Standard Issue Podcast

Are monkeys about to rise up and rule over us? Hannah hopes so, but probably not. Which is a shame, because humans are doing an appalling job of it. This week we're talking about Marine Le Pen vs Paris prosecutors, Rachel Reeves vs Farmers and the Onion vs Infowars. And in Sexism of The Week, Mickey's asking what's gone wrong with Ask For Angela. You can hear Hannah's interview with Elizabeth Williamson about Sandy Hook and Alex Jones on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6e684K7XvKMXGMd4XGRift. Or on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/sim-ep-769-chops-264-sandy-hook-tragedy-and-truth/id1080808404?i=1000579799779 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A stellar line-up of top women has drawn Jen to pick late-80s weepy Steel Magnolias. But will this film know what to do with its cast, or indeed know anything at all about women and their friendships? And is anyone prettier than Grandpappy’s duck on a Tuesday? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Nick Miller doesn’t know about football ain’t worth knowing. INTERNATIONAL MAN, football writer, author and – full disclosure – one of Mick’s all-time favourite humans, chats about his new book, Who Owns Football?, why the answer to that question increasingly matters to all of us, what Jilly Cooper's got right about the beautiful game, and how the women’s game is nailing it in all sorts of ways. Who Owns Football? The Changing Face of Club Ownership is published by Bloomsbury and out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dad Shift hit the headlines recently after a brilliant stunt, in which the campaign group attached dolls to statues of famous men across London. Why? To draw attention to the issue of men’s statutory paternity leave entitlement in the UK, which – spoiler alert! – is not good. In fact, it’s the worst in Europe, something the campaign group hopes to change. Jen caught up with Alex Lloyd-Hunter, one of the group’s founders, to talk about why the system as it stands is hurting everyone, perceptions of gender roles when it comes to working and home lives, and whether or not men really do want an equal piece of the pie when it comes to childcare. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A feel-good romantic comedy that doesn’t make women feel like shit? Say whaaaaaat? Yosra’s picked Raine Allen Miller’s playful feature directorial debut following a day (mostly) in the life of two twenty-somethings both reeling from bad break-ups and forging a connection. Is it the mind-changing rom-com Hannah’s been waiting for? Has it got Mick pining for Peckham? And is it possible for anyone to convincingly sing along with Terence Trent D’arby? Find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a mixed bag of news this week, as Mick and Jen take in: the results of the largest ever survey of rape and sexual assault survivors; the resignation of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury following the Church of England’s cover up of child abuse; Iraq slashing the age of consent to nine years old, and Yale’s new college course of Queen Bey. And in Jenny Off the Blocks, there’s good news, bad news, same-as-it-ever-was news, and big MOTD news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the message of Fight Club? Is all of it in Mickey's head? Might it be accidentally feminist? The answers to these unlikely questions (and many more) lie within... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In new BBC drama series The Listeners*, a woman starts hearing a noise that seemingly no-one else can hear. Which was catnip to Hannah, who got on Zoom with its director, Janicza Bravo, and star, Rebecca Hall, to find out more. * The Listeners starts on BBC1 on November 19 and is also available to watch on the iPlayer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women’s ice hockey is on the rise in the UK, and new team on the (ice) block, the Haringey Greyhounds are already intent on promotion at the end of the season. Jen caught up with assistant captain Yami Manchanda to talk about the UK’s ice hockey scene, access to the sport, and the joy of just giving something a go. The Haringey Greyhounds are next in action at Alexandra Palace on November 25. Tickets available here or on the door (subject to availability). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rivals! Rivals! Rivals! Mickey's certainly excited about the small screen adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel, but will Hannah and Jen agree? Find out in this month's Outside The Box, when we're also talking about Mr Loverman, Alma's Not Normal, Showtrial, Territory and Sweetpea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump becomes the first convicted felon to win the Presidential race and will reenter the White House – again. URGH. Not least for women. Hannah and Mick’s yearned for monkey overlords remain frustratingly absent, but at least Gary Barlow’s massive son and the backpack-wearing rats are here.  And there’s some extra light relief courtesy of Sarah Millican for our £5+ patrons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the “cool” movies of the 1990s, Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece* is a carnival of violence and humour set to a banging soundtrack. It made stars of Samuel L Jackson and Uma Thurman, revitalised the careers of John Travolta and Bruce Willis, and basically gave Tarantino a blank cheque going forward. But did it tickle the pickle of Mick, Hannah and Jen? Or is it all Dick Dale and no trousers?  *Discuss. That’s why we’re here, right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer and theatre-maker Rae Mainwaring was in her early 20s when she was diagnosed with Mutiple Sclerosis – MS as it's commonly known. All she knew of the autoimmune condition at the time was that every single representation she’d seen of it on TV was one of abject misery, which, ultimately, was not her experience of MS. Some years later, she wrote about her experiences in Bright Places, her Peggy Ramsay award-winning play and a deeply personal and authentic exploration of the condition. Jen caught up with Rae ahead of a tour of Carbon Theatre’s production of Bright Places to talk about chronic illness, misunderstandings around MS, and getting into theatre later in life. Bright Places is touring the UK until December 13 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There used to be a time when it was said you were better to seek medical treatment from your wife or your mother than from a doctor, because at least your wife or mother wouldn't kill you. And then it all changed. Hannah chats to Professor Karen Bloom Gevirtz about her book, The Apothecary's Wife: The Hidden History of Medicine and How It Became a Commodity, to find out more.  