Woman's Hour

Ebony Louise Barrett has now become Fridge Girl, after a video she put on TikTok went viral. It was a tall, free-standing fridge falling on top of her as she danced. She's OK, but even Janet Jackson has picked up on it. How has it changed her life? Three young women from Generation Z talk about the big social issues of the year, and why they feel the label 'woke', which is often attached to this a...

During a recent Business Questions in parliament Jacob Rees Mogg took a moment to mark the feast of St Æthelgifu, and called the medieval abbess one of Britain’s leading saints. But was she? What do we really know about Æthelgifu and the other leading medieval women at this time? We talk to Florence Scott, a historian of early medieval England, studying for a PhD at Leeds University, and who runs...

There is no doubt that the pandemic is still affecting people's social lives, but perhaps the most affected are teenagers or 'quaranteens'. Many young people have missed out on major social milestones - parties, teen romances and opportunities to be with their mates - which can be so formative. What is the impact of missing out on these experiences? And how can adults best support 'quaranteens'? E...

Actor Tamsin Greig on her latest role as the legendary agent Peggy Ramsay. The Prime Minister has announced that all over 18s in England are being offered a Covid-19 booster vaccination. But as he sets out this new target has that message reached pregnant women? Emma talks to Dr Viki Male a Reproductive Immunologist based at Imperial College London Tens of thousands of volunteers are needed to com...

The company SAGA has decided to give employees who've just become grandparents some special leave. They say it's about helping new grandparents celebrate but also it's to highlight how important older workers are, not just to the company but to families and wider society. So if you're a grandparent providing childcare for your kids, what's the cost? What does it take out of you, time-wise and ener...

Musician and composer, Zoe Rahman has won a MOBO, a British Jazz Award, and this week Zoe was awarded the ‘Impact Award’ at the 2021 Ivors Composer Awards. Julia Chain the chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, made a plea for the 1990 Act governing fertility clinics and practice in this country to be updated. She argues that after 30 years, the science and culture around IVF h...

Catfishing is the practise of using a fake profile to start an online romance. The podcast Sweet Bobby has been shining a light on this issue through the story of Kirat Assi, a 42-year-old radio presenter who started a relationship with a person she thought to be Bobby, a handsome cardiologist, via Facebook. However, when he repeatedly fails to visit her in person, she slowly comes to learn his tr...

Jazz musician Zoe Rahman has been described as one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene. She takes influence from her English, Irish and Bengali heritage to write music with swing, lyricism and intimacy. She’s a MOBO Award winner, British Jazz Award winner and now an Ivors Composer Award winner. She speaks to Emma - unfortunately we aren't able to include her live music performanc...

Allegra Stratton has found herself at the centre of a political storm. ITV footage shows her rehearsing a TV news conference and dealing with tricky questions about Christmas parties during covid lockdowns. Staff are laughing and joking. We speak to political journalist Pippa Crerar, who broke the original story of the Downing Street party as well as other gatherings. We also get reaction from Jo...

Emma speaks to the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, about the government’s plans to improve women’s experiences in the armed forces. In particular she asks him to explain why the government has rejected calls for rape or sexual assault committed in the military to be tried in civilian courts, away from military courts. Education activist Vee Kativhu talks to Emma about why she set up h...

In our series Under Pressure we've been looking at what happens to relationships when couples are put under extreme strain: how do they cope? Today we hear from Kate and Annie who live in Northumberland. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. In March, Julia Chain was announced as the new chair of the HFEA. Now Julia is calling for the 1990 Human...

Brené Brown's Tedx talk 'The Power of Vulnerablity' is one of the most viewed talks in the world with more than 50 million views. Her new book 'The Atlas of the Heart' takes on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. Photo credit: Randal Ford. Calls for Boots, the chemist to permanently reduce the price of the morning after pill. With campaigner...

Brené Brown has always called herself a mapmaker and in her sixth and newest book, the Atlas of the Heart, out this week, she takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human. Her TEDx talk “the power of vulnerability” is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world with more than 50 million views. She joins Anita. This Sunday marks 1...

