Standard Issue Podcast

There are a lot of spies in pop culture right now. This pleases Hannah immensely, so she jumped at the chance to get on the Zoom with Agnes O’Casey to talk about her role in upcoming play, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, based on John Le Carre's best-selling book. They chat about spies and why we're so fascinated with them, Agnes's role in another spy drama, Netflix’s Black Doves, and her great...

Bloody women. Is there anything they won’t ruin? Well, Mick and Jen take a stab at this week’s news, in which some institutions are too busy ruining themselves to notice: they’re looking at you the BBC and NHS Trusts. There’s also Spinderella, Stevens, and Jen very much NOT talking about Mary Earps in JOTB. Honest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know, the one with the good guy versus the evil nurse. Or is it? One of many questions we'll be asking as we watch Miloš Forman's Oscar botherer, set on a ward in a mental health hospital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of our firm favourites, poet Hollie McNish’s latest collection, Virgin, explores a six-letter word with outsized power. A power that should also be outdated, but is sadly not.  It is, as you’d expect from Hollie, a brilliant collection, packed with humour, rage, beauty, heartbreak and hope. She and Mick chat about dangerous words, what ‘virgin’ means to girls and women (and why it shouldn’t),...

Instagram is a right old pain in the proverbial when it comes to advertising, and our Jen has noticed she’s suddenly getting A LOT of ads targeted at peri/menopausal women. Nutritional supplements promise women everything from a peachy bum to a sound night’s sleep, but how much of it is actually true? So she jumped on the Zoom with Ruth Tongue, nutritionist, pilates teacher and co-founder of emplo...

There’s no doubt that Yosra’s picked* one of last year’s juggernauts: John M Chu’s cinematic take on Winnie Holzman’s ridiculously successful musical version of Gregory Maguire’s dark adult novel reimagining the L Frank Baum children’s books that became a 1939 film classic still beloved today. Phew! That’s a whole load of fan bases to tickle. But what if you’re new to the new version of Oz? Why is...

There's a cryptid been spotted in Cambridge and it's far from the least believable thing you'll hear in today's podcast, where Mickey and Hannah are chatting about exclamation marks, assisted dying, renters' rights and AI being bad for older women in the workforce. * If you're missing your Jenny Off The Blocks fix, get over to our Substack where Jen is chatting about Mary Earps' autobiography and...

The Destiny’s Child theme tune celebrated all the women being independent, but – question - how appropriate are those lyrics for McG’s 2000 “action-comedy” film version of the 1970s TV series? Was it made for Jen, Hannah and Mick? Was it made for any women? And how many Susan Faludi references can Mick fit into a single episode? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Radio 4 and BBC World Service reporter and producer Ellie House makes some really interesting podcasts. Her latest, The Real ‘Yellowstone’: a battle for the cowboy way of life, focuses on the proposed sale of public land in Montana and the strange political bedfellows that have resulted. Ellie and Hannah also chat about the introduction of National Service for women in Denmark and the joys of trav...

It's another OTB of two halves this month, with Mickey joining Hannah to chat about Riot Women, Only Murders In The Building, The Last Frontier and High Potential. Then Jen tag teams in to talk about Slow Horses, Coldwater, Blue Lights and How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the concept of ID cards rears its ugly head once again, Hannah and Jen are asking if Keir Starmer’s revolutionary way of eliminating faff will be as effective as Brexit in terms of reducing bureaucracy. Elsewhere, it seems the Home Office could do with some help in getting its day job done. Meanwhile, Henry VIII is repping Sexism of the Week via Hemel Hempstead, there are big international fixt...

Or is it the long good objectification of a young Pierce Brosnan? Mick, Hannah and Jen are here to prove a Rated or Dated can be both, as they watch the cornerstone British gangster flick written by Barrie Keefe, directed by John Mackenzie, and which made a full-blown film star out of the late, great Bob Hoskins. He’s joined by a host of familiar faces, including Helen Mirren, in a film that’s pre...

