transmission.Almost 300 years after the Witchcraft Acts were repealed, a bill has been bought forward in the Scottish parliament to pardon those convicted. This comes after a two-year campaign to clear the names of nearly 4,000 people accused of witchcraft. We are joined by Zoe Venditozzi, co-founder of the campaign, and Marion Gibson, Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Essex.Helen Pankhurst, the great-granddaughter of Suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, talks about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which the House of Lords will debate on Monday. Reflecting on historical and global parallels, she talks about the role of protest in the fight for equality.Skin issues in adolescence can shape lives. We speak to Dr Tess McPherson, the current president of the British Society of Paediatric and Adolescent Dermatology, and Maia Grey, an acne positivity blogger who has lived with acne since her early teens.We are joined by British actor Adjoa Andoh and the award-winning British composer Julie Cooper, who have collaborated on the title track of a new album called Continuum. Julie wrote the music and Adjoa responded with a poem called "Hold out the Heart", capturing the emotions of the pandemic.

A midwife from a maternity unit tells us why she and over thirty of her colleagues are refusing to have the Covid jab. They will all lose their jobs when the Government’s vaccine mandate for NHS staff comes into force on April 1st, putting the unit at risk, and leaving pregnant women wondering what it means for them and their babies. We also hear from the Royal College of Nursing who want the Government to pause the vaccine mandate for NHS staff immediately because of the threat to an already understaffed NHS. And we speak to Professor Ian Jones, a Virologist at the University of Reading about the science of infection and transmission, and the impact on the NHS workforce and their patients.Diet and fitness expert Rosemary Conley CBE celebrates fifty years of keeping Leicestershire - and the rest of the country - fit. Rosemary was 25-years-old when she held her first class in a local village hall in 1972. Since then, she's written 36 books, presented dozens of fitness videos and continues to run classes in the county. She joins Anita to talk about the changes she's seen when it comes to women's diet and fitness and what we all can do to keep ourselves healthy.This week doyenne of the slam poetry and performance scene Joelle Taylor won the TS Eliot Poetry Prize. Fellow poet and slam champion Kat Francois explains why it matters and why women should give slam a try.The House of Commons' Home Affairs Committee is exploring the scale of the problem of spiking in nightclubs, pubs. festivals and house parties. Zara Owen, a student at Nottingham University who believes she was spiked with a needle last October while on a night out with friends, and Dawn Dines, the founder of Stamp Out Spiking UK both gave evidence to the committee this week.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

How can we have a healthier relationship with tech, the internet and social media? In her new book Disconnected, podcaster Emma Gannon looks at how we can take back control, set boundaries, and unlearn bad habits from doomscrolling to having opinions for opinion’s sake. She also reflects on whether a constructive call-out culture is more beneficial than cancel culture online.Helen Pankhurst, the granddaughter and the great-granddaughter of Suffragettes, Sylvia and Emmeline Pankhurst talks about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which the House of Lords will debate on Monday. Helen argues our right to protest which is a fundamental part of democracy, is under threat. Reflecting on historical and global parallels, she argues that protest is both a safety valve and catalyst for change in the fight for equality, including women’s rights, race, disability, social inequality and climate.Plus can theatre be used as a health and wellbeing tool to support women’s understanding of their relationship with sex? A Play About Sex partners academic research with creative practice to find out. Independent theatre producer, Hannah Farley-Hills explains how.Prince Andrew is to face a civil case in the US over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman when she was 17, after his legal bid to have it thrown out failed. To help us understand the detail of why it was unsuccessful we hear from Dominic Casciani our Home and Legal Affairs Correspondent. Plus Georgina Calvert-Lee, an employment and equality lawyer at McAlister Olivarius, an expert on NDAs and settlements looks at what justice might look like from Virginia Giuffre's positionPresenter Emma Barnett Producer Beverley Purcell

Adjoa Andoh is British actor who has graced stage and screen and is perhaps best known as Bridgerton's Lady Danbury - but you may not be aware that in addition to being a director and producer she is also a writer. She has collaborated with the award-winning British composer Julie Cooper on the title track of a new album called Continuum. Julie wrote the music and Adjoa responded with a poem called "Hold out the Heart" capturing the emotions of the pandemic and timed to the ebb and flow of the music. Adjoa and Julie join Emma to talk about composing the album and their musical journey during lock down.This week the US Mint began circulating quarters honouring the writer, poet, performer and activist Maya Angelou. She is the first black woman to ever feature on a US coin. But four other women have also been commemorated by the American Women Quarters Program So why have they been chosen and what is the history of women appearing on coins? Ema Sikic is World Coins Specialist for Baldwins. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson is under pressure to state whether he broke his own Covid rules at PMQs with some of his own MPs venting their frustration to their consituents, the media and online. The Prime Minister has so far declined to say whether he attended a drinks party at Downing Street during lockdown in May 2020. But the journalist Claire Cohen has written about the wave of fury felt by some women about the fact that Sarah Everard was lured into a car by former Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens on the pretext that she had broken lockdown rules. A new app to protect women that has the backing of the Home Office has been criticised, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a journalist who says it wouldn't have stopped her attacker. The BBC’s latest hard-hitting true crime drama, Four Lives, recounts how police failings led families to fight for justice after the so-called 'Grindr killer' Stephen Port murdered four young men. Emma is joined by Sarah Sak, the mother of the serial killer’s first known victim Anthony Walgate and who is played by Sheridan Smith in the three-part series.Skin issues in adolescence can shape lives. Dr Tess McPherson is the current president of the British Society of Paediatric and Adolescent Dermatology (BSPAD) and an NHS dermatologist working in Oxford. She has developed a specialist service for adolescents to support their skin and the psychological impact of their conditions, which has been running for 10 years. Maia Grey is an acne positivity blogger who is now 27 but has lived with acne since her early teens.

Who is Sue Gray, the civil servant tasked with investigating the Downing Street parties and has she been put in an impossible position? Caroline Slocock former private secretary to Margaret Thatcher and John Major and political journalist Jane Merrick discuss. Rhian Graham along with three other defendants were cleared of criminal damage by Bristol Crown Court after toppling the statue of the 17th century slave trader Edward Colston. Rhian joins Emma. Nearly 5000 messages have been left on a free phone number set up to allow people to give messages of thanks for NHS staff. Hopeline19 was founded by psychotherapist Claire Goodwin-Fee. She argues that NHS workers are not receiving enough mental health support. Hopeline19 grew out of Frontline19, a service offering mental health support to NHS workers that Claire established in March 2020. We all know how complicated relationships can be – especially when it comes to our parents. What is the best way to cope when we find ourselves stuck in the middle of our parents’ relationship? How can we learn to step back from being the family relationship therapist? We hear about two women’s experiences – listener Shely and life coach Diana Higgins. The pandemic put the brakes on everyone’s lives. For freelance journalist Lucy Holden, it has been a time for reflection. At the age of 30 she was forced to move back home with her parents and take stock of a wild decade lived in the fast-lane - a mechanism to avoid the pain and trauma of her past. She joins Emma to talk about her upcoming memoir: Lucid: A memoir of an extreme decade in an extreme generation. Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

Three years ago, BBC radio broadcaster Helena Merriman received a shock diagnosis related to hearing loss after giving birth to her son. This prompted her to explore how people handle life-changing news about their health in a new radio series called Room 5 that airs on Radio 4 this week. Helena joins Emma to discuss the power of resilience.One of the first female bus drivers in the UK says she is fighting to keep her job after a new bus design left her unable to reach the pedals. Emma speaks to Tracey Scholes from Manchester who says that because of her height - five feet - she can no longer drive the new buses safely. The bus company involved say other staff of a similar height to Tracey are able to drive the vehicles safely. New figures from the Office of National Statistics show that an estimated 1.3 million people in the UK have "long Covid" – defined as symptoms lasting more than four weeks. We know that women are more likely to be affected by long Covid, and that it can also occur in children. Dr Nisreen Alwan is Associate Professor in Public Health at the University of Southampton.In Sudan, thousands of people have again taken to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, to protest against military rule, following the resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Reports from medics on the ground say more than 50 people have lost their lives since a military coup took place in October last year. For several years, there has been continued unrest in the country, and headlines around the world have shown women at the forefront of the revolution and pro-democracy movement - but is that the full story? And how are things for women there now? Raga Makawi, a Sudanese democracy activist and editor at African Arguments and Will Ross, the BBC's Africa Editor join Emma.Almost 300 years after the Witchcraft Acts were repealed, a bill has been bought forward in the Scottish parliament to pardon those convicted. This comes after a two-year campaign to clear the names of nearly 4,000 people accused of witchcraft, of whom well over half were executed. Zoe Venditozzi co-founded the campaign and co-hosts the Witches of Scotland podcast. Marion Gibson is Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Essex and author of Witchcraft: the basics.

