Standard Issue Podcast

Dr Rachel Clarke is a specialist in palliative medicine, author of Dear Life: A Doctor’s Story of Love and Loss, and outspoken supporter of the NHS. In this episode, she chats to Mickey about the current state of things in the NHS, what with coronavirus, lockdown and government aides doing whatever the fuck they like, and shares some cockle-warming stories of how she’s helped people live their las...

Tom McCarthy’s 2003 indie gem The Station Agent is our Hannah’s pick for this episode of Flicking. What will Mick and Jen make of this darkly funny tale of Fin (Peter Dinklage) a man who just wants to be left the fuck alone? And what will it tell them about Hannah? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn...

Jen might be on mat leave, but we have her time-travelling counterpart in this episode. She's talking to author and illustrator Laura Dockrill about her new book What Have I Done?, an account of her experience of postpartum psychosis and the continued misconceptions and misinformation around women’s health. Mick chats with Dr Rachel Clarke, specialist in palliative medicine, author of Dear Life, a...

As you probably know, we love old people here at Standard Issue, so our Jen got on the phone to Meryl Davies, chief executive of Re-engage, about respecting your elders and what we can do to help those who are socially distancing right now. We asked journalist and folk music fiend Hazel Davis to get on the phone with musician and ethnomusicologist Dr Fay Hield to chat about how the pandemic is aff...

Millions of people in the UK are doing Lockdown alone, but you'd be mistaken for thinking they don't exist if you listened to the Government or the media. So, Hannah got on the phone to comedian Lou Conran to swap stories of Solo Lockdown. They chat about filling the hours, irrational and rational fears, and what this whole shebang can tell us about the value we put on childless or single women. H...

Maytree is a respite centre for people who are feeling suicidal, and this week our Jen chats to its director, Natalie Howarth, about the impact of lockdown on our mental health and how to help someone you’re worried might be suffering. Mick catches up with consumer rights queen Vix Leyton about what’s what in the time of coronavirus, how Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act remains the consumer’s...

What can we learn from the ancient Greeks? And what should we probably unlearn from them? In this episode, Jen chats to Professor Helen Morales, classicist and Argyropoulos Chair in Hellenic Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They chat about Helen's new book Antigone Rising: The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths and how ancient misogyny still underpins modern society, as w...

Back on February 14 this year, Mickey and Hannah were joined by actor and one-woman cat herd Pauline McLynn and journalist, political commentator and comedian Ayesha Hazarika.  Now then, there’s some stuff in here that is clearly just jokes and lols – we absolutely do not endorse alcoholism or stalking. But hopefully you already knew that. And it’s very much worth remembering this was recorded bac...

Back on February 14 this year, Mickey and Hannah were joined by actor and one-woman cat herd Pauline McLynn and journalist, political commentator and comedian Ayesha Hazarika.  Now then, there’s some stuff in here that is clearly just jokes and lols – we absolutely do not endorse alcoholism or stalking. But hopefully you already knew that. And it’s very much worth remembering this was recorded bac...

Since cinemas are consigned to the list of things we used to do in these coronavirus-y times, we decided to have a watch of some of our own favourite films. Jen chose first, and opens this series with "classic" 90s comedy, Kindergarten Cop. Yes, we were surprised too. But can a man looking after children sustain the interest of the rest of our intrepid viewers for an hour and 50 minutes? Support t...

Young love, epic drugs binges, basketball, a golden box and an orange Michael Sheen - this month's Outside The Box has it all. We chat the highs and lows of Quiz, Normal People, Mike Judge Presents Tales From The Tour Bus, The Last Dance, Unorthodox, Devs and The A Word. Tuck in! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

We all miss hugging our friends, right? But will we ever feel safe to do it again? This week, Mickey got on the phone to psychotherapist Jane Watson to find out why all our emotions are clamouring to have a go in lockdown and how we can prepare ourselves for the outside world again. Hannah chats to Sarah Halls of Wintercomfort, an outreach service for rough sleepers, about how they are coping in t...

Quizzes are helping make Lockdown UK a bit more bearable, but you already knew that, right? Have a point! Hannah got on the phone with quiz enthusiasts and hosts of the excellent podcast Fingers on Buzzers, comedian Lucy Porter and The Chase's Jenny Ryan. They chat about why we just love getting questions right, how quizzes are the perfect tool for socially-distanced socialising and what the natio...

