Woman's Hour

Stella Gibbons' first novel was Cold Comfort Farm. First published in 1932, it became an instant bestseller and made fun of country life. Another one of her novels called My American will be serialized on BBC Radio 4 next week. The writer Lynne Truss discusses Stella's life and work.Four years ago the largest women's prison in Western Europe, HMP Holloway in London, was closed. The building has huge historic significance. partly because of its links to the suffragettes, especially the Pankhurst sisters. But what will happen to the site now that the prison has gone?Refuge is the UK's largest domestic violence service. It has a network of refuges and community-based support, as well as a 24-hour helpline. Every year it supports 80,000 women and children. Sandra Horley has been Refuge’s Chief Executive for over 40 years. She comes onto Woman's Hour to talk about her time in charge.

Wafa Mustafa is a Syrian refugee currently living in Berlin. Her father was arrested in Syria on July 2nd 2013 and has not been heard from since. Wafa is just one of many Syrian women, who are part of Families for Freedom, a woman-led movement searching for family members who were detained or 'disappeared' by the Syrian regime, ISIS and other armed groups during Syria's brutal civil war. She joins Jane to explain why she has been sitting outside a court in Koblenz with over 60 framed photographs. They are joined by the BBC's Middle East correspondent Quentin Sommerville. A new BBC podcast, The Orgasm Cult, looks into a wellness company called One Taste and it’s co-founder, Nicole Daedone, who believed that orgasm would one day sit alongside yoga and meditation as the self-care practice for the modern empowered woman. One Taste taught orgasmic meditation or Om-ing as it’s called by those in the know. Reporter Nastaran Tavakoli-Far talks to Jane. Do you and your other half bicker? Has lockdown brought out the bickerer in you? Or maybe you see it in others, especially couples who’ve been together for a long time. We speak to Penny Mansfield, expert on relationships from One Plus One and Deborah and Gary Marshall.Elle Kaye specialises in bird taxidermy. Aged 27, she is one of a growing number of young women who have made taxidermy their trade.Presenter: Jane Garvey Producer: Dianne McGregor

Women have been worst hit in financial and economic terms by the pandemic so the spending review coming up this week is of particular interest this year. It’s when the chancellor sets out his big picture for the next three or four years in terms of what each government department will have to spend. This time round though Rishi Sunak will be laying out his plan for just one year because of the uncertainties facing the UK. Paul Johnson from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Mary-Ann Stephenson from the Women’s Budget Group discuss the key areas to watch for which could impact women.My Life In Shoes. The actress Eve Pearce has written a poem about her main life events remembered through her footwear - from wellingtons to brogues and satin heels. The actress Maureen Lipman talks to Jane about their friendship, and her own favourite black suede courts which she wore to Buckingham Palace, plus the role that shoes play in helping her get into character.Özlem Cekic was one of the first women with a Muslim immigrant background to enter the Danish parliament. When she started receiving hate email from people who thought she should ‘go home’, she just deleted or ignored it. Then one day she decided to go and meet some of the senders. She was offered coffee and home-made cake at their houses, and talked with them for hours. So began a decade of trying to build bridges with people who hold extreme views. She tells Jane why she is convinced we should try to listen and understand them, and confront our own prejudices in the process. Özlem has written a book called Overcoming hate through dialogue.As part of our Power List coverage we’re talking to Marian Spain who’s in charge of Natural England. It launched The Nature Recovery Network this month. And Sarah Johnson who works in Lancashire, restoring peatland in her area. Peat is really important for absorbing carbon dioxide and helps combat climate change.

The Woman’s Hour Power List reveal celebrates women from across the UK who are making a significant contribution to the health and sustainability of our planet. Number 2 on the list is environmental lawyer Farhana Yamin.Boris Johnson’s government has been criticised for its lack of women at the top table. The dramatic departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain from Downing Street has led to calls for a female led reset at Number 10. We hear from Katie Perrior, former advisor at number 10 and Anji Hunter who was Tony Blair’s “gatekeeper” and longest serving aide.The appeal of moving house. Jane Christmas has written a book about the 32 house moves she’s made in 66 years. Linda Hill has moved just once in 37 years of marriage.Singer songwriter Nadine Shah talks about her latest album Kitchen Sink which explores the themes of fertility, tradition & identity. Older women and long hair - the dos and don’ts of hair care as you age with fashion journalist Alyson Walsh and hair stylist Ashley Gaunt.Presenter: Jane Garvey Producer: Paula McFarlane Editor: Dianne McGregor

Number 23 on this year’s Woman’s Hour Power List is Kate Humble – whose TV career spans 30 years and includes all sorts of programmes covering nature, wildlife and farming. But how important is TV in helping people actually care about the planet? Jane talks to Kate about the best way to connect people with nature, the importance of inspiring the next generation, and the problem she has with the word ‘environment’.Justine Greening was for Secretary of State for International Development for nearly four years under David Cameron, and Minister for Women and Equalities for Theresa May. She joins Jane to give her response to the suggested cuts to International Aid that are expected to be announced next Wednesday. What impact could that decision have on projects supporting some of the most vulnerable groups around the world – women and children?How many houses have you lived in? Does the idea of moving get you all excited, or does it bring you out in hives? Jane Christmas has written a book about the 32 house moves she’s made in 66 years. She joins Jane to discuss this, along with Linda Hill who’s moved just once in 37 years of marriage and has been in her present home for almost 34 years, and Carol who moved 16 times in 25 years, as her husband was in the military.My Life In Shoes. Listener Christina can trace her love of red shoes back to her childhood when she wasn’t allowed the unsuitable crimson shoes she desired. She’s been searching ever since.Presented by Jane Garvey Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell

