Women Are Mad

As a special treat to wrap up the first season of Writers On The Couch, Jen speaks at a Waterstones Live event with the glorious author Lucy Ashe. In celebration of Lucy's hotly-anticipated new novel The Model Patient , Jen and Lucy get stuck into the gnarly darkness of desire, obsession and the impossible depths of psychoanalysis. One of the jumping-off points of their convo was the fantastically...

The billion dollar industry that is self-help may ultimately save us all, and here's a woman who knows. When Tamu Thomas wrote Women Who Work Too Much , she thought she was simply conveying common sense. Today, Jen and Tamu discuss accidentally writing books which spark pushback, and how it feels to get caught up in systems which are hostile to change. Tamu is a former social worker and leading wo...

Lucy Vine is WAM's romcom queen. And she's written 8 of them so far, so there's fortunately a plenitude for you to get stuck into, too. She's also just embarked on her first ComCrim, the hilariously brilliant, fabulously feminist Lottery Winners Widows Club under her pseudonym Elly Vine, and we are all over this. Jen is espesh excited for the upcoming Good For You , detailing a therapist's public...

Poorna Bell is our Woman To Watch. And listen to. Today, the former editor of HuffPost and author of six non-fiction and fiction titles shares her truths with Jen. Together, they trace Poorna's story from the time of her first book, 'Chase The Rainbow,' which followed the trauma of her husband Rob's suicide. To where Poorna finds herself now, on the launch of her exceptional new must-read manifest...

Ever worried you might accidentally have killed someone in your sleep? You've come to the right place! Join Jen as she talks paranoia, murder and spooky moods with the Sunday Times and New York Times crime fiction bestseller Ruth Ware, whose 'Woman In Cabin 10' you may simultaneously be enjoying right now on Netflix. Perhaps even as you're leafing through her brand new sequel, 'The Woman In Suite...

Our guest on the couch this week is the novelist Eva Verde. Identity, class and female rage are recurring themes throughout Eva's work, meaning she's right up WAM's street. Today, we talk about these very subjects. And so much more besides... Including her aptitude for penning a steamy sex scene. One of the attributes making Eva the perfect scribe for the foreword of Jackie Collins' (no less!...

In an age of arch narcissism, WAM invites you to wander about in the worlds of others. Writers On The Couch is the kind of slow radio so many of us crave: we've even steadied the flow to fortnightly ep release. Leave the rat race/conveyor belt/sausage factory and come dream... Today, our guest is Monique Roffey. Herself a master weaver of worlds. Hell, she's won prizes for it! But what does her ow...

We are uncontainably excited to bring you the first instalment of our fortnightly spin-off treat, 'WAM: Writers On The Couch.' And what more glittery dream than to host Emma Jane Unsworth - author of Slags, Animals (including its screenplay adaptation) Adults and Hungry: The Stars And Everything. Alongside multiple short story collections, and show-running the Sky Atlantic series Dreamland. Here a...

To wrap up our eighth season, we're joined by the campaigning legend who is Mother Pukka AKA journalist Anna Whitehouse. Anna's story is one familiar to many. She too was trapped in the impossible reality of juggling motherhood and professional life, and one day decided enough was enough. She founded the online platform Mother Pukka for people who 'happen to be parents,' and began her tireless wor...

Our guest today is the infectiously inspiring TV presenter and celebrity baker Briony May Williams. The first visibly disabled baker on The Great British Bake Off, Briony has gone on to become an established BBC star. She's also a dedicated champion of disability charities, from Reach to Children In Need. We talk today about the initial discomfort of seeing herself as an advocate and representativ...

GAM's guest today is the ground-breaking author of young adult fiction, Sophie Jo. Whose most recent book, 'Red Flags' was published in February this year. Sophie Jo is passionate about helping teens understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, and explores these themes through the characters in her novels. Join GAM's own Bea Harmston as she deftly dives into the dep...

Our guest today is the OG firestarter: Shannon Watts, founder of the largest grassroots organisation in the US, Moms Demand Action. From her initial Facebook post the day after the Sandy Hooks massacre, to a membership of 11 million, Shannon has been campaigning for public safety measures to protect people from gun violence since 2012. A true force of nature, Shannon's begun to channel her incredi...

