The Women's Podcast

Last month, Action Aid Ireland published a new report highlighting the challenges that lone migrant parents, mainly women, experience when they leave state accommodation. Many face discrimination, unaffordable rents and inadequate supports, leaving them effectively trapped between direct provision and homelessness. In today’s episode, Deborah Oniah and Owodunni Mustapha (Ola) - two Nigerian women...

This Sunday 1st February is St Brigid’s Day and to celebrate the occasion we’re learning all about Brigid - the woman, the myth, the legend - from author and writer Kim Curran.  Curran has just published her new book Brigid - a reimagining of Ireland’s most beloved saint - in which she details the life of Brigid, the miracles she made and the women she saved. It’s the story of a trailblazer w...

This month on The Women’s Podcast Book Club, Bernice Harrison, Niamh Towey, Róisín Ingle, and Ann Ingle are discussing Flesh by David Szalay.  The book follows the life of István - an emotionally detached Hungarian man - as he moves from adolescence into adulthood. As the years pass, István moves from the army to the circles of London’s elite. His competing impulses for love, intimacy, status...

Although Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs may seem like a relatively new phenomenon, their origins actually stretch back to the mid 1980s. Back then, scientists were searching for an alternative treatment for diabetes, one that could replace insulin. Few could have imagined that this research would go on to reshape the treatment of obesity and later evolve into one of the best-selling drugs in...

In late December, merchants and shopkeepers in Iran took to the streets to protest against the dire economic situation in the country. Since then, thousands more Iranians have joined the protests, snowballing it into a much bigger movement which is now calling for the end of the Islamic regime. The authorities have responded to the demonstrations with gunfire, tear gas and thousands of arrests. Ac...

Over the past thirty years in Ireland, the lives of women have changed unrecognisably. Unparalleled advances in legislation have allowed for divorce, abortion and marriage equality. The economy has gone from boom to bust and to boom again, with more women entering the workplace. But for all the progress, there is still an underrepresentation of women in politics and positions of power, and there’s...

Prima Facie, the award-winning one-woman play written by Australian playwright Suzie Miller, is coming to the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin later this month. It follows the story of Tessa Ensler, a highly successful criminal defence lawyer who specialises in sexual assault cases. When Ensler (played by Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer) is sexually assaulted by a colleague, she suddenly finds herself on the ot...

2025 was the year Ireland elected its third female President, but only three women were appointed Ministers in the new Cabinet. Down one on the previous government.  It was the year the hit Netflix show Adolescence had everyone talking about the dangers of the 'manosphere' and toxic masculinity and Australia introduced the world’s first social media ban for children.  The year also saw t...

If you’re looking for a gift for the book lover in your life, The Women’s Podcast Book Club has you covered. In today’s episode Niamh Towey, Bernice Harrison, Róisín Ingle and Ann Ingle are discussing what books they’ll be giving as gifts this Christmas and the ones they’d like to receive.  Their recommendations include a biography for art lovers, a self-help book about setting “healthy bound...

This month on The Women’s Podcast Book Club, Bernice Harrison, Niamh Towey, Róisín Ingle, and Ann Ingle are discussing Thirst Trap, the debut novel from Belfast writer Gráinne O’Hare.  The book tells the story of Harley, Róise, and Maggie, three friends in their late twenties who are living together in a run-down house in Belfast, navigating all that life can throw at them - tricky relationsh...

Ten years ago, a group of women in The Irish Times got together to envisage a podcast that told stories about the female experience and provided a space for women to share their passions, projects and plights. From there, The Irish Times Women’s Podcast was born. Over the past ten years, the podcast has heard from political leaders, sexual abuse survivors, campaigners, comedians, health profession...

Although it’s still November, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas over here on The Women’s Podcast. To kick off this year's festive season, we’ve asked three business owners to share their Irish-made gift ideas. Joining Roisin Ingle in studio is illustrator Catherine Geaney, jewellery maker Maureen Lynch and Pat Kane, founder of reuzi, Ireland's one-stop shop for sustainably made, reusable...

In today’s episode, former senator and government minister Katherine Zappone joins Kathy Sheridan to discuss her new memoir Love in a Time of Politics. In this wide-ranging conversation, Zappone charts her journey through Irish politics, from a fresh-faced senator appointed by then taoiseach Enda Kenny, right through to her tenure as minister for children and youth affairs. She speaks about the ca...

