Woman's Hour

The TV presenter Julia Bradbury on her TV documentary and life after her breast cancer diagnosis. The longest serving MP, Dame Margaret Beckett on standing down as an MP in the next election.The "aunties" - the older women in the community who we should respect but for some may be judgemental as well as motherly. Podcaster and writer Tolly Shoneye and Anchal Seda discuss. The Attorney General and cabinet member Suella Braverman on the allegations that an unidentified Conservative MP has been accused of watching porn in the House of Commons. BMX Olympic and world champion Bethany Shriever on being named Action Sportsperson of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Music journalist Jude Rogers on her new book The Sound of Being Human, part memoir, part exploration of how music is interwoven into our lives from before birth to beyond the grave. Presenter:: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

Maya Sondhi has made a name for herself in television dramas like Silent Witness and Line Of Duty. But now she's in the writer’s chair, and she's behind a new police drama called DI Ray. It follows DI Rachita Ray who's promoted to join a ‘Culturally Specific Homicide’ investigation. Rachita suspects there's something else going on here.Rebecca Hilsenrath from The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman talks about failings of the Foreign Office when dealing with a 2018 rape complaint in Turkey. She describes how a British woman who was raped when she was on holiday went to the Consulate for help but was told, "Carry on with your holiday and enjoy it." The woman, who's remaining anonymous, first complained about the response she got from Consulate officials, and then how the Foreign Office dealt with it. Her complaint’s been upheld. We have our last part of Life After Divorce. Today we're hearing from Sita who talks about getting divorced from her wife. They didn't have children or shared assets but, she says, in a way that made the split harder to deal with.And we talk about the "aunties". You know: they're the older women in the community who we should respect. But to be honest, they might be suffocating and judgemental as well as motherly. We speak to podcaster and writer, Tolly Shoneye who honoured her Nigerian aunties in her book, Keep the Receipts, and Anchal Seda who's a podcast host and author of What Would The Aunties Say.

The presenter Julia Bradbury talks to Emma about her new documentary Breast Cancer and Me. Conservative Party Whips are conducting an investigation after two female MPs say they witnessed a colleague watching porn on his mobile phone in the House of Commons. The Attorney General Suella Braverman joined Emma, along with the feminist and activist Dr Helen Mott who's been involved in advising parliament in it's cultures of sexism and violence against women. Music journalist Jude Rogers has written a book, The Sound of Being Human, part memoir, part exploration of how music is interwoven into our lives from before birth to beyond the grave. She joins Emma to talk about the power of music.The ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme was introduced last month by the Government in an attempt to encourage UK citizens to sponsor Ukrainians who are fleeing the war. Judith Hutchinson is one such sponsor and has supported Oksana Melashchuk, a Ukrainian citizen, and her two children. Last week she drove them from Romania to Calais. A month on and Oksana still awaits her visa despite her children having been issued them, meaning she can't enter the UK -- she's currently waiting in Dunkirk. Emma spoke to Judith.Payal Mistry has made history as the first woman to play the role of Pi in the West End production of Life of Pi. Payal usually plays the role of Rani, Pi’s sister, but understudies the title role. She joins Emma to discuss the experience and why she thinks more shows should cast both men and women as understudies.Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Emma Pearce

Bethany Shriever’s win at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 gave the British Olympic team its first ever gold medal in BMX racing even though she had to launch a crowdfunding appeal to stand a chance of qualifying for the games. What does this latest award mean for her and BMX racing? In the wake of the Sarah Everard murder, Boris Johnson said he’d stop at nothing to jail more rapists’ and promised to fix the system which means just 1.3% of cases result in a charge. Our reporter Melanie Abbott has been investigating new guidelines on evidence gathering issued by the Crown Prosecution Service and Emma Barnett talks to Sian Ruddick who is an independent sexual advisor who works with victims of sexual assault.In 1958, The Great Leap Forward was a campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party to reconstruct the country and its economy which resulted in mass starvation and famine. Thousands of people fled to the neighbouring state of Hong Kong, which was a British colony at the time and many children – often girls - living in overcrowded Hong Kong orphanages were adopted by British families in the sixties. We hear from two of those children Katherine Gordon and Debbie Cook and their remarkable start to life.After the DJ Tim Westwood faces multiple allegations of sexual misconduct - which he strenuously denies - we talk to Tamanna Rahman and BBC Producer Ruth Evans.Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason is a funny novel about mental illness and families and love of all sorts. Martha Friel is loved and hilarious and clever but she sometimes cries for days. When she was 17 she had a breakdown which has shadowed her life since then. At 40 she finally gets a diagnosis which helps her to understand why she is as she is. So why did Meg Mason decide not to name Martha's illness in the book? She explains her decision to Emma. Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Managers: Tim Heffer & Michael Millham

Dame Margaret Beckett is one of Britain's most celebrated and respected female politicians and will be talking to us about her decision to stand down as an MP at the next elections She was first elected in October 1974. and has been described by Keir Starmer the leader of her own party as a “legend” and a “trailblazer”. She talks about the highlights of her time in politics and her plans for the future.Job interviews can be intimidating at the best of times, but not knowing how to present yourself, what to expect and what to wear can be a huge barrier and it’s easy to get trapped in a cycle of failed interviews and unemployment. Over the last eight years the charity Smart Works has been providing outfits and bespoke coaching to help women re-enter the job market. Most of the referrals come from the Government funded employment agency JobCentre Plus. We talk to Mims Davies Minister for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions and Kate Stephens the CEO of the charityNow the Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has struck a deal to buy Twitter. Can he balance safety with free speech, and what does this mean for women? we hear from journalist Helen Lewis, staff writer at The Atlantic and former technoology columnist, who has recently left Twitter. And we hear from best selling author Susan Cain who's best known as the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Her new book is called Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. She tells Emma why she believes sadness can be a positive force in our lives.Presented by Emma Barnett Produced by Beverley Purcell

Only Fools and Horses stars Tessa Peake-Jones and Gwyneth Strong will perform together in a touring stage adaptation of Ladies of Letters. The pair famously played Raquel and Cassandra - the wives of Del Boy and Rodney. They join Emma to discuss the stage show, working together again, and of course, the iconic sitcom.The Prime Minister has been in touch with the Labour Deputy leader, Angela Rayner -- to make it clear he regards claims about her reported in yesterday's Mail on Sunday as misogynistic. The paper said some Tory MPs had suggested she tried to distract the Prime Minister in the Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs. Emma gets the reaction to the story of Conservative MP and Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, Caroline Nokes,Today the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System publishes a report on women’s health and well-being in prison. Co-chair of the group, Conservative MP Jackie Doyle-Price talks exclusively to Woman’s Hour about the steps needed to improve to the health of women offenders, and prevent increasingly high levels of self-harm. Why despite many reports over the last fifteen years are these needs still not being met?How has the pandemic impacted the prevalence of child sexual abuse imagery online? Emma discusses the findings of the upcoming Internet Watch Foundation annual report with BBC Look East reporter Jon Ironmonger, who has been given exclusive access before its publication on Tuesday.In our series Threads we have been finding out the stories behind the items of clothing that women can't bear to part with. Today. Lisa on a black and white checked jacket which her Mum bought for her first trip abroad in 1967 and which Lisa commandeered years later for a job in an upmarket department store.

A professional woman who was continually called "good girl" by her boss has won an employment tribunal. Frances Fricker was told by her boss which photo to put on her work profile because HE thought it was the most attractive. The judge in the tribunal found that Frances, an accounts executive with a consultancy company called Gartner, had been sexually harassed at work, and because she fought against the harassment by taking a grievance, she was treated even worse. He also described the culture where she worked as laddish and toxic. She joins us on Woman’s Hour.The footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodriguez have announced the death of their baby boy at birth. The couple were expecting twins. Their baby girl survived. We speak to Clea Harmer is CEO of the charity Sands and Katie Harris, who lost one of her twin daughters, Abikara, during pregnancy.We meet Rhian from Wet Leg, the indie rock band whose debut album shot straight to number 1 last week.We explore the Metaverse; a fast-growing sector that isn’t covered by the Online Safety Bill. We talk to Carol Voredmon MBE, who has campaigned for online safety for 20 years as well as Catherine Allen, CEO of Limina Immerse.We hear from Maria Konnikova, author of ‘The Confidence Game: Why We Fall For It Every Time’ on the psychology of the female con artist.Can boxing transform lives? We speak to Chanika, one of the young women taking part in Idris Elba’s Fight School, a television series currently airing on BBC and available on iplayer. We also hear from Rachel Bower, one of the boxing coaches on the show. Rachel is a former National Boxing champion and a Metropolitan police sergeant.

