Standard Issue Podcast

This week, Jen's joined by Hannah to chat about the carnival of sporting achievement that was Paris 2024. They're chatting about gender parity, Team GB winners, Raygun, whether the 100m is over-rated, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and what the hell is Hannah talking about when she says "I've been watching the running up the wall." Plus, if you now feel like watching more sport, Jen's going to tell you what to look out for.* In this podcast, Hannah says that of the nine mothers in Team GB, six won medals. It was actually seven. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a bona-fide classic in the Rated or Dated chair this week, as Hannah and Mick watch Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins for the umpteenth time and Jen comes at it fresh. Well, as fresh as someone with a four-year-old can be. The songs are bangers, the plot’s ridiculous and surely no one’s comfortable with being told how amazing they are all of the time. And it raises all sorts of questions, although ‘how many times has Hannah been to a wedding with a chimney sweep?’ wasn’t one any of us were expecting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer, performer and comedian Bryony Byrne loved playing football at primary school. So why can’t she remember any footballers post 1998? She explores this, as well as gender stereotypes, and female rage, through the spirit guidance of Eric Cantona in her Edinburgh show, Fan/Girl. Jen chatted to Bryony about the '90s, ladette culture, and falling back in love with football through Charlton Athletic.Fan/Girl is at the Edinburgh Fringe until Aug 26 (except Aug 19), 12.10pm, Summerhall Demonstration Room Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anna Maria della Pieta. Chances are you’ve heard of Antonio Vivaldi, but you’ve never heard of Anna Maria or her fellow female orphans at the Ospedale della Pieta, which in 18th century Venice boasted the greatest orchestra in the world. Without these ridiculously talented girls and women, The Four Seasons might not exist. Harriet Constable’s debut historical fiction, The Instrumentalist, is the story of Anna Maria, Vivaldi’s favourite student and violin prodigy, shining a light on the women and girls we should have been talking about for the last 300 years.The Instrumentalist is published by Bloomsbury on August 15. @HarriConstable – Instagram@HConstable – X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here at Standard Issue, we love the Olympics - because who doesn't? But we especially love the modern pentathlon, which got underway at this summer's Games on August 8 and continues until the final day of the Olympics on Sunday 11. Jen had the joy of chatting to Team GB modern pentathlete Kerenza Bryson just before she headed out to Paris. Kerenza’s hoping to add an Olympic medal to her haul from the European and World championships, so fingers crossed for that. In the meantime, you can hear Kerenza and Jen talking about being a woman of many talents, showcasing women’s sport, and getting the best out of a skittish horse. We've all been there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week it’s Jen’s pick, ably assisted by Mick, who suggested 1984’s Rocky for kids, The Karate Kid. Why was she was so keen to rewatch that, we wonder. In unrelated news, how will Mick’s crush on Ralph Macchio have dated? How many times can she talk about The Karate Kid Part II? And how will this seminal film of Noonan's youth fare with Balboa fans, Jen and Hannah?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty-five years after making the final of So You Think You're Funny, Juliet Cowan has taken her first show to the Edinburgh Fringe. She talks to Hannah about taking the estrogen goggles off, the rashness of perimenopause, returning to comedy, and her successful acting career, which has included roles in This Life, Back To Life, Back to Black and Pulling.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

US comedian Anna Akana’s tagline might as well be ‘hello darkness my old friend’, because she travels into some pretty dark places for her comedy. This included talking about the stalker who hounded her so much she gave up standup for years, her sister’s suicide 17 years ago, and that time her dad ran off to fight in Ukraine. In this episode, she chats to our Mick about making that shit funny, her commitment to expanding how we talk about taboo topics and mental health, and making her UK debut with her aptly titled show, It Gets Darker, which you can catch at the Edinburgh Fringe and then London’s Leicester Square Theatre.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor, playwright and civil celebrant Amy Conway's new one-woman show Catafalque opened at the Fringe last week and is soon to head off on a short tour of Scotland. In today's podcast, she's chatting to Hannah about funerals during Covid, the dilemmas celebrants can face and what it was like to write her own eulogy. Tickets for Catafalque at Summerhall are here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/catafalque Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mick and Jen are on Bush Telegraph duties this week and trying not to get seasick as they negotiate the choppy waters of the Seine, remaining buoyed by Flavor Flav’s unlikely appearance in a pool. Meanwhile, there may be tough times ahead for Rachel Reeves, horrors unfold on the streets of Southport, and one woman has tits galore right in her face.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices