Woman's Hour

To mark our 80th anniversary, Woman's Hour commissioned a survey of 2,000 women across the UK to explore how women feel about using their voice in different areas of their lives, from the most public to the most private spaces. One of the questions we asked was: How many times, if any, have you felt unable to say no in a sexual encounter? More than one in three women surveyed said this had happened to them, and over a quarter said it had happened more than once. The figures were even higher among younger women. Anita Rani is joined by Faustine Petron, who founded the Make It Mandatory campaign five years ago and has been campaigning for the government to extend Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) to all 16 to 18-year-olds; Ellie Softley, a founding member of the charity Everyone's Invited, she created the organisation's education programme and has discussed consent with young people in schools across the UK; and Dr Paula Hall, founder of Pivotal Recovery and a psychotherapist with more than 30 years'…

Launching the theme of our 80th birthday year: "Use Your Voice", we celebrate live from the Glasgow Women's Library in Scotland, the sole accredited museum of women’s history in the UK. Nuala McGovern is joined by guests: Women's Health Champion for Scotland Dr Anna Glasier, social media influencer and campaigner Fats Timbo, professor of private law Jane Mair and poet and writer and former Makar, Jackie Kay. We hear from some of the Woman's Hour archive including suffragette Mary Richardson from 1957, a woman on breast cancer from 1969, a woman called Candida talking about coming out in the mid 1980s, Margaret Thatcher talking about childcare in 1990, Tracey Emin's reflections on her abortion from 2011 and Rose McGowan talking in 2018 about reigniting the #metoo movement. Our guests reflect on archive from Nancy Astor on being the first female MP in the House of Commons, on a woman talking about the progression of family planning and reactions to the conviction of Sarah Everard's murderer. To mark our 80th…

Hundreds of schools in France have closed after clashes between police and student protestors. Chloe Quesnel is a high school teacher in Nice in France. She's been watching her students take to the streets to protest over classroom conditions, lack of resources and the number of teaching staff. Chloe and Paris-based journalist Lisa Louis tell Kylie about the student protest of the last week, and what can be expected from today. The Party is a five-part ITV series based on the acclaimed novel by Elizabeth Day and adapted by award-winning writer and actor Sarah Solemani. At the centre are two men, Ben, a wealthy politician, and Martin, a political journalist, whose life has been shaped by their relationship. While the men drive the central plot of class obsession and co-dependency, the female characters serve as the moral anchors, truth-tellers, and catalysts for the story's climax. Elizabeth Day and Sarah Solemani join Kylie to discuss this tale of class, sex, shame, power, betrayal and secrets. A File on…

Monica Dolan is starring in a new film, The Lost Children of Tuam, co-produced by Liam Neeson. In it, she plays the extraordinary amateur historian, Catherine Corless, whose relentless pursuit of the truth helped to bring the story of hundreds of babies from an Irish mother and baby home being disposed of in a disused sewage tank to the world in 2014. She joins Nuala McGovern along with journalist Alison O’Reilly to discuss this powerful tale of community activism and how it led to an ongoing mass exhumation. Kemistry is what Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative party leader, is calling her personal brand of conservatism. Almost two years into her tenureship, she has set out her core principles in a 95-page essay. And at their conference in Birmingham yesterday, Badenoch also pledged to scrap the £100,000 earning limit for parents to claim 30 hours a week of free childcare, if her party is elected. Kitty Donaldson, Chief Political commentator at the i Paper gives her thoughts. Broadcaster Ashley James has gone…

A group of school children have set up a petition calling on the government to ban the use of school uniforms in porn. They say they want to abolish the sexualisation of children through the inappropriate use of school uniform. Kylie Pentelow is joined by two of the campaigners Aylin and Mae, both 15. Kylie also hears from Professor Clare McGlynn, Professor of Law at Durham University and author of Exposed: The problem of Extreme Porn. Helen Rebanks believes the unsung heroes of rural life are often the wives whose behind-the-scenes efforts keep both the family and the business afloat. Descended from generations of Cumbrian farmers, she still lives in the Lake District. Her bestselling 2023 book, The Farmer's Wife, has inspired a play by the same name, running at the Theatre By The Lake in Keswick until 10 October. Helen joins Anita Rani along with playwright Hannah Khalil to discuss the often-overlooked role of farmers wives. A social media-driven resurgence in the popularity of sunbeds is said to be…

Multiple protests have been taking place in Delhi over the past week. Hundreds of women have come together in India's capital to protest against a series of sexual assaults - most recently the alleged gang-rape of a 17-year-old near Delhi university's campus. Anita speaks to the BBC's South Asia correspondent Azadeh Moshiri. The manufacturers of a new weight loss drug are warning women to beware of dangerous fakes being offered. The new medication is called Retatrutide. Although you can find it for sale on websites, it's not approved and is still in clinical trials. Dr Emily Pegg the UK medical director of the drug company Eli Lilley, the makers of Retatrutide and Dr Alison Cave, the chief safety officer of the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority join Anita Rani to discuss the issues. A photography exhibition starts at the Vagina Museum in London next week called Just Because We Smile, Doesn’t Mean We’re Over It. The images are of more than 100 people who have experienced miscarriage, baby loss or…

