The Women's Agenda Podcast

We talk all things women's longevity with Dr Ginni Mansberg! A no-BS conversation on the things women need to know, and those that we don't. Dr Mansbery is a GP of more than 30 years who has built a reputation as one of the most trusted, plain-speaking voices in Australian women's health. She specialises in menopause, midlife health and disease prevention, and was voted Australia's most trusted he...

We talk through the biggest stories of the week! The wins -- we explore the historic $1m gift for miscarriage support, the six-month paid parental leave milestone (and the case for not going back!) And on discussions -- we look at how Meta keeps deleting Australian LGBTQ+ accounts, "AI-first" layoffs hit women's jobs first, and the grey-market peptides putting women at greater risk. This week's st...

This week, who gets excused and who gets judged! We look at the wins: A doctor turned patient, and a founder's AI women's health platform raises $4 million, and a World Cup that's been a genuine, underdog-loving joy. Then, we unpack Karl Stefanovic's platforming of the far-right extremist Tommy Robinson on his podcast and the fallout that ensued. Plus, we look at the French TV host who called foot...

Top stories from the week! Pauline Hanson is abolishing things, everywhere, wants monoculturalism, claims the gender pay gap is a myth etc. Plus, how 12 hours risked reproductive rights in Australia. River Ahmad becomes the first Afghan woman to summit Mount Everest, and how Cape Verde's goalkeeper Vozinha out-classed a US$60 million masculinity spectacle. Have you heard of career minimalism? We u...

This week, two genuine wins and a look at who we blame when the going gets tough. A blood-stained front page across three South African newspapers turned period poverty into front-page news — and went global. Brittany Higgins was named Executive Director of Vida Fund, stepping into a leadership role as the organisation gears up for 2028. We unpack "masculinism" — the force Helen Lewis says is unit...

Sarah Wilson has built a career on telling uncomfortable truths, including about sugar, anxiety, and about how we're living. Her new book, I Eat the Stars: How to Live Fully and Beautifully in a Collapsing World , goes further than anything she's written before. It argues we are already inside systemic collapse and experiencing the same pattern every complex civilisation before us has followed. Th...

Antoinette Lattouff went from award-winning journalist to the unwilling face of one of Australia's most consequential press freedom cases — and a verb. In her new book Women Who Win , she reframes what winning actually means for women and what it costs, weaving in her own story of being sacked three days into a gig at the ABC and taking the ABC to court. Antoinette joins the pod to share why she c...

We wrap a week of wins and the giant gap in who says they're supporting women and who actually is. Women and girls are driving a record philanthropic boom in Australian sport, with more than $22.8 million directed into their programs last year. Melbourne writer Su Dharmapala's debut novel is heading to the big screen as a women-led rom-com, twelve years in the making. But in the week since the Fed...

Dr Taveeshi Gupta is the lead researcher behind The State of the World's Fathers 2026, Equimundo's tracking study of global fatherhood, which has been run every two years since 2015. The just-released 2026 edition surveyed 8,000 parents across 16 countries, and the headline finding is striking: in just three years, between 2023 and 2026, attitudes about who should do care work have measurably gone...

Teresa Zapeta is a Maya Indigenous leader from Guatemala and the Executive Director of the International Indigenous Women's Forum, a global network that has spent 25 years building Indigenous women's movements capable of holding democracies together when state institutions fail. In 2023, her movement was central to the 106-day resistance that protected Guatemala's democratic transition. A successf...

Binaifer Nowrojee is the first female president of the Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, and the source of more than $24 billion in funding to human rights causes worldwide. A human rights lawyer by training, her early work documenting sexual violence in Rwanda helped secure the first ever convictions for rape as a weapon of war. Open Society is now itself a target of the Trump ad...

She's here to hold the line on big tech power, and the world's first eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant is showing no signs of backing down. Julie Inman Grant features in our latest series of Backlash Conversations, recorded live at Women Deliver in Melbourne. She shares why she believes the social media ban in Australia is a long game, the success achieved and the work that's still to be done...