The Apothecary's Wife: The Hidden History of Medicine and How It Became a Commodity is out to buy on November 7, 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big news in the world of "how can that STILL be going on?" as both the Tory leadership election and the US Election enter their final days. Who will lose? Maybe all of us. Meanwhile, bus fares are going up and so is minimum wage but won't these just cancel each other out? In Sexism of the Week, we continue to let the side down by not having enough babies. And speaking of the next generation, in that she's young enough to be your daughter, Jen's got words for a basketball legend in Jenny Off The Blocks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wondering what medieval women did for us anyway? Or how we even know what they did, given back then only the monks could write? Then get yourself to the British Library's new exhibition, Medieval Women: In Their Own Words. Jen caught up with the exhibition’s curator Ellie Jackson to find out how much we have in common with our medieval ancestors, and why they remain relevant to our lives today. Medieval Women: In Their Own Words is showing at the British Library until March 2, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Literary critic and feminist historian Joanna Scutts’s latest book, Firebrands, showcases 25 pioneering women writers you should have heard of – but probably haven’t. Why? Well, in this episode, Joanna’s chatting to our Mick about the whys, the whos, the what’s changed, what’s not changed and the trouble that kicks off when women start having ideas.  Firebrands: 25 Pioneering Women to Ignite Your Reading Life is published by Duckworth and out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kate Summerscale’s bestselling narrative nonfiction The Suspicions of Mr Whicher was made into big telly, starring Peter Capaldi and unraveling a murder that took place in the 1860s. Her latest book is much more recent history, however, and in The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place, she revisits the crimes of John Reginald Halliday Christie, one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers, putting flesh on the bones of his female victims and looking at the role played by the sensationalist media of the time. She chats to Mick about all of the above, what Christie’s crimes said about Britain at the time, how much – if at all – anything’s changed, and why true crime is still such popular entertainment. The Peepshow: The Murders at Rillington Place is published by Bloomsbury and out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mick and Jen are on news duty this week, talking cynical steps – or is it honourable intentions? – as social media companies try to get to grips with the Online Safety Act. Elsewhere, there are smiling faces aplenty outside Strangeways, as the Labour Government grapples with its inherited crumbling prison system. Thank the gods of whimsy that Paddington Bear is on hand to cheer us all up. Not Jen, though. He makes her cry. Also, there’s contraceptive chaos in Sexism of the Week, and some baffling sponsorship in Jenny Off the Blocks. Meanwhile the boss, Sarah Millican, is back for our £5 and above Patreon subscribers, offering some light relief around the gendered use of language. You can find the BPAS petition Mick talks about in this episode here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is The Last Seduction your average "bitches be crazy" film? Why no more roles for Linda Fiorentino? Can anyone bear that much jazz? The answers to these and many more questions lay within. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the success of last year's Ghost Stories by Candlelight tour, HighTide Theatre is back with a new production – More... Ghost Stories by Candlelight – showcasing four up-and-coming writers, including Eloise Pennycott. Jen chatted with the actor, writer and theatre maker about the production’s tour of the East of England - which is also showing at The Globe, starting on October 30 - as well as sustainable theatre, representation of deaf people in the arts, and why we love being scared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Life in plastic: is it fantastic… to watch? Greta Gerwig’s star-studded Barbie was one of THE big-hitters in cinema last year and, according to critics across the globe, wasn’t just pink and sparkly and fun, but came with a big ol' side of feminism. But did it, though? Did it? Hmmm. Mick, Hannah and Yosra will be the judge and jury of that.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quadrophenia is a tale of young male angst and multiple wing mirrors, and is apparently the reason Jen's brother used to wear a cravat. But is it a case of style over substance? And is a game of "spot the young character actor" enough to keep us interested? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How long does it take to sink in that you've won the Edinburgh Comedy Award? That's one of the questions Hannah is putting to comedian Amy Gledhill, who scooped the big prize this year for her show Make Me Look Fit on the Poster. They chat about the difference between self-confidence and self-esteem, local news and a lot more. If you want to see Make Me Look Fit on the Poster, which is touring now, you can get tickets here: https://amygledhill.co.uk/live-dates Or for Amy's 12-day run at London's Soho Theatre, here: https://sohotheatre.com/events/amy-gledhill-make-me-look-fit-on-the-poster-2/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holloway women’s prison closed its doors in 2016, but the legacy left behind looms large for those who spent time there. As part of an exercise in healing, filmmakers Daisy-May Hudson and Sophie Compton took a group of six women who were imprisoned in Holloway back there. Their feature documentary Holloway, an examination of the criminal justice system in England and Wales, is the result. Jen caught up with Daisy-May and Sophie to talk about the ways in which women are failed by the system, and the need for more compassion in our discourse around the prison system. Holloway is premiering at the London Film Festival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you find yourself with some hours to fill with telly, then let us help you make some good choices. This time, we're talking about Slow Horses, The Perfect Couple, Ludwig, Only Murders In The Building, Joan, Apples Never Fall, Kaos and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With MPs set to vote on a bill that puts forward proposals to give terminally ill people the right to end their lives, many of those who are against the bill worry about the lack of nuance put forward in debates. Actress and disability rights activist Liz Carr is one of those people. In this week’s Bush Telegraph, ahead of the bill’s introduction to parliament next week, Hannah chats to Liz about her documentary Better Off Dead?, the arguments against assisted dying, and why we aren’t hearing a more balanced debate on the subject. Meanwhile in sport, Jen catches us up with the women’s T20 World Cup, and looks ahead to the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mick’s picked one of her all-time favourites this week: 1979’s Life of Brian. And she’s not alone in loving this funny AF biting commentary about the danger of mass movements and the inherent weakness of any faith or ideology that eschews critical thinking, which still regularly tops ‘best comedy film’ lists.  