Today, Jen accompanies the Labour MP Stella Creasy on a voyage through the thorny topics of women's body rights, expressing emotion at work, and the Tom Hardy small screen deficit. Tune in for a vital exploration of the hottest issues of the day... JOIN CLUB WAM ON PATREON FOR AD-FREE LISTENING BUY JEN'S TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR : OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK!! Hosted on Acast. See aca...

Helen-Marie is an angel. And she's a therapist. She's a therapeutic angel, who's book Choose You: Gentle Words To Help You Heal And Grow brings acres of calm and reassurance, helping you set boundaries and understand your emotions more clearly. She's been a firm friend and champion of the pod for a while now, so we were thrilled to finally coax her on to talk to us about what makes her mad. JOIN C...

Julie Mae Cohen is the master of feminist revenge fantasy. Today, Jen is without Salima's steadying influence, and goes fairly rogue - 'inviting' Julie to take a turn around the more chaotic borders of WAM's garden. Where they 'enjoy' sights which include the spooky (and hilarious?!) realms of the afterlife, a light smattering of politics and the shadows of true crime. The best of times. And if yo...

GAM is back, with our very own and very exceptional Bea Harmston steering that majestic ship on behalf of our younger listeners. Today, she speaks to the phenomenal Jasmine Isa Qureshi - intersectional writer, activist and ecologist, whose combination of philosophical thought and care for nature is at the forefront of all of their work. What an incredible pair. Enjoy! JOIN CLUB...

Adele Parks is the woman you'll want beside you for every major life event. And even every minor one. She's WAM to the core, and we revel in her wisdom and worldview. Thank you Adele, for your wit and warmth. And for bringing us your sensational new book Our Beautiful Mess (you might have read it by now, as it was an INSTANT Sunday Times Bestseller, and we're a bit on the back foot after allowing...

The WAM Fam is reunited! There's quite a lot of excitement back at base about this, admittedly. But we're maybe even more excited about our guest: the brilliant Otegha Uwagba — bestselling author, culture journalist, and Grazia columnist. Otegha is the author of Little Black Book: A Toolkit for Working Women - a career guide which became a cult classic - as well as the critically acclaimed We Need...

In this episode, Esther Coren talks frankly about how she's handled rejection, ego-death and learning to accept advice. It's a rich, rewarding share and you won't be disappointed! And, if you can't get enough of Esther after gorging on her writerly reveals, you can now indulge in her debut novel, 'Well, This Is Awkward' ... JOIN JEN AS SHE KICKS OFF IWD CELEBRATIONS AT NOTTINGHAM WATERSTONES ON TH...

WAM Series 8 has landed! And we couldn't think of anyone better to celebrate with, than disco queen Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Come join the listen-party, as Sophie takes us on a journey through her emotional life landscape - pausing for reflection at key chapters, from her childhood and younger years navigating the music industry, all the way through to steering her own family along the path to indepen...

WAM is winding up for summer... but not before we bring you one final book recomm! Kate Muir is a powerhouse . Following her 7 year span as chief film critic of The Times, and authoring three novels, she turned her hand to campaign film making. If the Davina menopause documentaries changed your life, this woman is who you need to thank. She now brings you her third book on living better as women,...

BONUS EPISODE ALERT! We had SUCH a great time with this awesome duo. Jinty and Lou of Womenkind Collective have been podcasting since the pandemic. We've loved them longtime, and the convo we were so excited to have with them didn't disappoint! Together, we roam around such hot topics as the man-heavy travel show industry, falling over in public and fear of phone calls. And of course, the much-ant...

Continuing WAM Book Season... Our guest for today became known originally for her modelling career, after competing in the final of the Miss Wales Beauty Pageant. Once it emerged that nude pictures of her had been used to con money out of men all over the world, Davies used the talent she’d cultivated as a then broadcaster to trace the impact in her BBC documentary WHEN NUDES ARE STOLEN. Furtherin...

WAM is a happy home to many great writer pals, which is why we wanted to honour the tradition properly ahead of the summer, and bring you a month-long special to prep you for a season of great reads! We're kicking off with US author Christine Murphy and her debut novel, Notes On Surviving The Fire , described by The New Yorker as having: 'A thriller's bones, a satire's glare, and a comeuppance sto...

Stella Duffy OBE is a without doubt a household name - whether you know her through her countless theatre productions or novels, or through her activism. What she brings to this conversation is deeply personal however, sharing her experiences of illness, her struggle to have children, and how she's come to know herself through the existential psychotherapy she's now trained to provide. We adored s...