Woman's Hour

This week sees the culmination of the women's tennis season as the WTA finals are held, somewhat controversially, in Saudi Arabia. So far, top seed Aryna Sabalenka is through to the first semi-final, the second semi-final will be decided tomorrow. However, the decision to hold the tournament in a country which has been criticised for it's treatment of women has been in the spotlight and under scru...

Kemi Badenoch is the first woman of colour to lead a major political party in the UK, after being elected as leader of the Conservative Party at the weekend. What do we know about her as a woman, and as a politician? What does this mean for women in the Tory party? Clare McDonnell speaks to Katy Balls, political editor of the Spectator, Ella Robertson McKay, former head of Conservative Young Women...

British-Egyptian activist and Maths professor Laila Soueif has been on hunger strike for the past month to protest her son Alaa’s incarceration in Egypt. He is the country’s most high profile political prisoner. Laila and her daughter Sanaa – who has faced arrest and imprisonment herself – joined Anita Rani to talk about why they won’t stop fighting for Alaa’s release. The BAFTA-winning actress An...

Saoirse Ronan’s comments on the Graham Norton Show last week when she interjected in a conversation about self-defence and highlighted the issue of women’s safety are continuing to make headlines. She was applauded by the audience, but how much courage does it take to call something out like this? Joining Anita Rani to discuss are the journalist Ash Sarkar and counselling psychologist Dr Elaine Ka...

Following the announcement of Labour’s first budget in fourteen years – and the first Budget announced by a woman Chancellor – we hear how women across the country will be affected. Anita Rani speaks to Mehreen Khan, the economics editor of The Times, Sara Reis, deputy director and head of research at Women’s Budget Group and Jo, a participant in the Changing Realities project, a collaboration of...

The business owner Martha Keith found her products being sold fraudulently online. She tells Nuala how she set about trying to take control of the situation. Last month Lloyds Bank warned of a huge rise in rogue retailers using fake websites to trick people into buying items that are never dispatched. To discuss Nuala is also joined by Katherine Hart, Lead Officer for Scams for the Chartered Tradi...

Sacked from her job by voicemail the day after she informed her employer she was pregnant Joeli Brearley set up Pregnant Then Screwed to end pregnancy and maternity discrimination. The charity has helped to influence new flexible working and redundancy protection laws, providing advice to hundreds of thousands of women when they face discrimination and challenging employers and government in high...

The Women’s Equality Party is urging members to vote to close down the party next month, just under 10 years after it began. The founders say financial challenges and a changed political landscape mean their campaigning model no longer works. Nuala McGovern is joined by the Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison and Jemima Olchawski from the Fawcett Society to discuss. The BAFTA-winning actress Anna Maxw...

Vanessa Feltz has been a fixture on TV and radio for three decades. Now she has written a memoir, Vanessa Bares All, which charts the many ups and downs of her personal and professional life. She joins Anita Rani. Listeners share with Nuala McGovern what they think works when it comes to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in educational settings. In the late 1970s, in the...

Vanessa Feltz has been a fixture on our TV screens and radio stations – not to mention tabloid headlines – for three decades. Now she has written a memoir, Vanessa Bares All, which charts the many ups and downs of her personal and professional life, from the Big Breakfast Bed to the Big Brother house, via Madonna and Miss Piggy. If farming can seem to be a man’s world, then ploughing is especially...

Two-time Oscar-nominated actor Emily Watson is a face that has graced the screen and stage – her work of course in Breaking the Waves in 1996 earned her one of those nominations. She joins Anita Rani to talk about her new role in the upcoming film, Small Things Like These. Based on the bestselling book by Claire Keegan, the story focuses on a convent – which is in fact running a Magdalene laundry...

In a phone-in programme focusing on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Nuala McGovern talks to listeners about SEND provision in educational settings with a focus on what is working. Mums of children with SEND share examples of what they personally think of as good practice in their schools and nurseries and SEND educational professionals and workers suggest potential solutions and innova...

The Prime Minister's chief of staff Sue Gray has left her post and has been replaced by Morgan McSweeney. It's led some papers to claim "the lads have won this round". To discuss, Nuala McGovern is joined by Caroline Slocock, former civil servant and author of Margaret Thatcher and Me, which reflects on women and power. Actor Cush Jumbo has reprised the role of Lady Macbeth alongside David Tennant...