New York state prosecutors say they will reopen a criminal inquiry into the alleged rape of a woman at Cornell University in 2024. The woman, referred to in court documents as Jane Doe, alleges in her lawsuit that seven men from Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity chapter assaulted her in an incident involving alcohol and the drug ketamine. The case was investigated by university police but will now go before a grand jury. The case has been discussed widely online, with many including actress Florence Pugh reacting with fury over the reported disciplinary actions taken by the university. Nada Tawfik, BBC North American correspondent, and Tracey Vitchers, Executive Director of It's On Us, a non-profit programme dedicated to college sexual assault prevention, join Anita Rani to discuss. The broadcaster, campaigner and charity founder Dame Esther Rantzen has died at the age of 86. She will be best remembered for presenting the BBC TV Programme That’s Life. She also set up Childline – the telephone helpline for…

The Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced an end to the triple lock for the state pension from 2030, and it’s thought that women could be most affected by the proposed changes. Kylie Pentalow is joined by consumer finance expert Sarah Pennells to explain what the news could mean for women’s pensions. The Women’s Art Collection at Murray Edwards College in Cambridge is marking 40 years since its inception in 1986, with a new exhibition inspired by its very first artwork and two new acquisitions. Joining Kylie Pentelow to discuss putting women in the frame are Harriet Loffler, Director of the Women’s Art Collection, the artist Professor Dame Sonia Boyce and the art historian and author of The Story of Art Without Men, Katy Hessel. A group of school children have set up a petition calling on the government to ban the use of school uniforms in porn. They say they want to abolish the sexualisation of children through the inappropriate use of school uniform. Kylie is joined by two of the campaigners Aylin and…

Many parents will have just experienced the departure of their children from the family home as they head for university, turning once-bustling households into so-called 'empty nests'. It can leave those left behind feeling unsettled and cut adrift. Denise Turner, Professor of Social Work at the University of Hertfordshire, is researching the impact this life transition has on parents. She joins Kylie Pentelow along with parenting author and journalist Lorraine Candy to discuss her findings. Almost half of electronic tags used to track offenders' movements are not fitted on time, with significant delays putting victims in England and Wales at risk, according to a report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation. It found only 55% of GPS and radio frequency tags were fitted on time, and some criminals are waiting up to five months to be fitted with a tag. Thousands more prisoners will be released from Thursday as part of the new law. Most will require tagging. Farah Nazeer, CEO of Women's Aid, and Andrea…

Ten NHS staff have been removed from duty or suspended after accessing the medical records of three-year-old Noah Woods, without authorisation. A major search for Noah was carried out in the village of Brantham, Suffolk, after the child went missing on 15 September. His body was found the next day in a nearby pond by police divers. An urgent investigation has been launched by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which says any unauthorised access to patient data is 'completely unacceptable.' BBC Health Correspondent Jim Read joins Kylie Pentelow to discuss the case and the issues it raises, along with Sam Smith, from the organisation Med Confidential, which campaigns for confidentiality in healthcare. South Africa also has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world, and calls are intensifying for more to be done to protect women after the bodies of 10 women have been discovered in Ekurhuleni, east Johannesburg in South Africa in the past two months. It has triggered an…

Hollywood star Catherine Zeta-Jones joined Nuala McGovern to talk about her new action thriller series, Kill Jackie and taking on one of her most formidable roles yet, not least because she's finally on screen speaking in a Welsh accent. For months Lucy Godley documented the abuse she suffered at the hands of her former partner. Secretly, she photographed injuries, gathered evidence and sent it to the one person she trusted to keep it safe: her mum, Sharon. The evidence would ultimately help secure his conviction and a 23-year prison sentence. For the first time, Lucy Godley and her mother Sharon spoke to Nuala, together. Morcheeba emerged in the mid 1990s alongside groups like Massive Attack and Portishead, and became pioneers of the British trip-hop scene with hits including Rome Wasn't Built in a Day, The Sea, and Trigger Hippie. They are currently on an international tour, and upcoming dates include the Troxy as part of EFG London Jazz Festival on 13 November. Anita talked to singer Skye about her life…

What is the impact of the Durham breast cancer scandal on the women affected? It's been announced that 4,500 patients will have their medical records reviewed. There has been a range of issues including some women who had unnecessary mastectomies. Health correspondent Sharon Barbour and Denise Howarth from the Pink Justice Campaign join Anita Rani to discuss. ‘Donate to charity shops as if you’re giving to a friend’ - that was the advice from author Tansy Hoskins when she joined us on the programme earlier this month. But what can you do with those items in your home that aren’t in good enough condition for a charity shop? From worn-out socks to knickers where the elastic has gone, Laura de Barra, author of Garment Goddess, and Anna Turns, senior environment editor at The Conversation, share what we can do with these items. The leading Dutch dictionary, Dikke van Dale, is adding a new word for the labia to its online edition. Alongside the traditional term schaamlippen, which translates as "shame lips", it…