But do Hannah and Jen feel the same? Does the Pythons controversial at the time satire stand the test of time? And is Mick still legally bound to Michael Palin? Find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Musician Pauline Black is best known as the frontwoman of 2-tone band The Selecter, and wrote about her experiences in the band and life in her memoir Black by Design: A 2-Tone Memoir. On reading her book, filmmaker Jane Mingay was inspired to get in touch with Pauline and the result of their collaboration is the new documentary, Pauline Black: A 2-Tone Story, which is showing at the London Film Festival. Jen caught up with Pauline and Jane to chat about Pauline’s experiences, the impact of the 2-Tone movement, and why it is so relevant to what’s going on at the moment in modern British – and global - politics. Pauline Black: A 2-Tone Story is showing at the London Film Festival on October 12 and 19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feminist, activist and best-selling author Laura Bates first came to attention as a fierce feminist voice 12 years ago when she started the Everyday Sexism Project. She’s since written a slew of brilliant, if enraging, non-fictions about how women and girls are treated, and quite rightly become a bona fide icon.  In this episode, she’s chatting to our Mick about the grim state of the world when it comes to male violence against women and girls, how she holds onto hope, why she’s reimagining the Arthurian legends in her YA novels Sisters of Sword and Shadow and Sisters of Fire and Fury, and the importance of finding feminist joy. Oh, and how she’s a dab hand at horseback archery these days. Sisters of Fire and Fury is published by Simon & Schuster on October 10. www.laurabates.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor, playwright and Essex girl Anne Odeke was thrilled when she learnt about little-known historical figure Princess Dinobolu, the first woman of colour to enter a beauty pageant in the UK. Her reimagining of what led the “princess” to take to the stage at Southend-On-Sea’s Kursaal back in 1908 forms the basis of Princess Essex, the play she wrote and is currently starring in at The Globe. Fellow Essex girl Jen, caught up with Anne to talk about the play, Essex, identity, and learning from Shakespeare's mistakes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mick and Jen are on Bush Telegraph duty this week, and turning the colour of a Gen Z bathroom suite as they look at what’s happening at the Conservative Party Conference. Mick’s been watching Panorama’s episode about the menopause industry and screaming BUT WHY into a pillow, while Jen’s reliving one of her best moments being holy watered by a vicar during the 2008 London Marathon. The Boss, Sarah Millican, is back with some more Light Relief for our £5 and above Patreons, talking wet undereyes and bad Magnums. SOTW looks at some predictable tragic news from the US thanks to the overturning of Roe v Wade. And JOTB applauds Eni Aluko while giving Joey Barton’s head a wobble. Which is why you can hear rattling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Jackson's 1994 fantasy/true crime/coming-of-age/period/romance/horror Heavenly Creatures gave Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey their first screen roles. Why was one an instant star and the other a much-delayed one? Can a man capture the intensity of teenage girls? Who, if anyone, is mad in this case? Find out the answers to these questions and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michelle Ovens MBE, founder of Small Business Britain and huge champion of female business owners, is a total powerhouse and inspiration. She’s chatting to our Mick about small businesses, where they’re at, what’s in store, why more women are starting them, and the work being done by Michelle and her team to make the word 'entrepreneur' way more diverse than tech bros and wannabe Alan Sugars.  You can find Small Business Britain on all the socials @britainsmallbiz. And not a Sam the Eagle in sight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our birthday! So, here's a very special episode - a chat about the last decade with the boss herself, Sarah Millican. We're talking about what we've learned in the last 10 years, the time Mickey and Hannah got shut into a service station and the mystery meeting that only Jen remembers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Based on the much-lauded Nick Hornby classic, our Jen has picked filmic festival of football, Fever Pitch. But will protagonist and giant man-child Paul, played by Colin Firth, float Hannah or Jen’s boat? And what is the film trying to say, other than that women don’t like football? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having been involved in some of the country's most high-profile cases, lawyer and fearless campaigner for justice, Harriet Wistrich has some incredible stories to tell. Many of which are in her new memoir, Sister In Law. Hannnah chats to Harriet about the Stockwell shooting, Spycops, the media and Sally Challen, and asks if some of us are better built for legal battle.  Hannah's Spycops interview is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/sim-ep-744-chops-255-groomed-gaslighted-ghosted/id1080808404?i=1000568597088 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best known as Coronation Street’s loveable matriarch, Eileen Grimshaw, Sue Cleaver is a woman of many talents. As well as treading the boards as Mother Superior in Sister Act the musical, she’s written a book - A Work In Progress. Part memoir, part manifesto, it champions women in midlife and beyond. Our Corrie fanatic, Jen, caught up with Sue to chat about the ways women can be put out to pasture once they hit middle-age, letting go of negative thoughts, life as a Corrie legend and spending time in close proximity with one Mr Matt Hancock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah’s picked Martin Scorsese’s take on the string of brutal murders of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation that took place in 1920s Oklahoma. It stars Robert de Niro (natch) and Leonardo DiCaprio (also natch) and features a brilliant performance from newcomer Lily Gladstone. But does it warrant the stonking three-and-a-half-hour run time? WTF is going on with Leo’s face? And will both Mick and Yosra manage to stay awake?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah and Jen are on duty this week and, naturally, they’re wondering (like the rest of us) WTAF is “Britcore”? They’re also pondering the benefits of Brexit and, across the pond, just how many copies of his self-published book is a would-be Trump assassin likely to sell? The Boss, Sarah Millican, is back with some more Light Relief for our £5 and above Patreons, talking bad weather for (little) dogs and the perils of online shopping. SOTW lends itself nicely to some Thierry Henry objectification, and JOTB asks, does anyone actually want the Commonwealth Games? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a first time watch of Larry Kramer and Ken Russell’s erotically charged adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s 1920 novel for both Mick and Jen. Will they finally understand teenage Hannah’s obsession with Alan Bates? How many times can Mick sing Liberty X? And what’s (young) Olly Reed doing to Jen’s bloomers? Also contains – and no one was expecting this – that time David Blunkett was attacked by a cow.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slow Horses is back for a fourth series on Apple TV and Hannah's been on the Zoom with one of its stars, Saskia Reeves, to talk about the wonder of Catherine Standish, the odour of Jackson Lamb and how the series keeps on creating great roles for women over 50. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Mick and Jen are focusing on two stories gripping most women they know: the horrific mass rape case currently going through the French courts (and the astonishing bravery of Gisèle Pélicot), and the brutal murder of Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei. We’d apologise for it being so grim, but it’s hardly women’s fault, eh? For balance, there’s not only one but two slices of good news, a phenomenal feat of athleticism, and an incredible Jean-Michel Jarre impression to enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sideways might be regarded as one of the best films of the century, but is it just two middle-aged men on a drunken road trip? Let's find out... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning poet Vanessa Kisuule is, in her own words, “a recovering Michael Jackson obsessive”. Yeah, that’s a tricky one to negotiate. Fame and all of its disciples are at the heart of Vanessa’s debut non-fiction (non-poetry), Neverland: the Pleasures and Perils of Fandom, in which she explores the fan/celebrity relationship, the big feelings when someone we love – famous or not – falls from grace, and the problem with “monsters”. Our Mick got on the Zoom to find out more.  Neverland is published by Canongate on September 12. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When journalist Marina Gerner heard about a potentially life-changing innovation in heart health for women, she was keen to spread the word. But why were none of her usual editors interested in this “niche” subject area? In her new book, The Vagina Business: The Innovative Breakthroughs that Could Change Everything in Women’s Health, Marina takes us through the new technology that could make women's lives infinitely better – and the reasons why many of these innovations are not getting the financial investment they need. In this episode, she chats to Jen about funding and research gaps in women’s health, BS in the boardroom, and that old chestnut: relatability.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah and Mick have looked at the news, had a big scream and are now ready to talk to you about Ticketmaster chaos, the ‘duty of candour’ law and why it’s a no-brainer to apply it to the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and why just because Peter Boghossian hasn’t heard feminists talking about Afghanistan doesn’t mean feminists aren’t talking about Afghanistan.  There’s also a teeny-tiny police cordon, and some unwelcome visitors in Sarah Millican’s house.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PJ Hogan’s 1994 classic, Muriel’s Wedding, launched his own career, as well as those of Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths. But has Jen misremembered the Aussie comedy as a “feel-good” movie? Is Muriel/Marial/Muriel a likeable protagonist? And will Mick and Hannah ever stop laughing about an unzipped beanbag? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Reah Bravo encountered sexual misconduct at the hands of a former employer during her time as a broadcast journalist, she was surprised by the way she handled it. As, she discovered, were many other women in similar situations. As Reah questioned the impact of the #MeToo movement, she set about examining the ways in which women are socially conditioned to not just tolerate abuse but even prop up abusive systems. That forms the premise of her new book, Complicit: How Our Culture Enables Misbehaving Men, and so Jen caught up with her to chat about this, as well as how women sometimes benefit from complicity, victim blaming, and how cultural identity informs it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We often talk about how social media is radicalising men and boys, but it absolutely happens to women and girls, too. In a new BBC3 documentary, America's New Female Right, Layla Wright heads to the US to find out why so many young women are advocating against their own interests. She chats to Hannah about domineering dads, the church, the thrill of clicks, going down a right-wing wormhole and working for Louis Theroux. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who doesn’t love a good night’s sleep? And yet, 40% of us in the UK struggle with some sort of sleep issue. And yes, you guessed it, it affects women more than men.  Sunday marks the start of Sleeptember, so Mick grabbed the opportunity to get Lisa Artis, deputy CEO of The Sleep Charity, on the Zoom to talk about those all-important zeds – and why we’ve become so bad at getting them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Bush Telegraph time again and this week Hannah and Mickey are covering perhaps the widest range of topics ever: Oasis, menstrual blood, coercive control and cutting a whale's head off with a chainsaw. You are welcome. And in Sexism of the Week, Mickey's looking at how life is worsening for women in Afghanistan. We didn't say it was cheery. But it does need talking about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy x2 star in this satirical comedy from 1999, which is a firm favourite of both Hannah and Mick. Pressure. Which Eddie Murphy will steal the show? Will Heather Graham out Heather Graham herself? Will Hannah be able to stop watching the same three minutes of the film to watch all the film? Why is Mick practicing her kung-fu moves? Can Hannah get down from that mid-height platform? And, vitally, has Mick pushed her luck by picking Bowfinger for Rated or Dated? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adjusting to life on the outside is, for a lot of prisoners, very hard. But there's a wealth of advice on hand from the Life After Prison podcast and in this episode, Hannah chats to one of its co-hosts, Jules Rowan. They talk about what prison is for, who should and shouldn't be sent there, and how Jules has been using her experiences "inside" to help others navigate theirs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tissues at the ready, because Yosra's picked a surprisingly dark Marvel film for this month's Flicking. The final outing for James Gunn's ragtag family of heroes led by Chris Pratt's Peter Quill puts half its focus on Rocket's (hellish, heartbreaking) backstory and the other on saving a Guardian in mortal peril. But does it have enough of its usual irreverent swagger to charm Guardians fan Hannah? And how much sobbing at sci-fi can Mick do in a week?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah and Mick are finding glimmers of good in the bad news this week, as they celebrate the brave women seeking justice in cases involving sexsomnia (sure, yer Honour) and, separately, mesh complications. And what’s that? Extreme misogyny being recognised by the Government as an ideology dangerous to women and girls? There have never been such times. Like, literally; it’s a new dawn and we’re glad to see it. There’s also critical thinking, beavers, the ghost of Alec Guinness and a rendition of R Kelly’s Bump n’ Grind for which Mick cannot apologise enough. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Wikus a hero, a villain or neither? Is Mickey over her aversion to gore? Does Hannah do a decent Johannesburg accent? Find out in this week's Rated or Dated, as we watch 2009's District 9.