One to One

Rachel Johnson is fascinated by the idea that women are judged more harshly than men on their parenting choices. In this first episode of two One to Ones, she meets Susanna Thomas, an egyptologist living and working in Cairo, whose twin girls live in the UK with her brother and his wife. Rachel sent her own three children to boarding school and she wants to explore the emotional cost of 'outsourci...

Jay Brave is a spoken word artist and entrepreneur who doesn't identify as "black", arguing that an understanding of ethnic background is far more important than race. But actress, director and fitness instructor Kelechi Okafor has an almost opposite approach to identity and is proud to be, and to identify as, "black". Here they meet and discuss why they think the way they do, what their experienc...

Decca Aikenhead explores how the loss of a parent effects a child. Decca herself was nine when her mother died of cancer, and three years ago, her partner drowned suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving her with their two young sons. She has had to raise them on her own and help them cope with his death. She talks to Sandra, who lost both her father and her husband suddenly, about what happens to child...

The Olympic rower, Helen Glover, speaks to Kriss Akabusi about 'life after gold'. Helen Glover is one of our most successful athletes. In a life devoted to rowing, she has won a phenomenal 21 Olympic, World and European gold medals. But now that she is considering retirement, a life away from competitive rowing feels as daunting as it is liberating. In this programme she speaks to Kriss Akabusi MB...

Decca Aikenhead explores being bereaved as a child. This week, she talks to Bridget, who, like Decca herself, lost her Mum to cancer when she was young. Decca wonders whether having time to prepare for a death makes bereavement for children easier or harder. Cruse Bereavement Care: www.cruse.org.uk Child Bereavement UK: https://childbereavement.org .

The Olympian, Helen Glover, speaks to world-class badminton player, Gail Emms, about the difficult time she has had since retiring from sport. Helen Glover is one of our most successful athletes. In a life devoted to rowing, she has won a phenomenal twenty one Olympic, World and European gold medals. But now she is contemplating retirement. And she is discovering that looking to the future - towar...

The Olympic rower, Helen Glover, speaks to Dame Kelly Holmes about 'life after gold' - how to cope after retiring from sport. Helen Glover is one of our most successful athletes; in a life devoted to rowing she's won a phenomenal 21 Olympic, World and European gold medals. But now that she's considering retirement, a future away from competitive rowing seems as daunting as it is liberating. She wo...

Comedy writer Sian Harries and columnist and broadcaster Grace Dent discuss that strange taboo for women - ambivalence towards motherhood. Should Sian make the decision to have a baby or not to? And she wonders will she regret somewhere down the line not having them. She and Grace talk about how other people can make you feel when you haven't got children. As the successful writer of programmes li...

Comedy writer Sian Harries and Isy Suttie discuss that strange taboo - women's ambivalence towards having children. Why is it that you're supposed to want to have children, what does it mean if you're really not sure that you do, and why it is that so many people feel they have the right to tell her she's wrong to feel the way she does? Sian Harries has written comedy for The Now Show, Greg Davies...

Journalist and mother Samantha Simmonds meets Nicki Karet who like Samantha has children who frequently compete against one another and often over the most trivial things to explore how these situations arise, how intense they can become and the ways in which Nicki tries to deal with them. Producer Sarah Blunt.

When she was two years old, Joanna Briscoe's life as a single child changed forever when her mother came home with a new baby in her arms. From that moment, Joanna's early childhood was over-shadowed by the rivalry with her brother for her mother's attention. Whilst her brother rapidly grew stronger and could be more physically aggressive, Joanna fought back with her tongue. In this programme, she...

Journalist and broadcaster Samantha Simmonds has two sons who compete with one another "over everything". It's something she thinks much about and wants to explore more. She speaks to Alison Pike, Professor of Child and Family Psychology about why sibling competition develops, how it can be channelled positively, and the potential long term effects. Is it such a bad thing? Producer Sarah Blunt.

