Woman's Hour

A new advert featuring the American actress Sydney Sweeney has sparked a backlash from some female athletes for sexualising women’s sport. The advert, for the sports betting company Novig - a company in which Sweeney has a financial stake - shows her in revealing poses with a series of sporting props. So does the advert undermine the progress women’s sport has made in moving away from the sexualisation of female athletes – or should women be free to present themselves however they choose? Harriet Walker is the fashion editor of The Times. She's been writing about this and joins Nuala McGovern.
One in 10 people in the UK are thought to be currently using GLP-1 weight-loss medication, and their rise is changing the way many people eat, shop, dress and even talk. We speak to two women exploring the impact the GLP-1 phenomenon is having on body image and the way we think about weight and diet culture. Journalist Rose Stokes hosts new podcast A Matter of Fat, while Dr Kat Schneider is a researcher on body image, weight bias and weight stigma, based at the Centre for Appearance Research at University of the West of England in Bristol.
We hear the final part of Daddy Issues, our series that has been exploring paternal absence in different forms. What happens when you lose your dad as a young woman on the cusp of adulthood? Woman’s Hour listener Donya contacted us on Instagram to tell us about her beloved dad Hussain, who died of cancer when Donya was only 18 and had just finished her A levels. She met reporter Jo Morris to discuss their close relationship - performing in amateur dramatics, cycling and hiking together, his absence, their Iranian culture, and how she’s navigating life without him.
British singer-songwriter Sarah Jane Morris rose to international fame with The Communards iconic song Don’t Leave Me This Way in 1986. Over the last four decades she has built an eclectic solo career all over Europe and earlier this year released an album Sisterhood 2. It is the second in a series of albums in which songs are written in the style of other famous female singers to pay tribute to their influence on Morris. Tracy Chapman and Dolly Parton are just two of the artists who appear on the album. Morris and her band join Nuala in the studio to perform a song from the album - Longing To Be Free, a song dedicated to American folk singer songwriter, Peggy Seeger.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Is artificial intelligence more likely to disadvantage women at work? Women make up more than 60% of the UK’s administrative workforce – jobs considered among those most exposed to AI. As unions debate how the technology could affect women’s employment, Nuala McGovern hears from AI consultant Ella Wicks and Bethan, who was replaced in a previous administrative role by an AI tool, about what AI could mean for women at work.
Have you ever said you were ‘triggered’, or casually described a repetitive behaviour as a bit ‘OCD’? Psychiatrist Dr Suzanne Garfinkle-Crowell joins Nuala to discuss her new book Girlhood, Translated, and her concerns about the growing use of ‘therapy speak’ and self-diagnosis among girls and young women.
Céline Dion has returned to the stage in Paris after a six-year hiatus. Superfan Frankie Jackson-Spence and culture writer Beatrice Hazlehurst discuss her comeback and what she means to her fans.
Spain’s football governing body has announced it will offer egg freezing to its top female players. Supporters say it could give athletes more choice over when to have children, while critics question whether it risks encouraging women to put their careers before motherhood. Former Chelsea goalkeeper Carly Telford and sports physiotherapist Michelle Lyons join Nuala to discuss fertility and female footballers' careers.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Simon Richardson

