Standard Issue Podcast

We're so often told that our "other half" is out there somewhere, but author Tania Hershman thinks she's a full person by herself. A concept that is absolutely in Hannah's wheelhouse. They chat about the joys of being alone, even at this time of year, the "baffling" world of women who don't marry, and Tania's new book, Go On. If you're alone this Christmas and it doesn't fill you with joy, remembe...

The issue of violence against women and girls is depressingly evergreen (see this week’s Bush Telegraph), and one which writer Emma Hickman takes on in her science fiction fairytale podcast, Eliza: A Robot Story. Mick caught up with Emma to chat about why she made a robot the protagonist of the series, what it was like to work in partnership with Manchester Women’s Aid and The Pankhurst Trust, and...

It must be great to have one show on at The Globe. Hannah Khalil has two. In this week's podcast, the writer in residence at London's most famous theatre talks to Hannah about Hakawatis: The Women of the Arabian Nights, which is on at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse until January 14, and The Fir Tree, a reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's classic children's story, which on at the Globe until Dece...

The weather outside is frightful, but TV is so delightful. Well, not all of it, but you know. This month we've been watching The White Lotus, Upright, Granite Harbour, Mammals, Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen, God Forbid and The Patient. And Jen really took one for the team and watched some of Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal. What a trooper! Plus there's a round-up of the best TV...

HOLLA! Our Mick’s got resident music guru Liz Buckley on the request line to chat the majesty, mischief and massive talent that is rap icon Missy Elliott. Why? Well, MISSY ELLIOTT. But also, it’s happy 25th birthday to her debut album Supa Dupa Fly, *and* happy 20th birthday to Under Construction. Inflatable bin bags all round! In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s chatting to England and Harlequins prop...

If you're wondering where you recognise Ruth Sheen from, the answer could be literally anything. This week, she chats to Hannah about Mike Leigh films, Inside No 9, It's A Sin, Unforgotten, acting roles for women over the age of 60, and joining the cast of Strike, which returns to BBC tonight for a fifth series.   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast....

It’ll come as no surprise that our Hannah is a huge Armando Iannucci fan. And The Death of Stalin, his 2017 satire on the brutality and absurdity of tyranny and what happens in the aftermath of, in this case, the death of Soviet monster Joseph Stalin, is a firm favourite. Brimming with trademark Iannucci smarts, wit and creative insults, boasting a dream cast of big names, and darker than the insi...

Everyone does a lot of talking about being "their authentic self" but is that a performance that means they are not really "authentic" at all? This week, Jen poses that question - and many more besides - to journalist Emily Bootle, author of a new book This Is Not Who I Am. Mick's chatting to Takara Small, host of the They Did That podcast, which shines a light on history’s forgotten – or often, u...

Miki Berenyi, probably best known as one of the founding members of late 80s and early 90s alt-rockers Lush, has written a superb, painfully honest, no-holds-barred memoir about her tricky (to put it mildly) childhood and time in Lush and on the Britpop scene.  And so Mickey got on the Zoom to Miki to chat Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me From Success, bands and fallouts, Britpop and misogyny,...

A while ago, Mick made the team watch Love Actually for Rated or Dated and, well, regular – and even irregular – listeners can probably figure out how that went. Given that Richard Curtis’s celluloid toilet bowl of loose stools is currently celebrating another anniversary, it seems a good time to remind women exactly why this film is self harm for the eyes, ears and soul. As Hannah so succinctly p...

Theatre might be making big strides in some areas of inclusion, but how does it look for neurodiverse performers or audience members? Hannah spoke to Liselle Terret*, associate professor of performance at the University of East London, to find out, as they chat about the Access All Areas Theatre Company, and how to better promote and support a wider range of artists.    Hygiene poverty now affects...

With the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities coming up on December 3, Jen jumped on the Zoom with Kate Nash OBE, the woman behind Purple Space, the world’s only networking and professional development hub for disabled employees. They chatted about Kate’s new book Positively Purple: Build an Inclusive World Where People with Disabilities Can Flourish, how employees and colleagues can...