Naomi Alderman is an award-winning novelist, broadcaster, TV producer and videogames creator. Her latest novel The Strangers blends memoir and speculative fiction to explore grief, identity and our search for meaning when our lives are uprooted by events out of our control. Naomi joins Anita to discuss why stories can sometimes help us navigate loss more powerfully than facts, and whether the mysteries we cannot explain reveal something essential about what it means to be human. A Scottish nurse has told an employment tribunal she did not believe her union representative took her objections to sharing female changing rooms with a transgender colleague as seriously as she did. It's the second employment tribunal Sandie Peggie has brought over the dispute with Dr Beth Upton – a transgender woman who was born biologically male. And whilst employment tribunals seldom make headlines, this one is about gender-critical beliefs in the country that has been at the forefront of testing these beliefs in policy and law.…

Hollywood star Catherine Zeta-Jones joins Nuala McGovern to talk about her new action thriller series, Kill Jackie and taking on one of her most formidable roles yet, not least because she's finally on screen speaking in a Welsh accent. She joins Nuala live in the studio. Nearly 30 years after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, 'Swan Song: Diana, My Sister' Earl Spencer recounts his life with his sister and the traumatic days following her death. Does his account help us better understand Diana, the woman who was also a global icon? Nuala discusses with Anne McElvoy, executive editor at Politico and co-host of the Politics at Sam and Anne’s podcast, and Justine Picardie – Social historian and author of Fashioning the Crown: A Story of Power, Conflict and Couture and author of memoir If the Spirit Moves You. The shortlist for the Booker Prize has been announced, and while female writers formed a majority of the 2026 longlist, the final selection includes four male and two female authors. Pulp frontman and…

Author Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel Big Little Lies followed the lives of a group of women in the affluent Sydney suburbs, exploring some dark themes beneath the suburban façade. It was made into a popular TV drama starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Zoë Kravitz. Now Liane has written a sequel, Big Little Truths, which rejoins the women 10 years later. She talks to presenter Nuala McGovern about reimagining her characters in midlife and grappling with the challenges of parenting teens. For years, organised gangs of abusers, mostly of Pakistani heritage, preyed on young girls in Oxford while it's claimed the authorities looked the other way. BBC’s Panorama examines the devastating legacy of this neglect for three survivors, revealing the extent of the abuse they suffered, the enduring impact it has had on their lives and the questions they still have. Producer and director Leanne Hayman tells us about the film. Are girls and boys born looking at the world in different ways? Yumnah Khan is a…

For months Lucy Godley documented the abuse she suffered at the hands of her former partner. Secretly, she photographed injuries, gathered evidence and sent it to the one person she trusted to keep it safe: her mum, Sharon. The evidence would ultimately help secure his conviction and a 23-year prison sentence. For the first time, Lucy Godley and her mother Sharon join Nuala McGovern to tell their story together. The Prime Minister Andy Burnham is facing calls to set a national waiting-time target for dementia care in England. A proposal for an 18‑week referral‑to‑treatment target has been backed by Baroness Louise Casey, who's leading a major review of adult social care. Women account for roughly two thirds of dementia cases. Baroness Casey joins Nuala to talk about what needs to change. The play Tits Up! follows four very different women who bond while being treated for breast cancer. Set in an oncology waiting room, the play begins a 23 day UK tour in October. One of the writers, Leah Bell who also stars…

Dame Meera Syal is a multi-award winning writer and actor, and a name and face very familiar to many of us having graced our screens for decades now. She's just published her first memoir and is also currently on stage in The Children at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London. With her trademark warmth and humour she joined Anita Rani in the studio. More than 1,000 children have died in a measles outbreak in Bangladesh. Government figures show there have been at least 194,000 cases since March, and around 1,000 new cases are being reported everyday. The World Health Organisation says this makes Bangladesh the country with the highest number of cases in the world right now. The government is responding with an emergency vaccination campaign. Anita talked to Dr Zakiul Hassan, a medical doctor who works at an international research institute in Bangladesh and is currently completing a PhD at the University of Oxford's Pandemic Sciences Institute. Elite rock climber Shauna Coxsey has become the first woman to…

Georgia Hunter Bell rediscovered her teenage love of running during lockdown, and two years later won Team GB a Bronze medal in the 1,500m at the Paris Olympics, at the age of 30. This year she's won gold medals at the World Indoor Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships - and tonight she's competing in Athlos, a brand new all-female track and field event taking place in London for the first time. Designed by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanion, it's aiming to reshape women’s athletics by giving them a financial stake in their own sport. Georgia tells presenter Anita Rani about her unusual path, and whether she thinks an event of this kind can change the public perception of women’s track and field events, or even the future of the sport. More than 1,000 children have died in a measles outbreak in Bangladesh. Government figures show there have been at least 194,000 cases since March, and around 1,000 new cases are being reported everyday. The World Health Organisation says this…

Dame Meera Syal is a multi-award winning writer and actor, and a name and face very familiar to many of us having graced our screens for decades now. She's just published her first memoir and is also currently on stage in The Children at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London. With her trademark warmth and humour she joins Anita Rani in the studio. A breakthrough breast cancer drug, Enhertu, has been approved for NHS use in England. Charities and patients have campaigned for it to be more widely available since 2024, when the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said Enhertu was not good value for money. The drug can give patients almost seven extra months to live on average - with some living up to three years longer. Women in Scotland have had access to the drug on the NHS since 2023, and it is available in 26 other European countries. Anita is joined by campaigner Sophie Blake who has stage 4 breast cancer and Dr Simon Vincent, Chief Scientific Officer at Breast Cancer Now. In our…

