Woman's Hour

The Paris 2024 Olympics start this evening with the opening ceremony. It's the first time an equal number of men and women will compete in a summer Games. To discuss the sportswomen you should keep an eye out for, Anita Rani is joined by Jeanette Kwakye, a former Olympian herself and now BBC pundit, and also BBC Sport reporter Laura Scott.

Adoption England have described an ‘unprecedented’ decline in adoption rates. For the first time in recent years, there are now more children in need of adoption than those looking to adopt. To discuss why, Anita is joined by Sarah Johal, National Adoption Strategic Lead for Adoption England and Hollie Mortimer, who adopted her daughter two years ago.

There are a record-breaking number of women on the shortlist of nominees for the Mercury Prize 2024. Eight out of the 12 nominations are women or female-fronted bands. To talk about the impact of this, Anita is joined by nominees Corinne Bailey Rae and Nia Archives, alongside music journalist Mary Mandefield.

So much is known about the causes of disease and death in women all over the world – so why are so many women still dying? Sophie Harman, Professor of International Politics at Queen Mary University of London, has written a new book: Sick Of It, that examines this question. She joins Anita to talk about how she thinks women’s health gets caught in the crossfire of global politics, and what the solutions could be.

Presenter: Anita Rani

Kamala Harris has spoken about making childcare and eldercare more affordable, securing universal paid maternity leave and signing into law a bill that would restore and protect the right to abortion. So could these policies win her female votes, and how does this fit in with her strategy to try and beat Trump in the US presidential election? Anita Rani speaks to Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, director of Chatham House's US and Americas programme.

Zara Sehar recently won the audience vote at the Roundhouse Poetry Slam competition, and joins Anita to talk about her work and perform from one of her poems, (Hon)our Killings. In it she mentions spoons in knickers, a tactic suggested to young girls being taken out of the country who are at airports and at risk of forced marriage. Natasha Rattu, Executive Director at Karma Nirvana explains why they give this advice to British-Asian girls.

Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell was the first black woman to swim for Great Britain. Born in the UK, her family moved to Kenya when she was four. She started swimming competitively from the age of six and was world number one in the 50 metres breaststroke, aged 15. But Rebecca walked away from the sport ahead of the London 2012 Olympics. She has written a memoir, These Heavy Black Bones, in which she delves into how she achieved success but also what it cost her, physically and mentally, and why she gave it all up.

It's 50 years since the death of the American singer Cass Elliot. She died at just 32, and her musical legacy includes some of the best-known songs of the 60s and 70s, from both her time in The Mamas & the Papas and her solo career. Eddi Fiegel, author of Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of 'Mama' Cass Elliot, tells Anita who she was.

Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has been inspired by Charli XCX and her recent album release, brat. The link between the two is all over social media – but what does it all mean? Nuala McGovern is joined by former Editor-in-Chief of Vice and co-host of the Good Bad Billionaire podcast on BBC World Service to explain the trend, and columnist for The Times, Alice Thomson on Kamala Harris’ appeal to women.

A new film, The Commandant’s Shadow, follows Hans Jürgen Höss, the 87-year-old son of Rudolf Höss, the camp commandant of Auschwitz who masterminded the murder of more than a million Jews. While Hans enjoyed a happy childhood playing with many toys in the family villa, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch played cello in the orchestra to survive the notorious concentration camp. Eight decades later, the two come face-to-face, together with their children, Kai Höss and Maya Lasker-Wallfisch. Anita and Maya join Nuala to tell their story.

A new study has found that women in Scotland have reached a landmark moment in business - with the number of female entrepreneurs matching the number of men for the first time. Nuala is joined by primary school teacher turned tech entrepreneur Genna Masterton who runs a business in Glasgow.

Former refugee lawyer turned comedian Sashi Perera joins Nuala to discuss who we choose as our emergency contacts and her new stand-up show, Boundaries.

A new malaria vaccine, licenced for children five months and older, began its roll out in the Ivory Coast last week. Nuala is joined by Dr Mehreen Datoo, who played a pivotal role in the vaccine’s development, after her own experience of malaria almost took her life.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern

What makes women become whistleblowers? And what happens after they’ve brought wrongdoing to light? Nuala McGovern talks to lawyer-turned-author Megan Davis about her experience blowing the whistle on financial crime, how it inspired writing her new thriller Bay of Thieves, and how a whistle-blower can make the perfect character for crime fiction.

