Woman's Hour

Miss Marple and Poirot have been household names for decades but now one of Agatha Christie’s lesser-known sleuths – Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent - is finally getting her time in the spotlight. The fearless young amateur detective is the focus of new Netflix mystery series Seven Dials. Mia McKenna-Bruce is the award-winning actor bringing ‘Bundle’ to the screen, alongside Helena Bonham-Carter and Martin Freeman, and Mia joins presenter Nuala McGovern live in the studio.How do you spot misinformation online? BBC Bitesize has launched a new series for schools tackling the problem, after new research with more than 400 teachers highlighted their growing concern about teenagers’ relationship with online content. It shows most teachers believe critical thinking is now the most essential skill for young people, yet only a third feel able to teach it. Nuala is joined by psychologist Dr Martha Deros Collado and Pip Sanderson from the Center for Digital Information Literacy in Schools to discuss the issue and how to approach talking to teenagers about it. A new BBC investigation has been examining one of Russia's most covert war operations: the recruitment of foreign nationals as frontline soldiers for its invasion of Ukraine. A central figure of the documentary is a woman called Polina Alex-an-drovna Azarnykh. She's a former teacher turned recruiter who is now accused of misleading economically vulnerable men across the world into joining Russia's military. BBC documentary Into the Void: Putin’s Foreign Fighters follows Senior International Investigations Correspondent Nawal Al-Maghafi as she exposes this shadowy system and the human cost behind it. She joins Nuala to discuss the story. Publishing "isn't taking the power of older women seriously" according to author Lesley Kara, in an article for industry bible The Bookseller. Lesley wrote about the number of older female authors, why there aren't enough books about middle-aged and older women and why she thinks the protrayals that do exist are often cliched. She joins Nuala along with book critic and journalist Alex Clark.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Parents of under-fives in England are to be offered official advice on how long their children should spend watching TV or looking at computer screens. It comes as government research shows about 98% of children under two were watching screens on a daily basis - with parents, teachers and nursery staff saying youngsters were finding it harder to hold conversations or concentrate on learning. To discuss this further Nuala McGovern is joined by Kate Silverton, child counsellor and parenting author, and Professor Sonia Livingstone from the London School of Economics and author of Parenting for a Digital Future. Heather Rose's latest novel, A Great Act of Love, is set around a real-life vineyard in Tasmania in the early 19th century. This was at a time when Tasmania, or Van Diemen’s Land as it was called then, was still a British penal colony. It was while she was researching this book that Heather discovered her own family’s dark history and its connection to the land, which she has interwoven into the story. This year marks the centenary of the Adoption of Children Act 1926. It was the first legislation enabling the legal adoption of children in England and Wales, with equivalent legislation passed in Northern Ireland in 1929 and in Scotland in 1930. Joining Nuala to discuss the significance of the passing of this act is Dame Carol Homden, Chief Executive of Coram, Harriet Ward, Emeritus Professor at Loughborough University and currently writing a book about the history of adoption, and Zoe Lambert, who was adopted at five months old and is the founder of In-Between Lines, that works with adoptees, adoption agencies and advocacy groups. The Ayoub Sisters are Scottish Egyptian siblings Sarah and Laura Ayoub who play cello and violin. Their debut album was recorded in Abbey Road Studios with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Their second album, Arabesque, was released independently and went to number one in the iTunes chart. They are about to undertake a UK tour to celebrate their 10th anniversary, which will include the premiere of their Arabic Symphony in a homecoming concert in Glasgow. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Andrea Kidd

In our new series Going it Alone we hear from women about their experiences of having a child without a partner. These are women who are having donor conceived children, which is different to single mums who may have split up with the child’s father. Statistics show that more women than ever in the UK are choosing to become solo mums by choice. Lucy tells us her story. Nina Barnsley, Director of the Donor Conception Network and Clare Ettinghausen, a Director at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority join Nuala McGoven to discuss the legal and practical implications. A chemotherapy nurse is so concerned about the rates of breast cancer she has seen in women under 50 that she's started a parliamentary petition to get the age of mammograms reduced to 40 and for them to be annual. Currently women get their first screening between the ages of 50 and 53 and then get screened every 3 years. Anita Rani talks to nurse Gemma Reeves and to Dr Sacha Howell from the Christie Hospital in Manchester about how the breast screening programme could be improved.Ten people have been found guilty of cyber-bullying Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, by a Paris court, but that is not the end of the lawsuits. Next up, it's the Macrons against the controversial right-wing podcaster Candace Owens in a US civil court. They've accused her of mounting “a campaign of global humiliation”. Nuala hears from Sophie Pedder from The Economist, in Paris, and BBC journalist Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty.Chloé Zhao is only the second woman and first woman of colour to win an Oscar for Best Director. She returns with one of the year’s most anticipated films, Hamnet. Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel, it reimagines the lives of Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare, exploring how the loss of their 11-year-old son Hamnet shaped their marriage and inspired Hamlet. Chloe co-wrote and directed the film and speaks to Anita.The city of Leicester has seen a wave of all-female punk rock bands in the past five years, so how is it reshaping the local music scene? Around 27 all-female bands have grown from a movement founded by Ruth Miller. Called the Unglamorous Music Project, it’s enabled women to learn instruments and form bands together. Ruth died from breast cancer in 2023, but her aim to get more older women into the music industry and onto the stage has materialised. Janet Berry and Alison Dunne are two of the women involved. We hear their music and talk to them about their inspiration.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

