Woman's Hour

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Baroness Margaret Hodge tells Nuala McGovern why she thinks routine mammograms should be extended to women over 70. The former Labour MP was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 80. She requested a mammogram after realising she hadn't been invited to have one in nearly a decade. Routine screening is currently only available in the UK for women aged 50-70. As England's Lionesses prepare for their Euro 2025 semi-final with Italy tonight, their efforts have been overshadowed by the racial abuse suffered by defender Jess Carter. The team's decided not to take the knee against racism in tonight's game, with coach Sarina Wiegman saying her players feel the gesture isn't 'good enough.' Now the head of Sport England, Chris Boardman, has written to Ofcom to express "deep concern" over the abuse directed at England's women's football team on social media. He joins Nuala, along with former Lioness and now pundit Lianne Sanderson. Campaigners in Northern Ireland want the way Victim Personal Statements are dealt with in courts there to change. At the moment people do not have the automatic right to read their own statements as part of the judicial process. Nuala talks to Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime Northern Ireland, Geraldine Hanna, and campaigner Julieanne Boyle, who didn't get the opportunity to address the court during her case and wants to see a change for other victims. Georgina Moore's second novel River of Stars is set in a floating community on the Thames. A romance and family saga spanning three generations of women, it was inspired by her own move from self-confessed ‘ageing party girl' to houseboat mum. Georgina joins Nuala in the Woman's Hour studio to talk about island life and writing on the water.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

The state of the UK's water sector is barely out of the headlines at the moment and today a major review into the water industry in England and Wales said the regulator Ofwat should be scrapped. Sir Jon Cunliffe, who led the review, also warned that household bills will rise by 30% over the next five years. Nuala McGovern is joined by Esme Stallard, the BBC's climate and science reporter, and by two women campaigning for clean water on a local and a national level - Jo Robb, member of the Henley Mermaids wild swimming group and District Councillor for the Green Party in South Oxfordshire, and Erica Popplewell, Head of Communities at River Action, a UK-wide environmental campaign group.Harriet Webb is best known for her roles in Channel 4's Bafta-winning series Big Boys, and Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You. She is back on our screens this week playing Kirsty in series two of the Bafta-winning Sky Original Mr Bigstuff, starring alongside Danny Dyer and the show's creator Ryan Sampson. She joins Nuala to discuss why comedy can be the best place to discuss difficult issues like grief, trauma and, even, erectile dysfunction.In a new report, the community interest company Five Times More illustrate how black women in the UK continue to face disproportionately high risks during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period. Despite a growing body of research and increasing policy attention, the gap in outcomes between black and white women shows little sign of closing. Tinuke, the co-founder of Five Times More, explains what changes they had found since their first report three years ago and what still needs to happen.Molly Jong-Fast is an author and special correspondent for Vanity Fair. She is also the only child of Erica Jong, author of the 1970s feminist autobiographical novel - Fear of Flying. A sensual exploration of female sexual desire, it catapulted Erica to international fame. Molly has written a memoir, How to Lose Your Mother, and she talks to Nuala about growing up in the spotlight, their intense mother-daughter relationship and her mother's heartbreaking descent into dementia.Economic abuse is at “national emergency” levels yet more than half of UK women don't know anything about it - with a third only knowing ‘a little' - this is according to a new report published today by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse. Sam Smethers, CEO of SEA, joins Nuala to explain the types of economic abuse they have uncovered, the implications of their findings and what they want the government to do.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce

For over 40 years, Helena Bonham Carter has delighted us with roles including Lucy Honeychurch in Room with a View, Princess Margaret in The Crown and Harry Potter's much-loved villain, Bellatrix Lestrange. She joined Nuala McGovern to discuss her latest role in new film, Four Letters of Love, based on the bestselling book of the same name. Eight babies have been born in the UK using genetic material from three people to prevent devastating and often fatal conditions. The method, pioneered by UK scientists, combines the egg and sperm from a mum and dad with a second egg from a donor woman. The technique has been legal in the UK for a decade but this is the first proof it is leading to children born free of incurable mitochondrial disease, which is normally passed from mother to child. Anita Rani was joined by Kat Kitto who has two daughters, one of whom has mitochondrial disease, and Louise Hyslop, consultant embryologist at the Newcastle Fertility Centre to discuss.A new report by London's Victims' Commissioner, Claire Waxman, says that victims are being forced to quit the criminal justice system in huge numbers amid record court delays and traumatic process. She joined Nuala to explain why they are saying 'there is a near total failure in seeing offenders brought to justice', especially when it comes to female victims of violence. In the second part of our series about women and gaming, we find out more about the impact gaming can have on women's lives. Nuala heads to the Virgin Media Gamepad at the O2 to meet some of the women from the Black Girl Gamers community, who have over 10,000 members around the world. The bestselling author Louise Candlish joined Anita to talk about her latest novel - A Neighbour's Guide to Murder - which explores the practice of sex for rent and a trial by social media. The American jazz singer Samara Joy has five Grammy awards to her name and is quickly gaining superstar status in the jazz world. She is making her debut at the BBC Proms tonight, where she will be backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, in a special tribute to the Great American Songbook. The Prom will be also be live on Radio 3, on BBC Four and iPlayer.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Deiniol Buxton

Eight babies have been born in the UK using genetic material from three people to prevent devastating and often fatal conditions. The method, pioneered by UK scientists, combines the egg and sperm from a mum and dad with a second egg from a donor woman. The technique has been legal in the UK for a decade but this is the first proof it is leading to children born free of incurable mitochondrial disease, which is normally passed from mother to child. Anita Rani is joined by Kat Kitto who has two daughters, one of whom has mitochondrial disease, and Louise Hyslop, consultant embryologist at the Newcastle Fertility Centre, to tell us more. Hit ITV crime drama Karen Pirie returns to our screens for a second series this weekend, based on the Val McDermid series of novels about a young Scottish detective. Anita is joined in the studio by showrunner, screenwriter and actor Emer Kenny to talk about bringing a new cold case to life for Karen to solve, juggling series two with a newborn, and how she's managed to combine acting and writing since landing her first big role as Zsa Zsa Carter in EastEnders at the age of 20.A Government review found that porn involving non-fatal strangulation was "rife" and its prevalence online was contributing to choking, filtering into some people's sex lives - particularly among young people. Last month it was announced that choking will be criminalised in an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill. To discuss, Anita was joined by Professor Clare McGlynn, Professor of Law at Durham University who contributed to the review, and Dr Jane Meyrick, Associate Professor of Health Psychology at the University of the West of England, who specialises in sexual health and sexual violence. This week, throughout our series on women and gaming, we've heard about the influence that games can have in society. We've spoken to women working in the industry, and found out more about the impact gaming can have on women, but we can't shy away from the fact that there are still barriers stopping women from accessing games. Anita is joined by to Marie-Claire Isaaman, CEO of Women in Games, Nick Toole, CEO of Ukie, and Stephanie Ijoma, gamer and founder of NNESAGA, to discuss what still needs to change and how the industry can improve. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Corinna Jones

The bestselling author Louise Candlish joins Anita Rani to talk about her latest novel - A Neighbour's Guide to Murder - which explores the practice of sex for rent and a trial by social media. Louise reflects on her career and explains why she's so interested in writing about the homes and streets we live in.The Government has announced it will spend £53 million on a new programme to tackle domestic violence. Anita discusses the plans with Kyla Kirkpatrick, who works with the charity Safe Lives and is the Director of the Drive Partnership Programme that works with perpetrators, and Ellie Butt, Head of Policy at Refuge.The American jazz vocal powerhouse Samara Joy has five Grammy awards to her name and is quickly gaining superstar status in the jazz world. She is making her debut at the BBC Proms on Saturday 19 July, where she will be backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, in a special tribute to the Great American Songbook. The Prom will be also be live on Radio 3, on BBC Four and iPlayer. In the next in our Women and Gaming series we look at the wider impact gaming can have on society. Anita talks to the BBC's Technology Editor Zoe Kleinman, and Emily Mitchell, winner of the BAFTA Young Game Designer award in 2017, and creator of Fractured Minds, an immersive puzzle game which confronts the daily challenges of living with anxiety.Presented by Anita Rani Produced by Louise Corley