When is it socially acceptable to bring your partner to hang out with your friends? According to academic and writer Kate Lister the answer is never. In her recent i Paper column, Kate explains that the presence of a partner alters the dynamic, and that friendships ought to be safe havens from romantic relationships. While some couples prefer to socialise together, Kate argues that time and effort should be invested into individual friendships. Kate joins Nuala for a frank discussion on the murky friendship politics of bringing your partner to lunch.

It’s been just over a year now since the University of Cambridge appointed its first American vice-chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice. Before she moved to Cambridge, she was provost at Princeton, where she spent 34 years of her academic career as a psychologist specialising in the study of social norms that govern human behaviour, including gender stereotypes. She joins Nuala to reflect on what she has learnt since arriving in the post.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern

President Biden has bowed to pressure and made the decision to drop out of the US presidential race. He’s endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the potential Democrat Party nominee to run against Donald Trump – but is America ready for another female presidential nominee? Nuala McGovern is joined by Kelly Dittmar, Director of Research at the non-partisan Center for American Women and Politics and Kimberly Peeler- Allen, co-founder of Higher Heights, an organisation that works to mobilise black women voters, and which endorsed the Vice President yesterday.

The Paris Olympics starts on Friday and it looks like they will be the first Games ever to have equal numbers of male and female athletes – but not of coaches. The figure for female coaches at the last Olympics in Tokyo, was just 13%. So what’s happening to try and shift that dial? Nuala speaks to Dr Elizabeth Pike from Hertfordshire University who leads the Women in Sport High Performance pathway, and Emily Handyside, Head Coach for Wales Netball, and Coaching Performance Pathway Manager at UK Coaching.

Nine months since the current Israel-Gaza war began, we look at pregnancy and giving birth in a war zone. Nuala hears from a mum in Gaza who recently gave birth, and also from a midwife trying to deliver care under constant bombing. We also speak to Hiba Al Hejazi from CARE International UK about the humanitarian support available for women in Gaza. Plus, Nuala is joined by Washington Post Middle East correspondent Louisa Loveluck to talk about the wider situation, including the worries of some of the Israeli hostages' families about the passing of nine months since their loved ones were abducted.

The sculptor Dominique White has a new exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. It is four large sculptures made of iron, driftwood and detritus from the sea, lit in such a way to suggest that you are submerged, or looking at a shipwreck on the seabed. It was created during Dominique’s six-month residency in Italy, the time granted to her when she won the Max Mara art prize for women in 2023.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern

The Portuguese-Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and won awards including a Grammy. Her upbeat, genre-defying pop music dominated the charts in the 2000s, from her break out hit I’m Like A Bird to her 2006 album Loose and its stand out hit Maneater. After finding that her music had been rediscovered by a whole new generation of fans on social media, she’s back with 7, her first album since 2017.In February 2021, a coup returned

Myanmar to military rule, overthrowing the democratically elected government. Under the regime, violence against civilians has escalated, with thousands jailed, tortured and killed – although the numbers are believed be much higher. At least three million people have been displaced. Just two weeks ago, a UN Report outlined the gendered impact of the coup: It found that military forces have committed widespread forms of sexual violence. However, despite the coup's devastating impact, women and girls are taking on key roles within the resistance movement. Also this month, there have been separate news reports that women are being conscripted into the military. Nuala discussed the situation with Tin Htar Swe, the former head of The BBC's Burmese Service.

Woman's Hour broadcast from Lord's Cricket Ground as England faced New Zealand for the culmination of a five-match T20 International series and to mark 25 years since the Marylebone Cricket Club, that runs Lord’s, allowed women to become members. During the programme she spoke to World Cup winning cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent and the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Head of the Women’s professional game, Beth Barrett-Wild. She also spoke to girls about why they love playing cricket. Nuala was also given a tour of Lord’s – taking in the spots of most significance to women’s history at the ground. She heard about Baroness Rachel Heyhoe Flint and Martha Grace, the mother of a player who is considered one of the all time greats, W. G. Grace. Her tour guide Rachel Pagan met her just outside the ground.