Are we still talking about Brexit? You bet your badgers, we are, because it’s still causing – euphemism warning – mischief all over the political, trade and, well, everything shop. So Mick got on the blower with Naomi Smith, CEO of Best For Britain and co-host of the Oh God, What Now? podcast to talk Brexit fallout, the political upshot of the latest Tory “budget”, and why Best For Britain is camp...

After an eventful series four of everyone's favourite haunted house sitcom, Hannah catches up with two of its stars and co-writers, Jim Howick and Ben Willbond, to talk about sucking off Mary, dealing with grief, fan art, Christmas specials, There She Goes, working with Guillermo del Toro – and more.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

In this month's Outside The Box, we're asking all the important questions. Has The White Lotus set itself too high a bar? Will The English be the first Hugo Blick series Hannah likes? Why didn't anyone tell Jen The Devil's Hour was sci-fi? Does anyone want to watch Charles and Diana's marriage fail - again - in The Crown? And lastly, where are all the lads? (Well, that one's easy to answer, they'r...

The cost of living is dominating conversations around the country, so, in this week's podcast, Jen chats to Helen Barnard, associate director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and director of research and policy at Pro Bono Economics, about assumptions made about poverty. Mick's chatting with Claudia Brewster, course leader of Graphic Design, Creative Advertising and Visual Communication at the U...

This week in the Chops, we’re chatting depression, because – as we’re seemingly constantly told – it’s okay to not be okay and it’s good to talk. But what do those soundbites really mean and how helpful are they for people dealing with depression No stranger to the black dog, Mick got on the Zoom with Maddy Dilley, managing director of The Blurt Foundation, a brilliant social enterprise dedicated...

SIM Ep 788 Flicking #31: West Side Story (1961) Our Yosra Osman isn’t alone in loving 1961’s cinematic musical West Side Story, in which love-at-first-sighters Maria and Tony find themselves entangled in a bitter battle between rival gangs The Jets and The Sharks amid music from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. 60+ years on, with a recent Steven Spielberg revival in the bag, is it a cinemat...

“What’s going on inside our noggins?” is a question we are often terrified to ask, but neuroscientist and Standard Issue favourite Professor Sophie Scott is more than happy to delve right in. She chats to Hannah about "lady brains", the infinite wisdom of post-menopausal killer whales, how chromosomes affect the old grey matter, and her new book, The Brain: 10 Things You Should Know.   In Jenny Of...

Medieval Britain can feel somewhat impenetrable, even for history fans, so thank goodness for Dr Amy Jeffs, writer of the best-seller Storyland and new book Wild: Tales From Early Medieval Britain. She chats to Hannah about the many ways of telling a story, the tie between the individual and the landscape, the weirdness of the Fens and finding hope in a time of hopelessness.  Support this show htt...

The expression "cat lady" comes with a lot of baggage, something writer and podcaster Dawn O'Porter couldn't understand. She talks to Jen about her new book Cat Lady, which challenges stereotypes around the love we have for our pets. They also chat complicated characters, the reality of living in LA, and the ongoing refugee crisis*. Imagine a women-only fitness space that encourages women to stren...

In Essex alone, around 1000 people – predominantly women – were accused of witchcraft between the 1500s to 1800s, as part of the now infamous English witch trials. As the jail where many of the accused were held, Colchester Castle played a key role, and so Colchester Museums have teamed up with the Museum of British Folklore and the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle to create an exhibiti...

Working a four-day week can benefit employees, businesses, the environment and the economy. That's according to Mariam Salman from The Four Day Week Campaign, so Hannah got on the Zoom with her to find out more. Ahead of the NFL match between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Jen gets the lowdown on the match and indeed the sport, from Sky Sports present...

While we’re all distracted by those in power doing the leadership hokey cokey and making the UK a political laughing stock, damaging policy is being pushed through. And it’s outrageous. In September, the Government launched what’s basically an attack on nature, proposing policy that’s a huge threat to the UK’s already rapidly depleting wildlife and explicitly breaking promises it made in its 2019...

If you're trying to escape the chaos on the news, October's Outside The Box has some suggestions of what you should switch on instead. And this month that includes spectres, chefs and a very hot pensioner, because we're chatting about This England, Ghosts, The Old Man, The Bear, The Walk-In and Inside Man.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See ac...