A new report by London's Victims' Commissioner, Claire Waxman, says that victims are being forced to quit the criminal justice system in huge numbers amid record court delays and traumatic process. She joins Nuala McGovern in the Woman's Hour studio to explain why they are saying 'there is a near total failure in seeing offenders brought to justice'.What are your attitudes towards money and specifically saving it, rather than spending it? Are you confidently playing the markets or are you still tucking it away under the mattress for a rainy day? Traditionally women have been thought of as risk-averse when it comes to putting their money into stocks and shares. Is that about to change? And is there such a thing as the 'gender investment gap'? To discuss women's attitudes towards investing we hear from Dr. Sara Reis, deputy director and head of policy and research at the Women's Budget Group think tank. Actor Miranda Raison has played numerous stage, screen and TV roles including the iconic Jean Seberg and Anne Boleyn but now takes on the role of the legendary Victorian actress Ellen Terry in a new play by David Hare - Grace Pervades at the Theatre Royal Bath. It tells the story of her relationship with Henry Irving, played by Ralph Fiennes, the greatest stars of the Victorian stage. Miranda discusses her latest role.News of fresh guidance from the government for relationships, sex and health education in schools. Responding, to what it says, is an increase in the harmful and misogynistic content, children are exposed to online. According to recent research, when asked about just the past week, over a third of pupils aged 11-19 had heard comments that made them worry about girls' safety, and more than half witnessed comments they would describe as misogynistic. The BBC's Education Editor Branwen Jeffreys updates us.Despite making up almost half of gaming audiences, just 30% of games industry workers are women. In the next part of our series on women and gaming, we're finding out why this is and what can be done to get more women into the industry. Charu Desodt, who was the first female engineer at Sony's London studio in 1999, and Tara Mustapha, founder of Code Coven, discuss. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Last night England faced Wales in their final match of the group stage of the UEFA Women's Euro and England came out victorious - winning 6-1 and knocking Wales out of the tournament in the process. To discuss the result, Nuala McGovern is joined by England's top goal scorer and former Lioness Ellen White, and Laura McAllister, Vice-President of UEFA, who was previously the captain of Wales' women's team, gaining 24 caps for her country. For over 40 years, Helena Bonham Carter has delighted us with roles including Lucy Honeychurch in Room with a View, Princess Margaret in The Crown and Harry Potter's much-loved villain, Bellatrix Lestrange. She joins Nuala in the studio to discuss her latest role in new film, Four Letters of Love. Based on the bestselling book of the same name, she plays Margaret Gore, the wife of a poet living on a remote island in the West of Ireland in the 1970s. We bring you the latest on the excavation of a mass grave of babies and young children at Tuam in County Galway in Ireland, due to begin later today. The exhumations will be carried out at the site of an institution for unmarried mothers, which operated between 1925 and 1961. We speak to journalist Alison O'Reilly, one of the women who pushed to get this investigation underway. All this week we're taking a deep dive into the world of gaming. It's an industry worth £6bn - more than music, TV and film combined - so we'll be exploring what impact it has on our lives (whether we realise it or not) and where women come into it. First up, we're joined by video game reporter and eSports presenter Frankie Ward and Twitch streamer Alyce, also known online as Alyska Plays, to discuss. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

It's been 20 years since the 7/7 attacks in London, which claimed the lives of 52 civilians and injured almost 800. Krupa Padhy talked to Gill Hicks, who was on the Piccadilly line Tube that morning and lost her legs in the blast, and nurse Kate Price, who was working in intensive care at St Thomas' Hospital. They discuss their memories of that day and the aftermath, as well as the lasting bond they have formed.An exhibition celebrating the life and work of renowned Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray has opened at the Tate Modern in London. Respectfully known as ‘the old lady' by her community, Emily didn't start painting on canvas until her 70s. Anita Rani talked to art curator Kelli Cole about Emily's paintings, which were inspired by her life as a senior Anmatyerr woman from the Sandover region of the Northern Territory of Australia.The TV presenter and autism advocacy campaigner, Christine McGuinness, is mother of three autistic children, and she received an autism diagnosis herself as an adult. She is highlighting new research that found that half of parents of children with disabilities surveyed said their child is excluded from play due to playgrounds being inaccessible to them. From Frank Sinatra to the Beatles, many of the biggest male stars built their early careers on the romantic appeal to young women. Bea Martinez-Gatell is author of Swoon, Fangirls, Their Idols And The Counterculture of Female Lust – From Byron To The Beatles. She joined Anita to explain that far from passive consumers, fangirls were actually tastemakers, visionaries and cultural disruptors.Fatima Timbo, known as Fats Timbo, is a content creator and comedian who has amassed an incredible 3 million followers on TikTok. Since appearing on TV show The Undateables in 2018, she's also been part of the team bringing us the Paralympics coverage from Paris last year. Born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, she shares her tips for succeeding in a world where it's difficult to be different in her book Main Character Energy: Ten Commandments for Living Life Fearlessly. Katie Brayben is a two-time Olivier award winner for Best Actress in A Musical for Tammy Faye and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Now she is reprising the role of Elizabeth Laine in Girl From the North Country currently on stage at the Old Vic in London. Katie sang live in the studio. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Andrea Kidd

Katie Brayben is a two-time Olivier award winner for Best Actress in A Musical for Tammy Faye and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Now she is reprising the role of Elizabeth Laine in Girl From the North Country currently on stage at the Old Vic in London. Katie joins Anita Rani to explain what has drawn her back to this role.A third of women who died during or in the year after pregnancy were known to children's social care, according to new research. The study by Kings College London, Oxford University and the charity Birth Companions, examined the data of nearly 1,400 women who died between 2014 and 2022. In particular, they looked at the 420 known to social services, half of those women died by suicide or from substance-related causes. Anita discusses the research with Kaat De Backer, Researcher King's College London and Amy Van Zyl, Chief Executive, Her Circle.From Frank Sinatra to the Beatles, many of the biggest male stars built their early careers on the romantic appeal to young women. Bea Martinez-Gatell is author of Swoon, Fangirls, Their Idols And The Counterculture of Female Lust – From Byron To The Beatles. She joins Anita to explain that far from passive consumers, fangirls were actually tastemakers, visionaries and cultural disruptors.Actor Jane Birkin's original Hermes Birkin has sold for £7.4 million pounds - becoming the most valuable handbag to ever be sold at auction. What makes the bag so iconic? Justine Picardie, writer and former editor in chief of Harpers Bazaar, and Marisa Meltzer, who has written It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin, join Anita to discuss the story behind the bag and what makes a fashion accessory so alluring.

The Southport inquiry - the first phase of which took place in Liverpool this week - heard statements from the families of four girls who survived despite being seriously injured during the attacks on 29 July last year. The public inquiry heard testimony from one of the girls' mothers, who said her daughter 'fought like hell' to save herself and others. Anita Rani speaks to Judith Moritz, BBC Special Correspondent, about some of the eyewitness accounts.An exhibition celebrating the life and work of renowned Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray opens today at the Tate Modern in London. Respectfully known as ‘the old lady' by her community, Emily didn't start painting on canvas until her 70s. She went on to produce over 2,000 paintings and achieve huge critical acclaim before her death in 1996. Anita talks to art curator Kelli Cole about Emily's often monumental paintings, which were inspired by her life as a senior Anmatyerr woman from the Sandover region of the Northern Territory of Australia.Chief Inspector Helen Tebbit of Cambridgeshire Police joins Anita to talk about her role as senior investigating officer in a rape investigation which resulted in a sexual predator, Craig France, being jailed for more than 10 years - as featured this week in the Channel 4 TV series, 24 Hours in Police Custody.Camaron Marvel Ochs, known professionally as Cam, is an American country music singer songwriter. Her most successful single, Burning House, received widespread acclaim and went triple platinum. She has written for a range of artists including Sam Smith and Miley Cyrus, and last year she received a Grammy award for songwriting, production and backing vocals for Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter album. Anita speaks to her about her career so far and her forthcoming album – All Things Light Up.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rebecca Myatt