Taking children out of school during term time was in the news this week as the new Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said there "will have to be consequences" for parents who fail to keep their children in school. It’s illegal to take children out without the school’s permission. Minimum fines, imposed by local authorities, for taking children out of class without permission for five school days will rise from £60 per child to £80 per child from August.. In her first interview since taking up the post, the education secretary spoke to the BBC's education correspondent Branwen Jeffries. We hear from parent, Laura Melling who recently went viral on TikTok for discussing a fine she'd received after taking her young daughters out of school for a holiday during term time and we spoke to journalist and parenting author Lorraine Candy.

Annie Garthwaite’s second novel, The King’s Mother, tells the story of historical figure Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV and Richard III. Annie believes Cecily’s role in the Wars of the Roses has been hugely underestimated by historians and her novel places her firmly at the heart of the action. Essie Fox has written five historical novels and her most recent, The Fascination, is set in the world of Victorian theatres and travelling fairs. They join Nuala to discuss the challenge of writing the stories of women who have been overlooked by the history books.

Adele, one of the world's best-selling music artists, has revealed in an interview ahead of her concerts in Munich next month, that she will be stepping back from music temporarily after growing tired of the slog of fame and missing her old life. She talks about her "tank being empty" and the author and broadcaster Emma Gannon joined Anita to talk about when it all gets a bit much.

Presenter: Anita Rani

Vula Malinga started out as one of the lead singers for the London Community Gospel Choir, before becoming a lead vocalist with Basement Jaxx and she has also collaborated with the likes of Adele, Dizzee Rascal and Beverley Knight. Tomorrow night Vula will don her flares and sequins as one of the soloists at the BBC Prom – Everybody Dance! The Sound of Disco, at the Royal Albert Hall. Along with the BBC Concert Orchestra will perform iconic disco classics from the late 1970s Studio 54 era. She joins Anita to reveal more and to perform live in the studio.

Tomorrow marks 50 years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and an element of this story which often goes untold is the treatment of women during this time. Particularly, the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. For many, what happened to them is still a taboo subject. During her time as an MP, Skevi Koukouma raised this issue in parliament in 2015. Skevi is now the General Secretary of The Progressive Women’s Movement of POGO, an NGO which focuses on gender equality and social justice. She joins Woman’s Hour, along with Natassa Frederickou, the Vice President of the ZOE Vs War Violence Foundation, which aims to raise awareness of gender based violence in times of war.

And debut author Nilesha Chauvet’s novel The Revenge of Rita Marsh tells the story of a young woman who runs a care home for the elderly by day and a paedophile hunting group by night. Nilesha joins Anita along with Dr Kat Hadjimatheou, senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Essex University, to discuss the real paedophile hunters, why and how they do it and whether they help or hinder the criminal justice system.

Presenter: Anita Rani

The Portuguese-Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and won awards including a Grammy. Her upbeat, genre-defying pop music dominated the charts in the 2000s, from her break out hit I’m Like A Bird to her 2006 album Loose and its stand out hit Maneater. After finding that her music had been rediscovered by a whole new generation of fans on social media, she’s back with 7, her first album since 2017.

North East Lincolnshire and Blackpool are the most challenging places in the UK for girls to grow up, according to a new report by girls’ rights charity Plan International UK. The results are based on a survey of almost 3,000 girls and young women across the four nations; and highlight how girls feel uncertain about their futures and let down by a lack of progress in gender equality. Nuala is joined by Rose Caldwell, CEO of Plan International UK.

In 2010, the Swedish human rights activist Anna Ardin accused Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, of sexually assaulting her, allegations he has always denied. The allegations made headlines globally and set off a chain of events which saw Assange trying to avoid extradition to Sweden by seeking asylum in a London embassy for seven years. In 2019 the Swedish authorities ended their investigation. However, Assange spent the next five years in a British prison fighting extradition to the US, where he faced prosecution over massive leaks of confidential information. Assange was eventually freed last month, after a plea deal with the US. Anna says she’s glad he’s free and joins Anita in her first broadcast interview.