We explore why so many of us want to put our lives on the page. Can writing stand in for therapy? What are the ethical and moral considerations of such sharing. Julia Samuel is a psychotherapist and the author of Grief Works.Dr Lin Berwick MBE has cerebral palsy quadriplegia and became totally blind at the age of 15. She also has partial hearing loss and is a permanent wheelchair user. Now in her seventies, she has been a fierce advocate and ambassador for people with disabilities and their carers, and has written a new book On A Count of Three all about what it's like having a carer - and what she thinks carers should know.Military mums rally in protest at the decision to award former Prime Minister Tony Blair a knighthood. Hazel Hunt, whose son Richard died in Afghanistan, is considering sending back the Elizabeth Cross that her family had received as a mark of protest.Many of us will be thinking about making a change for the better now that we're in a new year. Poorna Bell, author and journalist, gives us some inspiration and talks about getting stronger, both emotionally and physically. Poorna took it literally and started weight lifting after illness and bereavement.'Collector culture' - the swapping, collating and posting of nude images of women without their consent - is on the rise. To understand why Anita is joined by Professor of Law at Durham University, Clare McGlynn and Zara Ward, senior practitioner at the Revenge Porn Helpline.Southall Black Sisters was founded in 1979 to address the needs of Asian, African-Caribbean and minority women and to empower them to escape violence. Pragna Patel was one of the founders of Southall Black Sisters and Wednesday was her last day as Director. We talk to Pragna about her 30 years in activism.

British Army officer and physiotherapist Preet Chandi has made history as the first woman of colour to complete a solo expedition in Antarctica. 'Polar Preet' trekked 700 miles in 40 days, facing temperatures of -50C, poor visibility and fatigue along the way. She used skis, and dragged a 90kg pulk (a sled) for between 10-12 hours a day. Preet catches up with us from the Union Glacier camp in Antarctica.'Collector culture' - the swapping, collating and posting of nude images of women without their consent - is on the rise. But unlike revenge porn, it is not a crime. Now survivors are demanding a change in the law. To understand why Anita is joined by Professor of Law at Durham University, Clare McGlynn and Zara Ward, senior practitioner at the Revenge Porn Helpline.Cecil Sharp is known as the godfather of English folk music. In a bid to preserve the English folk song at the turn of the twentieth century, when many in the musical world didn't believe England had a musical tradition of its own, he collected and memorialised thousands of traditional English folk songs from rural communities in England. However, less is known about the people he collected these songs from. FOLK is a new play at Hampstead Theatre in London written by Nell Leyshon, the British dramatist and novelist born in Glastonbury, Somerset. She tells us the true story of Louie Hooper and Lucy White, two half-sisters from Somerset who Cecil Sharp collected hundreds of songs from.A UK tech company is pitching to provide security for women out alone at night who fear for their safety. Drone Defence is hoping to secure government funding to deliver AI drones fitted with spotlights and a thermal camera which would be summoned on an app by an individual who are concerned a predator may be near by. Could this be a solution to a recent survey which showed one in five women fear going out at night alone or does it present a serious privacy risk without tackling the underlying issue of violence against women? We talk to Richard Gill the founder of Drone Defence and to Silkie Carlo the Director of Big Brother Watch.Born in Bristol and raised in Lagos, Nikki May is Nigerian-British. At 20, she dropped out of medical school, moved to London, and began a successful career in advertising. Now aged 56, her debut novel Wahala has just been released and is already being made into a six part drama series for the BBC. It is the story of three thirty-something friends living in London - Ronke, Simi and Boo. Their bond is tested and their lives start to unravel when glamorous high flying Isabel explodes into their friendship group.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Preet Chandi Interviewed Guest: Professor Clare McGlynn Interviewed Guest: Zara Ward Interviewed Guest: Nell Leyshon Interviewed Guest: Richard Gill Interviewed Guest: Silkie Carlo Interviewed Guest: Nikki May

Jamie-Lee O’Donnell is best known for playing the wise cracking Michelle in Channel 4’s Derry Girls, the comedy series about a group of teenagers growing up in 1990's Northern Ireland. Jamie-Lee has swapped the school uniform for a prison uniform for new drama Screw on Channel 4, about working in a men’s prison.This time last year shocking footage coming from Washington DC, as supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building, captured the world's attention. Two women, who were part of that riot, were among the people who died. The event in America is now simply known as January the Sixth. Helen Lewis, writer for the Atlantic Magazine joins Emma to discuss the the significance of the event a year on.The Pope has come under fire by some and been supported by others for comments during his weekly general audience at the Vatican in which he lamented that some married couples opt to remain childless and instead transfer their love to cats, dogs and other animals. We get your views and those of Cathy Adams, a maternal ambivalence blogger.Dr Lin Berwick MBE has cerebral palsy quadriplegia and became totally blind at the age of 15. She also has partial hearing loss and is a permanent wheelchair user. She wasn't expected to live past her teens and has needed care 24/7 all her life. Now in her seventies, she has been a fierce advocate and ambassador for people with disabilities and their carers, and has written a new book On A Count of Three all about what it's like having a carer - and what she thinks carers should know. Today sees the unveiling of the 1921 census records. Details of the census are always kept secret for 100 years, apart from broad statistics. This census for the first time includes details of divorce and also where people worked. Melanie Abbott reports and Emma speaks to Dr Michala Hulme, a social historian and genealogist from the University of Birmingham.

How widely is the Scottish Government consulting on its plans to allow people to legally change sex without a medical diagnosis? Emma Barnett speaks to Lisa Mackenzie from MurrayBlackburnMackenzie, an Edinburgh-based policy analysis collective who say the SNP is breaking a manifesto promise, by only meeting with groups representing trans rights since last May’s Holyrood election. Military mums rally in protest at the decision to award former Prime Minister Tony Blair a knighthood. Hazel Hunt, whose son Richard died in Afghanistan, is considering sending back the Elizabeth Cross that her family had received as a mark of protest. Southall Black Sisters was founded in 1979 to address the needs of Asian, African-Caribbean and minority women and to empower them to escape violence. Pragna Patel was one of the founders of Southall Black Sisters and today is her last day as Director. We talk to her about the chages she’s witnessed and the role she’s held for over 30 years.It's ten years since the popular fiction writer Maeve Binchy died and forty years since her first best seller Light a Penny Candle was published. What has been her legacy for the generation of Irish women writers that followed and what is the role of editors in creating best-sellers? We talk to Rosie de Courcy Senior Editor at Head of Zeus publishers and Maeve's long-time editor, and Irish author and journalist Megan Nolan.Taking photos or video recordings of breastfeeding mothers in public without their consent is to be made a crime in England and Wales, punishable by up to two years in prison. We catch up with the woman who started the campaign Julia Cooper.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Donald McDonald

Many of us will be thinking about making a change for the better now that we're in a new year. Poorna Bell, author and journalist, gives us some inspiration and talks about getting stronger, both emotionally and physically. Poorna took it literally and started weight lifting after illness and bereavement. We hear from Dr Ann Olivarius a lawyer who specialises in sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination. She explains the technicalities of the civil claim against Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.We speak to Detective Inspector Lucy Thomson and Jackie Sebire about the murder of 12 week old Teddie Mitchell. The investigation is covered in a new two-part special of Channel 4's 24 Hours in Police Custody.We have episode 4 in our series about scars.And Adele Parks’ latest novel called Both of You is a 'missing persons story' with a twist. We find out that the female protagonist is leading a double life as a bigamist. The book looks at what leads someone to have two marriages on the go, and the complexities around it.

Today, Emma and guests explore why so many of us want to put our lives on the page. What stops us, what gets in the way and is it always a good idea? Is getting published the answer or are there are other ways to tell your stories. How different is writing personal essays or a memoir to creating a fictional world? Can writing stand in for therapy? What are the ethical and moral considerations of such sharing? To discuss these and many other questions Emma is joined by prize-winning author Ann Patchett, Sunday Times bestseller Cathy Rentzenbrink, psychotherapist and writer, Julia Samuel and journalist and author Arifa Akbar.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

British woman Sarah Ransome says she wanted to be at Ghislaine Maxwell trial when it started: not to testify but to see justice take its course. Like the four women who gave evidence, she says she's also a victim of Epstein's and Maxwell's. She tells us more about her story and Harriet Wistrich, founder of Centre for Women's Justice discusses the wider impact this case could have. Sheila Watt-Cloutier, is a world renowned human rights and climate change activist, who has made it her life's work to protect her Inuit culture and the Arctic regions where Inuit live, in Greenland, Canada and Alaska. She was born in Arctic Canada and launched the first legal petition linking climate change to human rights. We discuss the word 'spinster' and what it really means with Australian author Donna Ward. Her new book She I Dare Not Name: A Spinster's Meditations on Life., explores the meaning and purpose she has fought to find in a life lived entirely accidentally without a partner or children.BBC History is launching a 100 objects collection to mark 100 years of the BBC in 2022. Head of History Robert Seatter gives us a sneak peak into a few objects which represent the history of women at the BBC including a 1930s job advert looking to recruit the first women TV announcers, a cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey and a 1920s scrapbook from Evelyn Dove, the first black female singer to perform on BBC.British women weren't allowed to visit the Antarctic until 1983 but now scores of women are making major contributions to polar science. Morgan Seag who has just submitted her PhD in gendered institutional change in 20th century Antarctic science to the University of Cambridge and Jo Johnson who has visited Antarctica seven times tell us more.