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of her work as CEO of Girls for a Change, Angela Patton was faced with girls in her community who desperately wanted to spend quality time with their fathers. But in this case, the girls’ fathers were in jail, in a system that increasingly prevented contact time with loved ones. Not one to be phased by a challenge, Angela pioneered the highly successful programme, Date with Dad, which provided just that: an opportunity for the girls to attend a dance with their dads. When director Natalie Rae heard about the programme, she was keen to learn more, and so the pair collaborated to produce the new Netflix feature documentary, Daughters. Jen caught up with Angela and Natalie to talk about the programme, why it is so needed, and how the many problems within the US criminal justice system bleed into the rest of society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So much sport, has there even been any time to watch telly? Of course there has. This month, Hannah, Mickey and Jen are talking about Simon Biles Rising, The Bear, Those About to Die, Slip, The Lady in the Lake, High Country, The Jetty and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jen's joined by Hannah to chat about the carnival of sporting achievement that was Paris 2024. They're chatting about gender parity, Team GB winners, Raygun, whether the 100m is over-rated, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and what the hell is Hannah talking about when she says "I've been watching the running up the wall." Plus, if you now feel like watching more sport, Jen's going to tell you what to look out for. * In this podcast, Hannah says that of the nine mothers in Team GB, six won medals. It was actually seven. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a bona-fide classic in the Rated or Dated chair this week, as Hannah and Mick watch Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins for the umpteenth time and Jen comes at it fresh. Well, as fresh as someone with a four-year-old can be.  The songs are bangers, the plot’s ridiculous and surely no one’s comfortable with being told how amazing they are all of the time. And it raises all sorts of questions, although ‘how many times has Hannah been to a wedding with a chimney sweep?’ wasn’t one any of us were expecting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer, performer and comedian Bryony Byrne loved playing football at primary school. So why can’t she remember any footballers post 1998? She explores this, as well as gender stereotypes, and female rage, through the spirit guidance of Eric Cantona in her Edinburgh show, Fan/Girl. Jen chatted to Bryony about the '90s, ladette culture, and falling back in love with football through Charlton Athletic. Fan/Girl is at the Edinburgh Fringe until Aug 26 (except Aug 19), 12.10pm, Summerhall Demonstration Room Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anna Maria della Pieta. Chances are you’ve heard of Antonio Vivaldi, but you’ve never heard of Anna Maria or her fellow female orphans at the Ospedale della Pieta, which in 18th century Venice boasted the greatest orchestra in the world. Without these ridiculously talented girls and women, The Four Seasons might not exist.  Harriet Constable’s debut historical fiction, The Instrumentalist, is the story of Anna Maria, Vivaldi’s favourite student and violin prodigy, shining a light on the women and girls we should have been talking about for the last 300 years. The Instrumentalist is published by Bloomsbury on August 15.  @HarriConstable – Instagram @HConstable – X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here at Standard Issue, we love the Olympics - because who doesn't? But we especially love the modern pentathlon, which got underway at this summer's Games on August 8 and continues until the final day of the Olympics on Sunday 11. Jen had the joy of chatting to Team GB modern pentathlete Kerenza Bryson just before she headed out to Paris. Kerenza’s hoping to add an Olympic medal to her haul from the European and World championships, so fingers crossed for that. In the meantime, you can hear Kerenza and Jen talking about being a woman of many talents, showcasing women’s sport, and getting the best out of a skittish horse. We've all been there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week it’s Jen’s pick, ably assisted by Mick, who suggested 1984’s Rocky for kids, The Karate Kid. Why was she was so keen to rewatch that, we wonder. In unrelated news, how will Mick’s crush on Ralph Macchio have dated? How many times can she talk about The Karate Kid Part II? And how will this seminal film of Noonan's youth fare with Balboa fans, Jen and Hannah?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twenty-five years after making the final of So You Think You're Funny, Juliet Cowan has taken her first show to the Edinburgh Fringe. She talks to Hannah about taking the estrogen goggles off, the rashness of perimenopause, returning to comedy, and her successful acting career, which has included roles in This Life, Back To Life, Back to Black and Pulling.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

US comedian Anna Akana’s tagline might as well be ‘hello darkness my old friend’, because she travels into some pretty dark places for her comedy. This included talking about the stalker who hounded her so much she gave up standup for years, her sister’s suicide 17 years ago, and that time her dad ran off to fight in Ukraine.  In this episode, she chats to our Mick about making that shit funny, her commitment to expanding how we talk about taboo topics and mental health, and making her UK debut with her aptly titled show, It Gets Darker, which you can catch at the Edinburgh Fringe and then London’s Leicester Square Theatre.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor, playwright and civil celebrant Amy Conway's new one-woman show Catafalque opened at the Fringe last week and is soon to head off on a short tour of Scotland. In today's podcast, she's chatting to Hannah about funerals during Covid, the dilemmas celebrants can face and what it was like to write her own eulogy.  Tickets for Catafalque at Summerhall are here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/catafalque Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mick and Jen are on Bush Telegraph duties this week and trying not to get seasick as they negotiate the choppy waters of the Seine, remaining buoyed by Flavor Flav’s unlikely appearance in a pool. Meanwhile, there may be tough times ahead for Rachel Reeves, horrors unfold on the streets of Southport, and one woman has tits galore right in her face.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah's picked one of Jen's faves, so how's that going to pan out? This week, we're watching Ron Howard's comedy about raising kids, that comes with an all-star cast. Does Frank deserve redemption? Does Mickey like the change of pace for Rick Moranis? And is Dianne Wiest the best thing in it? Spoiler alert on that last one - she is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

