The Conversation

Two mothers who lost their sons to gun violence meet up with Kim Chakanetsa in New York. This is the first of a month-long series of Conversations with women in the United States, from Alabama to San Francisco. Nicole Hockley's son Dylan was six when an armed man burst into Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, killing 26 children and adults. It remains the deadliest school shooting in US...

Two women trying to get into the mind of the serial killer talk to Kim Chakanetsa about the craft of crime fiction. We hear what they're most afraid of, how writing about grim subjects has altered their outlook on life and whether women are particularly good at this genre. Patricia Cornwell is probably the best known female crime writer in the world. Credited with creating the 'forensic thriller',...

Models challenging perceptions of female beauty talk to Kim Chakanetsa about how the industry is becoming more diverse, why they decided to take up modelling in the first place, and how to maintain that all-important inner confidence. Alex Bruni, originally from Italy, did not start modelling until she was in her late 40s. It was when people began to compliment her on her long, grey hair that she...

Two of the strongest women in the world join Kim Chakanetsa to explain what it's like to be able to out-lift most men. Kristin Rhodes has muscled her way to America's Strongest Woman status seven times. A mother and child-care provider from San Diego, for the last decade she has reigned supreme nationally, and has set three women's world records for strength. When she started out, she was competin...

Two leading female make-up artists speak to Kim Chakanetsa on the power of powder to create looks, moods and characters. Alex Box is a British internationally-renowned fashion make-up artist. Her work is artistic, colourful and unique. Alex's background is in fine art, and she uses that as an inspiration to constantly push the boundaries of her work. Charu Khurana is the first official female make...

Talented women cricketers from the West Indies and New Zealand chat to Kim Chakanetsa about how they've gone from playing cricket with the boys as kids to record-breaking achievements with their teams. Merissa Aguilleira is from Trinidad and plays for the West Indies women's side. As well as a six year stint as team captain, Merissa contributed to their success in becoming Twenty20 World Champions...

Women who make wine in Argentina and Italy talk to Kim Chakanetsa about the labour and love that goes into a great glass of wine. Susana Balbo has been making a name for herself in the wine world for over 30 years. She was the first woman in Argentina to graduate with a degree in winemaking, and in 1999 she launched her own label in her hometown, Mendoza. She was also the first woman president of...

Female stars of YouTube in India and the US swap tips for success with Kim Chakanetsa. Shruti Arjun Anand was a 'computer geek' who developed a passion for make-up and beauty, and decided to vlog about it for an Indian audience. She is now a top online video star in her country, and one of her most popular videos is how to make a pimple disappear overnight. Shruti's personal life features too - sh...

What does it take to run a glossy magazine? Two editors speak to Kim Chakanetsa about celebrities, gossip and the power of true life stories. Betty Irabor launched her magazine, Genevieve, in Lagos 13 years ago, with the aim of inspiring other women to believe in themselves. Her publication is described as Nigeria's leading inspirational and lifestyle magazine. She's even got her daughter involved...

Two women who've escaped forced marriage and now fight for the rights of other victims talk to Maryam Maruf about how they've coped after being ostracised by their families. Most people look forward to their wedding day: not Jasvinder Sanghera. She grew up in a large Sikh family in Derby, UK and was set to marry a much older man. Instead, aged just 16, she ran away from her home. Her family disown...

Women who have opened up new horizons for tourists, in the sunny western cape of South Africa and the high mountain trails of Nepal. Laura Ndukwana runs popular tours of two townships in Cape Town. She grew up and still lives in Gugulethu township, and believes that tourists should see both sides of this beautiful city, which contains very rich and very poor areas. Her tours involve walking and me...

Two women fighting to educate girls in Afghanistan and Kenya talk to Emily Webb about the ingenious ideas they've come up with to deal with opposition from men in the community. Imagine searching classrooms for bombs before the start of every school day: that's the reality for Razia Jan who decided to open a school for girls in a village in rural Afghanistan. Razia had lived a comfortable life in...