Today Andrea Catherwood talks to Sarah Ransome. She wanted to be at Ghislaine Maxwell trial when it started: not to testify but to see justice take its course. Like the four women who gave evidence, she says she's also a victim of Epstein's and Maxwell's. She says Ghislaine Maxwell, "starved and berated and swindled me while demanding I be raped daily".This week we've been talking to women about their scars. Today we hear from Emily on the self-harm scars she no longer needs to hide. We speak to Fiona Chesterton who discovered family secrets to do with illegitimacy. It started with a letter on her doorstep which revealed she was due a surprise inheritance. The tale is told in her new book Secrets Never To Be Told.And it's the time of year that we should be putting on our sequins but covid may well put a stop to that. Never mind: we're still discovering when and how they became such a big part of celebrating. Now though there's an environment aspect to consider and some brands are rejecting them because they're made of plastic. Dress historian, author and broadcaster Amber Butchart joins Andrea Catherwood to discuss all things sequin.

Ghislaine Maxwell is facing the prospect of spending the rest of her life in jail after a jury in New York found her guilty of grooming and sex trafficking teenage girls to be abused by the sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. What impact will this high profile case have on future cases f alleged sexual abuse against women and girls? Andrea talks to Harriet Wistrich, who is the founder and director of the Centre for Women’s Justice and a solicitor.It's now 100 days that teenage girls in Afghanistan have been banned from going to school in the majority of provinces. Yesterday, former prime minister Gordon Brown who is now UN special envoy for global education said 'we're sleep-walking towards the biggest humanitarian crisis of our times in Afghanistan. Andrea discusses the situation, particularly for women and girls, with the BBC Correspondent Yalda Hakim.We've been talking to women about their scars. Today Laura, a burns survivor, tells her storyMany will have had empty chairs at the Christmas dinner table this year, for lots of different reasons. In Susie Boyt's novel Loved and Missed there is a particularly memorable Christmas dinner scene. In order to see her daughter on Christmas Day Ruth has to improvise. Susie joins Andrea to describe how people try to help and love others in the most difficult of circumstances.Abia Akram is a Pakistani disability rights activist. She is the founder of the National Forum of Women with Disabilities in Pakistan, and a leading figure within the disability rights movement in the country as well as in Asia and the Pacific. She has been named as one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2021. She joins Andrea to discuss how she became involved in this work and what more there is to do.Presented by Andrea Catherwood Producer: Louise Corley

Australian author Donna Ward’s new book She I Dare Not Name: A Spinster's Meditations on Life explores the meaning and purpose she has fought to find in a life lived entirely accidentally without a partner or children. Donna speaks to Chloe from Melbourne.Over the next few days we're talking to women about their scars. They all talk about physical and emotional pain they've experienced and having to deal with other people’s reactions on a day to day basis. They also explain how they came to terms with the skin they are in. Ena Miller went to meet Jayne in Shropshire and heard her story about surviving a flesh eating bug. Comedian Liz Kingsman, best known as a member of cult sketch group Massive Dad, is making major waves with her solo debut, One-Woman Show, which she is performing at the Soho Theatre from 5 January. She tells Chloe what inspired her.As the BBC prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary through the lens of 100 objects, we get a sneak peek at a few items in the collection. The BBC’s Head of History Robert Seatter explains the significance of a 1930s press cutting of the BBC looking to recruit the first women TV announcers, a cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey and a 1920s scrapbook from Evelyn Dove, the first black female singer to perform on BBC.Image: Donna Ward Credit: Amanda Ford

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, is a world renowned human rights and climate change activist, who has made it her life's work to protect her Inuit culture and the Arctic regions where Inuit live, in Greenland, Canada and Alaska. Sheila was born in Kuujjuaq in Arctic Canada where she lived traditionally, travelling only by dog team for the first ten years of her life. She was elected as President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in 1995 and launched the first legal petition linking climate change to human rights - work that led to her being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.Nancy Campbell is captivated by the stark, rugged beauty of ice and its solid but impermanent nature. Her book The Library of Snow and Ice is about her time spent living in Upernavik, a small town in north-western Greenland and the traces left by explorers of the Arctic and Antarctic. Her recent book Fifty Words for Snow looks at the origins and mythologies of snow around the globe. She shares with Emma her fascination for snow, ice and its place in our world. British women were banned from visiting Antarctica until 1983 when Janet Thomson was finally granted passage by the British Antarctic Survey. But now scores of women are making major contributions to polar science, especially those working on the stability of ice shelves and sheets. So how did women break through the ice ceiling to create opportunities and become leaders in their fields? Emma speaks to Morgan Seag who has just submitted her PhD in gendered institutional change in 20th century Antarctic science to the University of Cambridge and Jo Johnson who has visited Antarctica seven times with the British Antarctic Survey. We also hear from Dr Alison Banwell, a British glaciologist and research scientist who is currently based at the University of Colorado Boulder and her team conducting research on the ice right now; Rebecca Dell and Laura Stevens. Heading to the cold of the Arctic and the Antarctic wrapped up in the right gear is one thing but there are some women that actually choose to immerse themselves in freezing water, even in winter here in the UK. Hayley Dorian is one of them, she has set up a swimming group called Wild Sea Women who meet to embrace the waves in North East England and South-West Scotland . But are there benefits of cold water swimming? Emma finds out from Hayley and Dr Heather Massey who works in the Extreme Environments Lab at the University of Portsmouth.

Emma Barnett looks back over her first year at Woman’s Hour, from holding those in power to account to hearing from women who found themselves in the most ordinary and extraordinary circumstances. Clemency Burton-Hill explains the choice she felt she was presented with after a brain haemorrhage. ‘Annie’ describes how home-schooling three children while trying to work made her feel that she was failing at everything. Lady Lavinia Nourse and Amanda Knox spoke exclusively about the experience of being cleared of the most serious crimes. Plus, knitting patterns as code and what can go wrong when you are being sawn in half by Paul Daniels.

The award winning actor Claire Foy tells us about playing the Duchess of Argyll in the BBC One TV series A Very British Scandal on Boxing Day. Margaret Argyll was branded a nymphomaniac by her husband the 11th Duke of Argyll in their explosive 1963 divorce hearing and he was granted a divorce on the grounds of his wife’s adultery.As schools shut for the Christmas break, the government, head teachers and trade unions are contingency planning for widespread absence due to Omicron in the New Year. We hear from Jacquie White the General Secretary of the Ulster Teachers Union about calls for retired teachers to return to work to plug the gaps and also from Mary Bousted the General Secretary of the National Education Union. Karen Teasdale-Robson from Blaydon, near Newcastle has gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure her father, Bryan isn't forgotten when he dies. Her dad for the majority of his life was a poet and a songwriter but an assault ten years ago left him with a brain injury. Care workers told Karen to prepare for the worst earlier this year, which led her to release a recording of lullaby he had written for her almost 60 years ago, to ask for the public's help in re-recording it.We talk to Dame Joan Collins about her new BBC documentary “This is Joan Collins” which is on air over Christmas. Not shy of voicing her opinions, she reflects on her life, relationships, and seven decades in showbusiness. Former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Mercury-nominated songwriter Kathryn Williams have released a new album 'Midnight Chorus'. They tell us about their collaboration and how they avoided the clichés of Christmas.Presenter: Chloe Tilley Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed

The ladies of the Posh Club Dance Club on what it means to them to be able to perform the dance of the flamingos, shimmy to dancehall music and feel like stars. Volunteering reached a record high during the pandemic. According to a government survey, 62% of respondents volunteered last year. Thousands volunteer for Crisis, a national charity for homeless people whose Crisis at Christmas campaign provides accommodation and support for people at Christmas. We hear from Jemma Kelehe, a shift leader at the women’s accommodation in London, who has volunteered for Crisis at Christmas for 20 years.Civil Chartered Engineer, Era Shah, talks about the lack of diversity in STEM.Vox Duo soprano Karla Grant and mezzo soprano Julia Solomon tell us about their debut single a new version of “O’ Holy Night”, in collaboration with classical group the Earthtones Trio. Plus ahead of new BBC2 programme A Musical Family Christmas, we're joined by author and lecturer Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason to discuss her favourite Christmas songs and raising seven talented musicians. And the woman who's re-created the film The Holiday to see if she could find love. Presenter Chloe Tilley Producer Beverley Purcell