London's East End has inspired hundreds of books, films, TV programmes and characters. Now, there's a new podcast dedicated to its history, courtesy of writer, actor, and broadcaster Sue Elliott-Nicholls and Immediate Theatre. The Hackney and Newham History Social Club tells stories of the lives of people from the two London boroughs, as well as many who travelled to London to make their lives there. Sue chats to Jen about the warm and wonderful stories coming out of what started as a lockdown project, valuing our elders, and the changing face of the East End. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susannah Walker is one of the co-founders of brilliant charity Make Space for Girls, which campaigns for parks and other public spaces to be as welcoming for teenage girls as they are for teenage boys. Because it has implications, not least the question ‘who do public spaces belong to?’ Spoiler: it ain’t women.  And so, in Susannah’s new book, The Hard Way: Discovering the Women Who Walked Before Us, she examines women’s place in the countryside, walking ancient tracks, discovering some excellent wild women sidelined by history, and going a bit feral herself. She’s chatting to Mick about all of this and more, in this Monday episode. And if you’re Marlborough way, you can see Mick chatting to Sus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Isa Guha, former cricketer, member of England’s World Cup winning team, and the first South Asian player to represent the country in the sport, has carved out a successful role for herself as a presenter since she retired from the game. Now, through her charity Take Her Lead, she wants to help other young women and girls to get a foothold in the male-dominated arena. She chatted to Jen about the charity, diversity in women’s sports teams, and life as a woman in sports broadcast media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another roller coaster of a week, so strap in for the Bush Telegraph with Lembit Opik and ... no, away with you... with Hannah and Jen. This time they're talking about Hannah's new career as a freelance White House advisor and Jen's got Track & Trace PTSD. In Sexism of the Week, there's some horrifying figures on violence against women and in Jenny Off the Blocks, there's some questions about violence towards a horse. None of which is good. But there is also the modern pentathlon. There will always be the modern pentathlon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How many women in this week’s Rated or Dated? ZERO WOMEN. Must be a Mickey pick, eh? Correct. But what a pick: 2004’s rockumentary classic/accidental comedy, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster from filmmakers Joe Berlinger and the late Bruce Sinofsky. And man, oh emotionally stunted man, does it raise a lot of questions about the human condition. And other questions, too. Such as, which Metallica did Jen fancy? And, how many times has Hannah accidentally seen them live? And, is that Mark Kermode? And also, can a human survive a pancreas explosion?  A bonus treat for any Metallica fans listening: Mick’s put some song title Easter eggs in there for you. Happy hunting! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are currently 82,000 children in care in the UK. What's life like for them and how will growing up in care go on to affect their lives? Hannah's been on the Zoom with Rebekah Pierre, editor of an excellent new book, Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It, to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Italian author Ilaria Bernardini is a big deal in her home country. And rightly so. Her latest novel in English, We Will Be Forest, was longlisted for Italy’s presitigious Strega Prize when it originally came out in 2018, and she’s received a tankload of plaudits for her works for the page and screen. In this episode, Mick’s chatting to Ilaria about the pain, hope and renewal of change, particularly in relationships and events that affect our physical health, the invisible lines that connect us all – and what part plants and nature can play in all of that.  We Will Be Forest is translated by Livia Franchini, published by Whitefox and out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s this, not one but two older women with a lot to do? In the same film? There’s never been such times. Mick’s picked Nyad, the 2023 sports biopic from dream team Elizabeth Chai Vasarheluyi and Jimmy Chin about marathon swimmer Diana Nyad’s attempts to swim the 110 miles of open ocean from Cuba to Florida – in her 60s.  But will Hannah and Yosra enjoy this tale of endurance and hubris? And did Annette Bening and Jodie Foster earn those Oscar nods? Find out!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Assassination attempts, conspiracy theories and a MAGA Prince Harry costume. How can Hannah and Mickey cram all the drama of the US election into one BT? Well, they give it their best shot, no pun intended.  And for Sexism of the Week, Mickey's been on the Zoom with journalist, broadcaster and author Terri White. Terri's podcast series, Finding Britain's Ghost Children, quite rightly scooped a whole load of awards and she has continued to bang the drum on how appalling the UK is when it comes to child poverty – 30% of our kids live below the breadline. One huge driver of this is the two-child cap, which Labour has not pledged to scrap. Terri tells Mick why it needs to go immediately if not sooner, talks about the devastating effects it's having, and explains why it's very much a feminist issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week it's Jen’s pick, and for reasons not even she can explain, she's chosen James Cameron's 1994 Arnie-fest, True Lies. But is Cameron telling tales of tough women, or toxic entitlement? How has Hannah found common ground with a horse? And why does Mick look like she's been crying? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artist Louise Bourgeois became a household name late on in her seven-decade long career, and is known best by many for her iconic spider sculptures. However, her body of work explores themes such as life cycles, nature, motherhood, and relationships. As part of its 20 Years of Compton Verney programme, the Warwickshire art gallery and stately home is showcasing Bourgeois’ work in a new exhibition Louise Bourgeois: Nature Study. Jen caught up with CEO of Compton Verney, Geraldine Collinge, to chat about Bourgeois’ life, work, and why she’s so important, as well as how the venue is celebrating the 20th anniversary of opening its doors to the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best-selling crime author Lisa Jewell has written a book for Marvel. You heard us. So, our Hazel Davis got on the phone to find out more. They chat about Jessica Jones, killing off characters, a terrible first marriage, audiobooks, hoarding and a lot more besides. To hear the full interview, including Lisa talking about None Of This Is True, you can sign up to the Standard Issue membership scheme here: https://www.patreon.com/StandardIssue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Secret Garden was a childhood favourite of Anna Himali Howard and Holly Robinson - and our Hannah, too - so she leapt on the Zoom to talk about their new stage adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel. They talk about the themes of disability and India, as well as staging a play at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre during the Great British Summer - whatever the weather. Tickets are on sale here; https://openairtheatre.