The TV presenter and autism advocacy campaigner, Christine McGuinness, is mother of three autistic children, and she received an autism diagnosis herself as an adult. She is highlighting new research from Barrett Redrow which found that half of parents of children with disabilities surveyed said their child is excluded from play due to playgrounds being inaccessible to them. Christine joins Krupa Padhy to discuss the issue.After both England and Wales lost their opening matches at the UEFA Women's Euros, there's a chance they could be knocked out of the tournament today. England could be eliminated if they lose to the Netherlands, whilst Wales need at least a point against France. As defending champions there is a lot of pressure on the Lionesses. The Guardian's women's football correspondent Suzy Wrack, joins us from Zurich.Weight-loss injections have been hailed by some as game-changers in tackling obesity – but their rapid rise in popularity, especially online, has prompted serious concern. The Advertising Standards Authority has just issued a crackdown on how these drugs are marketed, banning social media posts by influencers, including Gemma Collins, for promoting prescription-only medicines in ways that break the rules. Charlotte Edwards, BBC business reporter explains.Marcia Grant was a 60-year-old grandmother and foster carer when she was killed in 2023, by a 12 year old boy in her care who ran her over with her own car. Last week, an inquest found that council failings contributed to the circumstances leading up to Marcia's death. However, the coroner also made it clear that this was a "national issue." Jane Collins, foster carer and CEO of the Foster Support Membership Organisation discusses the systems and processes that could help existing foster carers feel safe while caring for vulnerable children and why she is called for a public inquiry. Dr Arlene Weekes a social work manager, academic and independent foster panel chair also takes part.How do you remember Princess Diana? Almost 30 years after her untimely death, the late Diana, Princess of Wales continues to be a source of fascination and fandom for many. A new, unconventional biography, Dianaworld: An Obsession, documents tales of everyday devotion to her by ordinary people and charts how the many and varied portrayals of the People's Princess have seeped into public consciousness. We hear from the book's author Edward White and the broadcaster and author Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Kirsty Starkey

In the 1970s and 80s, Caroline Eshghi was a young girl living in Bristol, Somerset, and Wiltshire. From the moment she was born until she ran away at the age of 15, Caroline was beaten, burned and starved by her mother. In May this year, Melanie Burmingham was jailed for 20 months for abusing her daughter more than 50 years ago. Caroline tells Krupa Padhy why she is now petitioning for a change to the law around historical cases that only allows a sentence available at the time of offending. The first malaria treatment suitable for babies has been approved for use. We speak to BBC Africa Health Correspondent Dorcas Wangira in Nairobi to find out how this may empower healthcare workers in the battle against the disease that takes the lives of hundreds of thousands of people each year.One of the key measures that Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is reported to be considering as part of her Sentencing Bill is a national rollout of drugs that suppress sexual arousal to try and tackle sex offenders. There is currently a working pilot in the South West of England, and several of the clinicians, psychiatrists and forensic psychologists have raised concerns about making such a scheme mandatory. Krupa talks to Don Rubin, Emeritus Professor in Forensic Psychology at Newcastle University, and a consultant to the pilot programme. Fatima Timbo, known as Fats Timbo, is a content creator and comedian who has amassed an incredible 3 million followers on TikTok. Since appearing on TV show The Undateables in 2018, she's also been part of the team bringing us the Paralympics coverage from Paris last year. Born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, she documents her experiences of being - as she describes it - ‘a little person', and now she's sharing her tips for succeeding in a world where it's difficult to be different in her book Main Character Energy: Ten Commandments for Living Life Fearlessly. Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

It's been 20 years since the 7/7 attacks in London, which claimed the lives of 52 civilians and injured almost 800. Krupa Padhy talks to Gill Hicks, who was on the Piccadilly line Tube that morning and lost her legs in the blast, and nurse Kate Price, who was working in intensive care at St Thomas' Hospital. They discuss their memories of that day and the aftermath, as well as the lasting bond they have formed.Ministers are facing calls to keep education plans for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. An EHCP is a legally binding document which ensures a child or young person with special or educational needs gets the right support from a local authority. In a letter to the Guardian newspaper, charities, campaigners and parents have said that without EHCPs in mainstream schools, "many thousands of children risk being denied vital provision, or losing access to education altogether". Krupa is joined by Branwyn Jeffries, the BBC's Education Editor, to explain what's been happening.Writer Bolu Babalola hit the bestseller lists with her debut collection of short stories, Love in Colour, which remixed ancient love stories for a new audience. Bolu joins Krupa to talk about her latest novel, Sweet Heat, a sexy romance about Kiki, whose stable life is thrown into disarray just as her first love Malakai comes back into her life. She explains she's a romance connoisseur and discusses the timeless appeal of the love story.There have been some shake-ups in the way netball is played in the UK recently. New teams, new rules, and a new venue for the Netball Super League Grand Final. The BBC's lead netball commentator Lindsey Chapman talks to Krupa about what happened in that final, and what impact the recent changes to the sport have had on matches.Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Andrea Kidd

Award-winning actor Fiona Shaw is best known for her roles in Killing Eve, Bad Sisters, Fleabag, True Detective: Night Country and even as Aunt Petunia in Harry Potter, among many other things. She's now starring in a new film adaptation of Deborah Levy's novel, Hot Milk, playing Rose, who goes to Almería in Spain with her daughter, Sofia, played by Emma Mackey, to try to find a cure for Rose's mysterious paralysis at an experimental clinic. Fiona joined Nuala McGovern to discuss it.Jenny Evans was a young actress riding high on the success of her first feature film when she was sexually assaulted by someone who was in the public eye. When she later found the courage to report this crime to the police, details of what she had experienced were printed in a tabloid newspaper. Jenny decided to retrain as a journalist to try and figure out how this could have happened. She went on to help expose the abuses of power in the press and police that have become known as the 'phone-hacking scandal'. Nuala spoke to Jenny about her memoir Don't Let it Break You, Honey.The film director Gurinder Chadha has released a trailer to celebrate this summer's cricket fixtures between England and India's women's teams. She joined Datshiane Navanayagam to discuss why she's chosen to put women's cricket under the spotlight and the legacy of her last hit film about women's sport, Bend It Like Beckham.Amy Powney is the fashion designer best known for being the Creative Director at Mother of Pearl for 10 years until she left to set up her own label, Akyn, earlier this year. Amy's mission to create a sustainable clothing line was explored in the documentary Fashion Reimagined which saw her trace clothes from field to runway and cemented her as an authority on this within the wider industry. Amy joined Kylie Pentelow in the Woman's Hour studio.The Women's Euros started this week, with teams from both England and Wales taking part. The Lionesses won the Euros in 2022 and much was made of the number of openly lesbian players both in the England squad and across the other teams. In a new graphic novel called Florrie a football love story, Anna Trench tells the story of the ground breaking women footballers from the end of the First World War and highlights the pioneering lesbians players of the past. Anna joins Nuala in discussion along with Rachael Bullingham, Senior Lecturer of Sport and Exercise at the University of Gloucestershire.Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Rebecca Myatt

Laura McAllister is the Vice-President of UEFA. During her own football career Laura was the captain of Wales' women's team, gaining 24 caps for her country. Wales have qualified for this year's Euros for the first time and will play their debut match tomorrow, as will England who are defending their title after winning at Wembley in 2022. Laura joins Datshiane Navanayagam ahead of those first games. Award-winning playwright Beth Steel tells Datshiane how her working-class, northern roots inspire her hit play Till The Stars Come Down. Set at the wedding of Sylvia and Marek - the vodka flows and dances are shared, passions boil over and the limits of love are tested. She becomes the fifth female playwright to transfer from the National Theatre to the West End.The film director Gurinder Chadha has released a trailer to celebrate this summer's cricket fixtures between England and India's women's teams. She joins Datshiane to discuss why she's chosen to put women's cricket under the spotlight and the legacy of her last hit film about women's sport, Bend It Like Beckham. The musical icon Angélique Kidjo has become the first black African performer to be selected for a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame. Kidjo, who comes from the West African country of Benin, and has won five Grammy awards, was among the 35 names announced as part of the Walk of Fame's class of 2026 list. Music journalist Kate Hutchinson tells us more. Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam Producer: Corinna Jones