A new film adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility will be released in cinemas on Friday 25 September. Austen's first published novel tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, who are forced to leave their family estate after their father's death and move to a cottage in rural Devonshire. More than 200 years after its original publication, the story is returning to the big screen. The production stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor and Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne. Screenwriter Diana Reid and director Georgia Oakley join Nuala McGovern to discuss the film. A new report from Amnesty International names 87 Iranian officials it says should be criminally investigated for crimes against humanity during the crackdown following the death of young Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, four years ago today. Raha Bahreini, a human rights lawyer and Amnesty International's Iran researcher, outlines the report and its call for action. BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet discusses what life is like for…

A new advert featuring the American actress Sydney Sweeney has sparked a backlash from some female athletes for sexualising women’s sport. The advert, for the sports betting company Novig - a company in which Sweeney has a financial stake - shows her in revealing poses with a series of sporting props. So does the advert undermine the progress women’s sport has made in moving away from the sexualisation of female athletes – or should women be free to present themselves however they choose? Harriet Walker is the fashion editor of The Times. She's been writing about this and joins Nuala McGovern. One in 10 people in the UK are thought to be currently using GLP-1 weight-loss medication, and their rise is changing the way many people eat, shop, dress and even talk. We speak to two women exploring the impact the GLP-1 phenomenon is having on body image and the way we think about weight and diet culture. Journalist Rose Stokes hosts new podcast A Matter of Fat, while Dr Kat Schneider is a researcher on body image,…

Is artificial intelligence more likely to disadvantage women at work? Women make up more than 60% of the UK’s administrative workforce – jobs considered among those most exposed to AI. As unions debate how the technology could affect women’s employment, Nuala McGovern hears from AI consultant Ella Wicks and Bethan, who was replaced in a previous administrative role by an AI tool, about what AI could mean for women at work. Have you ever said you were ‘triggered’, or casually described a repetitive behaviour as a bit ‘OCD’? Psychiatrist Dr Suzanne Garfinkle-Crowell joins Nuala to discuss her new book Girlhood, Translated, and her concerns about the growing use of ‘therapy speak’ and self-diagnosis among girls and young women. Céline Dion has returned to the stage in Paris after a six-year hiatus. Superfan Frankie Jackson-Spence and culture writer Beatrice Hazlehurst discuss her comeback and what she means to her fans. Spain’s football governing body has announced it will offer egg freezing to its top female…

The government has announced plans to require smartphones and tablets to block people from taking, sharing or viewing nude images by default, with adults able to switch the protection off after verifying their age. BBC Senior Technology Reporter Chris Vallance explains how it could work, while Soma Sara, founder of sexual violence campaign group, Everyone’s Invited, tells us if it could protect young people from pressure, coercion and abuse. Callie Khouri won an Oscar for her first screenplay for the film Thelma & Louise. Now she has rewritten the script for a new musical version that has just premiered in London, 35 years after the original film aired. Callie joined Kylie Pentelow to talk about adapting the original and how the story is still painfully relevant. Journalist Rachel Hosie is expecting her first baby in France, where she’s been struck by how much attention and consideration pregnancy receives. Sarah Seror has had babies in both France and Britain and went on to found The Motherhood Practice,…

More than 50 children's charities and parent organisations have written to the Prime Minister, warning that disabled children are being overlooked in the Government's planned reforms to social care. Kylie Pentelow is joined by Anna Bird, Chair of the Disabled Children's Partnership and Chief Executive of the charity Contact to tell us more. The latest artwork for London's iconic Fourth Plinth has been revealed. Lady in Blue, by New York artist Tschabalala Self, is a striking ten-foot-tall tribute to a young metropolitan woman inspired by today's London. The figure is the latest in a series of high-profile commissions that have transformed one of the world's most famous public art spaces. Tschabalala joins Kylie to discuss what it means to see her work take centre stage in the heart of the capital. River Ahmad made history in May when she became the first Afghan woman to climb Mount Everest. She had always dreamed of climbing the mountain with her 20-year-old brother who later took his own life. As a teenager…

The number of high earning parents turning down pay rises in order to keep free childcare is on the rise. Research from the University of Warwick and the London School of Economics estimates that by 2030, 12,000 parents will tactically keep their income below £100,000 in order to avoid the 'tax trap.' Kylie Pentelow speaks to Claer Barrett, Consumer Editor at the Financial Times. Emily McBride’s debut novel Queen Mab follows new mother Madeleine as she becomes concerned that her newborn is in fact a changeling. As real life continues around her, Madeleine slips into disturbing visions as she suspects her daughter was swapped by fairies. Kylie is joined by Emily to talk about her fictional exploration of postpartum psychosis and by Dr Jessica Heron, Chief Executive of the national charity Action on Postpartum Psychosis. Lucy Robinson was told she couldn’t go on a work trip abroad to deliver the keynote speech of her career because, despite being disabled, she wasn’t allowed to take her support workers with…

