Standard Issue Podcast

Inspired by her own experiences of autoimmune diseases, writer Gillian Best decided to delve deeper into the topic of pain. Her book, Chronic: Understanding Pain, explores what pain is, how to treat it, and the research being done to improve the lives of the 1.5billion people across the world living with chronic pain.  Jen chats to Gillian about chronic pain, how to navigate it, its impact on wome...

Ryan Coogler’s much glazed box-office smash is Yosra’s pick this month. It’s a vampire horror about life and times in the Jim Crow South with a banging Blues soundtrack and a lot to say about cultural appropriation, colonialism and the Black experience. Does its midway handbrake turn work or is it too reminiscent of a film Mick and Hannah would rather forget? Do the not one but two Michael B Jorda...

With Labour suffering huge losses in last week’s local elections, Hannah and Jen look at the wholesale batshittery of the reaction to it, from the party itself and the media, as well as misinformation and the women (allegedly) begging Nigel Farage to “save them”. Thank God for the nuns, and the slightly safer territory of end-of-season football and tennis’s clay season. Learn more about your ad ch...

Take off all your clothes and climb into bed with your female pal, as David Lynch’s twisty neo-noir nightmare-dream that tickles the seedy underbelly of Hollywood gets Rated or Dated. Join Mick, Hannah and Jen, as they ask questions, such as ‘what the fuck is happening?’, ‘who cares?’ and ‘WHY?’ about a film some regard as one of the greatest movies of the 21st century. Is that a dolphin? What’s i...

Professor Clare McGlynn is fighting the good fight when it comes to tackling the growing harms of extreme porn. She chats to Hannah about her new book, Exposed: The Rise of Extreme Porn and How We Fight Back, not being cool with the kids and how we're all having worse sex because of porn, whether we watch it or not. * You can buy Clare's book here * More info on ad-free listening and bonus content...

The family courts in England and Wales are going through some changes. In particular, a move to a 'child-focused' approach – designed to minimise trauma and cut a huge backlog of cases. But what does that really mean? Weren’t the family courts already child-focused? And will the changes really help victims of domestic abuse? Jen got on the Zoom with Laura Naser, award-winning partner in family law...

Laura Jackson, Deputy Head of Travel at the Times and the Sunday Times, joins Hannah to talk about the very many questions facing us all right now when it comes to booking a holiday. Where is safe to visit? How are the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East affecting long-haul flights? Should we boycott America? What are the new rules at EU borders? Are anti-tourism protests in Europe here to stay? A...

Nineties Baywatch babe (don’t call her that) Pamela Anderson was ridiculed for her part in David Hogan’s adaptation of Dark Horse Comics’ Barb Wire. But was she unfairly scapegoated for the resulting box office flop? Does it have any feminist credentials? And will Hannah be as delighted as Jen by its unlikely holy matrimony of Diagnosis Murder and Shortland Street? Learn more about your ad choices...

Aged 38, journalist Rose Stokes felt not quite right, in fact, she felt not at all well. Doctors quickly dismissed her concerns as either exhaustion from the demands of her two young children, or – classic! – perimenopause, and it wasn’t until a blood test found Rose to be iron deficient that it all began to make sense. When Rose wrote about her experience for the Guardian, she was inundated with...

Dr Paula Bartley is a women’s historian and author of the new book, Trailblazers: The First Women Elected to Government, in which she uncovers some incredible stories about extraordinary women. She’s chatting to Mick about the (roller coaster) rise of women in global government, the boon of war and revolution when it comes to political equality, and a really impressive nun. Trailblazers is publish...

David Barton, a Southport-based care home owner who preyed on wealthy, elderly residents to fund a lavish lifestyle, was jailed for 21 years in 2018. In today's podcast, Hannah chats to Kate Snell about her new book, The Care Home Swindler, which recounts Barton's case, and why, at a time where we don't always respect the elderly, it remains important. Kate's book is available to buy here: https:/...

If the thought of a rapist having his cock mangled by very sharp plastic teeth is your thing, have we got news for you. We have! In fact, Mick and Jen have got not one, but two positive stories about rape for you this week. Albeit served with a shit sorbet of some truly horrible stats around domestic violence and suicide.  In SOTW, Mick (49-year-old mother of none) is choosing not to judge Cameron...

