Standard Issue Podcast

What is Hannah’s timeline when it comes to someone she’s romantically involved with revealing they’re part fish? Just one of the big questions in this week’s Rated or Dated, as we go back to 1984 to watch Mick’s pick of Ron Howard’s Splash, a fish-out-of-water rom-com, in which Tom Hanks falls in love with Daryl Hannah as a mermaid.It also stars John Candy. Will that be enough to win Candy fan Jen over? Is it really a happy ending or does it finish on a major plot hole? Hold your laptop/phone up to your ear as if it’s a conch to find out.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It can’t have escaped your attention there’s a general election happening in the UK this week. Polls show that 23 per cent of women are still undecided on how to vote, and when you look at where the political sphere is letting us down – healthcare, childcare, equal pay – it’s no surprise so many aren’t sure where to put their X. The Fawcett Society knows a thing or two about what women need and its latest project, #SheVotes24, has brought together more than 120 women’s organisations to address what policies will help women, and so Mick got on the Zoom with CEO Jemima Olchawski to talk past wins and future hopes in the way Parliament looks out for women – whoever’s in charge.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year's Papatango Prize winner, Laura Waldren, joins Hannah to chat about her play Some Demon, which is set in a unit for people with eating disorders. They chat about Laura's own experiences with anorexia, the difficulties of telling stories with no clear beginning, middle and end, and how to get a first play staged in an increasingly tough market.  * You can see Some Demon at the Arcola until July 6. Tickets here: https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/some-demon/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvvmzBhA2EiwAtHVrb_1yZw6rrwg2nyfypbTSFK-ZQfqCmwDecgz6IdcTUBRkFCV5Wi2Q4BoCy-kQAvD_BwE* Or at the Bristol Old Vic from July 9-13. Tickets here: https://visitbristol.co.uk/event/some-demon-at-bristol-old-vic/320509301/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 23 was Women in Engineering Day, so Hannah got on the Zoom with Orlagh Costello, an engineer on a mission to get more women into the male-dominated industry. They talk about what puts women off, how we can change that and why if you're doing engineering with your penis, you're doing it wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s just one week from the General Election and we’re assuming you’re as sick of the pantomime as us, so instead Hannah and Mick are talking: vandals at least having the courage of their convictions, a lorra lorra cash from our Taylor, the uptick in talking Kernewek, that twat Hannah’s dad fired, and why Manchester United need to do better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does falling in acid turn your hair green? Who's the worst person Jerry Hall's found on her sofa? And is Michael Keaton, star of Tim Burton's first take on the Batman film franchise, really the fourth best to have graced the Batsuit? We're asking all this and more as we revisit 1989's Batman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a treat for our Mick to get on the Zoom with excellent comedian and total smasher, Jen Brister. They’re chatting optimism in the face of the news, the upcoming general election, hang-gliding dogs, and All Our Relations, which is Jen’s non-profit, raising money to help Palestinian families stuck in Rafah. You can and should follow Jen on the socials, where she’s @jenbristercomedy, listen to her on Women Talking Bollocks, her podcast with Maureen Younger and Allyson June Smith, download her show The Optimist from 800 Pound Gorilla, and get involved with All Our Relations on Instagram @_allourrelations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Surrender, a new play at the Arcola Theatre Dalston, is the story of a mother in prison, meeting her estranged daughter for the first time in many years. Mother wants to put her side of the story across about how she came to be there – but is everything as it seems?Jen caught up with playwright Sophie Swithinbank, who wrote the play in collaboration with Phoebe Ladenburg, the actor playing Mother, to talk about a failing system, the emotional toil of mumming, and unreliable narrators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merry Christmas one and all! That’s right, Hannah’s picked 2023’s The Holdovers, Alexander Payne’s dramedy set in a posh boys’ boarding school in the 1970s over the festive period. It bagged an Oscar for the glorious Da’Vine Joy Randolph and features equally stellar performances from Paul Giamatti and newcomer Dominic Sessa. Are we giving too much away in this write-up? Nah, Hannah, Yosra and Mick all agree it’s fecking delightful. Come join the love-in. Bring bourbon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're watching one of the most successful low-budget films ever, 2004's Napoleon Dynamite. Hannah and Jen chat about ligers (pretty much their favourite animals), why Jen's got her hair in a side ponytail and whether we'd enjoy seeing our siblings hit in the face by a steak. Here's the interview that Hannah promises: https://magazine.byu.edu/article/its-still-dynamite/#:~:text=That%20took%20us%20by%20surprise,different%20area%20for%20a%20while. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices