Woman's Hour

Described as a ‘tender portrayal of experiencing dementia in lockdown’ Watching Rosie is an online play starring Miriam Margolyes. Portraying grandmother Alice, and Louise Coulthard, her granddaughter Rosie, Miriam joins Jenni to discuss the bond between the two as they face change and confusion.

Sinead Hynes is a tough, driven, funny young property developer with terrifying secret. No one knows it; not her fellow patients in hospital, and certainly not her family. She’s only confided in a shiny magpie and Google! Poet Elaine Feeney talks to Jenni about her debut novel As You Were – all about the secrets we hold, the burdens we carry and why we all need people to lean on.

The Care Quality Commission have described the maternity care at Basildon University Hospital as ‘inadequate’, after a whistleblower shared concerns for patient safety. Jenni is joined by BBC Look East’s Suzie Fowler-Watt, who has been following the story, and Lauren, who has had maternity care at the hospital and is part of a support group for women who’ve lost babies at the hospital.

Chef and restaurateur Ravinder Bhogal's new book Jikoni celebrates immigrant food and its ability to adapt. Her recipes span flavours and culinary traditions from India, Kenya, Asia and Britain. She tells the stories of women who are marginalised and whose stories have been erased - stories she refers to as feminist gospels. She talks to Jenni about how to Cook the Perfect Coffee Rasgullas with Mascarpone Ice Cream and Espresso Caramel.

Producer: Louise Corley

Advice on supporting your child's mental health during the Coronavirus pandemic

Three producers on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in the US have been fired amid allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment and reports that it was a "toxic workplace". As one of the highest paid and popular stars on TV Ellen ends her talk show with the catch phrase "be kind to one another". What is the impact on her popularity and reputation following the sackings? Jenni speaks to New York-based journalist and broadcaster Jane Mulkerrins.

At the age of 23, Camilla Thurlow was accepted by the HALO Trust to train in explosive ordinance disposal, finding and clearing landmines in some of the world’s most dangerous and inhospitable places. She then signed up for hit TV show, Love Island, where she came second. She describes it as the scariest thing she could have done. She subsequently impressed viewers in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, and has now written a book - Not the Type – Finding my place in the real world, about learning to confront her anxieties in a world dominated by celebrity culture. She now sits on the board of Indigo Volunteers and has a close relationship with the charity Choose Love/Help Refugees.

Coronavirus and the lockdown have changed things for everyone – but what kind of lasting impact will it have on the mental health of children? Jenni is joined by the Head of See, Hear Respond at Barnardo’s, Amanda Naylor and the Child Psychologist, Angharad Rudkin who explain how best to support children in the days ahead.

Denise Mina is the award-winning Scottish crime writer of novels including the Garnethill trilogy and The Long Drop. She joins Jenni to discuss her latest thriller – the Less Dead – which is inspired by real life murders of sex workers in Glasgow in the 1990s. Nanette Pollock – former DCI who worked in in Glasgow CID at the time of the murders - will describe her experience of the policing of sex workers in the city at that time, the murders, and an amazing cinematic meeting in the Ballroom at a central Glasgow hotel when 400 street sex workers met to discuss the murders and their personal safety

Interviewed guest: Jane Mulkerrins

Becky’s father was convicted of sex offences against children and sent to prison. He has since been released but while in prison he undertook a sex offender rehabilitation programme. For a BBC documentary Can Sex Offenders Change? Becky meets a growing number of sex offenders who have not been sent to prison, and have received treatment in the community. She tries to understand what drove them to commit these horrific crimes, whilst seeing what treatment is available to stop them committing any more. She joins Jane to discuss along with Professor Belinda Winder, Research Director Centre for Crime Offending, Prevention and Engagement at Nottingham Trent University and a co-founder of the charity Safer Living Foundation.

Scientists across the world are keen to find out if the female hormone oestrogen could offer protection against the worst symptoms of Covid-19. Data gathered from the Zoe Covid app created with Kings College London seems to suggest that younger women are at lower risk of developing symptoms but hormone replacement therapy taken by menopausal women doesn’t offer the same protection. We hear from menopause expert Dr Louise Newson who’s one of the co-authors of the new study.

The Office for National Statistics has estimated that the number of women who get to 80 without children will almost triple in the next 25 years. As a result demand for paid care in nursing homes is expected to increase sharply. Why is the focus on childless women and not men, and how is the data being reported in the media? Jody Day is a psychotherapist, author and founder of Gateway Women, a global organisation for women who are involuntarily childless.

Women in comedy are calling for a sexual harassment protocol after what they say are 'decades of abuse'. Stand-up comedian, writer and satirist Kiri Pritchard-Mclean and comedian and writer Nina Milligan join Jane to explain why they want clubs to adopt a kite mark-style system, rather than having to rely on whisper networks in the industry.

Presented by Jane Garvey

Fawzia Koofi, a member of Afghanistan's peace negotiating team survived an assassination attempt on Friday. This come after the Afghan government announced a new council to safeguard women's rights and interests, amid fears peace talks with the Taliban could lead to the loss of hard-won gains. Mahjooba Nowrouzi from the BBC Afghan Service explains.

In 1973, Julie Welch became the first woman to report on football for a British national newspaper. In her new book 'The Fleet Street Girls' she talks about her own battles for recognition, and the experiences of other female trailblazing journalists who also took on the male-dominated world of Fleet Street.

Mary Stewart has been called one of the great British storytellers of the 20th century. The author who has sold over 5 million books is said to have invented the romantic suspense novel. Her 1954 best-seller Madame, Will You Talk? has been dramatised in two parts for Radio 4. We speak to the writers Jane Casey and Harriet Evans who are both fans of her work.

Kat Francois is a performance poet and playwright. In coming to terms with her own infertility she came to the realisation that in all communities, but especially in black communities, infertility can be a taboo subject. She spoke to other women who shared similar experiences and weaved their stories along with her own into a performance piece.

Presenter: Jane Garvey

On VJ Day we hear from Patricia and Jean Owtram who both served their country while their father was a prisoner of war in the Far East.

We discuss the findings of the BBC Sport Elite British Sportswomen's survey 2020 published this week.

Karen Maine tells us about her new film Yes God, Yes about 16 year old Alice growing up a Catholic and attending Catholic school in the early noughties in the American mid-west.

Plus as President Alexander Lukashenko is re-elected in Belarus, we talk about the woman who challenged him.

And with nightlife on pause during lockdown how have female DJs been adapting?

Presenter Jenni Murray

GUEST Susannah Townsend

To mark VJ Day 75 we’ll be speaking to two sisters, Patricia and Jean Owtram whose father was a prisoner of war in the Far East. At the time both sisters were serving their country. They are the last two living sisters to have signed the official secrets act in WW2. Patricia received a Legion of Honour for her interception of enigma code for Bletchley park as a WREN tapping into German shipping radio while Jean was a code & cipher officer in Egypt and Italy supporting secret agents and partisans fighting the Nazis. Now aged 97 & 94 they have collaborated on a book, Codebreaking Sisters, Our Secret War. They acknowledge that the war changed their lives “instead of just marrying, I went to university and then journalism before being a BBC TV producer” remembers Pat. And Jean says: “Girls from our class were destined to live a very narrow existence, focused on husband and children. The war gave us broader horizons and bigger adventures. I believe we have both been more useful to the world because of it.”

Presenter: Jenni Murray

With nightlife on pause during lockdown how have DJs been adapting? DJ Flight has been at the forefront of drum and bass for over two decades. Signed to Goldie’s label Metalheadz, she’s played all over the world and is founder of EQ50, a project aimed at improving gender equality in drum and bass. Ngaio Anyia is a singer and DJ from Bristol who runs Booty Bass, a collective who offer DJ lessons for women. Jenni talks to them about livestreams and how their work has changed with COVID-19. With clubs closed, is it time to make the industry more gender balanced… and will it actually happen?

Students all over the country are protesting about how their work will be graded for GCSEs and A-Levels after exams were cancelled because of Covid. It’s even worse for home-educated young people. They’ll be getting no grades at all for all their efforts because grades are allocated by schools.

Belarus had elections on Sunday. The man who’s been President for 26 years (since 1994), President Alexander Lukashenko, got in again. A woman called Svetlana Tikhanovskaya challenged him in the election. She’s a stay-at-home mum and she told a crowd recently that she’d much prefer to be frying cutlets than run for President. She’s now left Belarus for safety reasons, saying she doesn’t agree with the election result. During her election campaigning two women have been by her side. One of them is Veronika Tsepkalo who’s also left Belarus. BBC Moscow Correspondent, Sarah Rainsford joins Jenni to discuss.

We’ve been talking to women about their scars and skin, how they feel about them and how the reactions of others has shaped their lives. Today, Aimee who lives with psoriasis.

Presenter: Jenni Murray

Interviewed Guest: Alison Sauer

Alexandra Wilson on her new book “In Black and White”. The story of breaking down barriers of race and class to become a barrister. She explains how losing a very close family friend to knife crime made her pursue a career in law and how she has overcome her family’s fears of becoming “part of the system”

Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for President in this year’s US elections has finally named his running mate as Kamala Harris. Senator for California, she was Biden’s former rival for the Democratic nomination and will be the first woman of colour to be nominated for national office by a major political party. Kelly Dittmar, Director of Research at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, and Kimberly Peeler-Allen, co-founder of Higher Heights, an organisation supporting Black women into elected office, discuss the impact and reaction to her appointment.

And the female authors looking to reclaim their name.

Presenter Jenni Murray

Guest Alexandra Wilson

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for Britain and France to work together to stop migrant boats crossing the Channel to Dover. On Friday a record number of unaccompanied migrant children arrived in the UK. The 23 youths were taken into the care of Kent County Council, on top of the 70 who arrived in July. According to the latest Home Office Statistics 90% of young (under 18) unaccompanied refugees who come in to the UK every year are male. What happens to the ten percent who are female? We hear from Dinah Beckett from Migration Yorkshire and Sharon Pearson who’s fostered Elsa.

Yes God, Yes is a new film about 16 year old Alice growing up a Catholic and attending Catholic school in the early noughties in Midwest America During a chat on AOL she discovers masturbation and is overwhelmed with guilt. Seeking redemption, she attends a religious retreat to try and suppress her urges. Karen Maine, is the director..

Part of our series about women and scars: we meet Laura who is 27 – she’s a care worker from Caerphilly in South Wales and she is a burns survivor.

In 1920, a hundred years ago, the American Congress passed the 19th Amendment which gave women in the United States the right to vote. There had been an active and vociferous suffragette movement, led by some well known names – Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony. The name of Lucy Stone is less familiar. She wanted votes for all, regardless of sex or race. Moira Hickey went to her birthplace, West Brookfield, Massachusetts in 2018 to join the celebration of the bicentenary of Lucy Stone’s birth.

Presenter: Jenni Murray