Woman's Hour

Ukraine claims it has identified 20,000 children who it alleges have been abducted by Russia since the start of the war. Arrest warrants have been issued to President Putin and his Commissioner for Children's Rights. It's the subject of the latest work from film maker Shahida Tulaganova, whose documentary Ukraine's Stolen Children airs on ITV tonight. Now you may have heard of German composer Feli...

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has launched a ratings system to let patients see which IVF add-ons are backed-up by evidence. Emma Barnett is joined by Professor Tim Child, chair of the HFEA's Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee, and Jessica Hepburn, who spent over £70,000 on unsuccessful fertility procedures. In October 2019, Coleen Rooney was concerned by...

A new report out today from the CQC - the Care Quality Commission - says that almost two thirds of maternity units provide dangerously substandard care that puts women and babies at risk. It has rated 65% of maternity services in England as either "inadequate" or "requires improvement", an increase from 54% last year. And yesterday saw the first debate in Parliament about birth trauma and the inju...

Dr Lisa Cameron was the SNP MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow from 2015 until a week ago when she decided to join the Conservative Party. She has described the move as equivalent to leaving an abusive marriage. In her first radio interview since her defection, she joins Emma Barnett to discuss what led to her making this decision. Listeners who have been through IVF treatment will be...

If the current polls are to be believed the next chancellor of the exchequer could be a woman. That woman would be Rachel Reeves, the current shadow chancellor and the MP for Leeds West. Originally from Lewisham, South London, she attended a state school, made it to Oxford University then into the world of finance working as an economist for the Bank of England. Labour have yet to announce their m...

As the war in Israel and Gaza heads into its 10th day, Emma talks about the role of hostages in this conflict with Rachel Briggs the CEO of Clarity Factory and an associate fellow at Chatham House. BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet also provides an update about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Are we becoming afraid of our phones? A recent survey suggest half of 12 to 26 year...

The queen of pop returned to London's O2 this weekend for her Celebration Tour, performing more than 40 songs from her four-decade career. During her opening performance on Saturday, 65-year-old Madonna thanked her children for supporting her while she was ill earlier this year with a 'serious bacterial infection' which saw her admitted to intensive care for several days and forced her to postpone...

Dawn French has been making people laugh as a writer, comedian and actor, for more than 30 years. Her celebrated shows include French and Saunders, The Vicar of Dibley, and Jam and Jerusalem. She joins Emma Barnett to discuss her new book about the hilarious gaffes that she has made in life, as part of her one-woman mission to celebrate what it means to be gloriously, messily human, rather than st...

Shirley Ballas is best known for being one of the judges on BBC Strictly Come Dancing and her stellar career in Latin dance that earnt her the title, ‘Queen of Latin’. She joins Krupa to talk about Strictly, the menopause and her new book, Murder on the Dancefloor. Last weekend’s earthquake in Western Afghanistan killed 1,300 people and injured many more according to UN figures. UNICEF have said m...

Nearly 350,000 people have been displaced in Gaza, since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes and created a blockade of the area. In Gaza's hospitals, where thousands of people are being treated, power is running out. Women and children are chief among those affected. Emma speaks to Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Najla Shawa, a humanitarian worker who lives in the wes...

We heard reports last night from Israel that a massacre had taken place at the weekend in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Women and children were among the dead and we were told that beheadings had happened too. A group of journalists were taken to the scene by Israeli soldiers. Emma is joined by Bel Trew, Chief International Correspondent for the Independent, who was one of the journalists. And, focusing on wo...

After the Hamas attacks at the weekend and Israel’s order of a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip in response, we talk to two people from the different communities involved. A few years ago, Bassam Aramin lost his 10-year-old daughter, Abir, who was killed by an Israeli soldier, and Robi Damelin lost her 28 year old son, David, after he was killed by a Palestinian sniper. Neither were killed in th...

Images of children, mothers and grandmothers are flooding media and social media two days after a coordinated attack by Hamas on Israel. Israel has since declared war. Emma Barnett speaks to the BBC's Anna Foster, who is in Israel, not far from Gaza, who talks about the impact on women on both sides of the conflict. Also Emma hears from the son of a 74-year-old Israeli former headmistress and Arab...