Two world-renowned pianists from Venezuela and Georgia talk to Kim Chakanetsa about their personal and musical journeys. Gabriela Montero grew up in Venezuela and could pick out a tune on a toy piano before she could speak. She made her concert debut aged eight and has gone on to become an award-winning and best-selling performer, who played at the inauguration of President Obama in 2009. Gabriela...

Steering a small boat across oceans by yourself - why do it? Kim Chakanetsa meets two women who have been alone at sea for months - and they chat about encountering sharks, avoiding pirates and having to call their mums. Roz Savage is the first woman to have rowed solo across three oceans - the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian. She had no background as an adventurer and in fact was a UK management con...

Treading the boards with two musical theatre directors from Nigeria and Pakistan. Kim Chakanetsa discusses the hunt for local talent, the emotional journey of opening night and running a tight ship in rehearsals. Nigerian theatre director and producer Bolanle Austen Peters has re-ignited Nigeria's passion for their culture through her highly successful musicals focused on local stories using local...

Sorting out the messy business of divorce, in France and India. Veronique Chauveau is a divorce lawyer based in Paris, where she's been practising for more than 30 years. The bulk of her work is with the rich and famous, but she also finds time for a 'reality check' through taking on international child abduction cases. And she is an undisputed expert in jam making! Vandana Shah is a divorce lawye...

Space Scientists from the UAE and the UK discuss the missions they're involved in and what they mean to them. Sarah Amiri is the lead scientist for the UAE's Mars Mission. Their plan is to send an unmanned spacecraft, the 'Hope', to reach Mars in 2021, where it will provide unprecedented data on the Martian climate, and also send a message to the youth of the region that there are paths available...

Feminism is not known for being funny but we're hoping to change that on The Conversation this week as two feminist stand up comedians go head to head to explore the funny in feminism. They are Aditi Mittal, one of India's top stand-up comedians today and Zahra Noorbakhsh, one half of the internationally acclaimed podcast #GoodMuslimBadMuslim. Also starring a live studio audience of young and alar...

Two women who get inside Presidents' heads, tell Kim Chakanetsa how they turn their bosses' thoughts and ideas into powerful oratory. Sarada Peri is Special Assistant and Senior Speechwriter to President Obama. She says a good speech writer is like a ghost, and that her job is really to inhabit the President's mind on any given topic. For her, the goal isn't to emulate what he sounds like, it's to...

In 2002, the French Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt became perhaps one of the best-known hostages in the world when she was kidnapped and held for over six years, deep in the Colombian jungle, by the Farc or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Watching Ingrid's emotional release on TV in 2008, was a young Canadian journalist called Amanda Lindhout. A month later she herself was taken ho...

Azeri journalist Khadija Ismayilova became the subject of an international release campaign last year when she was arrested and detained by her government, and her cause was taken up by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney. Khadija had been delving into the President's family businesses, and published allegations of extensive embezzlement of oil funds. She spent 18 months in prison before being given...

Get your dancing shoes on because this week Kim Chakanetsa brings together two supremely talented ballroom dancers who between them have a pile of trophies. We talk about the glamour, romance, athleticism and also the rivalries, injuries and tears that go on behind the scenes. South African dancer Oti Mabuse has been Latin American dance champion in South Africa eight times and she is currently gr...

Can you beat the so-called 'curse' of the child performer? Maryam Maruf brings together two women who grew up on camera - the American star of the films Matilda and Mrs Doubtfire, and a South African youth TV presenter. At six years old Mara Wilson was playing Robin Williams's daughter in Mrs Doubtfire, then she bagged the leading role in the film version of Roald Dahl's Matilda. For a few years s...

How do you feel about graffiti and street art? Is it a democratic form of creative expression, or an eyesore, a public nuisance, that gets your blood boiling? These are questions that Kim Chakanetsa puts to her two guests today. Olga Alexopoulou lives in Turkey but is originally from Greece. She has a master's degree in Fine Art from Oxford University but she likes to paint on walls, big walls. Sh...

When you are involved in the race to shed light on some of our biggest scientific questions, does your gender matter? Kim Chakanetsa brings together two successful female life scientists at the new world-leading Crick Institute in London. They are both leading ground-breaking research in their respective fields, and are joined by young women from Camden School for Girls who are considering a caree...