The image of the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, crying in Parliament yesterday was picked up by various media. After PMQs, Ms Reeves' spokesperson said she had been dealing with a "personal matter" and Sir Keir insisted her tears had had "nothing to do with politics". Kylie Pentelow is joined by Times columnist Katy Balls and Kitty Donaldson, chief political commentator for the i Paper to discuss why her tears caused such a stir. Was it concern over political weakness and worries about political instability? Ms Reeves' very senior role in government? Or because she's a woman and maybe people still don't understand that women cry for different reasons and in different circumstances to men?The government's long-awaited NHS 10-year health plan is launched today. To make the NHS in England fit for the future, the plan will focus on three big shifts: moving care from hospitals to communities, making better use of technology, and preventing sickness - not just treating it. How should the NHS prioritise women's health to achieve better results? Kylie is joined by Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Danielle Jefferies, Senior Analyst at The King's Fund, and Lara Lewington, a technology journalist and author of a new book, Hacking Humanity.Esther Freud's ninth novel, My Sister and Other Lovers, revisits characters from her very first book Hideous Kinky, which was made into a film starring Kate Winslet. In My Sisters and Other Lovers, the sisters come of age and try to come to terms with their past. Esther joins Kylie to talk about her writing and how despite having such famous men in her life – her father was the painter Lucien Freud and her great-grandfather was the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud - it's the women in her family who inspire her work.Amy Powney is the fashion designer best known for being the Creative Director at Mother of Pearl for 10 years until she left to set up her own label, Akyn, earlier this year. Amy's mission to create a sustainable clothing line was explored in the documentary Fashion Reimagined which saw her trace clothes from field to runway and cemented her as an authority on this within the wider industry. Amy joins Kylie in the Woman's Hour studio.Presenter: Kylie Pentelow Producer: Rebecca Myatt

Lots of boys have grown up wanting to be Superman but perhaps you grew up wanting to be award-winning journalist Lois Lane? Actor Rachel Brosnahan is known for her Emmy-winning portrayal of Midge Maisel in the TV series, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel, her Emmy-nominated performance in House of Cards and her work on Broadway. Now she's playing Clark Kent's love interest, Lois Lane in the upcoming DC Universe film, Superman. She tells Nuala McGovern about the unusual circumstances in which she found out she had the role and the difficulties of working with CGI. A British teenager who is currently held in prison in Georgia says she was 'tortured' into smuggling drugs. Bella Culley who is 19 and from Teesside, has appeared at a Tbilisi court this week. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of possession and trafficking a large amount of illegal drugs. The BBC's Caucasus correspondent Rayhan Demytrie tells Nuala what's been happening. Jenny Evans was a young actress riding high on the success of her first feature film when she was sexually assaulted by someone who was in the public eye. When she later found the courage to report this crime to the police, details of what she had experienced were printed in a tabloid newspaper. Jenny decided to retrain as a journalist to try and figure out how this could have happened. She went on to help expose the abuses of power in the press and police that have become known as the 'phone-hacking scandal'. Nuala speaks to Jenny about her memoir Don't Let it Break You, Honey. To mark the start of the UEFA European Women's Championship Nuala speaks to BBC Sport's Correspondent Katie Gornall live from Switzerland. She's also joined by DJ, author and podcaster Annie Macmanus who was so inspired by the Lionesses Euro's win in 2022 that she decided to take the sport up herself, in her 40's. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Andrea Kidd

Award-winning actor Fiona Shaw has starred in Killing Eve, Bad Sisters, Fleabag, True Detective: Night Country, Echo Valley and even as Aunt Petunia in Harry Potter, among many other things. She's won and been nominated for several Laurence Olivier awards for her work on stage and she's even directed opera. Now starring in a new film adaptation of Deborah Levy's novel, Hot Milk, Fiona plays Rose, who goes to Almería, Spain with her daughter, Sofia, played by the brilliant Emma Mackey, to try to find a cure for Rose's mysterious paralysis at an experimental clinic. Fiona joins Nuala McGovern live in the studio to discuss it.The Scottish Parliament is looking for opinions on a proposed bill which would change the laws on prostitution in the country. It targets those who buy sexual services by creating a new criminal offence of paying for a sexual act. If passed, it would criminalise those buying sex, while decriminalising those selling it. The woman behind the bill, MSP Ash Regan, speaks to Woman's Hour about why she wants the change, and responds to criticisms that it could make sex work less safe. Today government ministers have launched a review of UK parental leave and pay to reset the system and speaking yesterday the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said people were scared of having children because of the high costs and she wanted “more young people to have children, if they so choose”. But getting to become a parent can sometimes require ongoing fertility treatment meaning time away from work. And Fertility Matters at Work are calling for those undergoing this support to have the legal right to take time off for their appointments. They've published a report on it and the author Becky Kearns joins Nuala. She's the co-founder and CEO of Fertility Matters at Work. A new production of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten, starring Ruth Wilson, is on at the Almeida theatre in London. Nuala is joined by multi award-winning director Rebecca Frecknall to discuss the central character Josie, and why the father-daughter relationship at the heart of the play spoke to her. Women's cricket in England has been through trials and tribulations recently. The team lost 16-0 to Australia in the Women's Ashes at the start of this year, and were knocked out of the T20 World Cup at the end of last year. But in June, after the appointment of a new coach and captain, had a clean sweep in their T20 series against the West Indies. Now they're facing India in a series of T20 matches, and suffered a defeat in their first match. Player, commentator and podcast host Melissa Story shares her thoughts on the team's performance, as well as what's happening in women's cricket on a local level. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce

Introduced in 2003, statutory paternity leave, allows most new fathers and second parents in the UK to take up to two weeks off work. As a result, according to a new report from the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath, women continue to shoulder most of the care burden after childbirth. The report calls on the UK government to introduce six weeks of well-paid paternity leave, arguing the move would promote gender equality, support working families and boost economic growth. Nuala McGovern is joined by co-author of that report Dr Joanna Clifton-Sprigg.This summer, women's sport takes centre stage across the BBC and especially here on Woman's Hour where we'll be keeping you up to date across all the action. The UEFA Women's Euro 2025 championship starts on Wednesday but today is the first day of the Wimbledon tennis championships. A total of 23 British players are competing in the men's and women's singles this year - that's the most since 1984. And the women's line is reported to be the strongest since the 80s. Playing today are British number 2 Katie Boulter and British Number One, Emma Raducanu who faces another Brit- 17 year old, Mimi Xu. Molly McEl-wee, tennis journalist and author of a new women's tennis book 'Building Champions' and Naomi Cavaday, former British player and part of the BBC commentating team at Wimbledon this year discuss.The French-Tunisian documentary filmmaker Hind Meddeb joins us to discuss her latest film Sudan, Remember Us. For four years she was embedded with Sudanese activists in the country capturing the start of a sit in protest at Army headquarters in Khartoum in 2019 which led to a massacre and subsequent civil war. She is joined by Yousra Elbagir, Sky News' Africa Correspondent who will explain the significance of that sit-in in 2019 and why the war in Sudan shouldn't be dismissed as just another civil war but as an uprising that affects us all more globally. The women's Euros start this week, with teams from both England and Wales taking part. The Lionesses won the Euros in 2022 and much was made of the number of openly lesbian players both in the England squad and across the other teams. In a new graphic novel called Florrie a football love story, Anna Trench tells the story of the ground breaking women footballers from the end of the First World War and highlights the pioneering lesbians players of the past. Rachael Bullingham, Senior Lecturer of Sport and Exercise at the University of Gloucestershire joins the discussion.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Kirsty Starkey