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhb60BhClARIsABGGtw8gIaATFcs62_0fZca2IqIiCO2SvDfIX8SgPJtHv-dloqZtR_D_TwkaAnBOEALw_wcB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jen and Mick are on Bush Telegraph duties this week, and boy, oh boy, are they giddy with optimism after Labour’s landslide victory in the 2024 General Election. That's rhetorical. And yet, as new PM Keir Starmer rings the changes, some things stay the same – hello sexism. Not that any of it is stopping Jobby the parrot having a lovely time. Meanwhile in sport, we’re chatting Wimbledon and misogyny, and definitely not sending any angry tweets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah's been pretty upfront about how much she loved this film as a kid, but hang on, isn't it basically a musical about the rape of the Sabine women? Yes, yes, it is. But will the sheer toe-tapping nature of MGM's much-loved feast for the eyes, help Jen and Mick get over that terrible premise? No prizes for guessing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The statistics around domestic violence in the UK and beyond are horrifying – and have been for a long time. When playwright Martha Loader heard about schemes to rehabilitate the perpetrators of abuse, she was inspired to write what became the winner of the 2022 Bruntwood prize for playwriting, Bindweed, which is at London's Arcola Theatre from July 9-13. Jen spoke to Martha about the issues explored in Bindweed, about the onus of solving the endemic problem of domestic abuse being firmly put on the perpetrators, and about the curiosity of nervous laughter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a while, but our resident music guru Liz Buckley is back. And she’s read Kathleen Hanna’s new autobiography, Rebel Girl. This has given her the perfect excuse to chat to our Mick about Hanna’s life and works so far, Bikini Kill and the band’s part in the riot grrrl movement that combined feminism, punk music, and politics, and why her gigs are great spaces for tits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A far cry from the glamour and wealth of the Premier League, Georgia Cloepfil spent her days travelling around the world in search of a career as a professional footballer. In her new book, The Striker and the Clock, she details the loneliness of that life, seeking a time-limited win that might never come. She caught up with Jen to talk about that, as well as issues that continue to surround the women’s game, including inequality in pay and conditions, snobbery, and why women’s sport is definitely not “having a moment”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Election Day! Finally! And it's also Independence Day, so in this week's BT, Hannah's been chatting to The Atlantic's Helen Lewis about what comes next for #TeamBiden after *that* Presidential Debate performance.  And in Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's chatting about the fate of Reading FC's women's team, as well as Wimbledon, and the best ways to ensure women's sport is taken seriously.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is Hannah’s timeline when it comes to someone she’s romantically involved with revealing they’re part fish? Just one of the big questions in this week’s Rated or Dated, as we go back to 1984 to watch Mick’s pick of Ron Howard’s Splash, a fish-out-of-water rom-com, in which Tom Hanks falls in love with Daryl Hannah as a mermaid. It also stars John Candy. Will that be enough to win Candy fan Jen over? Is it really a happy ending or does it finish on a major plot hole? Hold your laptop/phone up to your ear as if it’s a conch to find out.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It can’t have escaped your attention there’s a general election happening in the UK this week. Polls show that 23 per cent of women are still undecided on how to vote, and when you look at where the political sphere is letting us down – healthcare, childcare, equal pay – it’s no surprise so many aren’t sure where to put their X.  The Fawcett Society knows a thing or two about what women need and its latest project, #SheVotes24, has brought together more than 120 women’s organisations to address what policies will help women, and so Mick got on the Zoom with CEO Jemima Olchawski to talk past wins and future hopes in the way Parliament looks out for women – whoever’s in charge.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year's Papatango Prize winner, Laura Waldren, joins Hannah to chat about her play Some Demon, which is set in a unit for people with eating disorders. They chat about Laura's own experiences with anorexia, the difficulties of telling stories with no clear beginning, middle and end, and how to get a first play staged in an increasingly tough market.   * You can see Some Demon at the Arcola until July 6. Tickets here: https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/some-demon/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvvmzBhA2EiwAtHVrb_1yZw6rrwg2nyfypbTSFK-ZQfqCmwDecgz6IdcTUBRkFCV5Wi2Q4BoCy-kQAvD_BwE * Or at the Bristol Old Vic from July 9-13. Tickets here: https://visitbristol.co.uk/event/some-demon-at-bristol-old-vic/320509301/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 23 was Women in Engineering Day, so Hannah got on the Zoom with Orlagh Costello, an engineer on a mission to get more women into the male-dominated industry. They talk about what puts women off, how we can change that and why if you're doing engineering with your penis, you're doing it wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s just one week from the General Election and we’re assuming you’re as sick of the pantomime as us, so instead Hannah and Mick are talking: vandals at least having the courage of their convictions, a lorra lorra cash from our Taylor, the uptick in talking Kernewek, that twat Hannah’s dad fired, and why Manchester United need to do better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does falling in acid turn your hair green? Who's the worst person Jerry Hall's found on her sofa? And is Michael Keaton, star of Tim Burton's first take on the Batman film franchise, really the fourth best to have graced the Batsuit? We're asking all this and more as we revisit 1989's Batman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a treat for our Mick to get on the Zoom with excellent comedian and total smasher, Jen Brister. They’re chatting optimism in the face of the news, the upcoming general election, hang-gliding dogs, and All Our Relations, which is Jen’s non-profit, raising money to help Palestinian families stuck in Rafah.  