We talk to Dame Joan Collins about her new BBC documentary “This is Joan Collins” which is on air over Christmas. Not shy of voicing her opinions, she reflects on her life, relationships, and seven decades in showbiz. She’s also had a hugely successful literary career but the role which brought her most worldwide fame was playing Alexis in the TV series Dynasty – at the height of its success it was watched by 150 million people a week. Public health expert Professor Sharon Peacock who founded COG UK, the Covid-19 Genomics UK consortium, tells us about their work tracking mutations and variants of concern. They have been hugely successful in this, and were responsible for identifying the Alpha variant last December. Sharon joins us to discuss genome sequencing, the threat posed by Omicron and how she went from dental nurse to microbiologist.As schools shut for the Christmas break, the government head teachers and trade unions are contingency planning for widespread absence due to Omicron in the New Year. We talk to Jacquie White the General Secretary of the Ulster Teachers Union about calls for retired teachers to return to work to plug the gaps.Music from Inuit throat singers Kayley Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik.And foster parent Usma Saeed tells us how she tries to make every Christmas magical for the children she looks after. Being Muslim she doesn’t normally celebrate the festival herself but now she’s got the tree, the stockings and Santa’s mince pies at the ready. Presenter: Chloe Tilley Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: John Boland.

Countdown Star and lexicographer Susie Dent on our favourite festive words, how chocolate, Marzipan, Chipolata, Tinsel and Glögg got their names and some of the festive greetings in different languages.As the jury deliberate over their verdict in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial we talk to the journalist Stephen Wright. Maxwell is the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein and is charged with eight counts of sex trafficking and other crimes.Following the infamous #May2020 Boris Johnson photograph, we hear from one woman - Emma - who lost her daughter Ruby that same day, and couldn’t say goodbye in person. Nineteen-year-old doorman Charlie Jeer has gone viral on TikTok for talking about the sexual harassment he has experienced whilst working in clubs. Charlie recalled that one night he was groped up to 10 times. He's gained millions of views on his videos and says he wanted to start a conversation about working in the industry.And in the final part of our series “Under Pressure” we look at the issue of baby loss and how an American study from 2010 found that couples who had experienced stillbirth were 40% greater risk of their relationship ending. Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Tim Heffer

Former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Mercury-nominated songwriter Kathryn Williams have released new album 'Midnight Chorus'. We ask them about their collaboration and how they avoided the clichés of Christmas. With added pressure from Covid and fewer staff because of Brexit, the demand for care workers has risen. In October this year there were 130,000 vacant care worker posts in England, leaving many people without the care they need. Last week, government advisors said that care worker jobs should be placed on the shortage occupation list, which would make it easier for employers to hire and sponsor migrant workers in these roles. What would this mean for the care sector? Emma speaks to Karolina Gerlich, executive director of The Care Workers Charity and Louise Arnold, Managing Director of Peninsula care homes.There has been widespread concern for the safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai since she posted sexual assault allegations against a former top political figure a few weeks ago. She disappeared and then returned saying she was safe and well. Now the tennis player has denied saying she was sexually assaulted. What are we to make of this? Emma speaks to Kerry Allen, China Media analyst for BBC Monitoring.The Christmas Radio Times is out and we now know what TV we can look forward to watching over the festive period. But can TV divide a household rather than unite it? Are women the gatekeepers of family TV? Or do men rule the remote? Professor of Media and Communications, Catherine Johnson, has looked at the impact lockdown has had on our family TV watching styles, and journalist Emma Beddington tells us what she’ll be tuning into in her house.Last week on the programme, we heard from Jess Duckworth - a junior doctor who has combined her two passions - music and medicine - to create an EP of relaxing music. We asked to hear about your side hustles, and the things you love doing. Today we meet two listeners; Lucy Symons is the stadium announcer for her local football club and Jenny Fyall runs her own pumpkin patch in Aberdeenshire.

Emma Barnett talks to the award winning actor Claire Foy about playing the Duchess of Argyll in the BBC One TV series A Very British Sacandal this Christmas. Margaret Argyll was branded a nymphomaniac by her husband the 11th Duke of Argyll in their explosive 1963 divorce hearing and he was granted a divorce on the grounds of his wife’s adultery.The Scottish comedian Janey Godley tells us about her recent diagnosis of ovarian cancer. The sixty year old is best known for her parody voiceovers of Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of her daily press briefings made during lockdown. Just a month ago Janey Godley was forced to cut short her UK tour when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The father-daughter bond can for some be a difficult one - but for others, a joy. Karen Teasdale-Robson from Blaydon, near Newcastle has gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure her father, Bryan isn't forgotten when he dies. Her dad for the majority of his life was a poet and a songwriter but an assault ten years ago left him with a brain injury. Care workers told Karen to prepare for the worst earlier this year, which led her to release a recording of lullaby he had written her almost 60 years ago, to ask for the public's help in re-recording itAnd Edwina Paisley on her work as the Director of Space Programmes at the satellite communications company Inmarsat.Presenter: Emma Barnett Produer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Bob Nettles

Actor Tamsin Greig on starring as the formidable theatrical agent Peggy Ramsay in the revival of ‘Peggy For You’, at the Hampstead Theatre. She also talks about her role in “wild” hospital comedy Green Wing, playing Debbie in The Archers since 1991, and Friday Night Dinner.Journalist Ash Sarkar and Professor Heidi Safia Mirza discuss the legacy and significance of the American feminist author and activist bell hooks, who died this week aged 69.Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth - the national police co-ordinator for violence against women and girls - unveils her new strategy and gives her opinion on whether misogyny should be made a hate crime.In November 2020 a family court found that the conservative MP Kate Griffiths' then husband, Andrew Griffiths (also a former conservative MP and former minister) raped, abused & coercively controlled her. These were civil proceedings, so the finding was based on the balance of probabilities, rather than the criminal standard of probable doubt. As is the norm in family cases, this information was private and not made public. But following a successful application by journalists, supported by Kate Griffiths, the details of this case, with both parties' names attached, were published last week. Andrew Griffiths has denied allegations made by his ex-wife and ‘adamantly denied’ rape. We hear from Dr Charlotte Proudman, the barrister who represented Kate Griffiths.The company SAGA has decided to give employees who've just become grandparents some special leave. They say it's about helping new grandparents celebrate but also it's to highlight how important older workers are, not just to the company but to families and wider society. One of our listeners, Linda, who looks after two of her grandchildren, talks about her experience.During a recent Business Questions in Parliament Jacob Rees Mogg took a moment to mark the feast of St Æthelgifu, and called the medieval abbess one of Britain’s leading saints. But was she? What do we really know about Æthelgifu and the other leading medieval women at this time? We talk to Florence Scott, a historian of early medieval England.

Ebony Louise Barrett has now become Fridge Girl, after a video she put on TikTok went viral. It was a tall, free-standing fridge falling on top of her as she danced. She's OK, but even Janet Jackson has picked up on it. How has it changed her life? Three young women from Generation Z talk about the big social issues of the year, and why they feel the label 'woke', which is often attached to this age group, is off the mark. We have Maisie Thompson from Manchester, Jessie Stevens from Devon and Mia Manttan from London. Inspirational quotes from an American author and feminist called bell hooks are being shared. She died this week at home in Kentucky. She was considered a trailblazer in feminism and published 40-odd books. We've got two of her admirers: Ash Sarkar and Heidi Safia Mirza. We speak to Elaine Parker who's just set up a new app which she hopes will make online dating safer. She was inspired to create it because of the bad experience she had with a man she met online. She explains to Anita how it works.And we continue our Food Fridays with Julie Lin MacLeod, who's the founder of a Malaysian restaurant in Glasgow’s southside. She's also opened a second restaurant during the pandemic. She talks about bringing people together through food, creating a positive working environment, and how the pandemic has changed the amount we eat for Christmas dinner.