The Department for Education has just released the latest figures that show another rise in the number of Education, Health and Care Plans, or EHCPs, in England. These are the legal documents that outline what support a child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities is entitled to. The BBC's education reporter Kate McGough, Jane Harris, vice chair of the Disabled Children's Partnership, and Jacquie Russell from West Sussex County Council joined Clare McDonnell.Christiane Amanpour has been at the forefront of international news for more than 40 years, reporting from all over the world as a journalist and war reporter as well as being CNN's Chief International Anchor, steering the helm of several programmes including CNN International's nightly interview programme Amanpour. She's now launched a podcast, Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex-Files with Jamie Rubin. It's a weekly foreign affairs show, co-hosted with Jamie, a former U.S. diplomat and Assistant Secretary of State and also her ex-husband. Christiane joined Clare to discuss.The musician, songwriter and actress, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, aka Self Esteem won the 2021 BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year Award and achieved a nomination for the Mercury Prize in 2022 with Prioritise Pleasure. More recently she has performed the lead role of Sally Bowles in the West End production of Cabaret. She talks to Anita Rani about her new album, A Complicated Woman, and performing on the Park Stage at Glastonbury this weekend.The bullet bra has made a recent return to the catwalk and to the cover of British Vogue, where singer Dua Lipa can be seen sporting a blush satin Miu Miu creation in the July issue. But will the silhouette, once favoured by Marilyn Monroe and Madonna, cut through to the high street? And what does that mean for the comfortable t-shirt bras that have been going strong since lockdown? Julia Hobbs, British Vogue's contributing senior fashion features editor has recently road-tested the bullet bra. She joins Clare to discuss the experience, along with Karolina Laskowska, a lingerie designer and the director of The Underpinnings Museum.Presenter: Clare McDonnell Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Rebecca Myatt

Woman's Hour is live from Worthy Farm. Anita is joined by BBC 6 Music's Jamz Supernova, who talks through the women she's most excited to see perform this year and discuss the meteroic rise of Doechii.The musician, songwriter and actress, Rebecca Lucy Taylor launched her solo career as Self Esteem in 2017, won the 2021 BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year Award and received a nomination for the Mercury Prize in 2022 with Prioritise Pleasure. She discusses her new album - A Complicated Woman – and what's planned for her performance tonight on the Park Stage. The American singer-songwriter Tift Merritt discusses the forthcoming reissue of her Grammy nominted album Tambourine, returning to music after taking time out to raise her daughter, and she performs live for Woman's Hour, ahead of her appearance on the Acoustic stage.Anita meets three generations of female festival goers who are all camping in the family field.Away from the live music performers there are a host of other activities on offer with more than 100 stages around the 900 acre site. Anita speaks Kaye Dunnings, the Creative Director of Shangri-La, which hosts performances, art and installations and has been reimagined this year to celebrate collective joy and awe. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Louise Corley

The Department for Education has just released the latest figures that show another rise in the number of Education, Health and Care Plans, or EHCPs, in England. These are the legal documents that outline what support a child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities is entitled to. The BBC's education reporter Kate McGough, Jane Harris, vice chair of the Disabled Children's Partnership, and Jacquie Russell from West Sussex County Council join Clare McDonnell. It's the UN's International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. At the moment, sexual violence is not treated as torture, which makes it harder to prosecute. Clare talks to the UN's special rapporteur on torture, Dr Alice Jill Edwards.Kate Burton features in a new version of Somerset Maugham's 1926 drawing-room comedy The Constant Wife in Stratford. Kate is known for many stage roles - at least 14 on Broadway - and screen hits including ABC's Grey's Anatomy and Scandal - as well as for coming from a very famous family. She joins Clare to discuss the new production.Clare also talks to LGBTQ+ trailblazer Yehudis Fletcher, whose memoir Chutzpah! opens with Yehudis, aged six, observing the sabbath with her orthodox Jewish family and all her unanswered questions about the world and her place in it. By age 16, she had been silenced, abused and lost within the care system. By 20, she had been married twice. By 25, she had three children. At 26, she found her voice and stands up in court against her abuser. And at 31, she fell in love for the first time.Presenter: Clare McDonnell Producer: Corinna Jones

Christiane Amanpour has been at the forefront of international news for more than 40 years, reporting from all over the world as a journalist and war reporter as well as being CNN's Chief International Anchor, steering the helm of several programmes including CNN International's nightly interview programme Amanpour. She's now launched a podcast, Christiane Amanpour Presents: The Ex-Files with Jamie Rubin. It's a weekly foreign affairs show, co-hosted with Jamie, a former U.S. diplomat and Assistant Secretary of State and also her ex-husband. Christiane joins Clare to discuss.The government's proposed changes to the benefits system will have a 'devastating' impact on women, according to a group of charities and disabled people's organisations. They say tightening eligibility for Personal Independence Payments, or PIP, will have a disproportionately negative impact on women due to their higher personal care needs compared to men. Clare speaks to BBC Chief Political Correspondent Henry Zeffman about the 'major rebellion' that's brewing within Labour on this forthcoming Welfare Bill, and then to Alison Kerry from disability charity Scope about their concerns.Do you remember the case of Child Q? Back in December 2020, a 15-year-old black school girl was strip-searched at her school by Metropolitan Police officers in Hackney, London after teachers wrongly suspected her of carrying cannabis. The incident sparked protests in the city. Over the past few weeks a disciplinary hearing has been taking place involving the officers and is due to report very shortly. Adina Campbell, the BBC's UK Correspondent, brings us up to date.American author Melissa Febos has written about a year of self-imposed celibacy in her new book The Dry Season - Finding Pleasure in a Year without Sex. Why did she do it, and what did she gain from it? Melissa joins Clare in the Woman's Hour studio.

One in three adult pornography users are exposed to violent or abusive content online, with the majority backing new legislation to prevent publication of harmful content. That's according to a survey out today from the British Board of Film Classification. It's also the first meeting today of the Independent Pornography Review Taskforce led by the Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin. Four months on from the publication of her government commissioned review into the challenge of regulating online pornography, Baroness Bertin joins Clare McDonnell in the studio to discuss what's been happening. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said 'we must act now' as he announced a national investigation into maternity care in England. The inquiry, which will look at the ten worst-performing services in the country, as well as the entire maternity system, is designed to be a rapid review reporting by December this year. Families say they feel let down by a system that's supposed to care them and midwives have told us they dread going in to work because of pressures and lack of resources. So will this investigation bring about the lasting change that parents and professionals so badly want? Clare hears from BBC Investigative Journalist Divya Talwar and Clare Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives.Cheetahs are the fastest land animals in the world with speeds of around 70 miles per hour. Over the past 100 years, the cheetah population has drastically reduced by 90 per cent and it's estimated that there are less than 7,000 animals still left. Clare speaks to Dr Laurie Marker, who has made it her mission to ensure their survival. She's the executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund based in Namibia. The bullet bra has made a recent return to the catwalk and to the cover of British Vogue, where singer Dua Lipa can be seen sporting a blush satin Miu Miu creation in the July issue. But will the silhouette, once favoured by Marilyn Monroe and Madonna, cut through to the high street? And what does that mean for the comfortable t-shirt bras that have been going strong since lockdown? Julia Hobbs, British Vogue's contributing senior fashion features editor has recently road-tested the bullet bra. She joins Clare to discuss the experience, along with Karolina Laskowska, a lingerie designer and the director of The Underpinnings Museum. Presenter: Clare McDonnell Producer: Andrea Kidd