The government has announced plans to require smartphones and tablets to block people from taking, sharing or viewing nude images by default, with adults able to switch the protection off after verifying their age. BBC Senior Technology Reporter Chris Vallance explains how it could work, while Soma Sara, founder of sexual violence campaign group, Everyone’s Invited, tells us if it could protect young people from pressure, coercion and abuse. England Rugby’s Red Roses will be taking part in a major international tournament throughout September and October. But one of the biggest conversations ahead of the WXV Global series is around changes to the size of the equipment. World Rugby will be trialling a smaller ball throughout the tournament. This ball is 3% smaller than the standard size used at elite level for men and women. The changes have had mixed reviews with some saying they are better designed for women to use, while others are concerned about the harm this could do to the image of the Women's game.…

High-profile Reform UK member and former cabinet minister Nadine Dorris was alerted by the police that a deepfake pornographic image had been made of her. She joins Nuala to discuss the impact this has had on her and her work on the Online Safety Act when she was in Government, as well as her thoughts on the recent row over funding for Reform. It’s Radio 2 in the Park this weekend, and Nuala speaks to award-winning singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé who will be gracing the main stage at City Park in Stirling. She is a prolific writer and collaborator with a hugely distinctive voice and many awards to her name, plus an MBE for her services to music. Emeli will soon be embarking on a UK tour to celebrate 15 years since her first hit album, Our Version of Events. Journalist Rachel Hosie is expecting her first baby in France, where she’s been struck by how much attention and consideration pregnancy receives. Sarah Seror has had babies in both France and Britain and went on to found The Motherhood Practice, which…

The Irish boxer Katie Taylor sold out Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday night. More than eighty thousand people turned out to see Katie perform one last spectacular time before she retires. Katie is considered by many as Ireland's greatest athlete and one of the greatest female boxers of all time. Nuala McGovern discusses Katie's career with Ireland's first female world boxing champion Deidre Gogarty - now a coach - and an inspiration to Katie as a child, and the sports writer, broadcaster, and boxing pundit Steve Bunce. Baroness Margaret Hodge's memoir is called Battleaxe - reclaiming a label once used against her by critics. The Labour life peer looks back on her 50 years as an elected representative; and her life from being born in Alexandria to Jewish parents, to arriving in post war Britain stateless, becoming the first Children's Minister and the first woman to chair the Public Accounts Committee, to arguing with Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitism. Now aged 81 and a member of the House of Lords, Baroness…

The award-winning singer-songwriter and actress Natalie Imbruglia first hit our screens in the early 1990s, playing the role of Beth Brennan in the Australian soap Neighbours. Her 1997 debut single Torn quickly became a worldwide hit, and she’s sold more than 10 million albums. Her latest album, Algorithm, is out now. Natalie joins Nuala McGovern to discuss some of its themes, including doom scrolling on our phones to shame in perimenopause. Whilst the vast majority of nurseries provide safe and caring environments, there have been a number of highly distressing cases in recent years where children have been abused or come to harm. From 1st September this year, strengthened welfare and safeguarding requirements have come into effect for early years providers in England, with the changes designed to help keep babies and young children safe. Clare McDonnell is joined by Jonathan Broadbery from the National Day Nurseries Association and Zoe Raven, Chief Executive of the Acorn Early Years Foundation. As part of…

Tomorrow the Sussex Maternity Review will launch in Brighton to examine more than 1,000 cases spanning over a decade. The independent review's chair, the former midwife Donna Ockenden, will meet with families who have been affected by poor maternity care in the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. Bereaved mothers, Hannah Robotham and Katie Fowler join presenter Clare McDonnell to share their stories, along with BBC Social Affairs Correspondent Michael Buchanan. Journalist Tansy Hoskins has spent more than a decade investigating the fashion industry, from garment factories to global supply chains. In her new book Charity Shop World she looks into where unwanted clothes end up, volunteering in a charity shop to reveal the hidden stories behind people's donations. Tansy joins us to discuss over-consumption, textile waste, and the hidden workforce - mainly women - who are dealing with the consequences of fashion industry excess. We hear about the life and work of American feminist icon and…

Whilst the vast majority of nurseries provide safe and caring environments, there have been a number of highly distressing cases in recent years where children have been abused or come to harm. From 1st September this year, strengthened welfare and safeguarding requirements have come into effect for early years providers in England, with the changes designed to help keep babies and young children safe. Joining Clare McDonnell to discuss are BBC investigative reporter Hayley Hassall, Jonathan Broadbery from the National Day Nurseries Association and Zoe Raven, Chief Executive of the Acorn Early Years Foundation. On Radio 4's Norman Day, we ask what it was like to live through one of the most dramatic turning points in British history and its aftermath. Historian Dr Emily A Winkler, author of Pocket Bayeux Tapestry, and author Claire Fuge whose novel The Siren's Daughter tells the extraordinary story of real-life Welsh princess Nest ferch Rhys, tell Clare what was like to be a woman in Norman Britain. Dr…