As an 18-year-old in search of freedom and adventure, Gosia Buzzanca left her small hometown of Poznan, Poland, eventually settling in Wales. In her new book, There She Goes, My Beautiful World, she charts her physical and emotional journey, teenage traumas, love and loss. Jen chats to Gosia about her book, growing up in Poland, post-Brexit immigration in the UK, and the universal harsh realities...

With the Grand Old Duke of York’s title now vacant, Mick and Jen visit the horrific allegations against Prince (for now) Andrew, made in Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, and his other right royal cock-ups. There's more horror, this time in England's maternity wards. But fear not, there's also some joy, including puppies – 13 of ‘em! Woof! – a delicious turning of the tables in SOTW, and some...

Can an Australian film be a Western? Can one female character represent all of womankind? Is this the best Ray Winstone? And, most importantly, who's this Nick Cave fella? Find out all the answers, as we watch John Hillcoat's blood-stained, sun-baked drama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Model, muse, photographer, and war correspondent: Lee Miller's career covered a lot of ground. What a woman. And now at Tate Britain, you can see the most extensive exhibition of all aspects of her work the UK has seen to date. Assistant curator of the exhibition Saskia Flower catches up with Jen to chat about what's in the exhibition, Miller’s extraordinary life, and looking at both the person an...

We talk a lot on Standard Issue about how young women are victimised online, but young men are increasingly at risk too. Something terrifyingly obvious in Tir Dhondy's latest investigation, Blackmailed: The Sextortion Killers, now available to watch on BBC3. Hannah chats to Tir about the victims, the perpetrators and what, if anything, can be done to stop it. You can watch Tir's documentary on the...

Credit (albeit reluctant) where credit is due, Donald Trump’s only gone and pulled a blinder. Whether it means long-term peace in the Middle East remains doubtful, but Mick and Hannah are also wondering what’s next for Ukraine. How helpful is the word ‘tomahawk’ to any peace process? There are also – you guessed it – nuns, and a fun-for-some run. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

Gus van Sant’s black comedy gave Nicole Kidman the opportunity to show her villainous chops to mid-90s audiences. It also took a swipe at a media-obsessed America. But 30 years on, does it feel a bit old hat to modern audiences? What was it trying to say about ambitious women? And bitches – be they crazy? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iron Ladies is a new documentary about the women of the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike, a time in which working-class women who found themselves at the forefront of a battle against the British state. They fast became the backbone of the fight: organising pickets; keeping families fed, and raising cash to continue the strike. As Lorraine Stansbie and Kate Flannery – two of those redoubtable women – tell o...

Following her success with Princess Essex and the previous two chapters of Ghost Stories…by Candlelight, Anne Odeke has joined forces with High Tide theatre company to co-write Even More…Ghost Stories by Candlelight. The joint production, with Pentabus Theatre, is currently touring both the east and, indeed, west of the country. Jen chats to Anne about the production, urban explorers, and her craz...

Catherine Clarke's new book - and accompanying Radio 4 series - A History of England in 25 Poems, tackles the big issues. And the smaller ones, too. Hannah chats to her about how poetry has helped shape our view of England and whether that view is accurate, as well the importance of local history and her role as the Director of Victoria County History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

If you're planning a trip to Europe or to leave your bike at a train station, or both, Hannah and Jen have got big news this week. Also, there's a new Archbishop of Canterbury, a woman no less. Who exactly? Doesn't matter. Or so it seems. You know who is good for clicks though? Taylor Swift. Best mention her a few times. Plus there's a lot of football commentator chat and a lot of women's football...

In her play Not Your Superwoman, Emma Dennis-Edwards tackles the sometimes tricksy relationship between mums and daughters.  She chats to our Mick about complex intergenerational dynamics, the expectations on mums, intergenerational trauma, the shifting nature of ‘motherland’, and how exciting it is to work with talent as big as Letitia Wright and Golda Rosheuvel. Not Your Superwoman is at the Bus...

Following an epic summer of women’s sport, the UEFA Women’s Champions League is back, starting on October 7 and broadcast in its entirety on Disney+. Jen catches up with commentator Vicki Sparks to find out more about bringing the women’s game to the House of Mouse, who Vicki’s backing in this year’s tournament, and how hard it really is to commentate on live sport. Learn more about your ad choice...