During a recent Business Questions in parliament Jacob Rees Mogg took a moment to mark the feast of St Æthelgifu, and called the medieval abbess one of Britain’s leading saints. But was she? What do we really know about Æthelgifu and the other leading medieval women at this time? We talk to Florence Scott, a historian of early medieval England, studying for a PhD at Leeds University, and who runs the blog Aelfgif-who?A new survey shows that for the first time more women than men are sitting as non executive directors on boards. But at the same time nine out of ten executive directors are still men. We talk to Tessa Bamford from Spencer Stuart the organisation that conducted the research and also to Ann Cairns Executive Vice Chair of Mastercard who is also the lead non-executive board member of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).On Tuesday we talked about pregnant women getting jabbed, getting the booster and fears that some women have about how it will affect their fertility. All pregnant women have been able to get COVID-19 vaccines since April, when the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised they should be offered two vaccine doses at the same time as the rest of us based on their age and clinical risk group. Despite this, the government has come under fire for months for not encouraging enough pregnant women to get vaccinated, with many women concerned about what they see as mixed messages coming at them. So what needs to be done to get more pregnant women vaccinated and get the booster? Professor Lucy Chappell is the Chief Scientific Officer for the Department of Health and Social Care.The Christmas Radio Times is out and we now know what TV we can look forward to watching over the festive period. But can TV divide a household rather than unite it? Are women the gatekeepers of family TV? Or, do men rule the remote? Professor of Media and Communications, Catherine Johnson, has looked at the impact lockdown has had on our family TV watching styles. Journalist Emma Beddington tells us what she’ll be tuning into in her house.Picture of Æthelgifu courtesy of illustrator Pollie Scott.

There is no doubt that the pandemic is still affecting people's social lives, but perhaps the most affected are teenagers or 'quaranteens'. Many young people have missed out on major social milestones - parties, teen romances and opportunities to be with their mates - which can be so formative. What is the impact of missing out on these experiences? And how can adults best support 'quaranteens'? Emma talks to Laverne Antrobus, a consultant child and educational psychologist.The woman charged with co-ordinating the national police response in England and Wales to violence against women and girls unveils her strategy on Woman’s Hour. Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth is the new national police co-ordinator for violence against women and girls. The aim is give the 43 police forces around the country a uniform approach, and make women and girls feel safer in their daily lives. We’ll also get reaction to the new strategy from Amelia Handy from Rape Crisis Centres. It’s been a particularly stressful couple of years for staff working in the NHS, including junior doctors like Jess Duckworth. When she isn’t busy with patients at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital, she is treating herself and others in the hospital to some relaxation with her piano playing. Combining her two passions – music and medicine - she’s researched the types and style of music people find relaxing, and it’s resulted in a second EP to be released in February next year, The Piano Doctor Volume II – A Year of Reflective Piano Music. The single ‘Into The Light’ is out this week. Statistics out this morning show UK inflation has increased to 5.1 per cent last month - the highest in a decade - after prices rose across the economy including for fuel and food bills. Some observers are talking about she-flation with some of the poorest in society - often women on low and part time work - being affected more. Professor Heather McGregor, Head of the Business School at Heriot Watt University joins Emma to discuss.

Actor Tamsin Greig on her latest role as the legendary agent Peggy Ramsay. The Prime Minister has announced that all over 18s in England are being offered a Covid-19 booster vaccination. But as he sets out this new target has that message reached pregnant women? Emma talks to Dr Viki Male a Reproductive Immunologist based at Imperial College LondonTens of thousands of volunteers are needed to come forward to support the NHS booster campaign. Do you plan to volunteer? What are the benefits of volunteering? And as Miss World celebrates being 70, we hear from women who protested against it in the 1970's. Presenter Emma Barnett Producer Beverley PurcellPHOTO CREDIT; Shaun Webb.

The company SAGA has decided to give employees who've just become grandparents some special leave. They say it's about helping new grandparents celebrate but also it's to highlight how important older workers are, not just to the company but to families and wider society. So if you're a grandparent providing childcare for your kids, what's the cost? What does it take out of you, time-wise and energy wise? How much are you saving your kids? And do you see it as a precious thing you’ll never have the chance to do again, or after a while is it too much pressure? We hear from one of our listeners Linda who looks after two of her grandchildren and Shireen Kanji, a Professor of Work and Organisation at Brunel University.New Covid measures are being introduced across the UK, because of the threat posed by the Omicron variant. In England it's known as Plan B, and mandates mask-wearing, working from home and Covid passports. However, around 75 Conservative MPs are expected to rebel as it's put to a vote in the House of Commons on Tuesday. As parliament debates these new restrictions, where do you stand on taking personal responsibility for containing the virus, and how will it affect your Christmas? To discuss, Emma is joined by Guardian journalist Lucy Mangan and Lucy Fisher, Deputy Political Editor at The Telegraph. In November 2020 a family court found that the conservative MP Kate Griffiths' then husband, Andrew Griffiths (also a former conservative MP for the same Staffordshire seat and former Conservative minister) raped her in her sleep, abused & coercively controlled her. These were civil proceedings, so the finding was based on the balance of probabilities, rather than the criminal standard of probable doubt. As is the norm in family cases, this information was private and not made public. But following a successful application by journalists, supported by Kate Griffiths - the details of this case, with both parties' names attached, were published last Friday. In the recent judgement, judges from the Court of Appeal referred to the ‘mother's right to tell her story.’ Andrew Griffiths has denied allegations made by his ex-wife and ‘adamantly denied’ rape. Dr Charlotte Proudman, the barrister who represented Kate Griffiths joins Emma.The next in our series Under Pressure which looks at what happens to relationships when life gets in the way. Carla and Brendon met at school. Their lives looked to be on track and then everything changed when Carla was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Jo Morris reports.The nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2021 have been revealed. There have been 66 recipients of the award, but only 13 of these have been women. Anna Kessel, Women’s Sports Editor at The Telegraph talks to Emma about the women on the shortlist and who is favourite to win.

Musician and composer, Zoe Rahman has won a MOBO, a British Jazz Award, and this week Zoe was awarded the ‘Impact Award’ at the 2021 Ivors Composer Awards.Julia Chain the chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, made a plea for the 1990 Act governing fertility clinics and practice in this country to be updated. She argues that after 30 years, the science and culture around IVF has changed so much, and that the law needs to catch up. This week Ministers revealed a 10-year drugs strategy which includes £300m for combating more than 2,000 county lines gangs. Sahira Irshad and Jen Jones are part of Mums United, a group of local mothers fighting against rising gang violence in Sheffield. 23-year-old Vee Kativhu was told Oxford university wasn't for people like her - she proved her teachers wrong by graduating recently from there with a degree in in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History. She's now studying International Education Policy at Harvard. Her popular Youtube channel gives out studying tips and she has a new book out - Empowered: Live Your Life with Passion and Purpose. Last week the government set out how it will improve life for women in the armed forces, in response to the Women in the Armed Forces report which came out in July. It found that service-women who were victims of bullying, harassment, discrimination and serious sexual assault were being ‘denied justice’ by a ‘woefully inadequate’ military complaints process. We heard from the Secretary of State for Defence, MP Ben Wallace.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

Catfishing is the practise of using a fake profile to start an online romance. The podcast Sweet Bobby has been shining a light on this issue through the story of Kirat Assi, a 42-year-old radio presenter who started a relationship with a person she thought to be Bobby, a handsome cardiologist, via Facebook. However, when he repeatedly fails to visit her in person, she slowly comes to learn his true identity. She shares her story with Anita, and is joined by investigative journalist Alexi Mostrous who explains the current legislation around catfishing.Is the world of horse racing being forced to face up to its own #metoo moment this week? A light has been shone on the bullying and harassment endured by professional jockey, Bryony Frost, on and off the track by a male jockey who has now been banned for 18 months, with three months suspended. We hear from race trainer Gaye Kelleway, the first woman to ride a winner at Royal Ascot, and from Annamarie Phelps, the Chair of the British Horseracing Authority.Earlier this week, Ministers revealed a 10-year drugs strategy, allocating £780m in funding for the drug treatment system in England. This will include £300m for combating more than 2,000 county lines gangs. County lines is a form of criminal exploitation where urban gangs persuade, coerce or force children and young people to store drugs and money and/or transport them to suburban areas, market towns and coastal regions. Anita speaks to two mothers whose respective families and communities have been impacted by county lines gangs. Sahira Irshad founded Mums United in Sheffield, a charity led by mothers to tackle youth violence and child drug exploitation. She is joined by Jen Jones a volunteer mother from the group. Chef and food-writer Keshia Sakarah is a second-generation West Indian of Montserratian and Barbudan heritage. Her restaurant Caribe' celebrates the diverse cuisine of the Caribbean, representing dishes from across the region. Keshia joins Anita to talk about the traditions and history behind Caribbean Christmas food.From the hand-knitted mittens to the Bluetooth-enabled glove that acts like a phone, the humble glove has been linked to honour, status and identity but also to decadence and deceit. Dr Anne Green, Emeritus Professor of French at King’s College London tells us about her new book Gloves. An Intimate History.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed

Jazz musician Zoe Rahman has been described as one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene. She takes influence from her English, Irish and Bengali heritage to write music with swing, lyricism and intimacy. She’s a MOBO Award winner, British Jazz Award winner and now an Ivors Composer Award winner. She speaks to Emma - unfortunately we aren't able to include her live music performances in the podcast for copyright reasons. We discuss the resignation of senior government advisor Allegra Stratton over the Downing Street party video, with Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine and the Mirror's Political Editor Pippa Crerar.Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of British-Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe talks to Emma about his recent 21 day hunger strike outside the Foreign Office in London and his ongoing campaign to secure his wife's release from Iran, and he and their daughter face another Christmas without her.German leader Angela Merkel has officially left office after 16 years and a new chancellor, Olaf Scholz has been confirmed. His party, the centre-left Social Democrats now have a substantial majority in a three-way coalition government. But the new chancellor has already faced opposition from conservatives over plans to reform abortion law. How will he impact the lives of women in Germany? Chief Political Editor, Michaela Kuefner from Deutsche Welle, joins Emma to discuss.The revival of Sex and the City – a new series called And Just Like That… airs tonight on Sky TV. It comes at the same time as a brand new TV show on Prime – Harlem – focuses on four ambitious best friends navigating relationships and careers. Emma speaks to Dr Kadian Pow – who teaches Sociology and Black Studies at Birmingham City University.Image: Zoe Rahman Credit: Ilze Kitshoff

Allegra Stratton has found herself at the centre of a political storm. ITV footage shows her rehearsing a TV news conference and dealing with tricky questions about Christmas parties during covid lockdowns. Staff are laughing and joking. We speak to political journalist Pippa Crerar, who broke the original story of the Downing Street party as well as other gatherings. We also get reaction from Jo Lawrence who has a catering company, and whose Mum sadly died of covid last year.We talk about women in chess with Woman Grandmaster and nine time British woman's chess champion Jovanka Houska and Aga Milewska, Director of Women’s Chess at the English Chess Federation.An Afghan mum, who's in a hotel with her family, is having to move to her third hotel since she got here a few months ago. We find out what life is like for her and her children, and speak to Judith Dennis from The Refugee Council about why this constant moving is happening. We hear from Tanya Borg whose daughters are still in Libya, after their father took them there in 2015. She said: "It breaks my heart. Why is nobody doing anything? I'm going to try and get them back until I die." Tanya was granted full custody by British and Libyan courts, but the girls are still missing and thought to be with their grandmother. The writer, musician and mum of three, Izzy Judd, tells us about her past disordered eating and obsession with 'clean' diets which she believes were problems when she was trying to get pregnant. Dr Fatima Husain, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, explains more about the condition of Hypothalamic Amenorrhea.

Emma speaks to the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, about the government’s plans to improve women’s experiences in the armed forces. In particular she asks him to explain why the government has rejected calls for rape or sexual assault committed in the military to be tried in civilian courts, away from military courts.Education activist Vee Kativhu talks to Emma about why she set up her own YouTube channel, Empowered by Vee, shortly after arriving at the University of Oxford. Today, the Law Commission has published a major report on hate crime. One of the areas examined was the proposal to make misogyny a hate crime and so a criminal offence. To the disappointment of a coalition of women's rights campaigners, the Law Commission has said the move would not solve the “real problem” of hostility or prejudice directed against women because of their sex or gender. Emma is joined by criminal law commissioner, Professor Penny Lewis from the Law Commission. and Sue Fish, the former constable of Nottinghamshire police.Imagine expecting your first child and at the same time being homeless or facing homelessness in the near future. Emma is joined by Laura Jones, founder of PETRA, a project which helps young mothers and mothers-to-be with housing and Jade Toogood, a mother and former resident of a Petra Project home.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

In our series Under Pressure we've been looking at what happens to relationships when couples are put under extreme strain: how do they cope? Today we hear from Kate and Annie who live in Northumberland. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. In March, Julia Chain was announced as the new chair of the HFEA. Now Julia is calling for the 1990 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act to be updated. She joins Emma to discuss the changes she wants to see.We talk to Deborah Bull and Jill Baldock about how dancing can lift your mood.A report out today from the Institute for Fiscal Studies says there's been 'almost' no progress towards closing the gender pay gap in the last 25 years. Professor Lucinda Platt, who's on the panel of the IFS Deaton Inequalities review, and who researches inequality at the London School of Economic, explains why not. If your facial fillers aren’t to your liking, or worse injected in a dangerous spot, you can get them dissolved with a substance called hyaluronidase. But women are reporting nasty side effects including swelling, tissue loss, burning sensations and headaches. A cosmetic surgeon, Daniel Ezra, is studying this to try to establish exactly what's going on. We hear from him as well as our reporter Melanie Abbott.

Brené Brown's Tedx talk 'The Power of Vulnerablity' is one of the most viewed talks in the world with more than 50 million views. Her new book 'The Atlas of the Heart' takes on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. Photo credit: Randal Ford. Calls for Boots, the chemist to permanently reduce the price of the morning after pill. With campaigner Rosie Stokes, and the Labour MP Diana Johnson.More than 4,000 women gave evidence to the Defence Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces for its landmark inquiry, which was published earlier this year. This week the Ministry of Defence responded to the recommendations from that inquiry. We heard from Sarah Atherton, Conservative MP and Chair of the Defence Sub Committee.Raising awareness of the complexities and realities of being a stepmum today, with Katie Harrison, host of a a new podcast 'You're Not My Mum: The Stepmum's Side' and Suzie Hayman, a counsellor and spokesperson for the parenting charity Family Lives and author of 'Be A Great Step-Parent.'The poet Kim Moore on her new collection 'All the Men I Never Married'. Alternative Christmas food ideas with the chef and restauranter Ravinder Bhogal. She shares her houghts on creating some rich adaptations of everything from brussel sprouts and ham to samosas and mathi.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregorPhoto credit: Randal Ford

Brené Brown has always called herself a mapmaker and in her sixth and newest book, the Atlas of the Heart, out this week, she takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. Her TEDx talk “the power of vulnerability” is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world with more than 50 million views. She joins Anita.This Sunday marks 100 years since women's football was banned by the English Football Association. Because of Covid the Women's FA Cup final, traditionally played in May, will take place with Arsenal taking on Chelsea and shown live on the BBC. Kelly Simmons, director of the Women's Professional Game at the Football Association; and Jen O' Neill, editor of football magazine She Kicks discuss the game.The number of tribunal cases in which employees are alleging menopause related discrimination is on the rise. Analysis of the Courts and Tribunals Service has shown that menopause was cited ten times in the first six months of 2021, and could rise to 20 by the end of the year, if the rate continues as it is. Research by Menopause Matters earlier this year found five cases in 2018, and 16 in 2020. Although these figures appear very small, nearly one million women are said to have left work due to menopausal symptoms and there is currently a Women and Equalities Committee inquiry looking into workplace practices around the menopause. So what can be done to prevent a situation getting as far as a tribunal? I’m joined by Lauren Chiren, who runs Women of a Certain Stage, providing coaching, mentoring and training on the menopause at work and Sinead Casey, a partner with the law firm Linklaters, who advise employers on workplace issues including menopausal women, and has been looking at the recent uptake in cases. Over the next few Fridays we’ll be looking at alternative Christmas food ideas and who better to start off with than Ravinder Bhogal, journalist, chef and owner of Jikoni, her restaurant in London. Always challenging traditional notions of food preparation she joins Anita to share her thoughts on creating some rich adaptations of everything from brussel sprouts and ham to samosas and mathi. And tells us why Christmas is a particularly special time for her and her family. The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been in court all week in New York City on sex trafficking and other charges. She’s challenging claims that she groomed underage girls for convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein for sexual abuse. He died in prison in 2019. She’s been in a US jail since her arrest last year. We hear from Stephen Wright, Associate Editor at the Daily Mail currently in New York City covering the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Brené Brown Interviewed Guest: Kelly Simmons Interviewed Guest: Jen O'Neill Interviewed Guest: Lauren Chiren Interviewed Guest: Sinead Casey Interviewed Guest: Ravinder Bhogal Interviewed Guest: Stephen Wright