The government has announced plans to require smartphones and tablets to block people from taking, sharing or viewing nude images by default, with adults able to switch the protection off after verifying their age. BBC Senior Technology Reporter Chris Vallance explains how it could work, while Soma Sara, founder of sexual violence campaign group, Everyone’s Invited, tells us if it could protect young people from pressure, coercion and abuse.
Callie Khouri won an Oscar for her first screenplay for the film Thelma & Louise. Now she has rewritten the script for a new musical version that has just premiered in London, 35 years after the original film aired. Callie joined Kylie Pentelow to talk about adapting the original and how the story is still painfully relevant.
Journalist Rachel Hosie is expecting her first baby in France, where she’s been struck by how much attention and consideration pregnancy receives. Sarah Seror has had babies in both France and Britain and went on to found The Motherhood Practice, which provides private midwifery care in the UK. Nuala McGovern hears from them about the differences in cultural attitudes to pregnancy in the two countries.
England Rugby’s Red Roses will be taking part in a major international tournament throughout September and October. But one of the biggest conversations ahead of the WXV Global series is around changes to the size of the equipment. World Rugby will be trialling a smaller ball throughout the tournament. This ball is 3% smaller than the standard size used at elite level for men and women. The changes have had mixed reviews with some saying they are better designed for women to use, while others are concerned about the harm this could do to the image of the Women's game. Rochelle ‘Rocky’ Clark, former Rugby Union player and world cup winning Red Rose and CEO of Women in Sport, Stephanie Hilborne, discuss the impact both on and off the pitch.
The latest artwork for London's iconic Fourth Plinth has been revealed. Lady in Blue, by New York artist Tschabalala Self, is a striking ten-foot-tall tribute to a young metropolitan woman inspired by today's London. The figure is the latest in a series of high-profile commissions that have transformed one of the world's most famous public art spaces. Tschabalala joined Kylie to discuss what it means to see her work take centre stage in the heart of the capital.
Presenter: Kylie Pentlow
Producer: Annette Wells

More than 50 children's charities and parent organisations have written to the Prime Minister, warning that disabled children are being overlooked in the Government's planned reforms to social care. Kylie Pentelow is joined by Anna Bird, Chair of the Disabled Children's Partnership and Chief Executive of the charity Contact to tell us more.
The latest artwork for London's iconic Fourth Plinth has been revealed. Lady in Blue, by New York artist Tschabalala Self, is a striking ten-foot-tall tribute to a young metropolitan woman inspired by today's London. The figure is the latest in a series of high-profile commissions that have transformed one of the world's most famous public art spaces. Tschabalala joins Kylie to discuss what it means to see her work take centre stage in the heart of the capital.
River Ahmad made history in May when she became the first Afghan woman to climb Mount Everest. She had always dreamed of climbing the mountain with her 20-year-old brother who later took his own life. As a teenager in Afghanistan, she survived a Taliban attack on her bus. River now lives in Australia and she spoke to the BBC's Sodaba Haidare about her inspiration to climb the mountain:
The third part in our series "Daddy Issues" where we explore the impact of fathers on daughters. Woman’s Hour listener Carmen grew up on the North Yorkshire coast. Her father was a retired fisherman. When Carmen was eight, her mum was taken into psychiatric care. Her dad looked after Carmen and her sister, and provided a safe haven for them. But things later became more complex. Reporter Jo Morris met Carmen at the beach, where she explained losing him twice, and the impact of this on her relationships.
Dutch writer Doortje Smithuijsen joins Kylie to discuss her book, Capitalism is Sexism, exploring everything from work to childcare and the things mothers buy. Doortje asks how free those choices really are and why they still often produce familiar inequalities.
Presenter: Kylie Pentelow
Producer: Corinna Jones

The number of high earning parents turning down pay rises in order to keep free childcare is on the rise. Research from the University of Warwick and the London School of Economics estimates that by 2030, 12,000 parents will tactically keep their income below £100,000 in order to avoid the 'tax trap.' Kylie Pentelow speaks to Claer Barrett, Consumer Editor at the Financial Times.
Emily McBride’s debut novel Queen Mab follows new mother Madeleine as she becomes concerned that her newborn is in fact a changeling. As real life continues around her, Madeleine slips into disturbing visions as she suspects her daughter was swapped by fairies. Kylie is joined by Emily to talk about her fictional exploration of postpartum psychosis and by Dr Jessica Heron, Chief Executive of the national charity Action on Postpartum Psychosis.
Lucy Robinson was told she couldn’t go on a work trip abroad to deliver the keynote speech of her career because, despite being disabled, she wasn’t allowed to take her support workers with her. Kylie talks to Lucy about how she fought back and also to her lawyer, Anne-Marie Irwin from Rook Irwin Sweeney and the BBC's Carolyn Atkinson.
Callie Khouri won an Oscar for her first screenplay for the film Thelma & Louise. Now she has rewritten the script for a new musical version that has just premiered in London, 35 years after the original film aired. Callie joins Kylie to talk about adapting the original and how the story is still painfully relevant.
Presenter: Kylie Pentelow
Producer: Rebecca Myatt