Woman's Hour

Country singer Lainey Wilson, Sodium Valporate, Women and war in fiction


Listen Later

The Grammy award-winning Lainey Wilson is a country music trailblazer. She has made her way from Hannah Montana impersonator to performing at the Grand Ole Opry and she's been awarded seven Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year in 2023 and six Academy of Country Music Awards. As a prolific songwriter she’s scored seven No. 1 hits including: Watermelon Moonshine and Heart Like A Truck. Her latest album, Whirlwind, earned a Grammy nomination and she is currently on a world tour promoting the album. She will be headlining at the Country to Country Festival at the O2 in London this weekend. She joins Nuala McGovern to discuss why she thinks country is cool again.

In 2021, the Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Grand National in the 182-year history of the race. The first woman to be leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival with six victories, including the Champion Hurdle, and the following year she became the first female jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Yesterday, she continued to make history winning the Stayers' Hurdle aboard Bob Olinger to complete a Cheltenham Festival double. All the more remarkable as she was sidelined for three months with a neck injury after a fall in September. We speak to Fern Buckley, BBC sports journalist, ahead of Blackmore's participation in Friday afternoon's Gold Cup race.

In Bangladesh, there's been shocking news that an eight-year-old girl who was raped last week, has died from her injuries. Fierce protests have erupted in the country following the girl's death yesterday with people demanding that the government expedite justice for rape victims and reform laws related to women and children's safety. We hear from the BBC's South Asia Correspondent Samira Hussain who is based in Delhi, India.

In the next of our Women’s Prize discussions, we hear from Clare Mulley on her book charting the life of Agent Zo – a courageous Polish female resistance fighter in World War Two, and VV Ganeshananthan about her novel Brotherless Night set during the Sri Lankan Civil War – winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction last year. What can these writers in very different genres tell us about the experience of women in war?

Catherine Cox from Nottingham was one of thousands of women who took the epilepsy drug sodium valproate while pregnant, something which is now advised against. She’s been campaigning for compensation for more than 20 years. Her son Matthew, who’s now 23, was born with a range of conditions, including autism, ADHD, epilepsy and several learning disabilities. At 18 months old, he was diagnosed with foetal valproate syndrome, indicating the medication Catherine took was the cause of his problems. Catherine joins Nuala alongside Dr Henrietta Hughes, Patient Safety Commissioner, whose report, released just over a year ago, recommended the need to compensate those harmed by valproate.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern

Producer: Kirsty Starkey
Editor: Karen Dalziel

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Woman's HourBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

262 ratings


More shows like Woman's Hour

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,395 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,837 Listeners

F1: Chequered Flag by BBC Radio 5 Live

F1: Chequered Flag

732 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,900 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,814 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,118 Listeners

Desert Island Discs by BBC Radio 4

Desert Island Discs

2,049 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,065 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,051 Listeners

Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware by Jessie Ware

Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware

1,638 Listeners

Happy Place by Fearne Cotton

Happy Place

1,362 Listeners

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day by Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

1,375 Listeners

Changes with Annie Macmanus by Annie Macmanus

Changes with Annie Macmanus

107 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

723 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,961 Listeners

Postcards From Midlife by Lorraine Candy & Trish Halpin

Postcards From Midlife

173 Listeners

The Mid•Point with Gabby Logan by Spiritland Creative

The Mid•Point with Gabby Logan

329 Listeners

Life Changing by BBC Radio 4

Life Changing

90 Listeners

Comfort Eating with Grace Dent by The Guardian

Comfort Eating with Grace Dent

205 Listeners

Dish by Cold Glass Productions

Dish

566 Listeners

Therapy Works by Julia Samuel

Therapy Works

58 Listeners

Off Air... with Jane and Fi by The Times

Off Air... with Jane and Fi

144 Listeners

Young Again by BBC Radio 4

Young Again

125 Listeners

The Louis Theroux Podcast by Spotify Studios

The Louis Theroux Podcast

563 Listeners

Begin Again with Davina McCall by Begin Again

Begin Again with Davina McCall

500 Listeners