The ultimate in age-defying relationships turns 55 this year, but how has Hal Ashby's black comedy aged? Starring everybody's favourite manic pixie dream sex pensioner, Ruth Gordon, and soundtracked by the then Cat Stevens - what's not to like? Right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and author Sudi Pigott has spent nearly three decades writing about food and travel. In her new book, Consider the Anchovy: a Journey in Pursuit of the Little Fish With the Big Flavour, she pays homage to one of her favourite ingredients, albeit one she thinks is in need of a rebrand. Jen chats to Sudi about why we should consider the anchovy, 'foodie' culture for the masses, and who in...

When back in 2014, the Guardian published Hilary Mantel’s short story The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, it sparked intense controversy. Critics called it a "distasteful fantasy" and "dangerous nonsense”, while others, our Mickey included, would argue that actually it’s a smart, creative exploration of a polarised political era from a literary heavyweight.  It’s also now a play, with Mantel’s...

Looking for some TV suggestions? We have some. So that worked out well. Join us as we chat about Deadloch, The Pitt, Scarpetta, Euphoria, Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards, Secret Garden, The Dinosaurs, Babies and Bait. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's Jen got in common with some pensioners in Barnet? Find out in this week's BT as she and Hannah talk about women's health, some bad news for women and girls in Myanmar, the "womanosphere", running marathons while pregnant and throwing some moves while middle aged or elderly.  You can read the Standard Issue Substack here: https://standardissuepodcast.substack.com/ The Government's Women's He...

Jonathan Boorman’s epic thesp fest was a big hit at the box office and a surprise watch in the Dunleavy household. The cast list is impressive. The lighting is dark. The dialogue is as clanking as the shiny armour. And the laughs come thick, fast and mostly not on purpose. Did Mick, Hannah and Jen have a good time with all the thrusting, grunting, Arthurian legend and whole load of unexpected Geof...

A space mission that passed the Bechdel test? There’s never been such times! Mick needed no further prompting to get NASA’s finest, Dr Suze Kundu, on the Zoom to chat about bright spot amid the gloom: Artemis II. And not content with that being a feel-good story for the ages, Suze came armed with some other women-centred tales of joy in STEM.  As ever, there’s extra chat for our £5 patreons. And s...

After being raised by parents with addictions, professor of psychology at Maynooth University, Katriona O’Sullivan turned her experiences into bestselling non-fiction book Poor. Her follow-up, Hungry: A Biography of My Body, explores how poverty, and the sexual abuse she endured as a child, have shaped her relationship with her body. Jen chats to Katriona about the vulnerability of neglected child...

Shih-Ching Tsou’s debut feature film caused a stir at Cannes, and tickled many a reviewer’s pickle, but flew under the radar when it landed on Netflix last November. A shame for many reasons, not least because it’s by a woman about women, as the iPhone camera tracks single mum Shu-Fen, and her two daughters – five-year-old I-Jing and university-aged I-Ann – as they try to make a fresh start in the...

Everything is totally normal in America, right? This week, special guest Helen Lewis stops by to talk to Hannah about Trump's war, Hegseth's row with the Pope, AI doom-mongering, the US at 250, and other assorted insanity. Who you gonna call? No really, who? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan’s teen musical comedy gave a well-deserved ribbing to the advertising and music execs of the early ‘00s, as well as teen culture in general. But at what point does this satire become part of the problem? Shall we ask Tara Reid? And what were they putting in Sunny Delight in the late ‘90s? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fascinating story of Elizabeth Allen takes us from East London to a remote woodland cabin, to Hollywood and back, before settling in Coventry, where Compton Verney is exhibiting the artist’s absurd, funny and boldly prophetic work 60 years after her debut. Jen catches up with Ila Colley, Compton Verney’s curator of folk art and the exhibition, Troublemakers and Prophets: Elizabeth Allen and Ot...

A new adaptation of Virginia Woolf's The Waves opens at London's Jermyn Street Theatre next week. Hannah chats to playwright Flora Wilson Brown about the appeal of Woolf to young people, the issues with adapting her work and the loss of “scenes” in the modern world. Grab yourself a ticket here: https://www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/show/the-waves/ Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for e...