Woman's Hour

The opera singer Natalya Romaniw joins Jane to talk about the challenges performing live in the Covid-era and her latest role as Mimi in the ENO’s La Bohème at Alexandra Palace in London. As the political party conference season comes to a close Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff and Katy Balls from the Spectator consider what, if any, policies are on the table for women. Men are disproportionately...

We've been overwhelmed by the phenomenal response we’ve had from listeners about this year's Woman's Hour Power List - so today we’re making it all about you! Do you have questions about living a greener life? Do you want to help the planet but aren’t sure how? Send us your eco-dilemmas, queries and questions and our Power List judges Lucy Siegle, Flo Headlam and Prof Alice Larkin will be on hand...

Agony Aunt and star of Googlebox Mary Killen joins Jane Garvey to urge us to channel her ultimate British Role model – The Queen . She argues we’d all be a bit happier, wiser and more adept if we adopted the underrated virtues of duty, kindness, discretion, restraint and fortitude as exemplified by Her Majesty. Could disabled people help to solve the crisis in fostering? Is gossip the glue or life...

In her final Woman’s Hour after 33 years at the helm, Jenni discusses the work that still needs to be done when it comes to feminism and equality. She's joined by Helena Kennedy QC, Jude Kelly the founder and director of The WOW Foundation, "Mother of the House" Harriet Harman MP, and poet and novelist, Jackie Kay. We hear from Lee Lawrence, whose mother Cherry Groce was shot by police in a botche...

We heard about women Democrats standing for Congress last week, and today we discuss Republican women. In 2018 their numbers in the House of Representatives dwindled to just 13, but now a record number are entering the November elections either as incumbents or challengers, so what made the difference and what are their chances of winning? Jane speaks to Olivia Perez-Cubas from Winning for Women,...

As Jenni Murray says 'goodbye' to the programme she's presented for 33 years, she looks back at some of the battles we've won, lost and still have to fight in the company of Harriet Harman MP, Jude Kelly director and founder of the WOW Foundation, Helena Kennedy QC and the novelist and poet Jackie Kay. Plus she talks about some of her own favourite moments of the past 30 years. Presenter: Jenni Mu...

Flavour is the third instalment in Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty series which celebrates the infinite potential of vegetables. Along with co-author and recipe developer Ixta Belfrage they explore techniques and processes such as infusing and charring which brings out the full flavour of the vegetable. They join Jenni to talk about how to Cook the Perfect Spicy Mushroom Lasagne. We now know that tens o...

On 28 September 1985, Lee Lawrence’s mother Cherry Groce was wrongly shot by police during a raid on her Brixton home. The bullet shattered her spine and she never walked again. Soon after it was reported – wrongly - that Cherry Groce was dead, and two days of rioting took place in Brixton. All this was witnessed by 11-year-old Lee. He became his mother’s carer. After a doctor questioned the cause...

The government is carrying out a review into how to improve health outcomes for babies and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Early Years development review will look at the critical first two and a half years of life which has a significant impact on the physical health, mental health and opportunity throughout life. We hear from the government's Early Years adviser Andrea Leadsom MP. I...

The 2020 Woman’s Hour Power List is ‘Our Planet’ - the search is on for 30 women based in the UK who are making a significant positive contribution to the environment. Emma Howard Boyd, the chair of the Environment Agency, and Flo Headlam, a horticulturalist and garden designer are two of the judges. Mary McAleese was twice president of Ireland, studied canon law when her term ended and, to the su...

Windrush campaigner, Paulette Wilson’s brave decision to speak to Amelia Gentleman about the immigration issues she was facing with the Home Office was crucial in exposing the Windrush scandal. In her book, The Windrush Betrayal, Gentleman tells the full story of her investigation. Campaigner, Glenda Caesar was also caught up in the hostile environment – she came to Britain legally as a three-mont...

The award-winning actor Alison Steadman joins Jenni to discuss her latest projects. ’23 Walks’ is a film telling a love story in later life, and ‘Life’ is a new BBC1 drama set in Manchester, and follows the stories of the residents of a large house divided into four flats. It explores love, loss, birth, death, the ordinary, the extraordinary and everything in between. Mary McAleese was President o...

