The Conversation

It's been said that the Covid-19 lockdown had a devastating impact on children's speech development. But it also affected the support that older patients can get for their speech and swallowing problems. Beatriz de la Pava talks to speech therapists from Greece and South Africa about the work they do.

Emilia Michou is a speech and language therapist from Greece. She’s a clinical academic, spending half of her time with patients and half teaching at Patras University. Emilia was inspired to train as a SLT because of the struggles she and her brother had communicating when they were children. She specialises in supporting people with degenerative conditions or after suffering from a stroke.

Dr Sadna Balton heads up the speech and audiology department at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg, the largest hospital in Africa and third largest in the world. She’s a paediatric therapist working with babies to teenagers helping children with autism, down’s syndrome as well as with cleft palettes. Sadna also trains care-givers and parents in how to communicate with their child.

Produced by Jane Thurlow and Emily Naylor

(Image: (L) Sadna Balton. (R) Emilia Michou.)

Kim Chakanetsa meets two women looking after remarkable historical objects and artworks.

Produced by Flora McWilliam and Alice Gioia

(Image: (L) Susana Fajardo, credit Alice Gioia. (R) Kristiane Strætkvern.)

Kim Chakanetsa talks to two Beirut-based creatives who made it their mission to tell women’s stories.

(Image: (L) Madonna Adib, credit Elsy Hajjar. (R) Joana Hadjithomas.)

In August 2020, a devastating explosion destroyed the port of Beirut. More than 200 people lost their lives and thousands of small and medium women-owned businesses were destroyed. Kim Chakanetsa meets two entrepreneurs who are now working to rebuild their city and keep the economy going.

In the aftermath of the explosion Joelle and Nour were helped by local NGOs, including Stand For Women.

Produced by Alice Gioia. Sound recording by Antonio Nakhoul.

(Image: (L) Nour Tannir. (R) Joelle Azar.)

The sleep economy is booming – from hi-tech sleep trackers to apps and cooling mattresses – and its worth is estimated at hundreds of billions of US dollars every year. So why do some of us still have trouble dropping off?

(Image: (L) Dr Christine Blume, courtesy of Michael Brauer. (R) Dr Anita Shelgikar, courtesy of University of Michigan Health.)

Beatriz de la Pava talks to two women on the frontline of disaster preparation about how communities can become more resilient to natural hazards, respond quickly to them, and recover afterwards.

Mami Mizutori is the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Before that she served for twenty-seven years in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Homolata Borah has worked towards reducing disaster risk for some of the most vulnerable communities living in the world’s largest inhabited river island of Majuli in the state of Assam in India.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

Artists from Ukraine and the UK tell Kim Chakanetsa about how they capture someone’s personality on canvas.

Laura Quinn Harris is a UK artist specialising in oil portraits of people and animals. Her work has been displayed in exhibitions including the prestigious BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition. Her sitters have included the actor Sir Ian McKellen, film producer Armando Iannucci and soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Laura first gained a degree in Mathematics before studying Scientific & Natural History Illustration and produces highly detailed portraits which can take up to several months to complete.

Ukrainian artist Tania Rivilis moved to Germany from Moscow in 2012 in her twenties and started painting after her husband gave her oil paints and brushes as a gift to help cope with the upheaval. In 2022 Tania received the William Lock Prize at the Royal Portrait Society for the most timeless portrait, her works have been displayed on billboards in Times Square in New York and she’s exhibited her works at Christie´s in London.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

(Image: (L) Tanya Rivilis, courtesy of Tanya Rivilis. (R) Laura Quinn Harris , courtesy of Laura Quinn Harris.)

Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women about the joys and challenges of parenting a disabled child.

Gopika Kapoor is a writer, neurodiversity consultant and parent advocate. Her son Vir was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old. Gopika told her story in a book: Beyond the Blue: Love, Life and Autism. She lives and works in Mumbai.

Julie Jones is an accessible and inclusive travel writing specialist from Sydney in Australia. She’s a mum of two and she cares for her disabled adult son, Braeden, who lives with cerebral palsy. She writes a blog, Have Wheelchair Will Travel, and co-founded a magazine called Travel Without Limits.

Produced by Hetal Bapodra and Alice Gioia

(Image: (L) Julie Jones and her son Braeden, credit courtesy of Julie Jones. (R) Gopika Kapoor, credit courtesy of Gopika Kapoor.)

Kim Chakanetsa meets two writers who, in their work, explore the themes of love, identity, belonging and inter-generational trauma.

Elif Shafak is a Turkish British writer. She has written 19 books, most of them novels, which have been translated into 55 languages. She is a Booker prize finalist, and her most recent novel - The Island of Missing Trees - tells the forbidden love story between a Greek Cypriot man and a Turkish Cypriot woman.

Produced by Alice Gioia

(Image: (L) Elif Shafak, credit BBC. (R) Min Jin Lee, credit Getty Images)

Tennis has a level of equality that women in other many other sports must envy, with equal prize money and media coverage at many top tournaments. Much of this is down to the work of the Women's Tennis Association, founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King and other players to unite all of women's professional tennis in one tour. To mark the 50th anniversary, Kim Chakanetsa talks to WTA president, Micky Lawler and top player, Johanna Konta about how the game is changing on the court and off it: the great steps made towards equality, and the challenges and the progress still to be made.

Former British No1 Johanna Konta won three WTA Tour titles. She also played for Great Britain in the Davis Cup and Olympics and was semi-finalist at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Born in Australia she moved to train in Spain at 14 and her parents settled in the UK. She’s one of only five British women to gain a world top-ten ranking in the open era – reaching No 4 in the world in June 2017. She retired from professional tennis in December 2021, before getting married and starting a family.

Micky Lawler was born in Holland, and while her father’s job took the family to live in Argentina, Bolivia and Kenya sport played an important part of her life growing up. A multi-linguist, she was teaching English and planning to be an interpreter when she got her first job in tennis. A highly successful sports agent before moving to the WTA, she’s helped build tournaments in countries around the world as a way of increasing opportunities for players.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

(Image: (L) Johanna Konta, credit Made Nagi/EPA. (R) Micky Lawler, credit Radka Leitmeritz.)