Standard Issue Podcast

Hate crimes are on the rise, but are far from a new phenomenon. Many of us will remember the high-profile murder of 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster in 2007, after she and her boyfriend, Rob, were brutally attacked by five boys, seemingly for being "alternative". Sophie's murder has recently inspired a major storyline on Coronation Street, so Jen caught up with Sophie's mum, Dr Sylvia Lancaster OBE, t...

An extra podcast? You are welcome, you lucky, lucky people.  We’ve teamed up with Carte Noire, makers of delicious coffee and big proponents of the French art of living, to celebrate the joy of living life to the full. We’re also huge fans of YOU DO YOU, MATE! so in this episode we chat about what that means to us. For Jen, it’s cycling across America, for Mick, it’s having a nice sit down and a s...

How has the pandemic affected attitudes towards Asians in the UK? And how useful a descriptor is the word Asian anyway? This week, Hannah chats to writer Ava Wong Davies about this and her episode of Future Theatre's new Fully Amplified podcast. With the Olympics in full flow, Jen's been on the blower to former European, World, Commonwealth and Olympic track cycling champion Jo Rowsell about the s...

Who is to blame for a lack of Blue Plaques for women in London? In a way, it's all of us, as English Heritage rely on the public for nominations. In this Chops, Hannah chats to Anna Eavis, curatorial director at English Heritage, about attempts to celebrate and commemorate more women. Ellen Craft is one of the women being honoured with a Blue Plaque this year and so her nominator, Dr Hannah-Rose M...

Splish, splash, we were… having a bath? Nah, swimming the Bristol Channel more like. Not Mick, Hannah and Jen – OBVS! – but the Henley Mermaids are undertaking this epic open-water challenge to raise cash for the Sunrise charity for brain conditions. Three fifths of them chat to Jen about the whats, whys and hows, as well as the many joys of being self-defined “middle-aged ladies”.  Mick and Hanna...

Helen Thorn's new book Get Divorced, Be Happy is an account of what she’s learned over a pretty big year, a sharing of the best tips she’s picked up along the way, a huge hug for anyone going through similar and a clink of the fizz glass to female friendship. It is *hugely* uplifting.  In this Chops, the Australian half of the Scummy Mummies chats to our Mick about self-reclamation, getting throug...

How are we in July already? Who knows, but if you're not planning on watching the Olympics this month, maybe you'd like to know what TV to get into your eyes and what to avoid. In this episode, Hannah and Mick finally catch up with The Nevers and tuck into the second half of Lupin, while Jen's been watching Sex/Life and it's important to point out that we didn't make her. Jen and Hannah chat about...

Ever wondered if the economy is built for men and whether or not that might be doing us all a massive disservice? You’d be right, says financial journalist Katrine Marçal. She chats to Mick about Mother of Invention, her excellent new book shining a light on how understanding the consequences of sexism in our economy could be what saves us all.    Ahead of this summer's Paralympics, disability rig...

Last year marked 200 years since the birth of Anne Bronte and then, well, you know the rest. But the good people at The Bronte Parsonage aren't going to let a global pandemic rob her of a celebration and its exhibition dedicated to Anne is back in business. So Hannah got on the Zoom with events officer Lauren Livesey to chat about why the youngest Bronte is absolutely not "a lesser one", why The T...

How much sport is too much sport? Let's find out. In this week's podcast, Jen is trying to compress Wimbledon, the Euros and the Olympics into one Jenny Off The Blocks and it's a valiant effort, if we do say so ourselves. She's also been chatting to author Zen Cho about representations of Malaysia, haunting grannies, and her new book Black Water Sister. Cinemas need bums on seats, so Hannah's been...

After four years of being constantly yelled at by Donald Trump, covid reports aside, it’s been eerily quiet since 46th US President Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20 this year.  Independence Day seems the perfect time to have a look at how Biden’s doing, what’s currently going down in Washington and what the future may hold, and so Mickey and Hannah got on the Zoom with leading UK journalist...

It's our resident film buff Yosra Osman's pick this month, and she's shamed Mick, Hannah and Jen by being the first to choose a film with a female director. Yosra's a big fan, but what do Hannah and Mick make of Amy Heckerling's iconic teen rom-com, Clueless? Is it a yes please or a *makes W with thumbs and forefingers* whatevah? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast....

