Inspired by real life events, a new film ‘Love Sonia’ is the story of a young girl from a small village in India who finds herself caught up in the global sex trafficking industry. One of the stars of the film is Freida Pinto. She joins Jenni to discuss.  The first leader of the Women’s Equality Party is standing down. Sophie Walker has been doing the job since 2015. In 2017 her party published a manifesto full of feminist policies from which she openly invited all the mainstream parties to steal. She has said repeatedly that she wants to change the way we do politics. And yesterday, she sought to change it saying that “sometimes in order to lead, you have to get out of the way”. She explains what she meant and why she’s decided to go now.    Basma Khalifa was born in Saudi Arabia, but grew up in Northern Ireland before moving to London as a stylist. In a new BBC 3 documentary, she explores whether it’s a place she could consider living in again. Basma and Director Jessica Kelly discuss their experience.  An Irish couple say they've been denied an abortion in an Irish hospital even though their unborn baby had a fatal foetal abnormality. They were told by doctors to wait for a miscarriage. Their situation has been brought up in the Irish Parliament, with their consent, and it’s raising questions about whether Irish hospitals are ready, or willing, to implement the new law on abortion. There was a referendum last Spring in which the Irish people voted 66.4% in favour of Repealing the Eighth Amendment, which was a law restricting access to abortion. We hear the facts.  Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Kirsty Starkey Interviewed Guest: Sophie Walker
Interviewed Guest: Freida Pinto
Interviewed Guest: Basma Khalifa
Interviewed Guest: Jessica Kelly
Interviewed Guest: Dr Peter Boylan

Freida Pinto in Love Sonia

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

Personal Journals

Society & Culture

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Health & Fitness

Nearly a quarter of five-to-seven-year-olds now have their own smartphone according to OFCOM. Social media use also rose in the same age group over the last year with nearly two in five using the messaging service WhatsApp, despite its minimum age of 13. The communications regulator in its annual study of children's relationship with technology warned parental enforcement of rules 'appeared to be diminishing'. It also said the figures should be a 'wake up call' for the industry to do more to protect children. Anita Rani is joined by Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of a campaigning organisation Smartphone Free Childhood. Earlier this week Reverend Grace Thomas posted a photo on social media of a male passenger having chosen to sit next to her on a practically empty bus. The attached message read, 'Please don't do this… it immediately puts me on edge. I can't be alone in this, surely.' It turns out she wasn’t; her post has attracted more than 10 million views, 150,000 likes and hundreds of comments that include women with similar experiences. Reverend Grace joins Anita along with Michael Conroy, founder of Men At Work, who trains professionals that work with boys and young men. On average, we spend one-third of our waking life alone. Anita talks to psychologist Netta Weinstein, Professor of Psychology at the University of Reading, who has co-written a new book called Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone. Whether you love it or try to avoid it, she explains the benefits of being alone and gives us some tips on how to be better at it.  The final episode of the 18th series of The Apprentice aired last night. After a battle that saw boutique gyms go head-to-head with a pie delivery service, Lord Alan Sugar decided to invest two hundred and fifty thousand pounds into a luxury gym business run by Rachel Woolford. Anita speaks to the entrepreneur about her victory. This weekend it’s the 100 year anniversary of the death of Marie Corelli, the promoter of Shakespeare’s house and a bestselling novelist in her own right; she outsold HG Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle, publishing 25 books which were devoured in their millions by English readers, Americans and those in the colonies. Anoushka Lester, an academic at the University of Roehampton talks to Anita about Marie Corelli. Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rebecca Myatt
Studio manager: Donald MacDonald

Solitude, Apprentice winner Rachel Woolford, Personal space, Kids and smartphones

Ruth Wilson explains why she’s running this year’s London marathon for an Alzheimer’s charity, following in the footsteps of her Father who ran the first London marathon in 1981.   During the Women's Rugby Six Nations, the Welsh Rugby Union is using a new technique to assess the impact a player's periods can have when they suffer a concussion. It's the first time data on concussion and periods has been gathered collectively and the hope is it'll help players adapt their training if necessary. Jo Perkins, Head Physio of the Welsh women's squad explains the research.  ITV's Kate Garraway has taken to social media to express her frustration at her local council still sending post to her late husband, Derek. What can you do to make post-death administration simpler and less distressing? Jessica is joined by founder and CEO of the Good Grief Trust, Linda Magistris, to give advice.  Ashley Storrie is the star and co-creator of a brand new BBC comedy series called Dinosaur. It centres around Nina, whose sister has just announced she’s getting married to someone she’s known for six weeks. Ashley joins Jessica to talk about why it was important to her to play an autistic woman, as she is autistic herself, and how writing the series is her dream job. And can sewing improve your mental health?  Following Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s interview on Woman’s Hour about how sewing helped her while she was imprisoned, Jessica Crighton hears from other keen sewers about the impact it’s had on their lives. Presenter: Jessica Creighton
Producer: Olivia Skinner

Ruth Wilson, periods and concussion, Ashley Storrie on BBC comedy Dinosaur, sewing for mental health