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the body that represents NHS paediatricians, has warned of a sharp rise in the number of children aged 6 to 17 turning up at A&E units in England in a state of mental health crisis. The RCPCH's Officer for Health Services, Dr Ronny Cheung, a consultant paediatrician based in London, joins Nuala McGovern to discuss the issue. He is joined by Kate Silverton, child therapist and parenting author. Siobhan Daniels joined Woman's Hour a couple of years ago as part of Listener Week to talk about her alternative lifestyle, getting rid of her possessions and living nomadically while travelling the country in a motorhome. Now she's back with a new book, Retire and Refire, which chronicles her 4,000-mile solo RV adventure from Canada to Alaska along the Alaska Highway. The number of babies born in Scotland last year was the lowest on record. Records began in 1855. Esther Roughsedge, Head of Demographic Statistics at National Records of Scotland, explains more. A…

The award-winning singer-songwriter and actress Natalie Imbruglia first hit our screens in the early 1990s, playing the role of Beth Brennan in the Australian soap Neighbours. Her 1997 debut single Torn quickly became a worldwide hit, and she’s sold more than 10 million albums. Her latest album, Algorithm, is out later this week. Natalie joins Nuala McGovern to discuss some of its themes – relationship breakups, perfectionism and perimenopause, and what it feels like to be championed by the new generation of pop stars. A new definition of heart attacks could help transform the way women are diagnosed and treated. Experts in the field say women have been 'deprioritised' for decades, but this new global guidance has a new focus on the types of heart attacks experienced by women, and the criteria used to detect them. Professor Nick Mills, British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh, joins Nuala to explain along with Allison Lawson, who had a heart attack two years ago.…

After a summer when hot weather has drawn many of us towards the water, we explore its pull as a place of freedom, adventure and friendship, as well as the risks it can pose. Writer and wild swimmer Brigid Lowe tells us how swimming in Scotland’s lochs gave her a sense of freedom, a journey she charts in her new memoir, Shiver: The Lessons of the Lochs. Musician Tricia Duffy explains how rivers and the sea flow through her songwriting, including her recent EP, River Stories. Seren Jones, co-founder of the Black Swimming Association, joins us to discuss who feels able to enjoy the water, why some communities face greater barriers to swimming and how we can all enjoy open water more safely. We also meet some of the women whose working lives depend on water. Ivana-Maria Carrioni-Burnett, a former Royal Navy officer who now works as a sea pilot on the Thames, describes climbing aboard huge vessels and taking control of their navigation. Plus Sara Barsley and Hayley Garrod from the Canal and River Trust reveal…

Women who have missed a cervical screening appointment in England are to be offered HPV self-testing kits by the NHS. Over the next year, nearly four million women will receive invites on the NHS App or via text message, email or letter to order a free kit to use at home. The aim is to encourage more women to complete their potentially lifesaving screening to detect HPV, which can increase the risk of cervical cancer. Dr Sue Mann, National Clinical Director for Women's Health in England and a consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health, joined Nuala McGovern. For more than a decade, armed gangs in northern Nigeria have repeatedly targeted schools, kidnapping children for ransom and forcing some educational establishments to close. BBC journalist Yemisi Adegoke has recently returned from the state of Zamfara, where ongoing insecurity has left many girls unable to attend school, threatening their futures. She talks to Anita about her experience. After the death of both her parents, best-selling novelist…

Hormone replacement therapy may reduce the risk of dementia, a new study has found. Researchers tracked more than 180,000 postmenopausal women and their analysis suggests that those who had used HRT appeared to be less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and the greatest reduction was seen in women who had undergone surgical menopause. Anita Rani talks to Anne-Marie Minihane, Professor of Nutrigenetics at Norwich medical school at the University of East Anglia and lead author of the study, asking her whether any conclusions can be drawn from these findings. Five time Tony Award-winning musical Kimberly Akimbo has its European premiere this evening at the Hampstead Theatre in North London. Jeanine Tesori wrote the music for the production and joins Anita to explain why she wanted to set the original play to music and song. The latest of our series where our academic researchers in residence talk about something that’s caught their eye this summer. Beth Malory is Associate Professor of English…

People who were sexually abused as children and later seek help for mental health problems are being failed by the NHS, according to The Royal College of Psychiatrists. The RCOP has issued a public apology, saying decades of mismanagement and misdiagnosis have left many survivors without the support they need. Anita Rani is joined by Caroline Thompson, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and Dr Jo Stubley, a consultant psychiatrist and clinical lead of the Tavistock Trauma Service, who are co-authors of the RCOP's position statement. Today in towns and cities across the country, parents are being encouraged to go on strike to raise awareness about, what the strike's organisers say are the rising costs of raising children and the impossible demands this puts on parents. Anna Whitehouse, the founder of Flex Appeal, and George Gabriel, who co-founded The Dad Shift, discuss the flexible working and parental leave policies that they are calling for with The Parent Strike and how the Government is responding.…