CATS. What could be better, eh? Well, how about cats + excellent comedian Suzi Ruffell? Exactly! This week, Hannah catches up with Suzi to chat cats. And if you need more info than that 1. Why, what’s wrong with you? And 2. Because in Suzi’s new Radio 4 show, My Cat, The Judge, she and her cat Velma embark on a scientific quest to find out if cats and humans can ever truly understand each other. M...

Sometimes a book has you nodding along so furiously, you give yourself neck ache. That’s what happened when our Mickey read Girlhood, Melissa Febos’s collection of eight personal essays examining what it means to come as age as a woman and how the hell we stop landing girls with baggage they’ll carry with them for life. Mick chats to Melissa about patriarchy attacks, why it’s so difficult for girl...

If you’re baffled by computers and the like, you’re absolutely not on your own – but there's hope! This week, Mick catches up with Dr Sue Black to chat about computer science, why it’s a good idea to know at least a little bit about this witchcraft, and how Sue's new podcast, 100 Moments That Rocked Computer Science, can help you do just that.  With a referendum about to take place in Gibraltar –...

At 27 years old, queen of chicken shop chat Amelia Dimeldonberg has been dominating content creation for the best part of a decade. As she launches Who Cares?, her new series for UKTV and Dave, she chats to Jen about capturing the mood of the nation, launching her own production company, the enigma that is Big Narstie, and Olivier Giroud's facial hair. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/...

There's loads of meaty drama to get your teeth into this month, as we chat about the last episodes of Mare of Easttown, as well as Time, The Underground Railroad, The Beast Must Die and Fargo 4. But there is time for some comedy too, because we've been watching Motherland and Inside No 9. And for those of you wondering if Inside No 9 really is a comedy, we talk about that too. Tuck in! Support thi...

It's Refugee Week, so Mickey has been on the Zoom with Agnes Tanoh and Sam Hudson from Women For Refugee Women about how Yarl’s Wood is a prison not sanctuary, the plight of refugee women in the UK, and the fight to halt the building of a new detention centre in County Durham. Euro 2020 is finally underway, so Jen chats to Scotland Women's football manager and BBC Sport pundit, Shelley Kerr. With...

Mary Wollstonecraft is the subject of Samantha Silva’s latest book, Love And Fury, an historical fiction reanimating the life and legacy of arguably the world’s first feminist. And what a life. Samantha chats to Mickey about being an 18th Century radfem, why Wollstonecraft is still all-too relevant today, the importance of women – obvs! – and *that* Newington Green statue.  Support this show http:...

Curtis Sittenfeld’s latest novel, Rodham, imagines an alternative history for Hillary Clinton – one in which she never married Bill – and she chats to Hannah about how exactly you go about blending fact and fiction, the highs and lows of 2016, and that time Hannah predicted a tit explosion in a political debate.  Rubbish research, wandering wombs and the ol’ “women are making shit up” come into pl...

Best-selling author Jane Thynne's upcoming novel, Widowland, was inspired by reactions to Jane herself, after the death of her husband, fellow best-selling scribe Philip Kerr. She chats to Hannah about Widowland, and why some alternative histories are closer to reality than we might think, as well as the status of widows, in the past and today. Jane also chats refreshingly openly about her experie...

Ever read a book and thought, "I'd love it if (child I know) could read it, but it's still a bit old for them?" Well, Victoria Hislop has solved that problem with at least one of those books, rewriting her novel The Island, as Maria's Island, a book for kids. Jen caught up with her to find out more, and also learned a lot about why leprosy is still a real problem in some parts of the world. Hannah...

It’s hard for teenage girls to make their voices heard at the best of times, let alone in the midst of a global pandemic. This week Mick chats to playwright and co-director of Illumine Theatre, Lisa Parry, who's written an excellent play, The Merthyr Stigmatist, about just this. They also talk about small-town Wales, and that time a cockatiel decapitated the baby Jesus.    Prepare for your mind to...

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Misuse of Drugs Act, so Hannah's been on the Zoom to Jane Slater, of the campaign group Transform Drugs, to talk about where and why reform is needed. They discuss the pressure UK drugs laws put on the justice system, prisons and health services, as well as communities and individuals, why we have fallen so far behind other countries when it comes to ma...

What have the Greek myths ever done for us? Loads, it turns out, as writer, broadcaster, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes explains to Mickey in this week’s podzine. They chat about how the Classics still resonate, why they’re for everyone, and how the women in Greek myth have been given short shrift by (relatively) modern interpreters. What a surprise, eh? We can all agree that panic attacks...