Nat Sciver-Brunt is the first English woman to be honored as Wisden's leading cricketer in the world. She joins Jesscia Creighton to discuss the accolade and her career in the sport.  Smacking children should be made illegal in England and Northern Ireland, say the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Striking a child is already illegal in Scotland and Wales, and in many other countries around the world.  Dr Rowena Christmas, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, talks about the ban in Wales, which she was instrumental in bringing in, and which has been in place for the last two years. A self-described hypochrondriac, the author Caroline Crampton's new book A Body of Glass is a personal memoir and history of this elusive conditon. Beginning in the age of Hippocrates she joins Jessica to discuss the gendered history of this outdated term and her realtionship with it.    The actor Sian Brooke returns as Grace Ellis for the second series of Blue Lights on BBC One. She joins Jessica to talk about the role, and what she's learnt from diving into the world of policing in Belfast.  Social media platform Meta disabled Soul Sisters Pakistan for 43 hours earlier this month due to an intellectual property violation. Soul Sisters Pakistan was set up 11 years ago by the entrepreneur and activist Kanwal Ahmed as a support system for women to discuss topics considered taboo in Pakistani society, such as sex and divorce. In the past, the group has been accused by some of promoting divorce and 'wild' behavior. With over 300,000 members, who dub themselves soulies, she joins Jessica to discuss. Presenter: Jessica Creighton 
Producer: Dianne McGregor

Cricketer Nat Sciver-Brunt, Smacking, Hypochondria, Police drama Blue Lights, Soul Sisters Pakistan

Deborah Snyder has produced some of the biggest blockbusters and action franchises in the last decade including Wonder Woman, 300 and Watchmen. Her newest work, Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver arrives on Netflix this week. It's the second instalment of the Rebel Moon series, a space opera set in a fictional galaxy with a female protagonist. Deborah produced it alongside her husband and long-term creative collaborator, director Zack Snyder. She joins Jessica Creighton live in the studio. A proposed new UK tournament for women's tennis at The Queen's Club in London is facing a set-back. They need to convince the men's professional tennis circuit that they won't damage the grass for the men's tournament at the same club the following week. The week-long women's event would be staged for the first time in 2025, and would replace Eastbourne as the only Women's Tennis Association 500 event, taking place in the UK in the run-up to Wimbledon. Jess speaks to tennis broadcaster Catherine Whitaker to discuss. Today is the deadline to register to vote in the local elections on May 2nd. The most recent data suggest that 4.3 million young people in England aren’t currently registered. Jessica speaks to Sharon Gaffka, who’s supporting the Give an X campaign, calling on young people to get involved. A survey by the youth led charity My Life My Say also says that fewer than 1 in 6 of young women trust politicians and more than four in 10 believe their vote won’t make a difference in an election. Also joining Jessica is Rosie Campbell, Professor of Politics and Director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London, to explain the trends behind the latest data. In 1927 journalist Sophie Treadwell attended the sensational trial of Ruth Snyder, a New York woman accused murdering her husband. Ruth was found guilty, along with her accomplice lover Henry Judd Gray, and both were executed by electric chair in January 1928. Those events inspired Sophie Treadwell to write the play Machinal, which premiered on Broadway later that year. A recent production has just transferred from the Theatre Royal Bath to the Old Vic in London and its star, Rosie Sheehy, along with US academic Dr Jessie Ramey join Jessica to discuss the case of Ruth Snyder and why Machinal still resonates with audiences today.

Hollywood film producer Deborah Snyder, Young women and voting, Machinal star Rosie Sheehy

Australian police investigating the fatal stabbing of six people at the crowded shopping centre in Bondi Junction, Sydney say they're looking into whether the attacker deliberately targeted women. Joel Cauchi killed five women - and a male security guard who tried to intervene - before he was shot dead by police. Eight of the twelve injured who went to hospital, including a baby, are also female.   To find out more Jessica Creighton is joined by BBC Australia correspondent Katy Watson based in Sydney. Jing Lusi stars as DC Hana Li in ITV’s new thriller Red Eye, set on a plane flying between London and Beijing. She joins Jessica Creighton to talk about what it’s like to play a lead role for the first time, and how important it is to see British East Asian women as the main progatonist. Ten years ago 276 Nigerian school girls were abducted by the Islamist group Boko Haram from their school in Chibok, a town in the north-east of Nigeria. A decade later, dozens of the girls are still missing and kidnappings are once again on the rise in Nigeria.  Jessica is joined from Lagos by BBC Africa Senior reporter Yemisi Adegoke. 2024 marks the centenary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. First written by British feminists, it was adopted by the League of Nations in 1924. Today we know it as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Dr Emily Baughan, Senior Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Sheffield explains the role women played in its creation. Plus, Danielle Scott, Assistant Vice Principal at Green Gates Academy, explains how the rights are still being used in schools today. A real life experience of a mugging in New York inspired Imogen Wade to write a poem which has just won the National Poetry Competition, coming first out of 19000 entries. She joins Jessica to share her poem and, as a counsellor, to explain how the act of writing helped her to process the experience. Presenter: Jessica Creighton
Producer:  Louise Corley
Studio Engineer: Donald MacDonald

Freida Pinto in Love Sonia

Download our free app to listen on your phone