Singer-songwriter, actress and philanthropist Dolly Parton has died aged 80. She was a feminist icon, although she denied the former. Known as The Queen of Country, she paved the way for many women in music. To remember her, Nuala is joined by Country singer-songwriter Kezia Gill and music journalist Jude Rogers. The Ministry of Justice has announced the introduction of “restriction zones” for serious sexual and violent offenders that would confine them to areas just a few miles wide after leaving prison. Government ministers say the scheme is designed to give victims greater freedom but some campaigners want more detail about how they will work . To discuss further Nuala is joined by advocate on domestic abuse and stalking, Rhianon Bragg. Broadcaster and former footballer Karen Carney OBE has been awarded the Professional Footballers' Association's merit award for her contribution to football. She joins Nuala to explain what winning the prestigious award means to her. Currently it’s illegal to import a sex…

Women who have missed a cervical screening appointment in England are to be offered HPV self-testing kits by the NHS. Over the next year, nearly four million women will receive invites on the NHS App or via text message, email or letter to order a free kit to use at home. The aim is to encourage more women to complete their potentially lifesaving screening to detect HPV, which can increase the risk of cervical cancer. Figures show that around a third of women who are eligible for cervical cancer screening have not taken up the offer recently. Dr Sue Mann, National Clinical Director for Women's Health in England and a consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health, joins Nuala McGovern to discuss. Chef Sally Abe, who owns the restaurant The Pem, and Kayla Lawrie, a producer with social media food influencers TopJaw, have launched a map of women-owned hospitality businesses. What began with 350 restaurants, pubs, cafés and bakeries has now grown to more than 1,000 venues across the UK. They explain to Nuala what…

After the death of both her parents best-selling novelist Louise Doughty made a startling discovery whilst clearing out the family home. Inside a black suitcase, she stumbled upon a treasure trove of letters that revealed the origins of her parents' love affair. She joins Nuala McGovern to discuss her first memoir On This Spot Fell One Tear of Love described as a portrait of grief and loss and family – and a love story. More information has been released about the crash that happened on the A66 near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Saturday morning - when a car travelling in the wrong direction crashed into a police vehicle, killing two officers and the 5 teenage boys in the other car. This after a similar incident last week in County Kildare in Ireland. There's a growing concern that social media trends are encouraging young people to drive dangerously and stream risk-taking videos online. We hear from Dr Paula Bradbury - who's a senior research fellow at University of East London. Paula has spent last 2…

Are GCSE's working for all children? Figures show resits in Maths and English are dragging down the overall results in those subjects. Whilst post 16 education has evolved with A levels, BTECs and T levels, GCSE's have remained largely unchanged since they were introduced in 1988. Chloe Tilly talks to Vanessa Clarke, BBC education correspondent. The CEO of Travelodge Jo Boydell has resigned following a string of security lapses in which unauthorised room access has been granted without the guest's permission. Chloe speaks to Sharon Thompson who made contact with the BBC, reporting that a man accessed her hotel room at 2am, frightening her and her daughter. We'll also hear from Carolyn Pearson, CEO of a travel security company on how women can keep themselves safe while staying in hotels. Parents are taking on debt, cutting maternity leave short and some say they've even resorted to unsafe feeding practices because of the cost of infant formula. New research shows the profits that baby formula companies are…

Doctors are warning that vaping could be harming children's health and say more needs to be done to make vapes less attractive and accessible to young people. The warning comes from experts from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which has reviewed around 80 studies and said it is linked to higher rates of breathing problems and evidence of harm in babies whose mothers used vapes while pregnant. Anita Rani speaks to Will Carroll, Professor of Child Health at Staffordshire Children’s hospital and co-author of the study. With over 1 million 16-24 year olds out of work, education or some form of training, internet personality Amelia Dimoldenberg - creator of Chicken Shop Date - has launched her own creative academy. Amelia joins Anita to discuss the importance of making the online and media sectors more accessible for the next generation and how best to combat youth unemployment in this country. 30,000 people have been tried for bigamy over the past 400 years, many harshly punished, according to…

A senior French civil servant stands accused of drugging hundreds of women. Police say Christian Nègre kept a spreadsheet documenting what he described as his ‘experiments’ in which he forced them to wet themselves. They believe he drugged as many as 248 women. But more than seven years after Nègre was formally charged, no trial date has been set. For Woman’s Hour and BBC Global Women, Nuala McGovern spoke to one of the women affected, who says the delays to justice have left her feeling victimised for a second time. Within months of what was to be her last Olympic Games, double Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones decided it was time to take her career in a new direction. Last year, despite having never thrown a punch, she turned to boxing and, after just eight weeks of training, set herself the ambitious goal of becoming a world champion in another sport. She discusses her career pivot, what prompted her to start again, and how it feels to go from reaching the pinnacle of one sport to starting all over…

The revelation that a paedophile had changed his name more than 20 times to hide his past has renewed pressure on the government to change the law. Jason Brown was first convicted 12 years ago and has now pleaded guilty to a further offence. There's been campaigning for many years for it to be illegal for sex offenders to change their name, as many use their new identities to avoid being monitored. Nuala McGovern speaks to Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham and one of those calling for this legal change. Millions of Filipinos work overseas to help raise money for their families back home. And of these millions more than half are women. Here in the UK tens of thousands of Filipinos work in the NHS, they are one of the most common non-UK nationalities for nurses and health visitors in our health system. But what is life like for those who are left behind? Poet and nurse Romalyn Ante’s debut novel, the Left Behind Child, explores the teenage years of Neneng, who is eleven when her mother, Rosa, leaves…