Following the publication of Baroness Louise Casey's highly critical report into grooming gangs involved in the sexual exploitation of children, we look at one of her 12 recommendations in detail. The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has committed to reviewing the criminal convictions of victims of child sexual exploitation, quashing the criminal records of victims who were “criminalised instead of protected”. Nuala McGovern speaks to Jade, who as a teenager was charged with a grooming offence and is trying to get that conviction overturned. Nuala also hears from Paula Harriott, the CEO of the charity Unlock. Students will spend an average of 25 years on their phones over their lifetime. The average person in school, college or university spends five hours and 30 minutes a day on their mobile, according to a new study by the app, Fluid Focus. Last year Ofcom found that across all adult age groups, women are spending more time online – that's on smartphones, tablets and computers – than men - clocking up an extra 33 minutes more each day. Nuala speaks to Sunday Times journalist Charlotte Ivers about her phone use. More than half of Heart Valve Disease (HVD) cases are women, yet less than half of heart valve surgeries and procedures are on women, according to new data from the charity Heart Valve Voice. Heart valve disease is when one or more of your heart valves do not work like they should. This can affect blood flow and put extra strain on the heart. How can women's symptoms be taken more seriously? Nuala is joined by cardiologist Dr Alison Duncan and HVD patient Jaqueline, who was initially misdiagnosed with anxiety.Three years on since the war with Russia began, more and more young women are choosing to leave the country to continue their lives in Europe, either studying or working. Young men have been banned from leaving Ukraine after they turn 18 since the war broke out and martial law was introduced, but young women are free to leave. Freelance journalist Gabriella Jozwiak has been in the city of Lviv talking to young women about their plans for the future, and joins Nuala. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce

Natalie Fleet is the Labour MP for Bolsover whose path into politics has been far from typical. From a very young age, teachers told her she was destined for university – something almost unheard of in her Nottingham mining town. But her future took a different turn, when at fifteen, she became pregnant by an older man. At the time she had thought they were in a relationship - but as she grew older, Natalie says she realised she had been a victim of grooming and statutory rape. She's now speaking out to give a voice to those she feels have been made to feel they should be silent, and joins Anita Rani in the studio. Only 3.1% of PREP users in England are women. That's Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, a drug that reduces the risk of being infected with HIV. Many women don't know that PREP exists, or don't consider themselves at risk. Yet women accounted for 30% of new HIV diagnoses in England in 2023. This week, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has launched pilot programmes to increase women's access to PREP. Anita was joined by Dr Jenny Whetham, Consultant and Joint Clinical Lead, Sexual Health and HIV Medicine, Brighton and Anne Aslett, CEO of the Elton John AIDS Foundation to discuss.Trisha Goddard rose to fame as a TV journalist. She was the first black TV presenter in Australia and is best known in the UK for her eponymous TV show which aired on ITV and Channel 5 in the late 90s and 2000s, earning her a reputation as the British Oprah. She joined Anita to talk about her career, appearing on Celebrity Big Brother and why she chose recently to go public with her diagnosis for stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.BBC journalist Sanchia Berg and fertility lawyer Beverley Addison joined Nuala McGovern to discuss the recent cases of older couples becoming parents via surrogacy.Comedian, actor and writer Rosie Jones joined Nuala to discuss her first sitcom, Pushers, which she stars in and co-wrote. She plays Emily in the Channel 4 show, who has very little left to lose after having her disability benefits cut when she loses her job - she finds herself building an illegal drugs empire. Emily isn't your average street-dealer though - she's sharp, funny, highly educated and has cerebral palsy. What better disguise could there be for criminal activity than to be entirely written off by society?Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Rebecca Myatt

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Trisha Goddard rose to fame as a TV journalist. She was the first black TV presenter in Australia and is best known in the UK for her eponymous TV show which aired on ITV and Channel 5 in the late 90s and 2000s, earning her a reputation as the British Oprah. She joins Anita to talk about her career, appearing on Celebrity Big Brother and why she chose recently to go public with her diagnosis for stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.Air pollution kills more than 500 people a week in the UK and costs more than 500 million pounds a week in ill health, according to a new report, "A breath of fresh air," by the Royal College of Physicians. The report highlights growing evidence about health issues linked to toxic air and calls it “a public health crisis”. Today, a group of doctors, nurses and campaigners are walking from Great Ormond Street Hospital to Downing Street with a letter calling on government ministers to commit to more ambitious air quality targets. Anita talks to two of them, Rosamund Kissi Debrah, whose daughter Ella became the first person in the UK to have air pollution cited on their death certificate and Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, co author of today's report.Only 3.1% of PREP users in England are women. That's Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, a drug that reduces the risk of being infected with HIV. Many women don't know that PREP exists, or don't consider themselves at risk. Yet women accounted for 30% of new HIV diagnoses in England in 2023. Today, the Elton John AIDS Foundation is launching pilot programmes to increase women's access to PREP. Anita is joined by Dr Jenny Whetham, Consultant and Joint Clinical Lead, Sexual Health and HIV Medicine, Brighton and Anne Aslett, CEO of the Elton John AIDS FoundationThe clever one. The funny one. The beautiful one. But which one is The Favourite? Set over a single week, but examining the highs and lows that define a family over the decades, this book is a story of rivalries and long-held resentments, about loss and grief and blame – and love. Fran Littlewood – also author of New York Times bestseller Amazing Grace Adams talks to Anita about her new novel.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rebecca Myatt

In the biggest shake-up to reproductive rights in almost 60 years, MPs have voted to decriminalise abortion for women in England and Wales. This would mean a woman could not be prosecuted for ending her pregnancy after the 24 week limit, but medical professionals and others could still be held criminally liable if they assist. Nuala McGovern speaks to the BBC's political correspondent Alex Forsyth and Conservative MP Dr. Caroline Johnson, shadow minister for health and social care, who had put forward another amendment which would have required a pregnant woman to have an in person consultation with a doctor or appropriate medical professional before being prescribed medication to terminate her pregnancy, aimed at stopping so-called 'pills-by-post' abortions.Crime writer Karin Slaughter has sold over 40 million copies and been called the ‘Queen of Crime.' She's been writing for 25 years and has just published her 25th novel. Called We Are All Guilty Here, it's the story of two teenage girls who go missing and the start of a brand new series featuring police officer Emmy Clifton. Karin tells Nuala why she wanted create a new series and how she manages a book a year on top of all the TV adaptations on her work. Do you co-sleep or bedshare with your school-aged children? A few years ago the Clueless actor Alicia Silverstone was criticised for saying she sleeps in the same bed with her 11-year-old and that she was 'just following nature.' It's a divisive topic that provokes strong opinions and disagreement. So how common is it and what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? Nuala is joined by Genevieve Roberts, parenting columnist with the I newspaper, who regularly sleeps in the same bed with her children, and Sarah Blunden, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Head of Paediatric Sleep Research at Central Queensland University. One of the young women making waves in the male dominated sport of motor racing is 22-year-old Abbi Pulling. She's considered as one of the most promising young drivers in world motorsport - she won the 2024 'F1 Academy' season, which has been set up to develop women and girls in the sport. She's the first female driver to take a race victory in British F4 and is now racing in the GB3 category. Abbi told Nuala about the difficulties around funding for getting into racing and if women could make it into the top tier of Formula 1. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Andrea Kidd