Why are the world’s best female footballers signing for English clubs? In the past few weeks some of the world’s best female footballers have signed for clubs in the Women’s Super League, highlighting a power shift in women’s football globally and setting up an enticing season, which will be watched, at least remotely, by more fans than ever before. The new arrivals include five of the US World Cu...

Today we launch the Woman’s Hour Power List 2020 - Our Planet. We will be looking for 30 women based in the UK who are making a significant positive contribution to the environment or the sustainability of our planet. It will showcase inspirational initiatives and stories that are bringing about real change at all levels of society – from influencing global policy and changing human behaviour, to...

When actor Shobna Gulati’s mum was diagnosed with dementia in 2017, she was already spending the majority of her time caring for her. Their sometimes difficult relationship was tested to the limit, but ultimately she gained a lot from those years spent in her mum’s front room. When she passed away last year she decided to write a book about her family and her mum’s illness called Remember Me? Disc...

How does the feminisation of alcohol work? We hear from Carol Emslie a Professor of substance use and misuse at the School of Health and Life Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University, Kate Baily a podcast host and the co-author of Love Yourself Sober – a self-care guide to alcohol-free living for busy mothers and from Dr Athanasia Daskalopoulou, a Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Liverp...

The domestic abuse story in EastEnders comes to a tragic end tonight. Chantelle is killed by her husband, Gray. We speak to the Head of Continuing Drama at BBC Studios, Kate Oates, and Sarah Davidge from Woman’s Aid, about how the storyline reflects the sharp rise in domestic violence during lockdown. Are you happy being naked in front of your children? Or does it make you feel uncomfortable? We t...

Children’s author Jacqueline Wilson joins tells us about her new book Love Frankie about a teenager falling in love for the first time. Frankie lives with her two sisters and her recently divorced mum who is seriously ill with MS and is being bullied by a girl called Sally and her gang at school. But eventually the two girls strike up a friendship and as they spend more time together, Frankie star...

Julia Gillard, once Prime Minister of Australia, and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, economist and international development expert from Nigeria and also a woman with experience at the top of the Nigerian politics, have come together to explore women and leadership. They’ve written a book together and interviewed high profile global leaders who are women: women like Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Rodham Clinton,...

The Comedy Women in Print Prize is the only literary prize in the UK and Ireland to spotlight funny writing by women. Now in its second year, it was launched by comedian and actress Helen Lederer in response to the lack of exposure for female comedy writing. The 2020 shortlist for Published Comic Novel included the likes of Candice Carty-Williams, and Jeanette Winterson, but the winner was announc...

According to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, three quarters of black women do not feel the NHS protects them equally. That's the findings of a poll it commissioned on being Black in the UK. The poll also highlights Black women's thoughts on their human rights and the police. We hear from Celine Henry who's one of the researchers, and the Chair of the Committee, Harriet Harman, M...

Laura Bates is founder of the Everyday Sexism Project. In her latest book, she traces the roots of extreme misogyny across a complex network of online groups from Pick Up Artists to Incels. Laura explains what attracts men and boys these movements. Blogger Stephanie Yeboah has been a part of the fat acceptance and body positive movement for years. Her first book – ‘Fattily Ever After’ – is a self-...

Are you always just a bit late to everything – even when there isn’t an actual reason? Is your time-keeping a source of stress for you and others? Help is at hand. In the latest of our How To series, Jenni discusses how to be on time with Grace Pacie, author of LATE! A Time-bender’s guide to why we are late and how we can change, and therapist and writer Philippa Perry. On Wednesday this week the...

Laura Bates is founder of the Everyday Sexism Project. In her latest book – Men Who Hate Women - she traces the roots of extreme misogyny across a complex network of online groups - extending from Men's Rights Activists and Pick up Artists to Men Going their Own Way, Trolls and the Incel movement. She explains how they operate and how she hopes drawing parallels with other extremist movements arou...

From flapper to femme fatale: Olive Thomas was the wild-living sex symbol of the jazz age and one of Hollywood's first starlets - but ended up dying in agony from poison in Paris Ritz 100 years ago. Suicide... or revenge of a jealous husband? Pamela Hutchinson, Film historian and critic specialising in silent cinema joins Jenni to discuss the story. The NHS in England employs more than a million w...