Woman's Hour

Women conductors are in the limelight this week with a film called “Tar”, which opens in cinemas today, starring Cate Blanchett depicting the life of Lydia Tár - a fictional world-renowned composer-conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. The American conductor Marin Alsop famously observed that women are more likely to lead a G7 country or become four-star generals in the US Army than they are to be the principal conductor of a big orchestra. Anita Rani speaks to one our listener Emma Warren who got in touch with us as she is the only woman on her choral conducting course at The Royal Academy and Joséphine Korda who has just been announced by Opera North as their latest Female Conductor Trainee. Yesterday we talked about Andrew Tate and other social media influencers who are spreading misogynistic messages online. Several listeners got in touch to tell us about how their children have come across this kind of material and with concerns about how best to talk about it with them. Anita is joined by Dr Emily Setty, Senior Lecturer at the University of Surrey who does research in schools with young people about sex and relationships and Michael Conroy founder of Men at Work, an organisation that trains professionals how to have constructive dialogue with boys. Jenny Beavan has spent over 40 years dressing the greats of Hollywood for film and screen. She is an 11 time Oscar nominated (and 3 time Oscar winning) costume designer, whose work you will be familiar with from films such as Sense and Sensibility, The King’s Speech, and Mad Max: Fury Road. She has just been longlisted for the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design for her work on Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. The film tells the story of Ada Harris, played by Lesley Manville, a cleaning lady who – unsurprisingly – travels to Paris, after she sees a Dior dress belonging to one of her clients and is determined to own one of her own. Jenny joins Anita to tell us about the process of recreating old Dior designs and the transformative power of that perfect dress!More than 25 years ago, the World Health Organisation made a commitment to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation across the world. Despite this, around eight thousand women and girls each day go through FGM. To understand why this is still happening, Anita Rani will hear from WHO researcher Dr Christina Pallitto and charity CEO Nkatha Mugao, who helps women and girls in Kenya who have been cut, and is working to stop FGM.

Natasha Kaplinsky has become the first female president of the British Board of Film Classification, which is responsible for setting age guidelines for films, videos and DVDs, as well as content on some streaming services. The journalist, presenter and former newsreader for the BBC, Sky and Channel 5 joins Anita for her first broadcast interview about the role since her appointment in November. She'll discuss what drew her to the job, which topics concern parents the most and how she'll judge today's cultural sensitivities around sex, violence and language.Andrew Tate appeared in court earlier this week and is continuing to be held on charges of rape and human trafficking in Romania – charges his lawyer claims have “no evidence.” One of the top ten most Googled individuals of 2022, a kickboxer turned life coach and former contestant of Big Brother, he gained popularity for his online videos which contained misogynistic content. But Andrew Tate is not the only person spreading those views on social media, there are a host of other men who have that space. So who are they preaching to and why are their messages so popular? Anita speaks to journalist Harriet Hall who interviewed Andrew Tate as part of an investigation into misogyny online for Cosmopolitan magazine and Dr Bettina Rottweiler from University College London who specialises in the relationship between misogyny and different types of violence. Professor Joanna Bourke has been looking into the history of breast cancer. How did the one-step radical mastectomy persist as the most common way to deal with the disease until relatively recently? How was breast cancer racialized, with many doctors in the US who believed that black women could not get it? And why are women encouraged to reconstruct their missing breast after surgery? Joanna is the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric, and is giving a lecture on the cultural history of breast cancer this evening, which will also be available to watch online. She joins Anita in studio.Dr Rebecca Gomperts has spent her career providing abortions in places where the procedure is restricted or illegal. Her first venture, Women on Waves, saw her using a converted fishing trawler to travel into international waters and perform the procedures on board. Then she started an online service shipping abortion pills to women, using her Austrian medical license to stay within the law. Most recently her attention has turned to the US in the wake of the overturning of Roe vs Wade. She joins Anita Rani to discuss how her work has changed.

