Woman's Hour

In this episode, Woman's Hour's Nuala McGovern introduces a bonus podcast in collaboration with BBC 100 Women. It’s an interview with the award-winning singer-songwriter Raye, who has been named as one of the people on this year's BBC 100 Women list, which celebrates 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.Raye speaks to BBC 100 Women’s Kirsty Grant about her huge success, the abuse she says female artists get for doing well, and her dream of opening a jazz club.You can read more about the women on the BBC 100 Women list here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b086xrtd

The TV presenter Gregg Wallace has denied behaviour of a sexually harassing nature, after 13 people came forward last week with allegations of inappropriate comments. In a video posted on Instagram, he said the accusations had been made by 'a handful of middle-class women of a certain age'. Nuala McGovern is joined by former head of Channel 4 News Dorothy Byrne and the Chair of the Fawcett Society, Baroness Harriet Harman, to discuss.When Daniel Wing was a year old, his mother Tina was murdered. 32 years on, the murder still remains unsolved – but a spotlight is thrown on the case in a new documentary: Who Murdered You, Mum? Nuala is joined by Daniel and barrister Harriet Johnson to talk about what the programme shows in terms of change in fighting violence against women and girls, and what needs to happen next to keep women safe.Professor Nicola Rollock is best known for her academic research and writing on race and society. As a friend of the programme, she approached us to ask to talk about something more

Losing a baby in the early stages of pregnancy can be an extremely painful experience. Having to explain to your employer why you can’t come to work only adds to the difficulty. In the UK, there’s currently no entitlement to time off for miscarriage within the first six months of pregnancy. The Women and Equalities Select Committee is hearing evidence on extending the right to bereavement leave to cover losses up to 24 weeks. Sarah Owen MP, Chair of the Committee and someone who has experienced baby loss, joined Nuala McGovern to discuss. When the Stammer Came to Stay is award-winning author Maggie O’Farrell’s third children’s book. Based on her experience of living with a stammer, it celebrates differences and explores children’s resilience in facing new challenges. She talks to Anita Rani about the book and how her stammer has shaped her life. Why are more young women dying from alcohol-related liver disease than ever before? BBC journalist Hazel Martin, diagnosed with the condition in her early 30s, ha

When the Stammer Came to Stay is award-winning author Maggie O’Farrell’s third book for children. Based on her own experience of living with a stammer, it's a story that celebrates differences and explores the resilience of children as they learn to navigate new and seemingly frightful challenges. She talks to Anita Rani about the book and the impact of her stammer on her life.Gregg Wallace is to step away from presenting MasterChef while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated. Wallace's lawyers say it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature and MasterChef's production company Banijay UK has launched an investigation. To discuss the story, Anita is joined by Katie Razzall, the BBC's Media Editor. Anita also speaks to Emma Bartlett, employment lawyer and partner at CM Murray, to look at some of the issues cases like this raise in terms of reporting allegations of inapproprate behavior in the workplace.In Nigeria scammers posing as doctors are convincing wo

Academy schools were one of the issues that listeners raised during, and since, Woman’s Hour’s special programme investigating the SEND system for children with special education needs and disabilities. We hear the voices of two mums who say their children were let down by their Academy schools for allegedly failing to support their children's SEND needs and Anita Rani discusses SEND support in Academies with Leora Cruddas, CEO of the Confederation of School Trusts which represents more than ¾ of all Academies.Choreographer and intimacy director Lucy Hind has worked on major productions including Girl From the North Country, Oliver, My Fair Lady, Secret Life of Bees and more recently Groundhog Day. Her latest project Spend Spend Spend has just opened at the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester and is the story of the infamous Viv Nicholson who in the 1960’s won today’s equivalent of a few million pounds and went on to spend it all on very public lavish spending-sprees. Lucy explains to Anita why being an inti

Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Joan Armatrading joins Nuala McGovern to discuss her 23rd studio album, How Did This Happen and What Does it Now Mean?Losing a baby in the early stages of pregnancy can be an extremely painful experience. Having to think about what you're going to tell your employer about why you're not able to come to work can compound the difficulty. In the UK you are not entitled to any time off work if you experience miscarriage in the first six months of pregnancy. But today, the Women and Equalities Select Committee is hearing evidence for the case of extending your right to bereavement leave to the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Sarah Owen MP, Chair of that Committee is in the Woman's Hour studio.Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey has spent the last 20 years as an independent crossbench peer in the House of Lords, championing social justice causes such as the fight against modern slavery and promoting ethical fashion. She was also one of the first black women to enter the Lords. In her memo

Judges at the Supreme Court are today considering how women are defined in law in a landmark case brought by Scottish campaigners. It will address what “sex” means legally, and will set out exactly how the law is meant to treat trans people. BBC Scotland Policital Correspondent, Phil Sim, joins Nuala McGovern to explain more.Song writing partnership Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear are making history by becoming the youngest and first female songwriting duo to compose for a Disney feature film in the highly anticipated Moana 2. The Grammy Award-winning pair join Nuala live in the studio to discuss what the songs mean to them, and their career so far.The film Mediha tells the story of a teenage Yazidi girl who was captured by the Islamic State group in the 2014 genocide against the Yazidi people and kept for four years as a sex slave. To help her process her trauma, she has filmed her life and her journey to try and find her missing family members. Mediha herself joins Nuala alongside the director and producer of

The woman who accused the mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor of raping her has won her civil case against him. He has been ordered to pay nearly a quater of a million euros in damages. Mr McGregor says he will appeal. Nuala McGovern speaks to Orla O'Donnell who is the RTE News Legal Affairs Correspondent.A BBC Panorama documentary is out today which asks: Why are more young women dying from alcohol-related liver disease than ever before? The BBC’s Hazel Martin, who’s 32, was diagnosed with the condition. She’s been investigating how she became one of a growing number of young women surprised to discover their social drinking habits had put their lives at risk. Hazel joins Nuala as does Professor Debbie Shawcross, Consultant Hepatologist at Kings College Hospital. Journalist Lili Anolik had already written a book about obscure LA writer Eve Babitz when she read a letter Eve had written but not sent to her sometime friend, the literary superstar Joan Didion. Lili realised that the key to understanding Jo

Oscar-winning Michelle Yeoh’s career has spanned four decades. Starting out as a martial arts actor, she became a key figure in the Hong Kong action scene. But it was her role in James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies that catapulted her into Hollywood. She's since starred in many hits including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the multi-Oscar winning movie - including for her own performance - Everything Everywhere all At Once. Now, she’s in the film adaptation of the musical Wicked. She joined Nuala McGovern live in the studio to discuss it.BBC analysis suggests that the rate at which primary school pupils are being suspended from state schools in England has more than doubled in a decade. Permanent exclusion rates of primary-age pupils have also gone up, by almost 70% in the same period. Campaigners say children excluded from school at a young age experience long-term impacts. It's worth also stating that nearly 90% of those permanently excluded over the past five years also had special educational needs an

Adopted children may be allowed much closer contact with their birth families in the future as part of “seismic” changes recommended in a new report published earlier this month. At the moment family courts set out the level of contact the child will have with their birth parents, usually letters sent via an intermediary. But that could change. Anita Rani hears from two women who were adopted, who share their thoughts on what these changes could mean for adopted children, and Prof Beth Neil who helped to write the report. Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal as Lucius and Connie Nielsen returns to her role as Lucilla. The sequel also includes a female gladiator for the first time, Yuval Gonen plays the role of Arishat. Anita is joined by classicist and author Dr Daisy Dunn and the film critic Larushka Ivan-zadeh to discuss how accurate this portrayal is and the role women play in the film.'I Did Something Bad' is the debut novel by Pyae Moe Thet War. It tells the story of journalist Khin Haymar assigned by Vogue to