The indie band Wet Leg went straight to number 1 last week with their debut album. Their songs are witty: all about love, sex, parties and breakups. We speak to one of the band members, Rhian Teasdale.When it comes to losing weight why is the word “diet” used less and less these days? The diet industry is worth billions, but lots of people think the word itself is unhelpful. We talk to Dr Saira Hameed, an NHS Consultant who specialises in obesity medicine at Imperial College London. She's also the author of The Full Diet. And we also have Rhiannon Lambert, who's a Nutritionist.Can boxing transform lives? The actor Idris Elba thinks it might and he's got a series called Fight School which is currently on BBC 2. He’s recruited a group of eight young men and women, giving them an intensive boxing course with the aim of improving confidence and resilience. There's another goal which is to compete in an amateur fight. Chanika is one of the young women taking part, and Rachel Bower is one of the boxing coaches on the show. Rachel is also a former National Boxing champion and a Metropolitan police sergeant. They come into the Woman's Hour studio to speak to Anita.When it comes to getting HRT, MPs have been accused, once more, of betraying millions of menopausal women by failing to improve access to it as they promised. In October ministers announced a 'menopause revolution' but the plan to cut the cost of HRT doesn't come about until next April and now tens of thousands of women are suffering because of a nationwide shortage. But what's the impact of not having your gel or patch? Anita is joined by Dr Nighat Arif, a GP, plus author and documentary maker Kate Muir.

Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Kirsty Starkey Interviewed Guest: Bonnie Langford Interviewed Guest: Frances Fricker Reporter: Henrietta Harrison Interviewed Guest: Sharie FetzerBonnie Langford was just seven years old when she performed as Bonnie Butler at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in Gone With The Wind. She has since appeared in everything from Gypsy to Cats and Chicago. In more recent years she has played Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street at London’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and brought her unique portrayal of Roz in Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, The Musical. Bonnie joins Krupa to discuss her career spanning 50 years on stage and her current role as Evangeline Harcourt in Anything Goes.A professional woman who was continually called "good girl" by her boss has won an employment tribunal. Frances Fricker was told by her boss which photo to put on her work profile because HE thought it was the most attractive. The judge in the tribunal found that Frances, an accounts executive with a consultancy company called Gartner, had been sexually harassed at work, and because she fought against the harassment by taking a grievance, she was treated even worse. He also described the culture where she worked as laddish and toxic. In the latest in our series about Life after Divorce we hear a male perspective - Ryan, not his real name,  is 34 and has two young children. He met his wife in his early twenties and married in 2015  but their relationship began to deteriorate after kids came along and they began the divorce process in November 2020. His own parents divorced when he was young. More than 40% of marriages end in divorce – and most of us will have been affected by one  - whether it be our own, our parents’ or our children’s. Yet we don’t speak easily about the process or the fallout.  In Life After Divorce our reporter Henrietta Harrison, who has recently been through a divorce herself, is speaking to listeners at different stages of the process.  It’s estimated that Lipoedema effects up to 1 in 10 women in the UK. It’s the build up of fat cells in the bottom, legs and sometimes the arms. Until recently the most common type of treatment was liposuction – which permanently removes fat cells – but as of last month the regulator NICE has said liposuction can no longer be used as a treatment in the UK – deeming it unsafe and ineffective. We hear from Sharie Fetzer from Lipoedema UK and a patient who was halfway through her liposuction treatment when the rules changed.

Stand up Paddleboarding or SUP is fast becoming one of the most popular water-sports in the UK. Jo Moseley was 51 when she started the sport and she tells us why we should all get on a board and start paddling.We’ll be joined by Mary Queen of Shops – that’s Mary Portas – who’s one of the UK's leading voices on retail and brand communication. She is in parliament today calling on the government to amend a law governing how companies are run to better reflect their social and environmental responsibilities. Sticking with parliament, we hear about the government's plan to help regulate content and tech companies with the On Line Safety Bill. The BBC’s parliamentary correspondent sets out what is and isn’t going to be included in the legislation and we hear from Carol Vorderman and Catherine Allen from the Institute of Engineering and technology about their concerns surrounding the safeguarding of young people in the metaverse. And the author and journalist Sophia Smith Galer tells us about her new book: ‘Losing It: Sex Education for the 21st Century’ which delves into the sex myths that impact the lives of young people and why we should be taking sex education more seriously. Presenter: Jessica Creighton Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Tim Heffer Photo Credit: Linn Van De Zandern