Woman's Hour

Nine people have been injured after a man threw a 'corrosive substance' over a mother and her two girls in Clapham, south London, yesterday evening. The family, three responding police offices and three other people who tried to help were taken to hospital after the attack. Witnesses described a "horrific" scene. Police are searching for the subject. Emma Barnett spoke to a solicitor Ayesha Nayyar, who has previously represented victims of acid crime.

Emma talks to the TV presenter Kaye Adams about her 10-year battle with HMRC over their claim she owed almost £125,000 in unpaid taxes. Best known for her role on the Loose Women panel show, she also hosts the morning show on BBC Radio Scotland. She says the protracted legal case has left her feeling “utterly, utterly beat up and gaslit”, despite her vindication.

A new study says that an ideological gap has opened up between young men and women in countries on every continent. These increasingly different world views could have far-reaching consequences. One of the leading researchers in gender studies Dr Alice Evans, Senior Lecturer in the Social Science of Development at King’s College London tells Emma why Gen Z is two generations, not one. Emma also speaks to Professor Rosie Campbell, Director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London.

Have you ever thought about where your name came from? Perhaps you were named after a favourite relative, a character in a movie or maybe your parents just liked the sound of it. Photographer Deirdre Brennan wanted to mark the 1500th anniversary of Saint Brigid, one of the patron saints of Ireland. To do this, she photographed Brigids all over Ireland and asked them how they felt about their name. She joins Emma to discuss the project - as does one of the Brigids involved in her project - Brigid McDonnell, a sheep farmer from County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Presenter: Emma Barnett

Former Northern Ireland First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster joins the programme to talk about a return to devolution in Northern Ireland and the fourth anniversary of Brexit.

Author Fiona Williams is out with her debut novel, The House of Broken Bricks. She joins Emma to talk about the ways in which the book relates to her real life in terms of navigating issues of race and belonging, and why she wanted to write a story so intertwined with nature.

Thames Valley Police has referred itself to the policing regulator after a BBC investigation revealed that officers ridiculed an assault victim while watching body-worn video that showed her groin. Emma speaks with the BBC's Noel Titheradge about his investigation as well as Harriet Wistrich about misogyny in the UK police force.

It’s out with heels and in with trainers. That’s what is happening in France where, according to a poll, women are falling out of love with high heels - instead going for a chunky boot or comfortable trainer. To discuss this fashion shift, Emma is joined by Professor of Fashion History Dr Serena Dyer and French shoe designer Marie Laffont.

Presenter: Emma Barnett

A new report comes out today by the Women and Equalities Select Committee about the serious problems faced by women in the music industry. To tell Emma Barnett what's in it is the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee and Conservative MP Caroline Nokes. Emma also gets the reaction of academic and business research consultant Vick Bain.

Sky Sports presenter Jo Wilson has been gracing our screens since 2011, but what you might not have known is that Jo has also lived with Stage 3C cervical cancer. After a difficult birth experience in 2020, she was reluctant to book a smear test, but convinced herself to do it 19 months later leading to her diagnosis. Her treatment was successful, and she is now speaking out about her personal experience in a bid to encourage women to take up their smear tests. NHS data shows that almost a third of women in England did not attend their test last year. Emma speaks to Jo and to Theresa Freeman-Wang, consultant gynaecologist and clinical advisor to Jo’s Trust.

After 20 years of silence, prize-winning author Lisa St Aubin de Terán is back with a new book. Aged 16, Lisa married a Venezuelan landowner-turned-bank robber; she eventually ran away from him with her young daughter only to end up trapped in a castle with the Scottish poet George MacBeth. From there she eloped to Italy and in 2004 she settled in north Mozambique, establishing the Teran Foundation to develop community tourism. She lived there until 2022 when a cyclone took the roof off her house, and returned to London with a bag full of manuscripts including her memoir, Better Broken than New. She joins Emma in studio.

Last week we spoke about the record low birth rate in China as the country struggles to revert effects of the decades long one-child-policy. Today, we turn our attention to Japan. The population of the world’s third biggest economy has been declining for 16 years. An ageing workforce, combined with the country's strict immigration control, has, among other things, led to significant labour shortages. Could women be Japan’s hidden asset? Emma speaks to Moeka Iida, The Economist’s reporter and researcher in Tokyo.

Following the speech last week by the head of the British Armed Forces calling for a new ‘citizen army’, we look at what this could look like and what role women would play. Emma Barnett speaks to former RAF Group Captain Kathleen Sherit the author of Women on the Front Line, and to Diane Allen, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel.

It's been reported that the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fasts for 36 hours at the start of each week. He is said to stop eating by 5pm on a Sunday and doesn't permit himself to touch food again until 5am on a Tuesday, and allows himself to drink only black coffee and water. It is said that he has followed this practice for years. Emma is joined by Dr Saira Hameed to discuss fasting and how men and women should approach it differently.

Amy and Anu are identical twins, but just after they were born, they were taken from their mother and sold to separate families. Years later they connected online and realised they were among thousands of babies in Georgia stolen from hospitals and sold, some as recently as 2005. Emma speaks to one of the twins, Amy Khvitia, and also Fay Nurse, a BBC journalist behind a new documentary, Georgia’s Stolen Children.

From cute cat memes to plush toys, a new exhibition at Somerset House explores the power of cuteness in contemporary culture. But is buying into a cute aesthetic regressive or even sexist, or can cute be reclaimed as a form of protest? And how would you feel, as a grown woman, about being labelled 'cute' or 'adorable'? To discuss, Emma is joined by Dr Isabel Galleymore, a consultant on the Cute exhibition; and the journalist Vicky Spratt.

