Great Women Podcast

In this episode of The Great Women Podcast, we speak to Charlotte Hurst — chiropractor, endurance athlete and the first British woman with Type 1 diabetes to complete the Marathon des Sables. Charlotte shares the extraordinary story of being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as an adult after training for an Ironman, the fear and confusion of those early days, and how she went from lying on the floor...

In this episode of The Great Women Podcast , we speak to Hillary Graves, founder of Little Dish, about her journey from a marketing career in New York to building one of the UK's leading children's food brands. Hillary shares how she identified a gap in the market for nutritious, convenient meals for children and the challenges of creating awareness for a new category. She discusses the importance...

In this episode of The Great Women Podcast, we’re joined by Laura Palmer and Jessie Sullivan, founders of Pellerin — the independent publishing house challenging the traditional publishing model and rethinking what long-term support for authors should look like. They discuss why so many writers are failed by the industry’s “feast or famine” approach, how discoverability really works in the age of...

What do you do after being told at 16 you're not destined for greatness? If you're Jo Fairley, you become the UK's youngest magazine editor at 23, launch an iconic ethical chocolate brand from your Portobello flat, and just... keep going. In this episode of The Great Women Podcast, we're joined by the co-founder of Green & Black's, the woman who helped put organic, Fairtrade chocolate on the m...

Most of us grew up with little honest talk about sex — while distorted portrayals in p*rn became the default education for an entire generation. In this powerful episode, Cindy Gallop explains how taboo-driven sex education and unrestricted pornography are shaping unhealthy attitudes toward intimacy, consent, and connection. After a successful career in advertising, Cindy Gallop founded MakeLoveNo...

We’re joined by Katie Waldegrave - a passionate advocate for better education and fostering. Katie shares her journey from classroom teacher to founding three impactful charities: First Story alongside William Fiennes, Now Teach with Lucy Kellaway, and her latest venture, Now Foster with Laurie Kilby. The conversation explores the challenges and opportunities within both the education and fosterin...

In this inspiring episode Renee McGregor, a leading sports dietitian with over 25 years of experience, shares her journey from NHS pediatrics to working with elite athletes, offering a fresh perspective on nutrition, RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sport) and wellbeing. From mindfulness to the impact of social media, this conversation with Renee McGregor challenges toxic health narratives and...

Join us for an insightful conversation with Kristine Beese, founder of Untangle Money, as we explore the gender wealth gap and the unique financial challenges women face. From career breaks and caregiving to pension gaps and longer life expectancy, Kristine Beese unpacks the structural factors shaping women’s financial outcomes — and why traditional systems often fall short. She also shares practi...

Amaka Okafor traces her journey from growing up in Birmingham to carving out a powerful presence on the West End and on Netflix. She reflects on how her cultural heritage has shaped her identity and creative voice, and how early experiences in community theatre ignited both her passion and sense of purpose as a performer. Amaka shares candid insights into the realities of the acting industry—highl...

In this episode, we speak to Charlotte Hill OBE, CEO of The Felix Project, about leadership, impact, and the realities of balancing a high-pressure role with motherhood. Charlotte Hill shares what true leadership looks like in practice—not just setting direction, but rolling up your sleeves and making things happen. In just over three years, she has overseen extraordinary growth, helping the organ...

Before Johnny Mercer decided to run for Parliament, Felicity Mercer had no background in politics at all . Yet she quickly found herself at the heart of it — becoming the wife and campaign manager of a future MP and experiencing the intense highs and devastating lows of political life firsthand, including facing online abuse and personal threats. But her story doesn’t end there. Since stepping awa...

What does it really take to turn a kitchen experiment into a purpose-led brand stocked across the UK? In this episode, we sit down with Lisa Puddle, co-founder of MOMO Kombucha, to unpack how she transformed small-batch home brewing into one of the country’s most respected kombucha companies - and a certified B Corp. Leaving behind a career in fashion marketing, Lisa and her husband Josh began bre...

We are joined by Tracy Edwards, a pioneering sailor who made history as the first woman to skipper an all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Race. Tracy shares her remarkable journey, from her challenging childhood marked by loss and rebellion to her ground breaking achievements in sailing. She recounts the scepticism she faced, the triumphs of her crew aboard Maiden, and the subsequent...