Amy Hunt became the first athlete in the 92-year history of the European Championships to win four gold medals in a single event, claiming titles in the 100m, 200m, women's 4x100m relay and the new mixed 4x100m relay. She had stated that her intention was to become "iconic". She joins Nuala McGovern to discuss her sporting achievements. BBC Sport correspondent Jane Dougall also joins Nuala to discuss the other female successes of the championships, including Dina Asher-Smith, who is now the most decorated athlete in European Championships history. In tonight's BBC Panorama, reporter Krupa Padhy has been investigating the Child Maintenance Service. For separated parents, child maintenance payments can help cover essential expenses, from childcare costs to the weekly food shop. But BBC Panorama has spoken to parents who say they are missing out on thousands of pounds they are owed. Some say mistakes within the system have pushed them to breaking point. Krupa joins Nuala to discuss the findings, alongside Katy,…

Five years after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, we hear how it has changed women’s lives in the country and beyond. Anita Rani speaks to 21-year-old Purvin Juma who fled to the UK from Afghanistan in 2021 and the human rights activist Shaharzad Akbar. The Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz won three Grammys for her 2024 album Revolución diamantina, and this week saw the work's UK premiere at the BBC Proms. Gabriela joined Nuala McGovern to discuss how this work was inspired by Mexico’s 2019 Glitter Revolution, the nationwide feminist protests sparked by the rape of a teenage girl by four police officers, during which activists covered Mexico City’s security chief in pink glitter. Dr Amanda Cole found out she had Tourette syndrome in her twenties. Now a professor of sociolinguistics at the University of Cambridge, Dr Cole joins Nuala to discuss her decision to share her diagnosis with her students. A serial sex attacker who had a 'morbid fascination' with sex has been jailed for the rest of his life after he…

Five years on since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, we hear how it has changed women’s lives in the country and beyond. Anita Rani speaks to BBC World Service journalist Mahjooba Nowrouzi in Kabul, and human rights activist Shaharzad Akbar. We’ll also hear from 21-year-old Purvin Juma who left Afghanistan in 2021 and fled to the UK. Pregnancy, motherhood, fertility treatment: why are some female entrepreneurs keeping major life events secret? The founder Eshita Kabra joins us to discuss the culture of life editing and whether women still feel they have to choose between business success and family life. We also hear from Emmie Faust from Female Founders Rise, which supports female entrepreneurs. A chance discovery in an attic has revealed that the Booker Prize-winning novelist Iris Murdoch also had an artistic side. More than 80 of her artworks have been found in a secret room in the attic of her former home, where they had been lying for decades. They include the only self-portrait she is known to have…

A serial sex attacker who had a 'morbid fascination' with sex has been jailed for the rest of his life after he was found guilty of murdering two women and raping a third. 40-year-old Simon Levy killed Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later. Earlier that year, he raped a third woman in the same Tottenham car park where Wilkins was later found dead. Levy will never be released but his sentence comes after police and the Crown Prosecution Service apologised over a series of disastrous decisions that left him free to roam the streets. To discuss the implications of this case, Anita Rani is joined by deputy assistant commissioner Helen Millichap, director of the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection, and author and journalist Joan Smith. Events of the past are often recounted through facts and dates but how do those legacies play out in the years, decades and generations that follow? Fauzia Musa joins Anita to discuss her debut novel,…

One of the most spectacular solar eclipses the UK has seen for decades is taking place this evening. The extraordinary celestial event will see the Moon move across the face of the Sun, creating a partial solar eclipse across the UK. Dr Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford, and Zara Gray, an amateur eclipse chaser discuss the phenomenon. There are now 30 million more men than women in China due to China's one-child policy and that has led to many single men desperate to find a wife. But desperation can also make people vulnerable to exploitation. The authorities in China are warning of a rise in marriage fraud as scammers target those single men. Nuala is joined by the BBC China Correspondent Laura Bicker and Times columnist and author of the Chinese Whispers Substack Cindy Yu Britain's star athlete Keely Hodgkinson is competing in the women's 800m at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. She is in the semi-finals tomorrow, with the final taking place on Friday. Team…

Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz won three Grammys for her 2024 album Revolución diamantina, and this week sees the work's UK premiere at the BBC Proms, when conductor Gustavo Dudamel leads the second of two LA Philharmonic Proms on Wednesday. Gabriela joins Nuala in the studio to discuss her career and how this work was inspired by Mexico’s 2019 Glitter Revolution, the nationwide feminist protests sparked after the rape of a teenage girl by four police officers, during which activists famously covered Mexico City’s security chief in pink glitter. A hospital in a rural area of England has suspended its maternity services from today because of unsafe levels of staffing. Instead of going to the North Devon District hospital in Barnstaple, women in labour will have to travel more than 50 miles to Exeter. More than 15,000 people have signed a petition against the plans that was initiated by the Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon, Ian Roome. He joins presenter Nuala McGovern along with Jemima Knight who is…