Standard Issue Podcast

Jo Hamilton was one of the most high-profile victims of the British Post Office Scandal in which she, along with hundreds of other innocent subpostmasters, was wrongly prosecuted for shortfalls caused by faulty accounting software. The scandal is quite rightly considered one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British judicial history – with the Government also very heavily implicated. 

Jo’s treatment at the hands of the Post Office had a devastating impact on, well, her whole world and that of her family. She went on to be a founding member of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance and one of the 555 litigants in the successful group legal action of Bates & Others v Post Office Ltd. Her criminal conviction was overturned in April 2021. If you’ve seen ITV’s remarkable four-part drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Jo is played by Monica Dolan. 

And so when she heard Jo had written a book, Why Are You Here, Mrs Hamilton?, Mick jumped at the chance to talk to Jo about what happened, how it’s changed her, and what still needs to happen in order for justice to be served. 

Why Are You Here, Mrs Hamilton?: The Post Office Scandal and My Extraordinary Fight for Justice is published by Blink and available from all good bookshops.

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Comedian Jessica Fostekew is going back on the road with her new show Iconic Breath, including short runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and at London's Soho Theatre. She chats to Hannah about still giving a shit, inherited traits, weightlifting, and guessing how old children are.

 Tickets to Jess' Edinburgh show are here: ⁠https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/jessica-fostekew-iconic-breath⁠

And for the rest of the tour here: ⁠https://www.plosive.co.uk/events/jessica-fostekew-iconic-breath-tour-2026?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaeEOPT83EkJgQV4yVP68nYdyMzG6LkvUYfmigUxzV8a07a0OIu9RiwBU8e7Qw_aem_fRrrXp35p2e844kQG4z2tw

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Colman Domingo got an Oscar nod for his portrayal of John “Divine G” Whitfield in Greg Kwedar’s film based on the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts programme (RTA) at America’s Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison. Domingo is just one of a handful of professional actors starring alongside real-life alumni of RTA, a programme which gives them a sense of purpose and a close-knit group of friends. Yosra loved it when she saw it on its UK release last summer, but will Hannah and Mick feel the same? Could there even be tears in Dunleavyville? 

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Lou Butcher, better known as the Topless Runner, has been running marathons naked from the waist up since having two mastectomies after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She chats to our friend Hazel Davis about health anxiety, body confidence, the politics of being bare chested and her memoir, Going Topless. 

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A fictional mystery without a solution masquerading as a true story is Australia's best film, you say? We do. Well, Hannah does anyway. But what does Mickey make of Peter Weir's dreamy boarding school drama/horror on a first watch? 

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Hannah is happily child-free so she was glad to grab some time with author Helen Taylor to chat about her new book Childless By Choice, which is part memoir, part cultural history. They talk about "crazy cat ladies", societal pressure, misconceptions and the pressing question of who is going to look after us when we get old.

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It’s a big one this week, as Mick and Hannah watch possibly the most cult of cult films: Richard O’Brien’s stage show turned Jim Sharman’s screen show, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. So many questions. Has there ever been a hotter Curry than Tim? How might the modern youth view it? Did Hannah sing along? And what’s Mr Peanutbutter’s favourite berry got to do with anything? We see you shiver with… you know.

Mick mentions a couple of interesting articles, which you’ll find here: https://www.them.us/story/yes-rocky-horror-picture-show-is-transphobic-transmisogynist

And indeed here: https://www.bigissue.com/culture/theatre/rocky-horror-at-50-a-place-for-the-marginalised/

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Comedian and storyteller, actress and broadcasting star, Desiree Burch is also a perimenopausal woman with plenty to say about it. Mick got on the Zoom to talk about Desiree’s new show, The Golden Wrath, as well as the ups, downs and big bag of goo that is a woman’s midlife. 

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In 2017, Zelda Perkins broke an NDA of more than 20 years to speak out against Harvey Weinstein. Since then, she’s tirelessly campaigned to end the misuse and abuse of NDAS – non-disclosure agreements – used to silence victims. Her campaigning included setting up Can’t Buy My Silence in 2021, and Mick chatted to her about that at the time. 

Earlier this month, the Government announced it will ban NDAs designed to silence victims of workplace harassment and discrimination, a change that will be implemented through amendments to the Employment Rights Bill. A week later, the Lords passed it. This is a huge victory for Zelda – and the many brave people who have broken NDAs – after tireless campaigning, so obviously Mick got her back on the podcast to talk about the whats, whys, hows and what’s next.

For the full interview, get involved with our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/StandardIssue

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Joel Schumacher’s sci-fi psychological horror exploring the boundaries between life, death and redemption was chock-a-block with early 1990s Hollywood's hottest property. But who gets redeemed and why? What happens when Bacon meets ham? And for the love of God, why won’t someone turn on a light?

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