Presenter: Emma Barnett

Hundreds of doctors - led by campaign group Long Covid Doctors for Action - are planning to sue the NHS over claims that inadequate PPE provision has left them with Long Covid. Dr Nathalie MacDermott, joins Emma Barnett to discuss.

False beliefs about what does and doesn’t constitute rape are more deeply ingrained in young people than we might think. The Crown Prosecution Service has conducted research into what these misconceptions are, and the impact they’re having on the justice system when it comes to rape convictions. Anita Rani is joined by Baljit Ubhey from the CPS and Andrea Simon from End Violence Against Women to hear more.

Julia Bullock is an American classical singer. Her debut solo album, Walking in the Dark, was nominated for a Grammy award. Next week, she is bringing her mixed-media project History’s Persistent Voice to London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. It shines a light on the words, work and experiences of Black American and British artists, and includes new songs commissioned from leading Black women composers. She joins Anita to discuss her music, her influences and her passions.

Journalist Helen Carroll faced a backlash online when she revealed she pays her son £40 a month to load the dishwasher. This sparked a discussion - were you paid as a child to do household chores? Or do you think children should just be doing things around the house anyway without money? Parenting coach and psychologist Sue Atkins joins Anita to discuss.

Domino Day is a brand new series coming to BBC Three which combines the world of modern dating with the world of the supernatural. Series writer Lauren Sequeira speaks to Anita about why the show’s themes of modern relationships and female empowerment are so important to her, and why she wanted to show witches in a whole new light.

Presenter: Anita Rani

Hundreds of doctors - led by campaign group Long Covid Doctors for Action - are planning to sue the NHS over claims that inadequate PPE provision has left them with Long Covid, according to Sky News. One of those, Dr Nathalie MacDermott, joins Emma Barnett to discuss it.

Emma is joined by the rapper Princess Superstar who, after a 30-year career, has finally hit the big time following her song, Perfect, featuring on the soundtrack for the blockbuster film Saltburn.

Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, we speak to three Jewish women - one, a survivor who was born in a concentration camp - about how you keep teaching the lessons of the Holocaust as fewer and fewer survivors are around to tell their stories.

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is facing pressure to fix "unfair" child benefit rules. Campaigners like Martin Lewis have called for it to be a focus of the Budget in March as he says single income families are being penalised. Emma talks to the chair of the Treasury Select Committee, the Conservative MP Harriet Baldwin, and Tom Waters from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Presenter: Emma Barnett

The Victim’s and Prisoner’s Bill heads to the House of Lords today for the Committee Stage. What is it trying to achieve, and what difference will it make to women? Emma is joined by the Independent London Victim’s Commissioner, Claire Waxman OBE, and a woman who will share her personal experience of a partner convicted of child sexual abuse who, under the current law, still had access to his daughter.

China is experiencing its biggest population drop in six decades. In an attempt to recover from the ‘one-child policy’ introduced in 1980, the government are now urging women to have more children. But a large amount of women in China are saying no – they don’t want children, or to get married. To discuss this further, Emma is joined by Dr Ye Liu from King’s College London and Cindy Yu, host of the Spectator’s Chinese Whispers podcast.

D-MER is a relatively unknown condition that could affect around nine percent of mothers who breastfeed. Emma speaks to Charlie Middleton from the University of Dundee, who is leading a study into the condition to find out more about it, and Beth Strachan, who has D-MER and is currently breastfeeding.

The Oscar nominations are out, and many feel that there are some key women who haven’t made the list, but should have. Among these are Barbie director Greta Gerwig and actor Margot Robbie – although Ryan Gosling has been nominated for his role in the movie. There’s only one woman director nominated – Justine Triet. Are women being snubbed? Film journalist Karen Krizanovich joins Emma to discuss.

Presented by Emma Barnett

In an exclusive interview, Emma Barnett speaks to the academic Professor Jo Phoenix who has won an unfair dismissal claim against the Open University after she was compared with “a racist uncle at the Christmas table” because of her gender critical beliefs.

New York Times writer Amanda Taub brings us the latest news from the US Presidential race.

Irish actor Sarah Greene on her new project, an eight-part series – Sexy Beast – which has just launched on Paramount+.

And we hear about a campaign to get a new portrait of Margaret Bondfield, the first female government minister, commissioned and hung in Parliament with MP Alison McGovern and historian Professor Pam Cox.

Presenter: Emma Barnett

Award-winning DJ Paulette has been in the music industry for more than 30 years. She got her start at the famous Haçienda nightclub in Manchester but has DJ'd all over the world. Her book, Welcome to the Club: The Life and Lessons of a Black Woman DJ, tells some of the tales of her career so far and shines a light on many other women in the electronic dance music industry. Paulette joins Emma Barnett.

New guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to healthcare workers says that suspected illegal abortions should not be reported to the police. This guidance, which applies to England and Wales, follows some recent cases where women have been convicted of having illegal abortions. Emma is joined by former Chief Superintendent at the Metropolitan Police Parm Sandhu, and Associate Professor in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice at Durham University Dr Emma Milne to discuss.

Buying second-hand clothes is fashionable again, thanks to online marketplaces like Vinted, Depop and eBay. Emma talks to Vinted co-founder Milda Mitkute about what it takes to turn an idea into a successful business and why she decided to leave the company in 2017 when her first child was born.

Is the Government's key childcare promise to parents in trouble? One newspaper is reporting that thousands of parents are being warned they won't be able to access the offer of free childcare to under twos this year. Emma gets the view of providers from Neil Leitch, Chief Executive of the Early Years Alliance which represents 14,000 nurseries, pre-schools and childminders, and June O'Sullivan CEO of LEYF nurseries.