Female teenage soldier Jaysley Beck is believed to have taken her own life after a period of relentless sexual harassment from one of her bosses, an Army investigation has found. Gunner Beck was serving in the Royal Artillery and was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021. Her mother, Leighann McCready, speaks to Emma Barnett. Nicknamed 'the Taylor Swift of classical music', Ann...

We hear from food writer Grace Dent about her new book, Comfort Eating, inspired by her podcast of the same name. She'll explain why she's so fascinated by the foods to make us feel better behind closed doors. The Iranian visual artist Shirin Neshat’s latest work is called The Fury. It is a short film and series of photographs which explore the sexual exploitation of female political prisoners in...

An Army investigation has found that 19-year-old soldier Jaysley Beck is believed to have taken her own life after a period of relentless sexual harassment from one of her bosses. The gunner was serving in the Royal Artillery, and was found dead at the Larkhill army camp in Wiltshire in December 2021. Her mother Leighann McCready joins Emma along with Emma Norton, Director and Solicitor for the Ce...

Starting today a Catholic synod will take place throughout October in the Vatican to discuss the direction of the Church. Delegates will consider the way in which all members participate and decide the future direction of key issues such as the role of women. Emma Barnett talks to the former Irish president Mary McAleese about the issues facing the Church. Rishi Sunak will today give his first Con...

It's day two of the 72-hour joint strike by junior doctors and consultants in the NHS. Dr Helen Neary, deputy chair of the BMA's consultant's committee and consultant anaesthetist in paediatrics and BBC’s Health Correspondent Nick Triggle joins Emma to discuss the strike and parts of the Health Secretary's speech today. Nicknamed the Taylor Swift of classical music, Anna Lapwood is one of the worl...

The world renowned Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic talks to Emma Barnett about a major exhibition of her work across five decades at the Royal Academy in London. Universities are said to be spending increasingly more of their time investigating complex sexual misconduct cases raised by students. But how equipped and effective are universities at investigating such cases? Professor Stev...

After the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 24 February 2022, Elena Kostyuchenco, one of Russia’s most fearless independent journalists, crossed into Ukraine to report on what was happening in the country. The paper she had worked at for 17 years, Novaya Gazeta, was shut down just months later in response to her reporting. Elena’s latest book, I Love Russia, gives a rare insight into her homeland,...

The American performer Nicole Scherzinger came to our attention as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls. She has since carved out a successful solo career with albums, serving as a judge on television talent shows including The X Factor. Eight years after she was nominated for an Olivier Award for her portrayal of Grizabella in Cats, Nicole has now returned to the West End stage where she stars a...

Marina Abramović, the world renowned Serbian performance artist, refers to herself as the “godmother of performance art”. Her pioneering work explores the relationship between the performer and the audience; one of her works saw her sit across from each visitor, staring into their eyes. She has repeatedly subjected herself to physical and mental extremes, including exhaustion, pain and even the po...

Dame Joan Collins has dominated the stage and screen for over seven decades, starting her career at just 17. Best known for her roles in the 1980s TV phenomenon Dynasty and Hollywood Golden Age films, she has written a new memoir Behind the Shoulder Pads: Tales I Tell My Friends. She speaks to Emma about her glittering career, sexism in Hollywood and turning 90. Students are more likely than other...

The managing director of AFC Wimbledon has resigned after being secretly recorded making sexist and abusive comments about a female colleague, just two months after publicly committing to tackling sexism as part of the Her Game Too campaign. Emma Barnett gets reaction from Lewes FC Chief Executive Maggie Murphy and Yvonne Harrison, CEO of Women in Football. Minna Dubin is the author of Mum Rage: T...

Claiming to tell unknown stories about the iconic singer, alongside songs some of his much-loved songs, this world premiere musical hopes to reflect his enduring legacy. His youngest daughter Tina, one of the producers, and the director and choreographer of the show, Kathleen Marshall join Emma Barnett. We discuss the possible decision to cancel another part of the high speed rail link - HS2 - and...