The Offbeat Sari exhibition will include 90 examples of innovative saris – including the first ever sari worn at the Met Gala and a foil jersey sari worn by Lady Gaga. Krupa Padhy talks to the exhibition's curator Priya Khanchandani.BBC Journalist Faranak Amidi brings us the latest from Iran and we look at LOAB, the internet character created by artificial intelligence. Described as having the 'eerie face of a middle-aged woman with dead eyes, a vacant stare and a disturbing grimace', she's become an online viral phenomenon. Steph Swanson, the artist who created LOAB, explains her work and we hear from Tabitha Goldstaub, who chairs the UK’s Artificial Intelligence Council, and Mhairi Aitken, from the Alan Turing Institute. In February 2003, a woman called Lana Clarkson was found dead at the Hollywood mansion of the iconic music producer Phil Spector. It was a global news sensation, with Spector insisting that the 40-year-old actor – whom he had only met that evening - had killed herself with his gun. A new Sky documentary series called Spector re-examines what happened almost 20 years ago, and speaks to her family and friends for the first time.And are you one of those people who loves jumping into the sea or a river at this time of year to feel the benefit of cold water swimming? Well, if so, the British Medical Journal has said that swimmers should be told more about the risks of a lung condition known as SIPE - swimming-induced pulmonary oedema. Dr Ruth Williamson is a cold water swimmer and Acting Chief Medical Officer at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. She tells us how to spot SIPE and what to do about it, if you fear you have it. Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Michael MillhamPhoto Credit; : Bikramjit Bose

One hundred years ago Edith Thompson and her lover Frederick Bywaters were hanged for the murder of her husband Percy, even though there was no evidence that she was involved with the killing. What condemned Edith were the letters that she had written to Freddy, which were interpreted by the law as incitement to murder. Laura Thompson has brought the letter together in a book Au Revoir Now Darlint. She joins Nuala to discuss the story and why the case still resonates a century later.A report out today by the charity the Fawcett Society has found a ‘toxic and exclusionary’ culture in Westminster which they say risks pushing out women MPs and having a damaging effect on democracy. Nuala is joined by Jemima Olchawski, CEO of the Fawcett Society as well as the Conservative MP Maria Miller who is Chair of the APPG on Women and Parliament and the Labour MP Stella Creasy who has campaigned for better maternity rights for MPs. When Nuala spoke about donor conceived children on Woman’s Hour last week, listener Hayley got in touch to share her own story, not only of being a donor conceived person herself, but of using a donor to conceive her own children too. She explains why she thinks it’s so important to be open and honest about your child’s conception.Dragons' Den has returned to our TV screens and the Dragons were impressed by Lucy Rout's pitch. The 28 year old became the first entrepreneur in 20 series to receive investment and a job offer from Peter Jones alongside investment backing from two other dragons. Lucy is the founder of Tabuu, a business that sells stylish pill cases with the aim of removing the stigma around taking medication. Lucy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the 25, and following reconstruction of her digestive system has to take medication every time she eats. She talks to Nuala about her illness and her experience in the Den.Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell

Last week we reported how 22-year-old Eleanor Williams who claimed she had been trafficked and raped by an Asian grooming gang was convicted of perverting the course of justice. She will be sentenced in March but we consider the possible impact her conviction could have on how rape is reported, how it’s handled by the police and whether women are believed. We hear from the former chief prosecutor for the north west Nazir Ali and Maggie Oliver, the former senior police officer who became a whistle blower for exposing the poor handling of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring case by her own force. Whether it's rail, nurses, ambulance staff or postal workers strikes are becoming an increasingly common part of life. Could teachers across the UK be the next to follow? This week sees some teachers in Scotland striking with unions in England, Wales and NI. balloting their members in the coming days. Three quarters of teachers are female. Nuala talks to a teacher with nearly 30 years experience Michelle Richards and Natalie Perera, Chief Executive of the Education Policy Hira Ahmad is the first woman with Bruck Syndrome, a brittle bone condition, to give birth to a healthy baby. The 28-year-old gave birth to baby girl Dua last January l and now wants to share her story to inspire others with similar conditions. She was given specialist care in St George's Hospital, London led by Professor Asma Khalil, consultant in obstetrics and maternal foetal medicine. Until recently, it was believed that the early pioneers of animation had all been men. That consensus was shattered when historian Mindy Johnson uncovered the previously unseen work of the animator Bessie Mae Kelley from the 1920s. Kelley’s films are now the earliest surviving hand-drawn animations by a woman (before this the earliest woman’s work was from the 1950s.) Mindy joins Nuala McGovern to discuss gender bias in film history and why this discovery is so ground-breaking.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Beverley Purcell