Former nurse Lucy Letby became one of the UK’s most notorious child killers after she was convicted in 2023 of harming and murdering babies in her care. The nurse was found guilty by two juries after lengthy trials, but now there's been speculation over whether some evidence in the Letby trial was reliable. BBC Special Correspondent Judith Moritz is the co-author of the book Unmasking Lucy Letby:...

It’s nearly thirty years since Kelly Macdonald made her acting debut as the sharp-witted 15 year old schoolgirl Diane in the classic film Trainspotting. Since then, the award winning actress has starred in critically acclaimed films like No Country for Old Men, Gosford Park, as well as Harry Potter franchise, and voiced the fearless Princess Merida in Pixar’s Brave. Now, she’s taking on a new role...

Why has a drug that can extend life for advanced breast cancer patients not been made available on the NHS? NICE have made the decision that Enhertu, a drug that can give around an extra six months to live on average, is too expensive. BBC Health Correspondent Cath Burns joined Anita Rani alongside Kate Wills, who has stage 4 cancer and has been campaigning for the drug to be made available. The a...

Why has a drug that can extend life for advanced breast cancer patients not been made available on the NHS? NICE have made the decision that Enhertu, a drug that can give around an extra six months to live on average, is too expensive. BBC Health Correspondent Cath Burns joins Anita Rani alongside Kate Wills, who has stage 4 cancer and has been campaigning for the drug to be made available. Do you...

What are the economic implications of getting married in your midlife? Anita Rani is joined by the Financial Times’ Claer Barrett, writer and couples counsellor Lucy Cavendish and journalist and author Flic Everett to share their thoughts and experiences. The murder trial of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl found dead in Woking in August 2023, is at the Old Bailey in London. Sara's father Urfan Sha...

French actress Isabelle Huppert is renowned for her portrayal of dark, complex characters. She's also been hailed by many as one of the greatest actors of modern cinema. Since the 1970, she's starred in more than 120 films, including The Lacemaker, The Piano Teacher, and Elle for which she was Oscar nominated. She joins Nuala to discuss her latest role in a new comedic film The Crime is Mine, dire...

Dr Hilary Cass, now Baroness Cass, led a four year review into children’s gender identity services in England. Her final report concluded that children had been let down by a lack of research and "remarkably weak" evidence on medical interventions, and called for gender services for young people to match the standards of other NHS care. In an exclusive interview Nuala McGovern gets Dr Hilary Cass’...

The actress Lesley Manville is currently starring alongside Mark Strong in Robert Icke’s adaptation of Oedipus. She plays Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife. Lesley joins Nuala McGovern to tell us more about the play, what it’s like being back on stage for the first time since 2020, and why she thinks women's stories are being featured more. Every year thousands of babies need care for a brain injury sustaine...

For generations of women and girls, glossy magazines have been a guide to clothes, lifestyles, relationships and, of course, sex. Titles like Cosmopolitan, Woman’s Own and Sugar were pored over by thousands of us and now there is a podcast that celebrates those beloved back issues. Every week the hosts of Mag Hags, Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney, read a different issue of a magazine from the 70s,...

Sharon D Clarke is a triple Olivier award-winning actress currently starring in two separate TV series: My Loverman on BBC One and Ellis on Channel 5. In November she’s playing the role of Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Lyttelton Theatre in London. Sharon joins Krupa Padhy to talk about her new roles and what black representation on stage and screen means to her. Mums say...

Hurricane Milton landed today in Florida, battering the US state with winds of around 120 miles per hour. Residents were warned to evacuate for their own safety - but some have stayed. Professor of Risk and Hazard at Durham University Lucy Easthope joins Anita Rani to look at the women who stay behind in these situations, and their reasons behind this, as well as whether disaster planning reflects...

Dr Hilary Cass, now Baroness Cass, led a four year review into children’s gender identity services in England.  Her final report concluded that children had been let down by a lack of research and "remarkably weak" evidence on medical interventions, and called for gender services for young people to match the standards of other NHS care.  In an exclusive interview Nuala McGovern gets Dr Hilary Cas...