In this week’s podzine, Mick chats to Sam Hudson of the charity Women For Refugee Women about how women refugees in the UK are faring in the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, on the business side of the coronavirus crisis, Jen chats to Hannah Turner-Voakes, founder and director of small business Paper Dress Vintage, about the impact of the virus and lockdown. Following on from BBC programme The Restau...

The Fawcett Society has been fighting sex inequality since 1886. Mick caught up with its CEO, Sam Smethers, to talk specifically about women and Coronavirus, and how the pandemic is further highlighting structural inequality. Which is bad, yes, but Sam does have hope that this means those at the top might realise things need to change when it comes to moving forward post-Coronavirus. https://www.f...

Snakes on a podcast! It's almost a theme this week. But not quite. We'll get to the reptiles in odd places, but first journalist, author and beauty guru Sali Hughes chats to Mick about her work as co-founder the excellent Beauty Banks charity and #HelpingHands, its sibling initiative getting essential toiletries to people in need during the pandemic. Ahead of Shakespeare Day, Hazel Davis chats to...

We don’t know about you, but animals are playing a big part in keeping us sane (sort of) in these unsettling times. And so, Hannah and Mick got on the Zoom to Dr Judy Puddifoot – TV vet and all-round top woman – to ask her advice on looking after your pets in the lockdown and put those myths about animals spreading the virus to bed. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcas...

With reports of domestic violence soaring in LockdownUK, Mickey gets on the phone to Dawn Redshaw, who runs two women’s refuges in Salford, to learn how they are coping and what we can do to help. We've all lost track of what's happening with Brexit, so Hannah asks Best For Britain CEO and Remainiacs host Naomi Smith for the latest. Writer and mental health campaigner Natasha Devon tells Mick and...

The coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc on the NHS and among users of the healthcare system, including pregnant women. Currently up the duff, our Jen caught up with Rebecca Schiller co-founder and trustee of Birthrights, and author of the very excellent book Your No Guilt Pregnancy Plan: A Revolutionary Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and the Weeks That Follow. They chatted about what Birthrights is...

Got a huge amount of time to watch TV? Struggling to watch TV? Either way, we feel you. In this month's Outside the Box, we chat Tiger King, In My Skin, Trigonometry, The Nest and The English Game. Plus Hannah and Mick finally catch up with Tim Minchin's Upright *chef's kiss*. Tuck in! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...

In this episode, Jen chats to Rebecca Schiller, co-founder and trustee of Birthrights, about what they’re doing to help pregnant women during the coronavirus outbreak. Mick has a natter with Kayleigh Llewellyn, writer and creator of award-winning BBC comedy drama series In My Skin. Rachel Reeves, now shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, spoke to Jen back in March about her book Women of We...

In this episode Jen chats to Layla Saad, teacher, speaker and author of new book White Supremacy and Me: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism, and Change the World. They talk about white supremacy and why white people need to dismantle it, the intersection of privileges, performative wokeness and, er, Laurence Fox.   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hos...

Sarah Millican, Rachel Parris, Nacoa, front room personal training, autism, Coronavirus, unsexy disaster, and tit slings: it is a BUMPER episode.  Hannah catches up with Hilary Henriques from charity Nacoa to find out how they're continuing to provide support to children of alcoholics in Lockdown UK, and she also talks to comedian Rachel Parris, who explains what it's like to have Coronavirus, as...

With the world in chaos, there's never been a more important time to look after your staff, so Hannah's been talking to The Royal Society of Chemistry CEO Dr Helen Pain and Laura Norton, Senior Programme Manager (Inclusion & Diversity), about its new support line. They chat about the advice and support they are providing for people experiencing (or indeed witnessing) bullying and harassment in the...

In a time where the need for a steady ship couldn't be greater, and ahead of an anticipated announcement about the result of the Labour Party's leadership contest, Jen caught up with leadership adviser Niamh O'Keeffe. They talk about her new book Future Shaper: How Leaders Can Take Charge in an Uncertain World, what makes a good leader, and who's running the coronavirus show on the world stage, ri...