With a career spanning theatre, film and television, Irish actor Fiona Shaw has been a household name in Ireland for decades. The Cork native is known for her award-winning stage work, as well as her iconic roles in the Harry Potter films, Killing Eve, and Bad Sisters. Shaw’s latest project, Park Avenue, opened in Irish cinemas this week. Earlier this year, while in Dublin for the International Fi...

On the 24th October 1975, 90% of the women in Iceland went on strike. For the entire day, women refused to participate in waged work, domestic labour or childcare. Instead they took to the streets to protest, demanding fair employment, equal wages and the recognition of work done inside the home. To reflect on the impact of that historic day, the 50 years of progress since and the work still left...

Since opening in 2024, Jane’s Place has become a sanctuary for some of Ireland’s most vulnerable women. The drop-in centre, located in the heart of Dublin city, is a space where those in need can access mental health support, addiction recovery services, and counselling, and even take part in yoga, art therapy, and mindfulness sessions. In today’s episode, co-ordinator of Jane’s Place, Susan Diffn...

Last week, Irish author Naoise Dolan and psychiatrist Dr Veronica O’Keane arrived home to Ireland after spending five days in an Israeli prison. The pair were among more than one hundred activists including five other Irish citizens detained by Israeli forces earlier this month, as they made their way to Gaza as part of the Thousand Madleens flotilla. In today’s episode, Dolan and O’Keane tell Rói...

This Saturday the 18th October is World Menopause Day and to mark the occasion we are joined by journalist, broadcaster and menopause advocate Mariella Frostrup and by Belles Berry, chef and daughter of well-known cookery writer Mary Berry. Together they have written Menolicious, a new cookbook packed full of healthy recipes designed to help balance hormones, boost energy levels and improve weight...

This week, five Irish citizens including author Naoise Dolan were detained by Israel when their flotilla of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip was intercepted. In today’s episode, Dolan’s mother Miriam McNally speaks to Róisín Ingle about the latest updates on her daughter’s detention and when she might be released.  Also in this episode, we hear from filmmaker and visual artist Myrid Carten,...

In July 2019, Bláthnaid Raleigh’s life changed forever when she was raped at a house party by a man named Jonathan Moran, whom she was familiar with from her hometown of Mullingar. It was a vicious and violent attack, which resulted in a headline sentence of nine years for Moran, although he is likely to serve just six. In her new memoir Aftermath, Raleigh describes how her life was effectively pu...

We’ve got a jam packed episode for you this week, kicking off with a fascinating interview with Indian theatre artist, Mallika Taneja, who is bringing her show ‘Be Careful’ to the Dublin Theatre Festival next month. Running from the 7th to the 10th October, the show is a satirical piece that challenges our notion of safety in public spaces and addresses attitudes towards women and girls in India a...

According to academic Dr Marie Keenan restorative justice is “a way of giving justice to victims that centres the victim of crime in the process, as distinct from the criminal justice system, which centres the perpetrator”. Keenan joined two women Janet O’Brien who’s son was killed in a one punch attack and Sophia Murphy who was sexually abused by her father to discuss the power of restorative jus...

1980s Dublin wasn’t all emigration and recession. There was great music, mad nights out and a capital city bursting with homegrown talent. Irish rock icons Leslie Dowdall of In Tua Nua and Flo McSweeney of Toy With Rhythm and Moving Hearts were at the epicentre of it and now they have teamed up to present Natural Women, a collaboration which will see them covering songs by 1970s songwriting legend...

We’ve a special live episode of the podcast for you today, a wide-ranging chat with actor, writer, presenter and mother of five Rosie O’Donnell at The Electric Picnic. We teamed up with Jan Brierton’s Wild Words at the festival where O’Donnell talked to Róisín Ingle and a packed Manifesto tent about everything from her feud with Donald Trump, moving to Ireland, weight loss drugs, the price of fame...

This weekend the Women’s Podcast is joining the line up of Jan Brierton’s Wild Words at Electric Picnic. For the event, Róisín Ingle will be hosting a special live recording of the podcast with American comedian, actor and new Irish resident Rosie O’Donnell. Brierton joins the podcast today to look ahead to the weekend’s festivities and to explain what festival goers can expect from the rest of th...