The Wingwoman

This week Charlie and Frankie are joined on the phone by the Independent’s senior lifestyle writer, author and podcaster, Olivia Petter.

Having just written her debut book Millennial Love (which we both enjoyed hugely), and as host of the namesake podcast in which she quizzes millennials about their love lives, there is nothing about the modern love landscape that Olivia doesn’t know. We discuss IRL vs App dating, whether the pandemic has made her think differently about relationships and what the future of thirty-something sex looks like. Plus, she shares her summer read and the TV series she can’t stop binging.

Millennial Love by Olivia Petter is out 8th July - pre-order here.

To hear more from us, sign up at TheWingwoman.co.uk to receive our free weekly newsletter every other Sunday. Or get in touch with any questions or feedback at [email protected].

Links from the episode:

What If You Could Do It All Over - Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker

Superstore

Red Comet: The Short Life And Blazing Art Of Sylvia Plath - Heather Clark

This week Charlie gets back on the IRL dating scene and Frankie has a panicky yoga class while wondering whether her sudden passion for tie dye and pastel nail polish is signalling an early midlife crisis.

We examine the rise of toxic post-pandemic diet culture and discuss whether the government's plan to put calorie counts on restaurant menus will do more harm than good. Plus we share the articles, TV shows and virtual festivals that have caught our attention.

To hear more from us, sign up at TheWingwoman.co.uk to receive our free weekly newsletter every other Sunday. Or get in touch with any questions or feedback at [email protected].

Links from the episode:

It’s Time To Change How We Talk about Pandemic Weight Gain - Molly Longman, Refinery 29

Calorie Counts are Coming to British Menus – And They’re The Last Thing We Need, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, The Guardian

The Weight-Loss Industry is Coming For Our Post-Lockdown Bodies - Jennifer Weiner, The New York Times

Who Hasn’t Eaten Chocolate Spread Straight Out Of The Jar And Mistaken It For Love - Grace Dent, The Guardian 

My Partner Keep Telling Me I’m Fat. Is It Really For My Own Sake?- Ask Annalisa Barbieri, The Guardian 

Anti-Semitism On The Streets Of London In 2021? I’m Not Surprised At All - Siam Goorwich, Grazia 

Here’s How To Help Victims Of The Israel-Palestine Crisis- Grazia 

Bearing The Brunt: The Suffering Of Children In The Gaza-Israel Conflict - The Guardian

This week, we're facing the latest attack on millennials: being labelled 'Cheugy'. Would you mug shelf and pasta preference betray you? We're alsotalking about Billie Eilish's vogue cover, the sexualisation of teenage celebrities and the curse of being labelled a role model, and we're defending work wife culture (though only as we know it).

Plus, we're talking about Frankie's rainy holiday in Devon and Charlie's polling station meet-cute fantasy, and sharing our pop culture recommendations of the moment.

To hear more from us, sign up at TheWingwoman.co.uk to receive our free weekly newsletter every other Sunday. Or get in touch with any questions or feedback at [email protected].

Links from the episode:

What is 'Cheugy'? You know it when you see it - Taylor Lorenz, The New York Times

Turns out I'm pretty Cheugy - Mia Mercado, The Cut

'It's all about what makes you feel good': Billie Eilish on new music, power dynamics, and her internet-breaking transformation - Laura Snapes, Vogue

The History of the work spouse - Katie Heaney, The Cut

'We may have been alone, but Covid mums shared a unique experience, one defined by the depths of female strength and resilience' - Jess Brammar, Grazia

Hay Festival 2021

This week, we're talking about our firsts after lockdown: first lunch with friends, first browse of a bookshop, first deathly hangover as a parent... Charlie's realising how much she missed conversations with strangers, and Frankie's struggling to rediscover her personal style after a year of big changes. 

Plus, we're talking about caterpillar cake wars and how hygiene standards have slipped during lockdown, and sharing recommendations for our favourite articles, podcasts, films and documentaries of the moment.

To hear more from us, sign up at TheWingwoman.co.uk to receive our free weekly newsletter every other Sunday. Or get in touch with any questions or feedback at thewingwomanofficial.com.