We discuss the key recommendations of Baroness Louise Casey's report into child sexual exploitation and abuse, and ask what might change as a result? Nuala McGovern is joined by guests including BBC social affairs editor Alison Holt, social worker-turned-whistleblower Jayne Senior and documentary director Anna Hall, who has spent the past two decades covering the subject of grooming gangs. Comedian, actor and writer Rosie Jones joins Nuala to discuss her first sitcom, Pushers, which she stars in and co-wrote. She plays Emily in the Channel 4 show, who has very little left to lose after having her disability benefits cut when she loses her job - she finds herself building an illegal drugs empire. Emily isn't your average street-dealer though - she's sharp, funny, highly educated and has cerebral palsy. What better disguise could there be for criminal activity than to be entirely written off by society? Children are not playing outside enough, according to a new report by the Raising the Nation Play Commission, but instead are "sedentary, scrolling and alone". Nineteen commissioners, from doctors to campaigners, spent a year investigating play and childhood in England for the report. Among their recommendations are raising the digital age of consent to 16 and putting in place a statutory "play sufficiency duty" for local authorities. Joining Nuala to discuss this are Baroness Anne Longfield, executive chair of Centre for Young Lives and co-leader of the commission, and Debbie Watson, Professor of Child and Family Welfare at the University of Bristol. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced a full national statutory inquiry into child sexual abuse perpetrated by gangs after previously dismissing calls for a public inquiry. This comes after he said he has read every single word of an independent report into child exploitation by Baroness Louise Casey and would accept her recommendation for a full investigation. Nuala McGovern discusses what's been announced with BBC Special Correspondent Judith Moritz and Maggie Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in 2012 to publicly speak out against what she recognised as gross failures to safeguard victims of the scandal in Rochdale. She has recently had meetings with Baroness Casey and has taken a group of survivors to share their experiences with her.The BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Board have selected six academics to be this year's New Generation Thinkers on Radio 4 and Historical Criminologist Stephanie Brown will be joining Woman's Hour. She talks to Nuala about her research into crime, punishment and policing and how society views women criminals.Lily Allen recently admitted that she ranks her friends in a recent edition of the BBC podcast Miss Me? The singer joked: 'I create lists of people who I like in order of how much I like them… I send that list to my assistant and ask her to schedule the time for me to have FaceTimes with them.' But joking apart, is it simply human nature to make a distinction between close friends and acquaintances, and everyone in between? Columnist for the iPaper Rebecca Reid and cultural historian Tiffany Watt-Smith join Nuala to discuss.BBC journalist Sanchia Berg and fertility lawyer Beverley Addison joins Nuala to discuss the recent cases of older couples becoming parents via surrogacy.Iris Mwanza started out as a corporate lawyer in both her native Zambia and then in the US. She's also been Deputy Director in the Gender Equality Division of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. But she's gone back to her roots for her debut novel, The Lions' Den. Set in Zambia in the early 1990s, it follows Grace Zulu, a rookie lawyer, whose first pro bono case is to help the 17-year-old Willbess Mulenga. It's been alleged that Willbess, who prefers the name Bessy, had sex with another man and he's been arrested for offences ‘against nature.' Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce

Julianne Moore has won countless awards and nominations for films like Boogie Nights, The End of the Affair, The Hours, as well as winning an Oscar for her performance in the film Still Alice. Her latest role sees her play Kate in the upcoming film Echo Valley alongside Sydney Sweeney, who plays her daughter Claire. Julianne tells Nuala McGovern about her character who's coming to terms with a personal tragedy while running her farm and training horses, when her daughter shows up, hysterical and covered in someone else's blood, flipping Kate's world upside down.Next week not one but two amendments are being brought before MPs, both of which could mean, if passed, that women will no longer be prosecuted for terminating a pregnancy in England and Wales. It comes amid concern more women are being investigated by police on suspicion of illegally ending a pregnancy. Anita Rani is joined by the BBC's Health Correspondent Nick Triggle and Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, one of those who is tabling an amendmentIn 2015, 22-year-old Alice Figueiredo took her own life whilst being treated at Goodmayes Hospital, east London. Over the course of her 5 month stay at the mental health unit she attempted suicide on 18 separate occasions. Following a seven-month trial at the Old Bailey, a jury found that not enough was done by the North East London Foundation NHS Trust, or ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa, to prevent Alice from killing herself. Alice's mum, Jane Figueiredo, has spent the last decade fighting to get the case to court. She discusses the impact it has had on her family.Canadian born human rights lawyer, Stephanie Case, went viral online when she finished first place in the women's section of the Snowdonia ultra-trail 100km race despite giving birth six months ago and breastfeeding her daughter at aid stations. Stephanie tells Nuala McGovern about her first race as a mother and first competition in three years and why she chose to continue to do the things she loves after becoming a mum.The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden is set in the Netherlands in 1960 and tells the story of Isabel and Eva, two women who are both struggling to find their place in a society that isn't yet modern but does not want to reflect on the horrors of the Second World War. Yael joins Anita to discuss her critically acclaimed debut novel which has been shortlisted for the Booker and is this years Women's Prize for Fiction winner.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed

Last night the winners of this year's Women's Prize were announced. The winner for fiction is Yael van der Wouden for her novel The Safekeep and the non-fiction prize by Rachel Clarke for her book The Story of a Heart, which tracks the lifesaving gift of a transplant. Anita Rani discusses the winning books with the Chair of Judges for the Fiction Prize, author Kit de Waal, and Chair of Judges for the Non-Fiction Prize, journalist and author Kavita Puri.Race Across The World reached its finale on BBC One this week, after a nearly 9,000-mile dash across Asia, from the Great Wall in north eastern China to the southernmost tip of India, via the Himalayan peaks of Nepal. This year's winner were mother and son team Caroline Bridge and her 21-year-old son Tom. Caroline talks to Anita about the experience.An entrepreneur and mother was refused entry to a tech event in London because she had brought her eight-month-old baby with her. Anita speaks to the woman in question, Davina Schonle, and the director and producer Jude Kelly about the issue of banning babies from events of this nature.It's festival season, with Glastonbury starting at the end of June. However it's not just the music and the atmosphere that festival goers need to be thinking about. The UK Health Security Agency has warned that measles is circulating across the country, with high numbers in the South West and London. Anita is joined by the UK Health Security Agency Deputy Director of Vaccination Programmes, Dr Julie Yates - who is the former public health lead in South West on Glastonbury.Grammy-nominated Ute Lemper has had a career spanning stage, film and music. She is renowned for her interpretations of Kurt Weill, Brecht and chanson legends like Marlene Dietrich. Ute won the American Theatre World Award and the Laurence Olivier Award for her performance as Chicago's Velma Kelly both on Broadway and in London's West End, and the Molière Award for her performance as Sally Bowles in Cabaret in Paris. Utel Lemper now has a new album, Pirate Jenny, celebrating the music of legendary composer Kurt Weill. She joins Anita to talk about her passion for his work.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rebecca Myatt

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Canadian born human rights lawyer, Stephanie Case, went viral online when she finished first place in the women's section of the Snowdonia ultra-trail 100km race despite giving birth six months ago and breastfeeding her daughter at aid stations. Stephanie tells Nuala McGovern about her first race as a mother and first competition in three years and why she chose to continue to do the things she loves after becoming a mum.In 2015, 22-year-old Alice Figueiredo took her own life whilst being treated at Goodmayes Hospital, east London. Over the course of her 5 month stay at the mental health unit she attempted suicide on 18 separate occasions. Following a seven-month trial at the Old Bailey, a jury found that not enough was done by the North East London Foundation NHS Trust, or ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa, to prevent Alice from killing herself. Alice's mum, Jane Figueiredo, has spent the last decade fighting to get the case to court. She discusses the impact it has had on her family.This week it was announced by Deloitte that the total revenues of Women's Super League (WSL) football clubs grew by 34 per cent to £65m in the 2023-24 season and are tipped to hit £100m for the first time next year. But while the four biggest-earning clubs generated most of the WSL revenue and the average WSL team's revenue increased there remains a yawning gap between the top and bottom teams. At the same time average attendances in the Women's Super League dropped by 10% last season compared with the previous campaign. To unpick this mixed picture we hear from Dr Christina Philippou, Associate Professor of Sports Finance at the University of Portsmouth.A new Cambridge University report published today calls on public health bodies like the NHS to offer apps that rival private FemTech services to prevent policing of reproductive choices. They are calling for better governance of the industry to protect users of cycle tracking apps (CTAs) when their data can be collected and sold at scale. Dr Stefanie Felsberger is lead author of The High Stakes of Tracking Menstruation.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Crawley