Broadcaster Peter Curran talks to guests about the Northern Ireland they left behind - they grew up there but then came over to mainland UK. With them he explores how they perceive the people and the politics, now that they don't live there, and how their childhood affected their own world view.

Broadcaster Peter Curran talks to guests about the Northern Ireland they left behind - they grew up there but then came over to mainland UK. With them he explores how they perceive the people and the politics, now that they don't live there, and how their childhood affected their own world view. Peter first met Fiona Murphy when the two of them had recently arrived in Brixton from North Belfast in...

Does being in nature aid our mental health? Isabel Hardman, Assistant Editor of The Spectator, discusses with Dr Alan Kellas, a psychiatrist who advises the Royal College of Psychiatry on the subject. Isabel struggled with depression, and found that developing an interest in plants and working outside has helped her to recover. Meeting Alan in the woods, they talk of exercising outdoors, of watchi...

Isabel Hardman of The Spectator asks whether growing food can improve our mental health. John Kennington or 'JK', as he's known, is a recovering alcoholic. He shares his life story with Isabel at Feed Bristol, a project that reconnects city dwellers with nature, while she explains how she learned to manage her own from being outdoors and growing plants. Producer: Mark Smalley.

DJ and radio presenter Trevor Nelson grew up in London and came to find out he had half siblings on the Caribbean island of St Lucia. However, for Trevor and his three sisters who were raised by his parents in the UK, this was something that didn't really have an impact on his family life until much later when Trevor finally met his half siblings. It's something that has fascinated Trevor all his...

Mark Steel is obsessed with sport. Obsessed! And he's certain there's a strong link between sport and stand-up comedy - risk taking, dealing with a hostile crowd, performance anxiety. In this programme he muses on his theory with the snooker player known as 'The Entertainer', John Parrott. For this series of three programmes, he also meets sports psychologist and former figure skater, Dr. Faye Did...

Mark Steel's guest this week is impressed by his flow-state, but would like him to reduce his dependence on ironing. She is sports psychologist, Dr. Faye Didymus, from Leeds Beckett University. Mark believes that his two addictions have much in common - they are stand-up comedy (his job) and sport (watching, playing, talking about it). He's sure that there is a link between the way comedians and s...

Mark Steel has two addictions: stand-up comedy (his job) and sport (watching, playing, talking about it). He's certain that the two have much in common - risk taking, performance anxiety, dealing with crowd hostility and more. His guest this week is former Premiership and England footballer, Graeme Le Saux, whose strategies for coping with playing at the highest level are more similar than you mig...

Single mum, Miranda Rae meets father of three, Andy Hill, to explore the challenges of being a single dad. Producer Sarah Blunt.

Miranda Rae meets Gill Sargent to explore the challenges of being a single mum with a child of dual heritage - something they both have in common. Life for any single parent is far from easy, but whilst trying to raise her son, Gill has also had to endure prejudice and racism in addition to exhaustion, isolation and homelessness. Producer Sarah Blunt.

Miranda Rae is a single mum with a young son who is 9 years old. Life is far from easy for any single parent, but in this programme Miranda meets mother-of-three, Josephine Pepper, who found herself on her own with 3 children under the age of three, when her husband died of cancer. Despite her grief at the death of her husband, Josephine's story is one of remarkable courage, resilience and joy in...

Lucy Mangan avoids responsibility wherever possible. She's got cats instead of dogs because she can't face a needy pet; she only has one child 'and that's more than enough.' But she's always been fascinated by those who run towards responsibility rather than away from it. Today she talks to Reverend Claire Herbert about a life dedicated to helping others. One of the first women priests to be ordai...

Lucy Mangan feels she avoids responsibility whenever possible. She has cats instead of dogs because she can't face a needy pet; she only has one child which is 'more than enough'. But she's always been fascinated by those who run towards responsibility rather than away from it. She talks to Bea Harvie, a post-graduate student, whose father got ill when she was thirteen. Bea chose to take on a lot...