Adele, one of the world's best-selling music artists, has revealed in an interview ahead of her concerts in Munich next month, that she will be stepping back from music temporarily after growing tired of the slog of fame and missing her old life. She talks about her "tank being empty" and the author and broadcaster Emma Gannon joins Anita to talk about when it all gets a bit much.

Presenter: Anita Rani

Today, Woman's Hour comes live from Lord's Cricket Ground as England face New Zealand for the culmination of a five-match T20 International series. To talk us through the upcoming game we are joined by Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE. Ebony is a World Cup-winning cricketer, now turned presenter and pundit.

We begin by looking at the grassroots game which is growing at a fast rate. We hear from girls at Carlton Cricket Club about why they love the sport, also from 16-year-old Honor Black who’s clothing company, Maiden, designs kit specifically for girls. We also hear again from Ebony Rainford-Brent. Ebony was the first black woman to play cricket for England and founded the African-Caribbean Engagement Programme, ACE, which creates opportunities for young cricketers to take up the game.

Nuala gets a tour around the 'Home of Cricket', and the spots of most significance to women’s history at Lord's.

Woman's Hour also looks at the situation for women’s cricket in 2024. How far has the sport come and what is left to do? Beth Barrett-Wild is Director of the Women’s Professional Game at the England and Wales Cricket Board and joins Nuala live. They will discuss the many successes in the women’s game but also a damning report which found that women were treated as ‘second class citizens’ in cricket and recommended that the ECB strive to ensure equal pay on average at domestic level by 2029 and at international level by 2030.

Ahead of England's match against New Zealand in the culmination of the five-match T20 International series, New Zealand’s star player and former captain Suzie Bates joins Nuala to look ahead to the game and discuss women’s cricket in NZ.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern

One of the most iconic musicals of all time, Hello, Dolly!, has returned to the London Palladium, with Jerry Herman’s unforgettable score including Put On Your Sunday Clothes, Before the Parade Passes By, It Only Takes a Moment and Hello, Dolly! It’s a huge, no-expense-spared production, with a cast of 40, and the legendary Imelda Staunton as the witty and charming matchmaker Dolly Levi. Jenna Russell plays the millineress Irene Molloy. Jenna is well known for her TV roles in Call The Midwife and Eastenders, and many theatre roles, including Guys and Dolls, Merrily We Roll Along, and her Olivier award-winning turn as Dot in Sunday In The Park With George. Nuala McGovern speaks to Jenna about the revival of Hello, Dolly! and the show’s message to new audiences.

In February 2021, a coup returned Myanmar to military rule, overthrowing the democratically elected government. Under the regime, violence against civilians has escalated, with thousands jailed, tortured and killed – although the numbers are believed be much higher. At least three million people have been displaced. Just two weeks ago, a UN Report outlined the gendered impact of the coup: It found that military forces have committed widespread forms of sexual violence. However, despite the coup's devastating impact, women and girls are taking on key roles within the resistance movement. Also this month, there have been seperate news reports that women are being conscripted into the military. Nuala discusses the situation with Tin Htar Swe, the former head of The BBC's Burmese Service.

Nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Deborah was the first person in the world to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. She lived near the South Circular Road in Lewisham, South East London and died of a fatal asthma attack in 2013. Her mother, Rosamund, who has been campaigning since her daughters death, is now seeking is seeking an official apology from the government as her high court claim against them heads to trial. She explains why she wants an official apology from the government. Nuala also speaks to Sophie Howe who is the former First Generation Commissioner for Wales where she advised the government on policy around transport and climate change - she now does this for other countries. S

Annie Garthwaite’s second novel, The King’s Mother, tells the story of historical figure Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV and Richard III. Annie believes Cecily’s role in the Wars of the Roses has been hugely underestimated by historians and her novel places her firmly at the heart of the action. Essie Fox has written five historical novels and her most recent, The Fascination, is set in the world of Victorian theatres and travelling fairs. They join Nuala to discuss the challenge of writing the stories of women who have been overlooked by the history books.

Presented by Nuala McGovern