The kidnap, murder and rape of Sarah Everard was deemed a moment of reckoning in 2021. The Angiolini Inquiry, which investigated this case, found that Wayne Couzens was reported eight times for indecent exposure. The report also found that the offence "may indicate a potential trajectory towards even more serious sexual and violent offending". A new report by The Telegraph has investigated cases of indecent exposure since Sarah Everard's murder and found that police are catching and prosecuting fewer offenders, despite a big increase in the number of offences reported. The paper's Home Affairs Editor, Charles Hymas, joins Nuala McGovern, as does Zoë Billingham, former HM Inspector of Constabulary.Natalie Dormer has graced our screens as Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones, Anne Boleyn in The Tudors and in films including The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and The Wasp. She's now back on stage as Anna in a new adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel Anna Karenina. Set in 19th century Russia, Anna is the wife of a powerful government official, who dares to step outside the bounds of society to risk a dangerous and destructive love affair. Natalie talks to Nuala about the role, her career and more.World fertility rates are in 'unprecedented decline' according to a survey of 14,000 people by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN's reproductive rights agency. One in five respondents said they haven't had – or don't expect they will have - the number of children they want. The survey spanned 14 countries on five continents, which are home to a third of the world's population. Nuala is joined by demographer Anna Rotkirch, who has researched fertility intentions in Europe and advises the Finnish government on population policy, to discuss the findings and their impact. Jessica Stanley's novel Consider Yourself Kissed tells the story of Coralie, a copywriter who moves from Australia to London just before she turns 30 and falls in love with political journalist Adam. Jessica tells Nuala about the book, which tracks 10 years of Coralie and Adam's lives from 2013 to 2023, taking in love, birth, illness and a particularly eventful period in British politics. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Julianne Moore has won countless awards and nominations for films like Boogie Nights, The End of the Affair, The Hours, as well as winning an Oscar for her performance in the film Still Alice. Her latest role sees her play Kate in the upcoming film Echo Valley alongside Sydney Sweeney, who plays her daughter Claire. Julianne tells Nuala McGovern about her character who's coming to terms with a personal tragedy while running her farm and training horses, when her daughter shows up, hysterical and covered in someone else's blood, flipping Kate's world upside down.From today, nursing staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are being asked to vote on the government's proposed 3.6% pay increase. This compares to a 5.4% average increase for resident doctors, formally known as junior doctors, and 4% for consultants and other senior doctors. The Scottish government has already agreed a two-year 8% pay offer with health unions. Around 345,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing union will be asked if the pay award is enough in what has been described as the biggest single vote of the profession ever launched in the UK. Nuala speaks to Steve Ford, editor of the Nursing Times.Turkey has imposed a restriction on elective caesarean sections at small private medical clinics, without a medical justification, under new health ministry regulations. President Erdogan has declared 2025 to be the ‘Year of the family' and has been campaigning for women to have vagina births, or 'natural births' as he's calling them, in a bid to encourage women to have more babies. Turkey has one of the highest rates of caesarean section births according to health ministry figures from 2023, where out of all births 61.5% were by c-section. This compares to the UK's 42%, according to the latest NHS data. Nuala talks to Guardian journalist Ruth Michaelson and Dr Irmak Sarac, a gynaecologist and feminist activist in Turkey, to discuss why these restrictions have been brought in and what's happening to women's reproductive health in Turkey.Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: China's Stolen Children and a Story of Separated Twins is the real life story of twin girls born in China who were separated as toddlers in 2002. One girl was adopted in good faith by an American couple who believed that the baby's Chinese birth-parents had given her up. The other remained in China to be raised by her birth parents. The story shone a light on China's one child policy which ran from 1979 to 2015 and China's involvement in international adoption, a practice that was ended last year. Nuala speaks to the American journalist Barbara Demick, who unravelled the truth of what happened to the twins, eventually broke the story to the world and who has put their story into this book. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Andrea Kidd

Tina Knowles, the mother of icons Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, has just published her memoir Matriarch. It tells the story of how a resilient little girl, born in difficult times, became a powerhouse, guiding her daughters to their potential. How she, the great-granddaughter of two enslaved women, went from what she describes as a little, two-bedroom “poor house” with seven people in Galveston, Texas, to being the head of one of the most successful and high-profile families in the world. Ms Tina joined Nuala McGovern in the Woman's Hour studio.For the first time since 1973 women will walk out to compete at Queen's Club as the Queen's Tennis tournament gets underway. To mark this moment, the Lawn Tennis Association is launching a series of initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of British women's tennis players. Anita Rani spoke to the LTA's Chief Medical Officer Dr Guy Evans and former British Number One and Tournament Director of Queen's, Laura Robson.Dr Grace Spence Green's spine was broken when a man fell on her in a shopping centre. At that time, Grace was part-way through her medical degree, and found herself going from being a trainee doctor learning about how to work with patients, to being a patient herself with serious injuries. Ten months after her injury, Grace continued her degree and later qualified as a doctor who is also a wheelchair user. Grace told Anita about her experiences, as described in her new book, To Exist As I Am.Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of The Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award - a one-off literary honour to mark the 30th anniversary year of the Women's Prize for Fiction. Bernardine joined Nuala to discuss her huge body of work and career highlights including winning the Booker Prize in 2019 for her novel Girl, Woman, Other, and her role as a champion for women and women of colour in the creative industries.Model Hailey Bieber has sold her make-up company Rhode in a deal worth up to $1 billion. She joins a list of other celebrities earning millions from their cosmetic brand. Nuala was joined by make-up artist to the stars Val Garland and Beauty Editor for the Telegraph, Sonia Haria, to discuss.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Rebecca Myatt

It's been reported that 1.5 million people are taking GLP1 weight-loss jabs and a huge majority are buying online without a face-to-face appointment with a doctor.   Yesterday, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned that women using weight-loss jabs must use effective contraception - and it is not known whether taking the medicines could harm an unborn baby. To discuss whether people using the jabs are aware of these issues and getting the right advice, Anita Rani is joined by GP Dr Sarah Jarvis and BBC Health Reporter Philippa Roxby.The Salt Path is a new film based on Raynor Winn's international bestselling memoir, starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years has a rare neurodegenerative condition, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left to lose, they walk the 630-mile South West Coast Path. It's the first film directed by the acclaimed and award-winning theatre director Marianne Elliott, whose celebrated productions include War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. She joins Anita in the studio. For the first time since 1973 women will walk out to compete at Queen's Club as the Queen's Tennis tournament gets underway. To mark this moment, the Lawn Tennis Association is launching a series of initiatives to support the health and wellbeing of British women's tennis players. Anita speaks to the LTA's Chief Medical Officer Dr Guy Evans and former British Number One and Tournament Director of Queen's, Laura Robson. A look at teaching today. Is increased part-time working the solution to female teacher retention? A new report is out, which is a large scale analysis of what happens to teachers after maternity leave. They have studied data from 150,000 teachers across 7,000 schools in the UK over the past four years, and have looked at the impact of part-time working versus full time during the first four years after returning back after maternity leave. Anita is joined by Nicola West-Jones, Director of Insight and External relations at The Key Group and co-author of the report, and Jess Edwards, a primary school teacher and Chair of Policy, Research and Campaigns at the National Education Union executive. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Corinna Jones

The Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP joins Anita Rani to discuss piloting changes to the Victims' Right to Review in cases of rape and serious sexual assault. Anita is also joined by survivor and campaigner Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercott, who has been calling for change.New research by UK Coaching reveals that mums could be key to reversing the sharp decline in the number of female volunteer sports coaches, down 10 percent in just two years; Over a third of mums who aren't currently involved in their child's sports clubs want to give coaching a go, but are put off by a lack of confidence and knowledge of individual sports. Joining Anita to discuss this is former England defender Anita Asante and Alison Walters, a volunteer coach at Faversham Strike Force FC. Dr Grace Spence Green's spine was broken when a man fell on her in a shopping centre. At that time, Grace was part-way through her medical degree, and found herself going from being a trainee doctor learning about how to work with patients, to being a patient herself with serious injuries. Ten months after her injury, Grace continued her degree and later qualified as a doctor who is also a wheelchair user. Grace tells Anita about her experiences, as described in her new book, To Exist As I Am.Singer, songwriter and actress Anoushka Lucas's award-winning debut play, Elephant, looks at her experiences of growing up mixed race and navigating the music industry as a young woman through the materials that make up a piano. She joins Anita to talk about the play, and to perform one of the songs from the show. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Rebecca Myatt