The author and environmental activist Vandana Shiva has released a new book, Terra Viva to coincide with her 70th birthday. She discusses her life campaigning for climate justice and equality, as well as what she thinks of the current climate situation.According to reports in the Telegraph this week, Rishi Sunak has shelved plans to reform childcare services put forward by his predecessor, Liz Truss. The plans were looking at increasing free childcare support and changing the staff-child ratio. What will this mean for parents who need childcare and for those working in the industry? We hear the CEO of the Early Years Alliance Neil Leitch and the Deputy Director of UK Onward, Adam Hawksbee.New year, new job? If you’re thinking of leaving a job we discuss the art of quitting well. Sometimes leaving is the right thing to do, but how do you do that without destroying everything you’ve worked hard for? We hear from Mandy Dennison Director of Engagement from the International Federation of Coaching UK, and Karen Danker from Women Returners, which helps women returning to the work place after an extended break.In our series Finding My Voice we’re talking to women about the moment they realised they had something to say or stand up for. Shekeila Scarlett was excluded from school when she was 12 years old. Although she was reinstated at the school just 2 months later, the experience made her realised how distant young pupils were from the governors who made decisions about their school. At 26, she’s now the Chair of Governors at Stoke Newington High School in Hackney, making her one of the youngest chairs of a school governing board in the UK.This year in the UK children conceived by sperm, egg or embryo donation who turn 18 will be able to request information that identifies their donor. This includes the donor’s name, birth name, date of birth and address, as long as the information is on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s register. It’s a result of a change in the law in April 2005 meaning tha the first of those children conceived after the law changed will have their eighteenth birthdays this year. To discuss the implications for donors, children conceived by donor as well as their families are Clare Ettinghausen, Director of Strategy & Corporate Affairs at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the UK’s Fertility Regulator. And Nina Barnsley Director of the Donor Conception Network which is a UK based charity supporting donor conception families. You might have spent this first week of January planning where you want to go, what you want to do and who you want to be in 2023, but have you made any financial new year’s resolutions? Statistics show that more than a third of us (35%) will make a financial new year’s resolution this year. We hear from the consumer editor of the Financial Times and presenter of the FT's Money Clinic podcast, Claer Barrett as well as the budget savvy mum, Gemma Bird also known as @MoneyMumOfficial on what we can all do when it comes to financial planning.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rabeka NurmahomedPhoto credit: Kartikey Shiva

You might have spent this first week of January planning where you want to go, what you want to do and who you want to be in 2023 But have you made any financial new year’s resolutions. Statistics show that more than a third of us will make a financial new year’s resolution this year. Will you be ‘manifesting’ money in the year ahead? Anita Rani is joined by the consumer editor of the Financial Times and presenter of the FT's Money Clinic podcast, Claer Barrett as well as the budget savvy mum, Gemma Bird also known as @MoneyMumOfficial on social media.A new ITV documentary, A Murder in the Family, re-lives three shocking murders in the UK as told by the family members closest to the events. One of those is Jennifer Cronin, who was 72 when she was killed by her daughter’s ex-husband, Kieren Lynch. In March 2018, Kieren went to Jennifer’s house and set himself and Jennifer on fire, resulting in both of them dying from their injuries. Jennifer’s daughter Susan witnessed the incident and speaks to Anita Rani. Over the last few months we have been exploring the joys and difficulties of female friendship. When a friendship goes wrong can you fix it and should you try? A listener we are calling Christina contacted us to say she has lost three long-standing friendships in the last four years. This is her side of the story, she acknowledges that, but she is asking herself some big questions. Jo Morris went to meet her.In our series Finding My Voice we’re talking to women about the moment they realised they had something to say or stand up for. In 2020, Liz Roberts chose to report the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of her brother 50 years previously, when she was just 8 years old. During the legal proceedings, she chose to waive her right to anonymity – a right which is automatically granted to victims of sexual offences in the UK. She joins Anita Rani to discuss the choice to use her name and why, since her brother’s sentencing, she’s continued to speak publicly about her story.