Just six weeks ago, Maria Antonieta Alcalde stepped up to take on one of the toughest gigs globally: leading the International Planned Parenthood Federation at arguably one of its most challenging times in history. But with three decades of successfully fighting for women's rights across Latin America, she's got the experience and energy to take on the role, as funding cuts, the Trump adminis...

This week at Women's Agenda, it's all about money, power, and who's moving it. We celebrate a major reform win for sexual assault survivors in, and FIFA's landmark decision to formally recognise the Afghan women's national football team in exile, marking a rebirth of hope after years in limbo. Plus, we examine what was said about the global pushback against women's rights at Women Deliver, includi...

We unpack a week of wins, warnings and what-the-actuals. The landmark pay rise putting more value on women (but still not enough). How Hungary issued a blow to the anti-feminist, pro-natalist regime of an autocrat, Victoria's first Minister for Men and Boys, and what it means. And an historic appointment: Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, the first woman to command the Australian Army in its 125-yea...

Cardiovascular disease kills around one in four Australian women, yet it’s still widely misunderstood as a “male” health issue. In this episode, Assistant Minister for Health Rebecca White joins Women’s Agenda’s Editor, Tarla Lambert-Patel, to unpack the federal government’s new Ministerial Expert Panel on Women’s Health, and why heart health is its first priority. They discuss...

This week, we take stock of a week that had plenty to celebrate, and of course to interrogate. The Matildas are in the Women's Asian Cup final on home soil, and Kyle Sandilands has been officially terminated by ARN after nearly three decades on Australian radio. Then the bigger stories: the Trump delegation's humiliating defeat at the UN's Commission on the Status of Women, the double threat of ag...

A new political leader wanting Australia to be great... just like the past. Only this time, a hyper Australia! Plus, progress on the lack of women in leadership globally is slow, who could possibly tell? Also some big wins for the week, including changes to superannuation that will get more money in women's pockets. And the Iranian football team, which showed the responsibility we have for those w...

Today we're bringing you the first episode of There Will Be Dancing , from our friends at the Women's Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA)! Women's Agenda is thrilled to partner with WELA on this series, sharing a wide range of environmental and climate conversations that are anchored in optimism (hence the dancing). Hosted by WELA CEO Victoria McKenzie-McHarg , alongside publicist Odette Bar...

It's all a bit difficult for Anthony Albanese this week, as he faces very valid backlash over his description of former Australian of the Year, Grace Tame. Also today, we’re talking about the AI Deepfakes that are infiltrating politics right now, and Australia’s not immune. In fact, Pauline Hanson is capitalising sensationally.  Plus, senior journalist Dinushi Dias shares an interview with Ay...

Senator Fatima Payman is not only one of the most productive members of parliament, but also courageous. As such, this conversation is all about how to be brave and courageous, even in the quieter moments and when the fear is present and inescapable. Born in Afghanistan, Senator Payman migrated to Perth with her family in 2003, studied pharmacy, and became president of Young Labor WA. In 2022, at...

Australia has a new case of the glass cliff, with the (now former) Opposition leader being the latest high-profile woman to fall. We share how the events unfolded and why. Plus, we examine male confidence by exploring new research on how emotional openness changes across different ages for men. Finally, why does motherhood feel so lonely? We share the power of parent groups and why we're spending...

This week, we talk about the language, the theories and the networking in the Epstein files. From influential doctors with big social followings to royals, presidents and former prime ministers. Plus, a couple of wins, including why thousands of women will soon be arriving in Melbourne to talk about gender equity. Stories discussed this week include: Minnesota woman dragged from car by ICE agents...

Wrapping up some of the top stories of the week we head to Davos, Canberra, Minnesota and back home again. On the agenda is extreme wealth, the lack of women at the World Economic Forum, the self-indulgence of some in politics and how "Wine Moms" became a thing and we also look at an excellent idea for addressing Jan 26. Key stories discussed this week include: Davos remains a festival of men desp...

Hello 2026! And it's been a chaotic start already. Is the answer to start drinking, as one female EU leader suggested this week? We have a better idea instead. Also, Elon Musk’s Grok starts making thousands of sexualised deepfake images. Did we expect anything less? And why setting a health and wellness goal or intention for 2026 is a good idea. Plus, much more! This is our wrap of some of our big...