Katarina Johnson-Thompson is the double World and double Commonwealth Games heptathon champion. This year she won the Olympic silver medal in Paris, her first ever Olympic medal. Katarina joins Anita Rani to talk about her new book, Unbroken, in which she opens up about the pressures of representing Great Britain as a 19 year old at the London 2012 Olympics, her complex relationship with her mentor-turned-rival Jessica Ennis-Hill, and the relentless resilience and determination she has shown in coming back from career-threatening injuries.BBC analysis suggests that the rate at which primary school pupils are being suspended from state schools in England has more than doubled in a decade. Permanent exclusion rates of primary-age pupils have also gone up, by almost 70% in the same period. Campaigners say children excluded from school at a young age experience long-term impacts. It's worth also stating that nearly 90% of those permanently excluded over the past five years also had special educational needs and d

Yesterday, the closing arguments were made in the trial of Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men accused of raping Gisele Pelicot - a case that has not only shocked France but far beyond that country's borders. To understand what impact the trial has had on women in France Nuala speaks to Blandine Deverlanges, a feminist activist in the region where the trial is taking place who has been attending the trial of Dominique Pelicot. Bethany Hutchison is one of eight female nurses who are taking their NHS Trust to an employment tribunal for allowing a trans woman to use their changing facilities at work.  Bethany speaks to Nuala about why she feels she needed to bring this case, and how she hopes it will be resolved.The Emmy and Golden Globe award winning actor Gillian Anderson has compiled a collection of women's sexual fantasties in her book 'Want'. She tells Nuala why she wanted to work on this project, following her role as Dr Jean Milburn in Sex Education, and also responds to the recent Presidential election

In Lucy Manning’s words, it started with a phone call... A call from a withheld number late at night in October 2022 where the unknown male caller appeared to be masturbating as he made lewd comments about her. And so began what she describes as a two-year ordeal to get police to arrest and charge the man responsible for making those calls. Lucy joins Nuala McGovern in the Woman’s Hour studio.As thousands of farmers gather to protest planned changes in inheritance tax rules for agricultural properties, Nuala asks BBC Farming Today presenter Anna Hill how this is affecting women farmers, who according to the National Farmers' Union make up a majority of the farming workforce in England and Wales.Zainab Johnson, one of America’s freshest voices in stand-up comedy, is making her UK debut this week at London’s Soho Theatre. She joins Nuala to discuss mining her massive family for material, being a gun owner and her thoughts on the recent US election.New Zealand actor Robyn Malcolm joins Nuala to talk about her mo

Oscar-winning Michelle Yeoh’s career has spanned four decades. Starting out as a martial arts actor, she became a key figure in the Hong Kong action scene. But it was her role in James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies that catapulted her into Hollywood. She's since starred in many hits including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the multi-Oscar winning movie - including for her own performance - Everything Everywhere all At Once. Now, she’s in the film adaptation of the musical Wicked. She joins Nuala McGovern live in the studio to discuss it.The Women's Equality Party voted to dissolve the organisation at a special conference this weekend. The political party was launched in 2015 to campaign for gender equality. Citing financial challenges and a changed political landscape, the leadership chose to recommend members vote to close down the party. In an exclusive interview, the two party co-founders - Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig - join Nuala. In a recent article, the author and writer Alice Vincent asks: Wh

A new Woman's Hour series, Forgotten Children, explores the impact on families when one or both parents are sent to prison. Reporter Jo Morris hears from Kerry Wright, who was just 17 and living in Spain with her parents when British police arrived at their door and arrested both of them, from Nan (not her real name), whose daughter received a prison sentence, leaving Nan to care for her five grandchildren and to Emily (not her real name), whose husband was sentenced to prison for domestic abuse. Nuala McGovern also spoke to Sarah Burrows, founder of Children Heard and Seen, a charity supporting children and families with parents or partners serving prison sentences, and Lucy Baldwin who is a research fellow at Durham University and a criminal justice consultant.As a new musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada, with lyrics contributed by the American musician Shaina Taub and music by Elton John, hits London's West End, Anita Rani was joined by the show’s leading ladies, Vanessa Williams, Georgie Buckland

