Standard Issue Podcast

This week, we chat to actor and writer Katie Arnstein about the final play in her It’s A Girl! trilogy, Sticky Door, which covers her year-long journey of sexual exploration. Journalist and author Susannah Cahalan tells Jen about her book The Great Pretender, about understanding “madness” and the blurring of lines between physical and mental health. In Jenny Off the Blocks, personal trainer and au...

Women's bodies are a constant source of controversy and debate, during pregnancy as much as any other time in our lives. In the first of a series about pregnancy running throughout February, Jen checked out the Foundling Museum's Portraying Pregnancy: From Holbein to Social Media exhibition, and caught up with its curator Karen Hearn, as well as the museum's director Caro Howell, to find out why t...

Multi-hyphenates Daisy Haggard and Tiff Stevenson joined Mick and Hannah at Kings Place on the eve of the general election – oh heady days of hope! – for a cracking gig, which involved some very entertaining politics chat that led to us all living on an island with talking sharks. Ahh, we wish. There’s also a whirlwind lesson in yoga for Mick and Hannah, a lot of sweating when it comes to thinking...

It's Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, so in this episode of the Sunday Chops we speak to Kate Sanger, head of communications and public affairs at Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, and Mercedes, one of the charity's volunteers. We chatted about the #SmearForSmear campaign, HPV and how it is linked to cervical cancer, and what we can all do to help encourage those who can to have a smear test.  Support t...

It's our last podzine before that big Brexit date, so this week we're talking to Maike Bohn, from campaign group The 3 Million about how EU27 citizens feel about life in a post-Brexit Britain, what their chances of staying here are and what we can all do to make life a bit easier for them. Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, Mickey chats to composer Na'ama Zisser about her new work Lovesick, which is...

Child abuse isn't most people's first choice of conversation topic, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it. Last week, Hannah went to the Internet Watch Foundation to meet its CEO Susie Hargreaves to learn more about what the charity is doing to remove images of child sexual abuse online, why we shouldn't ever call it child pornography and how they look after the mental health of their sta...

No Bush Telegraph or Dunleavy Does Disaster this week but, instead, a whopping four interviews with top women. Hannah chats to Joan Smith, Chair of The Mayor of London's Violence Against Women and Girls Board, about the recent horrendous Cyprus rape case and why it doesn’t end there when it comes to the legal difficulties facing victims of sex crimes. Mick talks to Kiley Reid about her excellent b...

Fancy zipping around town on a bike rather than sitting in endless traffic jams? Well, there may be politics on those there streets, but there are still plenty of reasons to start cycling. In this episode, comedian Vanessa Hammick and teacher Amy Foster, founders of the Croydon Cycle Theatre, tell us the whys and hows to getting on your bike. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardis...

Need to save some money in January? Then stay in and watch the telly. Hannah's got some news on what's coming up this month, including another Jonestown documentary, because yes, we still need them. We also talk Dracula and The Trial of Christine Keeler. And Mickey has finally finished Succession, so we can discuss the worst aspects of Shiv (spoiler alert, it's all of her) and why there is so much...

Ever wanted to harness the power of ‘No’? Yes? Thought so. In that case, Hannah’s chat with the ever-excellent guide to giving no fucks and sweary delight Sarah Knight is for you, as she talks through ways to make saying no easier. Her book Fuck No! is absolutely worth your yes. Tour de force Rosalind Blessed currently has two plays in rep at the Old Red Lion Theatre, London, and she tells us abou...

We begin 2020 by looking back at a great year of women's sport in the time-honoured tradition of a bloody great big quiz. Jen makes like Sue Barker to host, as we discover just how much attention Hannah and Mickey have been paying to the weekly JOTB, as they answer questions alongside our special guests, journalists Kelly Welles and Natasha Henry. Contains pies, cheese and more than a pinch of Jam...

It's Boxing Day, so why not gather those members of your family you're still talking to and join in with our TV Quiz of The Year. Team captains Mickey and Jen are joined by TV critic Julia Raeside and writer and one third of Drunk Women Solving Crime Hannah George, as our Hannah asks the questions about what's been on the box in 2019. Happy quizzing! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/st...