Young people are one of the key driving forces behind climate activism and fighting for the future of the planet. But what’s it like being on the front line? And how do young people want to change the way we think about environmental issues? Three of the women from this year’s Power List – Mya-Rose Craig, Holly Gillibrand and Mikaela Loach – talk about their thoughts and experiences. They’re also joined by another woman on the Power List, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe. She discusses the importance of challenging people in power to think about the way today’s decisions will affect future generations. Plus Jessica talks to Nadine Shah about her new album Kitchen Sink explores themes of fertility, tradition and identity all told through the stories of women at different stages of their lives. She discusses sexual and societal pressures on women and the importance of individual choice. Presenter Jessica Creighton Producer Beverley Purcell

Rosamund Kissi-Debrah is number three on the Woman’s Hour Power List 2020: Our Planet. She is a tireless campaigner for cleaner air, following the tragic death of her daughter Ella from a series of severe asthma attacks. Since then she’s created powerful change from a grassroots level, influencing the Mayor of London and working with the World Health Organisation. She joins Jessica to speak about her work and her hopes for making a difference.Boris Johnson’s government has been criticised for its lack of women at the top table and for being run by a “toxic boys club” behind the scenes. The dramatic departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain from Downing Street has led to calls for a female led reset at Number 10: The Prime Minister’s fiancée Carrie Symonds is a former conservative party strategist, the head of the No10 Policy Unit is Munira Mirza who is described as the PM’s “nonsense detector” and his new Press Chief is Allegra Stratton. Jessica Creighton talks about the power shift to Katie Perrior who was Chief of Staff for Theresa May and to Anji Hunter who was Tony Blair’s “gatekeeper” and longest serving aide.Crime writer Claire McGowan talks to Jessica about her new novel The Push, a murder mystery set in an antenatal group, where all the parents-to-be are keeping secrets.If you don’t feel you know enough about gender politics, a new – and free – course is now available online. It covers gender equality, gender history and stereotypes. It’s been developed by the University of Glasgow. New research indicates that nearly 9 million people in Britain don’t really understand what toxic masculinity is and nearly 8 million people said they didn’t know enough about LGBTQ rights. Jessica discusses the issues with Dr. Tanya Cheadle, Lecturer in Gender History at The University of Glasgow and Jordan Stephens, who is a mental health campaigner and one half of Rizzle Kicks.Presenter: Jessica Creighton Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell

The idea of reaching net-zero emissions is mentioned so often, it’s easy to forget that someone came up with it. That someone is Farhana Yamin – a world-class environmental lawyer, expert in international climate negotiations and number 2 on this year’s Woman’s Hour Power List. Jane Garvey talks to Farhana about her fascinating career.She’s the first woman to run a leading British grocery retailer, we speak to Jo Whitfield, who is CEO of Co-Op Food. She joins Jane to talk about how food retailers have responded to the pandemic, the safety of her workers, her rise to the top and her women’s network Grocery Girls.Chila Kumari Singh Burman has created a new installation for Tate Britain’s annual Winter Commission, unveiled in time for Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Chila is celebrated for her interdisciplinary practice which spans printmaking, painting, installation and film. In her work she draws on her Punjabi heritage, her Liverpudlian childhood – her father owned an ice cream van - and her feminist perspectives. She describes her work as “high art meeting popular culture”.Actress Jane Seymour, who celebrates her seventieth next year, recently wrote that she refused to cut her trade mark long hair going against the received wisdom that you need to think about shorter styles as you age. Jane Garvey talks about the dos and don’ts of hair care as you get older with Alyson Walsh a fashion journalist who writes for The Telegraph and runs her own blog site That’s Not My Age and also to the hair stylist Ashley Gaunt who works at Stephen Carey Hair in Mayfair, London.Presenter: Jane Garvey Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

Today Jane Garvey reveals the 30 names on this year's Woman’s Hour Power List, which celebrates women from across the UK that are making a significant contribution to the health and sustainability of our planet.Jane talks to some of the women on this year's list and hears how the judges – Lucy Siegle, Zunaira Malik, Emma Howard Boyd, Flo Headlam and Prof Alice Larkin – managed to take over 1000 listener emails and whittle it down to our final Power List of 30.Presenter: Jane Garvey Producer: Anna Lacey Assistant Producer: Rosie Stopher Judge: Lucy Siegle Judge: Alice Larkin Judge: Zunaira Malik Judge: Flo Headlam Judge: Emma Howard Boyd

The popstar Anne-Marie is famous for songs such as 2002, Ciao adios & Clean Bandit’s Rockabye. She talks to us about lockdown and her new documentary on You Tube ‘How to Be Anne Marie. We discuss the sculpture by Maggi Hambling celebrating the ‘mother of feminism’ Mary Wollstonecraft, which went on display on Newington Green, Islington in London on Tuesday. Reporter Melanie Abbott is in Newington Green where she’s been talking to visitors to the sculpture, and art historian and critic Ruth Millington.Princess Diana’s best friend Rosa Monckton gives us her thoughts on the new ITV documentary The Diana Interview: Revenge of a Princess. The author and academic Stella Dadzie talks about her new book, A Kick in the Belly: Women, Slavery & Resistance, she reveals the largely untold stories of women of African descent who, caught up in the horrors of over 400 years of slavery, were transported across the Atlantic to the sugar plantations of Jamaica and beyond. Betty Cook talks about her friendship with Anne Scargill who she met at the beginning of the miners' strike in 1984. She tells us why she helped create the Women Against Pit Closures movement with Anne and discusses their book Anne and Betty: United by the Struggle. with Ian Clayton who helped gather the material for it.Presented by: Jane Garvey Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed Editor: Beverley Purcell