The author and environmental activist Vandana Shiva has released a new book, Terra Viva to coincide with her 70th birthday. She joins Anita Rani to discuss her life campaigning for climate justice and equality.Eleanor Williams, a 22 year old woman from Barrow-in-Furness, who claimed she had been trafficked by an Asian grooming gang has been convicted of perverting the course of justice. Her false Facebook post about being trafficked and beaten was shared more than 100,000 times and led to protests in the local area. The North of England Editor for the Guardian Helen Pidd has been following the story and has interviewed some of her victims, Helen joins Anita to discuss the case. New year, new job? Today we discuss the art of quitting well. Anita is joined by Mandy Dennison Director of Engagement from the International Federation of Coaching UK, and Karen Danker from Women Returners, which helps women returning to the work place after an extended break.In our series Finding My Voice we’re talking to women about the moment they realised they had something to say or stand up for. Moud Goba fled her home country of Zimbabwe at the age of 20 due to harassment she faced over her sexuality. She is now the Chair of the Board of Trustees for UK Black Pride and has spent over a decade helping other LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers to integrate into their new communities. She joins Anita Rani to discuss how she found her voice as an activist once she was finally able to express her sexuality freely. We hear the Woman's Hour archive from 2015 following the death of novelist Fay Weldon.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Emma PearcePhoto credit: Kartikey Shiva

What is it like to be the only woman in a group of men? Is it isolating? Intimidating? Or, can there be a certain, maybe shameful, thrill of being included as ‘one of the lads’? To discuss, Nuala speaks to Immy Humes, a documentary filmmaker who has spent years gathering archive images of all-male groups including exactly one woman, which she published as a collection in her book ‘The Only Woman’. They are also joined by Emma John, a sports journalist and author of ‘Self Contained’, her memoir of single life. She’s spent her career covering cricket and rugby, often as ‘the only woman’ surrounded by male friends and colleagues.This year in the UK children conceived by sperm, egg or embryo donation who turn 18 will be able to request information that identifies their donor. This includes the donor’s name, birth name, date of birth and address, as long as the information is on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s register. It’s a result of a change in the law in April 2005 meaning that the first of those children conceived after the law changed will have their 18th birthdays this year. Nuala discusses the implications for donors, children conceived by donor as well as their families, with Clare Ettinghausen, Director of Strategy & Corporate Affairs at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the UK’s Fertility Regulator. And Nina Barnsley Director of the Donor Conception Network which is a UK based charity supporting donor conception families.Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that 1 in 45 people in England have covid – and the UK Health Security Agency are now advising people to wear face masks if they are ill and need to leave the house, and to keep ill children home from school. So what does this mean? Are we going to get back to wearing face masks everywhere? Nuala McGovern speaks to the Times Science Editor Tom Whipple to get the latest on the situation, and government covid advisor Professor Susan Michie to hear how we should be changing our behaviour. In our series Finding My Voice we’re talking to women about the moment they realised they had something to say or stand up for. Nuala speaks to Shekeila Scarlet. She was excluded from school when she was just 12 years old. After an appeal process that eventually reversed the decision, she was reinstated at the school. But seeing her case debated by a board of governors made her realise the importance of having young people involved in school governance. At 26, she’s now the Chair of Governors at Stoke Newington School in Hackney, making her one of the youngest chairs of a school governing board in the UK.Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer : Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell

There’s a growing trend in women not wearing bras. To talk about this Nuala McGovern is joined by the Fashion Editor of The Times, Harriet Walker. She’ll talk about bra trends up to now, and why this might not be the best of them.According to reports in the Telegraph, Rishi Sunak has shelved plans to reform childcare services put forward by his predecessor, Liz Truss. The plans were looking at increasing free childcare support and changing the staff-child ratio. Nuala McGovern will be looking at what the postponing of these reforms means for parents who need childcare, as well as those working in the industry, speaking to the CEO of the Early Years Alliance Neil Leitch and the Deputy Director of UK Onward, Adam Hawksbee.In our series Finding My Voice we’re talking to women about the moment they realised they had something to say or stand up for. Elika Ashoori was an actor and baker who rarely kept up with politics. That is, until 2017 when her father, Anoosheh, was detained by the Iranian authorities while visiting his mother. Over the next 5 years, she and her family fought for his release and she was forced to go through what she calls a ‘crash course’ in human rights campaigning. We look at the "gender health gap" with the Patient Safety Commissioner for England - Dr Henrietta Hughes. . A GP by training and previously a medical director at NHS England she was appointed in July and took up the post in September. She'll be joined by the health journalist Sarah Graham who has a new book out, Rebel Bodies: A guide to the gender health gap revolutionPresenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Bob Nettles.