Joe Lycett, Nish Kumar, Craig Parkinson and the boss herself, Sarah Millican? What. A. Lineup. Yep, in one last aural treat before Christmas, we bring you three wise men (and one woman) from our IMD gig recorded back in November. Oh, and also Mick and Hannah. Chat involves solo volleyball, climate change, peer pressure, being Buzz Killington in a WhatsApp group, sharing feelings and just how much...

When Priya Basil was asked to write a book about hospitality, she was struck by how many forms this could take, something she explores beautifully in her book Be My Guest. Jen caught up with Priya to talk the joys of generosity, food, shelter and the general warmth of humanity - because it's out there somewhere, right?  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on...

#SmashAbortionStigma is the new campaign from Marie Stopes UK, aiming to make people feel more comfortable talking about their abortion experiences – that includes the healthcare professionals, too, as Dr Yvonne Neubauer, associate clinical director at Marie Stopes UK, explains to Mickey. We're also chatting to comedian Amy Vreeke about her one-woman comedy show, The Year My Vagina Tried To Kill M...

Journalist Gabrielle Jackson’s personal dealings with endometriosis led her to explore how women – historically and through to today – are underserved, sometimes fatally, by the systems that are supposed to keep us healthy. The resulting book, Pain And Prejudice: A Call To Arms For Women And Their Bodies, reveals how there’s very little research into women’s bodies and therefore medicine quite oft...

With the General Election just a day away, we talk to Chi-chi Shi and Rosa Caradonna of campaign group FCK Boris about why young people are rallying against the Tories. Mick chats to Gabrielle Jackson, author of new book Pain and Prejudice, about the pain gap and Jen's talking all things sport in Jenny Off The Blocks. Hannah's been charming babies at train stations, which goes some way to excusing...

Since it was World Disability Day on Tuesday, Jen caught up with author and journalist Ella Dove, who was left 'temporarily incapacitated' after an accident led to her leg being amputated below the knee. They chatted about Ella's book Five Steps To Happy, which is partly based on her experience of becoming an amputee, processing trauma, and the perils of online dating, among other things. Support...

Got a load of Christmas wrapping to do? Then why not park yourself in front of the telly and get viewing? We talk Watchmen, The Crown, His Dark Materials, Ladhood, Guilt and War of The Worlds in this month's Outside The Box. Have at it! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices....

In this episode we chat to Fiona Mackenzie of We Can’t Consent To This, a campaign highlighting the alarming trend of men claiming ‘rough sex’ as a defence against injuring and killing women. Author and journalist Ella Dove tells us about being ‘temporarily incapacitated’ after an accident led to her leg being amputated below the knee at the age of 25. There are single mothers, sly tactics and “we...

The Little Mermaid is a much-loved fairy Hans Christian Andersen tale that became a Disney film classic. But boy oh boy is it problematic. Author Louise O’Neill has written The Surface Breaks a cracking retelling of the story, in which our protagonist learns a few things about the silencing of women, and the sea witch is truly a hero for our times. Louise chats to our Mickey about weak but control...

Gemma Cairney and Rosie Jones join Hannah, Mick and Jen to chat fighting with furniture, sledging for Brexit, starting a commune, pissing yourself on Mastermind, the kindness of strangers, and ham on the back of Jen’s jeans. Release the cats! This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at The Stand Comedy Club, as part of the Edinburgh Fringe back in August. Our next show is at London’s...

Getting solutions to homelessness on the road (well, in a secure site) has become businessman Dan Atkins' passion. Mickey caught up with the founder of Buses4Homeless to find out more about this low-cost, holistic approach to homelessness and to discover the ins and outs of upcycling four double deckers into sleeping, eating, wellbeing and learning spaces for previously homeless guests, with a lon...

Lemn Sissay's no. 1 Sunday Times' bestseller My Name Is Why tells the story of the poet and broadcaster's childhood in the care system. For the sixth episode in our International Men's Day series, Jen and Lemn chat about why the records detailed in his book inspired him to take the government to court, how we can all improve our lived experiences by listening to others, and saying the wrong – or r...

Hot on the heels of yesterday's political animals comes Chris Spencer, the man behind radical figure, Cold War Steve. Jen chats to Chris about how Phil Mitchell became the poster boy for Britain's political turmoil, seeking solace in a hellscape and fighting for Bungle. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....