Links from the episode:

'I wash my hands and genitals - the rest I gave up': how the pandemic changed our hygiene habits - Emine Saner, The Guardian

Our social muscles have broken down. Here's how to build them back up - Sadhbh O'Sullivan, Refinery29

I've lost my conversational mojo - can I relearn the art of small talk? - Rhik Samadder, The Guardian

Life on a Plate with Tom Allen

A frou frou boob-tube and metallic pink trousers: the outfits readers can't wait to wear - The Guardian

Checks and Balances - Otegha Uwagba, British Vogue May issue (not currently online)

My Octopus Teacher BAFTA acceptance speech

This week, Charlie explores her inability to stop procrastinating, while Frankie realises that after a year of sofa dinners, she's forgotten how to eat like a grown up.

This week, we're taking stock a year after the first lockdown was announced, and wondering whether it will take finally going 'back to normal' for us to realise how much has changed. Plus, Charlie's dipping a toe back into the app-dating waters (with pub-garden dates a possibility again) and Frankie's taken her first step back into the world of work after having a baby - but with no childcare, it's just as hard as you'd imagine. 

Plus, we're talking eye-gazing and Instagram buddhism (thanks to Orlando Bloom) and discussing wine in a tin - is it the future?

To hear more from us, sign up at TheWingwoman.co.uk to receive our free weekly newsletter every other Sunday. Or get in touch at thewingwomanofficial.com.

Episode links:

Hollywood, Anti-Asian hate and me - Charlotte Mei, Buro 247

#StopAsianHate 'We Need To Understand The Often-Hidden Racist Rhetoric In The UK, That Has Been Omnipresent All My Life' - Susie Lau, Grazia

Change.org: COVID19 Anti-Racism Group (CARG) against Racism targeting British East Asian People

Go Fund Me: #StopAsianHate

Emily Ratajkowski has posted pictures of herself in labour. That’s nothing . . . - Frankie Graddon, The Times

Orlando Bloom on life with Katy Perry and their new baby, Daisy - Hannah Swerling, The Times

NICE - Malbec in a tin

Trigger warning: in this episode we discuss sexual harassment, suicide and mental health

This week the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard as she walked home shook women all over the country. We’re discussing why this case has hit so close to home - but also questioning how much more attention these cases get when the victims are white.

We also discuss the British media's reaction to Meghan following the Sussexs’ Oprah interview, and look at why the 'difficult woman' narrative is so damaging.

To hear more from us, sign up at TheWingwoman.co.uk to receive our free weekly newsletter every other Sunday Or get in touch at thewingwomanofficial.com

You can contact the following organisations for support with your mental health: Mind, NHS, Samaritans.

Episode links:

Letters Live

Open City

Millennial Love 

Redemption Roasters

This week, we're making plans for our post-lockdown lives - but while Frankie's booked a haircut and a British minibreak, Charlie's worrying about socialising fatigue. We're also talking about the generational parting war (are you a centrist or a sidey?) and the danger of group texts.

Plus, we're sharing our podcast, TV, and article recommendations over a martini - Frankie's is from The Berkeley's Blue Bar, and Charlie's is Daffy's martini with orange blossom. Cheers! To hear more from us, sign up at TheWingwoman.co.uk to receive our free weekly newsletter every other Sunday. Or get in touch at thewingwomanofficial.com.

Episode links:

Grace Dent on In Writing with Hattie Crisell 

British grief centres mainly around the making of sandwiches - Grace Dent, The Guardian

Oh la la! Why I'm staying in with the French - Charlie Gowans-Eglinton, The Times

This week, Frankie's sharing her emergency caesarean story - and scar - inspired by Amy Schumer, and Charlie's gone down a DIY rabbit hole. We're talking about the Framing Britney Spears documentary, and how we failed one of our generation's formative icons - and wondering if things would really be any different if it all played out now. 

Plus, we're sharing our book and article recommendations over a glass of Casina Tavijn vino rosso for Charlie, and Love by Leoube rosé Côtes de Provence for Frankie. Cheers! To hear more from us, sign up at TheWingwoman.co.uk to receive our free weekly newsletter every other Sunday. Or get in touch at thewingwomanofficial.com.

Episode links:

How complicit are we in the downfall of Britney Spears? - Marie Claire Chappet, Harper's Bazaar

People Like Her, Ellery Lloyd

'I'm not a cat'