The Women’s Tennis Association has suspended all events in China over concerns for the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. Her safety has become a matter of international concern after she posted sexual assault allegations against former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli and then disappeared from public view. She has since reappeared and has said she is safe and well but there are still concerns for her well...

The US Supreme Court is set to hear a case on a Mississippi abortion law, which would ban abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. It was signed in 2018 by the state's then Republican Governor, Phil Bryant. But it was blocked by several lower courts, so didn't come into effect. Now, Mississippi is asking the Supreme Court to rule in favour of their law and overturn the landmark case of Roe v Wade, which...

Emily Ratajkowski is an American model, entrepreneur & writer. She rocketed to fame aged 21 when she took part in Robin Thicke’s music video, Blurred Lines. At the time Emily argued that the provocative display of her body represented a form of feminist empowerment. In her first book, My Body, she argues something more nuanced. The chemist Boots is in the firing line from campaigners. For Blac...

Vivianne Miedema of the Netherlands and Arsenal has been crowned the winner of BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2021. The annual award from the BBC World Service is voted for by football fans from around the world. She is the all-time leading scorer in the FA WSL (women’s super league) and has scored more goals at the international level for the Netherlands than any other player, across both the...

‘The Drifters Girl’ is a musical which tells the story of Faye Treadwell, one of the first Black women to manage a vocal group in the US. Singer and actor Beverley Knight plays Faye. We discuss the ongoing appeal of the Cinderella story with Faye Campbell who is playing Cinderella at York Theatre Royal and Dr Nicola Darwood who recently co-edited a new book with Alexis Weedon called Re-telling Cin...

Do women make better leaders? If so, what can they teach us? Strong Female Lead - Lessons From Women in Power, a new book by the journalist Arwa Mahdawi, argues that a rigid and masculine model of leadership is not up to tackling the complex problems we are facing in the world today. Arwa says ‘If we want to save the world, it’s time we stopped telling women to act like men and started telling eve...

Do you ever pause to think about where the cotton t-shirt, woollen jumper or silk blouse you're wearing have come from? Victoria Finlay's new book Fabric weaves history, anthropology and myth to tell us the stories of different kinds of cloth, how they are made, why we wear them and the industries that have sprung up around them. As the Court of Appeal clears the names of seven former Post Office...

Yesterday Sikh Women’s Aid launched a report into domestic abuse and child sexual abuse within the Sikh community. Conducted via anonymous surveys sent out over the summer, the survey of nearly 700 respondents showed that 70% had experienced domestic violence and 35% had experienced child sexual abuse or exploitation. To tell us more about this report and what can be done to help the issue, we're...

Last week, Caroline Nokes, former minister, Conservative MP and the chair of the Women and Equalities Committee - accused the Prime Minister's father of groping her 18 years ago at a Conservative Party Conference. Stanley Johnson has so far declined to comment on the allegation, saying he has no recollection of it. Caroline talks to Emma. ‘The Drifters Girl’ is a musical which tells the story of F...

TV and radio presenter Melanie Sykes has just announced that she’s been diagnosed with autism at the age of 51. She says it's 'truly life changing, or rather life affirming… and so many things make sense’. She tells us more. Colin Pitchfork, the man who murdered and raped Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth but was released from prison recently, has been sent back to jail for breaking his licence conditi...

Nancy Kelley is CEO of Stonewall, the largest LGBT rights charity in Europe. She speaks about her organisation’s work and gives her reaction to recent high-profile withdrawals from Stonewall’s Diversity Champions workplace inclusion scheme, including the BBC. This week the cricketer Azeem Rafiq candidly described the racism he's suffered. We talk to the MP Naz Shah and Halima Khan who works in gra...

What comes to your mind when you think of ‘arm wrestling’? Burly men taking each other on to see who’s the strongest in a testosterone charged atmosphere? Well now there is a woman at the heart of this sport in the UK. Kath Whitaker is the UK's only female arm-wrestling referee and is preparing to make her debut at the national championships in Birmingham this weekend. This week the cricketer Azee...