The Women’s Tennis Association has suspended all events in China over concerns for the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. Her safety has become a matter of international concern after she posted sexual assault allegations against former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli and then disappeared from public view. She has since reappeared and has said she is safe and well but there are still concerns for her wellbeing. Last week China’s foreign ministry said it was not a diplomatic matter and the issue had been maliciously hyped up. In a timely new book, 'China Unbound: A New World Disorder', the journalist Joanna Chiu says that for far too long western societies have mishandled or ignored Beijing’s actions, out of narrow self-interest. She believes decades of wilful misinterpretations have, over time, become complicit in the toxic diplomacy, human rights abuses, and foreign interference China engages in today. Joanna speaks to Krupa Padhy about Peng Shuai, the #metoo movement in China and her work as founder and chair of NuVoices, which highlights and supports women working on the subject of China. Back in the summer a parliamentary report came out about women in the armed forces. It was put together by the Defence Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces which gathered evidence from four thousand women involved in the army now and in the past. It made for very bad reading. Stories of bullying, harassment, discrimination came to light, as well as sexual assault and rape. That report duly went to the Government, which today makes public whether or not it's upheld the Committee's recommendations. Pregnant women say they are worried about catching Covid at work and not is enough is being done to keep them safe, that's according to a recent survey by the UK maternity rights charity Maternity Action. It recently surveyed just over 400 women who worked in different settings from offices to factories and chemical plants. Ros Bragg is the director at Maternity ActionA new podcast "You're Not My Mum: The Stepmum's Side" was launched last week on BBC Sounds. Katie Harrison is the host and she's passionate about raising awareness of the complexities and realities of being a modern stepmother. She joins Krupa Padhy to talk about some of the challenges along with Suzie Hayman who is a counsellor and spokesperson for the parenting charity Family Lives and author of "Be A Great Step-Parent." Today Angela Merkel receives her official farewell as Germany’s chancellor, it’s a position she has held for the last 16 years. A special ceremony will take place in Berlin this evening where music of the Chancellor’s choice will be performed by a military band. More than a few eyebrows have been raised after the Chancellor picked a track by Nina Hagen also known as the Grandmother of Punk Rock. BBC Berlin Correspondent Jenny Hill and historian Katja Hoyer join Krupa Padhy to discuss Angela Merkel’s legacy, her musical choices and Nina Hagen.

The US Supreme Court is set to hear a case on a Mississippi abortion law, which would ban abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. It was signed in 2018 by the state's then Republican Governor, Phil Bryant. But it was blocked by several lower courts, so didn't come into effect. Now, Mississippi is asking the Supreme Court to rule in favour of their law and overturn the landmark case of Roe v Wade, which legalised abortion nationwide. Our reporter Melanie Abbott spoke to Jenny Ma, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents the last abortion clinic in Mississippi and Amanda Taub, a reporter for the New York Times, joins Chloe live.Many of us have probably scribbled a poem to past lovers, but imagine writing a whole book dedicated to them. The poet Kim Moore has done just that with her new collection All the Men I Never Married. She joins Chloe to talk about the impact of those different relationships and the contradictions and complexities of desire. Last Saturday while talking to football fans outside the Castellani stadium in Empoli after a Serie A match, Greta Beccaglia, an Italian journalist with Toscana TV, was assaulted live on air. A fan appeared to spit in his hand before slapping the journalist on her bottom. Beccaglia has since filed charges after police managed to identify the man. Investigative journalist, Alessia Cerantola joins Chloe Tilley to explain why this story has caused such a stir in Italy.Last night in their World Cup 2023 qualifier the Lionesses - England Women's football team - beat their opponents Latvia 20-0. Whilst a great win, and one that saw Manchester City's Ellen White become the top scorer ever for England, what does that score line actually tell us about the structure of the women's game - are such results a failing of trying to mimic the way men's football is organised and does it need overhauling? Chloe speaks to BBC Women's Sport reporter Jo Currie.

Emily Ratajkowski is an American model, entrepreneur & writer. She rocketed to fame aged 21 when she took part in Robin Thicke’s music video, Blurred Lines. At the time Emily argued that the provocative display of her body represented a form of feminist empowerment. In her first book, My Body, she argues something more nuanced. The chemist Boots is in the firing line from campaigners. For Black Friday, Boots halved the price of the morning-after-pill and now campaigners want the reduced price to become permanent. Emma is joined by journalist Rose Stokes & Diana Johnson, Labour MP. Yesterday was big news for the Caribbean island of Barbados, as it cuts ties with the British Crown to become a republic. The country has sworn in its first president - Dame Sandra Mason. Celestina Olulode reporter for BBC World Service, joins Emma from Barbados.89-year-old barrister Margaret Owen OBE recently embarked on a 6-day hunger strike to raise awareness of the case of British-Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe. Margaret’s protest followed the 21-day hunger strike by Nazanin’s husband Richard Ratcliffe. She joins Emma to talk about the experience and what she wanted to achieve.American-born French singer & dancer Josephine Baker is about to become the first black woman to be immortalised in the Pantheon mausoleum in Paris. She broke boundaries in the 1930s with performances mocking colonialism and became an international star. She was also a resistance fighter for France during World War II and had a role in the civil rights movement in the US. Research fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge Adjoa Osei joins Emma.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

Vivianne Miedema of the Netherlands and Arsenal has been crowned the winner of BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2021. The annual award from the BBC World Service is voted for by football fans from around the world. She is the all-time leading scorer in the FA WSL (women’s super league) and has scored more goals at the international level for the Netherlands than any other player, across both the women's and men's teams. This month, November 2021 she became the first player in the history of the WSL to score against every team they have faced, after scoring against Manchester United.The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell is due to go on trial in New York City today on sex trafficking and other charges - in a highly anticipated trial. She is expected to challenge claims she groomed underage girls for convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein for sexual abuse. He died in prison in 2019. She has been in a US jail since her arrest last year. Laura Pullman is the Content Editor at the Sunday Times and is the former New York Correspondent and Stephen Wright is Associate Editor at the Daily Mail who joins the programme from outside the court in New York. Nicola Adams OBE is officially Great Britain’s most successful female boxer of all time. She won gold at the London Olympics in 2012 and repeated the achievement in Rio in 2016. She is the only female boxer in the history of the sport to have won every major title available to her; Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth. So, it’s not a surprise that Amazon Prime Video have made a documentary about her. Lioness: The Nicola Adams Story explores her difficult upbringing and her battles with sexism, racism and homophobia to get in the ring. We find out how a girl from a council estate in Leeds became a #Lioness.In the first part of a new series 'Under Pressure' Zoe and James explain how 'Ed' which is the name they gave Zoe's eating disorder changed their lives. How is a relationship impacted when life stuff happens? We don’t often hear about adoptions that break down, but last week former BBC Scotland health correspondent Eleanor Bradford wrote about her "heart-breaking" decision to return her adopted son to the care system. She said she was unable to cope with her son’s “extremely challenging” behaviour and that she was “furious about the lack of support for adoptive parents” in Scotland. Eleanor Bradford joins Emma to share her experience along with the chief executive of Adoption UK, Sue Armstrong Brown.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Stephen Wright Interviewed Guest: Laura Pullman Interviewed Guest: Vivianne Miedema Interviewed Guest: Nicola Adams Interviewed Guest: Eleanor Bradford Interviewed Guest: Sue Armstrong Brown

‘The Drifters Girl’ is a musical which tells the story of Faye Treadwell, one of the first Black women to manage a vocal group in the US. Singer and actor Beverley Knight plays Faye.We discuss the ongoing appeal of the Cinderella story with Faye Campbell who is playing Cinderella at York Theatre Royal and Dr Nicola Darwood who recently co-edited a new book with Alexis Weedon called Re-telling Cinderella: Cultural and Creative Transformations.On Tuesday Sikh Women’s Aid launched a report into domestic abuse and child sexual abuse within the Sikh community. Conducted via anonymous surveys sent out over the summer, the survey of nearly 700 respondents showed that 70% had experienced domestic violence and 35% had experienced child sexual abuse or exploitation. To tell us more about this report and what can be done to help the issue, we're joined by the co-founder of Sikh Women's Aid and co-author of the report, Sahdaish Pall.We used to have YOLO, then FOMO, now we have HOGO. Post lockdown, the fear of missing out no longer plagues us. We have become too comfortable sitting on our sofas watching TV. The effort of putting good clothes on and leaving the house is too much. This hassle of going out (HOGO) has been blamed by the hospitality industry for an increase in the number of no-shows at restaurants and paid-for live events. We talk to psychotherapist and author of Happy Relationships: At Home, Work and Play, Lucy Beresford and actor Sadie Clark whose play, Algorithms, is on at Soho Theatre in December.TV and radio presenter Melanie Sykes has just announced that she’s been diagnosed with autism at the age of 51. She says it's 'truly life changing, or rather life affirming… and so many things make sense’. She tells us more.Presenter Zara McDermott’s new BBC documentary explores sexual harassment, teenagers, and what impact school is having. We speak to Zara and two contributors who feature in the documentary - activist Zan Moon and 14 year old Trinity.