This week Woman’s Hour has featured the Forgotten Children series about the impact on children when a parent is sent to prison. So what do the Government intend to do about the problem? Anita Rani speaks to Labour MP Jake Richards and Conservative MP Richard Holden about the possibility of cross party action on this issue. A video has been going viral since yesterday: New Zealand MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke brought the country’s parliament to a halt by performing a haka in protest at a controversial bill seeking to reinterpret the country's founding treaty with Māori people. Maori journalist Jamie Tahana tells Anita what happened, and what it means for the country. Actor Halle Berry attended a fashion show wearing the same dress she memorably wore while accepting the Oscar for best actress in 2002. Thanks to her role in “Monster’s Ball,” Berry was the first black woman in history to take home the accolade, making the gown — which features a burgundy skirt and sheer bodice adorned with floral appliqué — all

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal death in the UK. Today the House of Lords Preterm Birth Committee have published a report calling on the government to do more to reduce the risks of babies being born prematurely and to improve the lives of those families who are affected. Anita Rani discusses proposed changes with Nadia Leake, who gave birth to twins eleven years ago at just 22 weeks and author of 'Surviving Prematurity,' Caroline Lee-Davey, CEO of the charity Bliss, which supports parents and families of premature or sick babies, and Baroness Laura Wyld, a member of the Preterm Birth Committee.A Georgian heiress and her husband are suing a property developer for over £36 million after buying a mansion and discovering a “moth infestation”… “of extreme proportions”. The couple describe killing up to 100 moths a day, watching them land on their children’s toothbrushes, plates of food and cutlery. And they are now seeking damages including £50,000 for moth-shredded clothes. The property developer

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has resigned, following pressure to stand down over his failure to report prolific child abuser John Smyth. What's the reaction from female leaders in the Church of England? Nuala McGovern speaks to Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek, and Reverend Canon Lucy Davis, Chair of the National Association of Diocesan Advisers in Women’s Ministry.We hear the third part of our week-long series Forgotten Children, which looks at the impact on families when one or both parents serve time in prison. Reporter Jo Morris spoke to Nan (not her real name), whose daughter was sentenced to prison. This left Nan to care for her five grandchildren for two years in her two bedroom house. COP29 - the UN's annual climate conference - is underway in Baku, Azerbaijan. To discuss the issues for women Nuala is joined by Fiona Harvey, the Guardian’s Environment Editor, and Adelaide Lusambili, an associate professor at Africa International University in Kenya, who looks at how climate extremes

Following our reporter Jo Morris' interview yesterday with Kerry as part of our Forgotten Children series, Nuala McGovern investigates the impact on families when one or both parents are sent to prison. She is joined by Sarah Burrows, founder of Children Heard and Seen, a charity supporting children and families with parents or partners serving prison sentences, and Lucy Baldwin who is a research fellow at Durham University and a criminal justice consultant. Laura Bates is best known for her work founding the Everyday Sexism Project and she has written several non-fiction books including Misogynation and Men Who Hate Women. Now she is writing a series of Young Adult novels about an alternative Arthurian legend. The latest is Sisters of Fire and Fury and it asks what if the knight destined to unite Britain was not King Arthur, but a woman? Laura joins Nuala in the Woman’s Hour studio.Back in September, in a BBC documentary and podcast, we heard testimony from more than 20 former Harrods employees who accused

A new Woman's Hour series, Forgotten Children, explores the impact on families when one or both parents are sent to prison. Reporter Jo Morris hears from Kerry Wright, who was just 17 and living in Spain with her parents when British police arrived at their door and arrested both of them. Kerry’s parents were sentenced to prison in the UK, forcing her to leave her studies at an international school in Spain and return to England, uncertain of how to support herself.COP29, the UN's annual climate conference, kicks off today in Baku, Azerbaijan, where leaders from around 200 nations will gather to discuss strategies for limiting climate change. Emiliya Mychasuk, climate editor at the Financial Times, joins Nuala McGovern to talk about the new women’s leadership coalition. Evelyn Forde was the first black female President of the Association of School and College Leaders, awarded an MBE for services to education, and named Times Educational Supplement Headteacher of the Year in 2020. In her book Herstory: A Lead