Iran has been in the news, with protests building over the last 13 days. Commentators say that what started as a protest about the economy has now turned into a call for regime change, and for women's rights. There are reports that young women are fearlessly taking to the streets, flouting compulsory hijab rules and risking arrest. Anita Rani talks to the BBC's Global Women's reporter Feranak Amidi, an Iranian who lived there until she was 30, and has been following events closely. Chloé Zhao is only the second woman and first woman of colour to win an Oscar for Best Director. She returns with one of the year’s most anticipated films: Hamnet. Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel, it reimagines the lives of Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare, exploring how the loss of their 11-year-old son Hamnet shaped their marriage and inspired Hamlet. Chloe co-wrote and directed the film and speaks to Anita.Kirsty Brimelow KC has been appointed Chair of the Bar Council and is the first to lead an entirely female senior leadership team. A specialist in human rights, criminal and public law, she takes on the role of representing around 18,000 practicing barristers in England and Wales. Anita asks about her plans for the role.ITV’s compelling action-aviation drama Red Eye is back for a second series with the actor Lesley Sharp playing the cool-headed MI5 boss, Madeleine Delaney. In this new conspiracy, Madeleine is flying in a small plane from Washington DC when she receives a message that there’s a bomb on board which will be detonated if certain conditions aren’t met. Lesley speaks to Anita about that role, and her acting career to date, including the new film Pillion.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Corinna Jones

A chemotherapy nurse is so concerned about the rates of breast cancer she has seen in women under 50 that she's started a parliamentary petition to get the age of mammograms reduced to 40 and for them to be annual. Currently women get their first screening between the ages of 50 and 53 and then get screened every 3 years. Anita Rani talks to nurse Gemma Reeves and to Dr Sacha Howell from the Christie Hospital in Manchester about how the breast screening programme could be improved.Two serial rapists were among 131 officers and staff in the Metropolitan Police who committed crimes or misconduct after they were not properly vetted, a review by the Met has found. David Carrick, one of the UK's worst sex offenders, and Cliff Mitchell, who carried out a "campaign of rape" on two victims, were among the police officers who weren't properly checked. Zoe Billingham, former HM Inspector of Constabulary, gives us her reaction.The city of Leicester has seen a wave of all-female punk rock bands in the past five years, so how is it reshaping the local music scene? Around 27 all-female bands have grown from a movement founded by Ruth Miller. Called the Unglamorous Music Project, it’s enabled women to learn instruments and form bands together. Ruth died from breast cancer in 2023, but her aim to get more older women into the music industry and onto the stage has materialised. Janet Berry and Alison Dunne are two of the women involved. We hear their music and talk to them about their inspiration.Researchers at the University of Birmingham are working with the Gordon Moody gambling harms charity to establish whether there is a link between hormonal fluctuations in women - caused by periods, ovulation, menopause and childbirth - and gambling addiction.  Some women are reporting that the urge to gamble when they ovulate is very strong with one saying she was betting online for more than 24 hours until she ran out of money.  The four-year study will try to establish why and determine what kind of support can help. Dr Rosalind Baker-Frampton tells us more. Writer Alice Bell is a video games journalist and Editor of the Guinness World Records gaming edition.  Her new novel, The Grapples of Wrath is Alice’s latest instalment in her ‘cosy crime’ series. Called ‘Grave Expectations’, it features medium turned private investigator, Claire Hendricks. She embarks on her first official case, set in the world of pro-wrestling, with the help of her ghost best friend, Sophie.  But can she  work out what’s real and what’s fake? Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Melanie Abbott