Do women make better leaders? If so, what can they teach us? Strong Female Lead - Lessons From Women in Power, a new book by the journalist Arwa Mahdawi, argues that a rigid and masculine model of leadership is not up to tackling the complex problems we are facing in the world today. Arwa says ‘If we want to save the world, it’s time we stopped telling women to act like men and started telling everyone to lead like women.’ She draws on the pandemic and beyond, to showcase the leadership skills women are displaying that she believes everyone can learn from.This week MPs have backed a ban on virginity testing in England, after the government called it "indefensible". Anyone helping girls or women get the tests, which includes an intrusive vaginal examination, could face up to five years in prison. But campaigners have also said they want a ban on hymenoplasty, a practice involving cosmetic surgery to reconstruct the hymen. Natasha Rattu, CEO of Karma Nirvana, an organisation that supports victims of honour-based abuse and forced marriage, tells us why this further step needs to be taken.Presenter Zara McDermott’s new BBC documentary explores sexual harassment, teenagers, and what impact school is having. We speak to Zara and two contributors who feature in the documentary - activist Zan Moon and 14 year old Trinity.This week the Home Affairs Select Committee released a report revealing that only one in five of an estimated 15,000 eligible claimants had applied to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, and only 5% of victims have been compensated. They’ve called for the scheme to be transferred from the Home Office to an independent organisation. We’re joined by lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie to discuss the findings.We discuss the ongoing appeal of the Cinderella story with Faye Campbell who is playing Cinderella at York Theatre Royal and Dr Nicola Darwood who recently co-edited a new book with Alexis Weedon called Re-telling Cinderella: Cultural and Creative Transformations.

Do you ever pause to think about where the cotton t-shirt, woollen jumper or silk blouse you're wearing have come from? Victoria Finlay's new book Fabric weaves history, anthropology and myth to tell us the stories of different kinds of cloth, how they are made, why we wear them and the industries that have sprung up around them. As the Court of Appeal clears the names of seven former Post Office clerks who were convicted of false accounting, Pauline Stonehouse tells us about how she's finally been able to put the false allegations behind her and the impact they've had on her life.Within hours of Magdalena Andersson, a former finance minister becoming Sweden's first female Prime Minister, she's resigned and the government has fallen. What's behind her decision to stepdown? Why's it taken Sweden so long to catch up with their Nordic neighbours and have a woman at the top? We hear from the BBC’s reporter in Sweden, Maddy Savage and Drude Dahlerup - professor emerita of politics at Stockholm University.Plus as we mark White Ribbon day – a day when many people across the world come together to say no to violence against women, we look at the situation in Turkey where more than one in three women have experienced domestic violence and the number of femicides is rising. A new film Dying to Divorce, filmed over five years, tells the story of two survivors who works for the platform We Will Stop Femicide to get justice for others, and is the UK’s official entry for Best International Feature film at the Oscars. Emma talk to its director Chloe Fairweather and the Turkish lawyer Ipek Bozkurt.Presenter Emma Barnett Producer Beverley PurcellPhotographer Katia Marsh

Yesterday Sikh Women’s Aid launched a report into domestic abuse and child sexual abuse within the Sikh community. Conducted via anonymous surveys sent out over the summer, the survey of nearly 700 respondents showed that 70% had experienced domestic violence and 35% had experienced child sexual abuse or exploitation. To tell us more about this report and what can be done to help the issue, we're joined by the co-founder of Sikh Women's Aid and co-author of the report, Sahdaish Pall. Writer and historian Sheila Rowbotham helped start the Women's Liberation Movement in Britain. She organised and spoke at its first conference at Ruskin College, Oxford, she went on to encourage night cleaners to unionize and she wrote many ground breaking boojavascript:void(0)ks, including Women, Resistance and Revolution, Woman's Consciousness, Man's World and Hidden from History. This all happened in the 1970s and Sheila writes about it in her second and latest memoir, 'Daring to Hope: My life in the 1970s'. She joins Emma to discuss the many momentous feminist events of that decade.We used to have YOLO, then FOMO, now we have HOGO. Post lockdown, the fear of missing out no longer plagues us. We have become too comfortable sitting on our sofas watching TV. The effort of putting good clothes on and leaving the house is too much. This hassle of going out (HOGO) has been blamed by the hospitality industry for an increase in the number of no-shows at restaurants and paid-for live events. We talk to psychotherapist and author of Happy Relationships: At Home, Work and Play, Lucy Beresford and actor Sadie Clark whose play, Algorithms, is on at Soho Theatre in December.Motherhood and elite sport has felt like a taboo topic for many athletes in the past. Now official pregnancy guidance for Olympic and Paralympic athletes and sport governing bodies has been introduced for the first time by UK Sport. To discuss why this has been introduced now and how it will impact elite sportswomen, Emma is joined by five-time Olympic archer Naomi Folkard who contributed to UK Sport’s consultation for the guidance and The Telegraph’s Women’s Sport reporter Molly McElwee.The judgment on the SEISS discrimination verdict appeal is expected today at 10.30am. It follows a claim by the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed of indirect discrimination due to the way the Self Employed Income Support Scheme was calculated. Introduced in spring 2020 to give financial help to self-employed workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group argued SEISS was unlawful because it disproportionately affected women who had not worked because of their pregnancy and childbirth.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Kirsty StarkeyInterviewed Guest: Sahdaish Pall Interviewed Guest: Sheila Rowbotham Interviewed Guest: Stella Creasy Interviewed Guest: Lucy Beresford Interviewed Guest: Sadie Clark Interviewed Guest: Naomi Folkard Interviewed Guest: Molly McElwee Interviewed Guest: Jolie Brearley Photographer: Sally Fraser

Last week, Caroline Nokes, former minister, Conservative MP and the chair of the Women and Equalities Committee - accused the Prime Minister's father of groping her 18 years ago at a Conservative Party Conference. Stanley Johnson has so far declined to comment on the allegation, saying he has no recollection of it. Caroline talks to Emma.‘The Drifters Girl’ is a musical which tells the story of Faye Treadwell, one of the first Black women to manage a vocal group in the US. Singer and actor Beverley Knight plays Faye and joins Emma to discuss this remarkable woman. Peng Shuai is one of China's top tennis players, but there are global concerns over her safety after she accused the former Chinese vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli, of raping her in 2018. We talk to Cindy Yu Broadcast Editor at The Spectator.Have you ever been affected by persistent, unexplained pain in your vulva? Vulvodynia is a chronic condition that is thought to affect up to 16% of women. Emma is joined by Claudia Chisari, a PHD researcher in Vulvodynia at King’s College London and Sheren Gaulbert, who suffered from Vulvodynia for 10 years.Joan Rhodes could bend steel bars , lift two men at a time, and rip phone books apart. Often described in the press as the strongest woman in the world, she became friends with Marlene Dietrich and even performed for the Royal Household at their Annual Christmas bash. Triona Holden got to know her before she died, and has written her biography ‘An Iron Girl in a Velvet Glove: The Life of Joan Rhodes.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lucinda Montefiore Photo credit of Beverley Knight: @Johan Persson

TV and radio presenter Melanie Sykes has just announced that she’s been diagnosed with autism at the age of 51. She says it's 'truly life changing, or rather life affirming… and so many things make sense’. She tells us more. Colin Pitchfork, the man who murdered and raped Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth but was released from prison recently, has been sent back to jail for breaking his licence conditions. We speak to the former Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland, who always maintained that Pitchfork should remain behind bars. We also hear from Dawn's uncle, Philip Musson.David Salmon comes onto the programme to talk about his wife, who took her life last year after suffering extreme menopausal symptoms. He wants other men to pick up on signs that the women in their lives may be struggling. We have the fourth episode of our series on toxic relationships.And we hear why thousands of midwives took to the streets at the weekend to voice their concerns about safety. Kay King from March With Midwives Alliance and White Ribbon Alliance UK speaks to us.

Nancy Kelley is CEO of Stonewall, the largest LGBT rights charity in Europe. She speaks about her organisation’s work and gives her reaction to recent high-profile withdrawals from Stonewall’s Diversity Champions workplace inclusion scheme, including the BBC.This week the cricketer Azeem Rafiq candidly described the racism he's suffered. We talk to the MP Naz Shah and Halima Khan who works in grassroots cricket about the impact of his testimony.For millions of families, the past 18 months have been defined by grief. A growing online community, mainly fronted by young women, is helping others to find support through loss. We're joined by Amber Jeffrey, founder of The Grief Gang podcast, and Helen Smith who has an Instagram page called Lockdown Grief.Parcopresis is the inability to defecate or go for a poo without a certain level of privacy. The condition is also known as shy bowel and it can stop people from feeling comfortable about going at work, while out and about or even while sharing a toilet with a new partner. What causes this anxiety and why do more women suffer than men? We ask Eleanor Morgan, author of Hormonal: A Conversation About Women’s Bodies, Mental Health and Why We Need to be Heard and Professor Siwan Thomas-Gibson, a consultant gastroenterologist.Pride and Prejudice (sort of) is a sweary, anarchic reboot of the classic Jane Austen novel by Scottish writer Isobel McArthur, in which an all-female cast of five play all of the characters. We're joined by Isobel and her co-performer Tori Burgess.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Lucy Wai Editor: Lucinda Montefiore