You can and should follow Jen on the socials, where she’s @jenbristercomedy, listen to her on Women Talking Bollocks, her podcast with Maureen Younger and Allyson June Smith, download her show The Optimist from 800 Pound Gorilla, and get involved with All Our Relations on Instagram @_allourrelations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Surrender, a new play at the Arcola Theatre Dalston, is the story of a mother in prison, meeting her estranged daughter for the first time in many years. Mother wants to put her side of the story across about how she came to be there – but is everything as it seems? Jen caught up with playwright Sophie Swithinbank, who wrote the play in collaboration with Phoebe Ladenburg, the actor playing Mother, to talk about a failing system, the emotional toil of mumming, and unreliable narrators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merry Christmas one and all! That’s right, Hannah’s picked 2023’s The Holdovers, Alexander Payne’s dramedy set in a posh boys’ boarding school in the 1970s over the festive period. It bagged an Oscar for the glorious Da’Vine Joy Randolph and features equally stellar performances from Paul Giamatti and newcomer Dominic Sessa. Are we giving too much away in this write-up? Nah, Hannah, Yosra and Mick all agree it’s fecking delightful. Come join the love-in. Bring bourbon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're watching one of the most successful low-budget films ever, 2004's Napoleon Dynamite. Hannah and Jen chat about ligers (pretty much their favourite animals), why Jen's got her hair in a side ponytail and whether we'd enjoy seeing our siblings hit in the face by a steak.  Here's the interview that Hannah promises: https://magazine.byu.edu/article/its-still-dynamite/#:~:text=That%20took%20us%20by%20surprise,different%20area%20for%20a%20while. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a rapturously received debut album, folk star Katherine Priddy had to tackle the infamous "difficult second album". In this podcast she talks to journalist Hazel Davis about The Pendulum Swing, her upcoming appearance at the Cambridge Folk Festival, supporting Elbow, being judged by McFly, and what a folk way to die would be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in the 1970s, a group of Bristolian idealists dreamed of a nation stitched together by safe cycling paths, which would make us less reliant on our cars. They founded what would become Britain's 13,000 miles long National Cycle Network. Cycling journalist Laura Laker wondered what had gone right and, indeed, wrong, with a network once described by the CEO of the charity that runs it as “a bit crap”, and set off on an epic journey around the UK to find out more. That journey became the basis for her new book, Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network. Fellow cycling enthusiast Jen, caught up with Laura to talk about what inspired her journey, the magic of travelling by bike, and why all leaders of a country should go on a big old road trip before they sign up to the job. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this month's Outside The Box, Hannah and Jen are talking about Rebus, Eric, Bodkin, Insomnia, Alaska Daily, The Gathering, Dark Matter and Bay of Fires. Plus, it turns out Hannah was right about Colin Farrell being a BEEEEEP in Sugar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world has gone election-crazy, but fortunately Hannah and Jen have mostly swerved it in this week’s Bush Telegraph. There’s some real human hardship to talk about, beyond poor ickle Rishi’s lack of Sky TV, as well as some mental imagery you’re likely never to forget around microplastics and human testicle samples. In sport, we’re looking at the European Athletics Championships, as well as saying a firm “fuck this shit” to the decision makers at Thornaby FC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Ellen Atlanta fell into a career in the beauty industry. Like many of us who subscribe to westernised beauty ideals and an online-culture, it was fine until it wasn’t. For Ellen, that was when she began to question whether or not she was part of the problem herself, and so began her work on her debut book, Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women. In this episode, she chats to Jen about the book, a life spent online, the harmful standards women hold themselves up to and the increasingly dystopian nightmare of the cult of Kylie Jenner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fans of the Star Wars universe will no doubt recognise Ireland’s Denise Gough as steely Andor villain Dedra Meero. But it was back in 2015 that she was catapulted to stardom with her role as Emma in Duncan Macmillan’s existential addiction drama, People, Places & Things. Almost ten years on, People, Places & Things is back and so is Denise with a proper barnstormer of a performance in a play that’s funny, clever, vivid, devastating and one of the most emotionally intelligent takes on addiction, recovery and our notions of self our Mick’s ever seen. Denise is herself a former addict, so in this episode, she and Mick are talking about addiction, the dark humour of addicts, notions of self, that time psychiatrists had a fight in the foyer, and why it’s important to see women in roles like this. People, Places & Things runs until August 10 at Trafalgar Theatre. https://trafalgartheatre.com/shows/people-places-and-things/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fun times for football enthusiasts approach us, as the Euros kick off in Germany next week. Both England and Scotland are through to the tournament, with Scotland up first, against the host nation, before England take on Serbia – but how will the home nations fare? Jen caught up with Caoimhe O’Neill – journalist at The Athletic, Liverpool FC fan, and the proud owner of two Scotland shirts – to find out if football really is coming home, what it means to leave Marcus Rashford behind, what’s next for Jen's adoptive dad, Gareth Southgate, and who we should be looking out for in both squads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a week! Trump is guilty, Farage is milkshaked, Owen Jones is Owen Jones-ing and some of the four horses of the apocalypse are having a nice time in a field. At least concrete is still concrete. Mickey and Hannah manage to fit all this in and still find time for a horrific sexism of the week, in which we get to see how one judge's mind works and really don't like it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Jen’s getting philosophical with high on drama, easy on the acting, ‘90s runaway hit, Speed. But can Mick and Hannah get on board? Der dum tsssssshhhhhh. Cue maniacal laughter, and a shedload of plot holes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Scattered, award-winning journalist and former child refugee Aamna Mohdin has written a warm, candid and surprisingly funny memoir about her family’s experiences fleeing the Somali civil war in the 1990s. She chats to our Mick about survivor’s guilt, people not 'migrants', the joys in interviewing your parents, and her relationship with Somalia today. Scattered is published by Bloomsbury, out on June 6 and available from all good bookshops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When she was 11, Genevieve Kingston's mother died, leaving her a box of gifts and letters, designed to see her through the big events of her life. In her new memoir, Genevieve, now a writer and actor, explores the loss of her mother and the joys of refinding her through her letters from the past. Hannah chats to her about that memoir - Did I Ever Tell You? - being on Oprah's 'to read' list, and how some cultures are just better at dealing with death than others.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rosie Garland is a poet, an author and the front woman, since the 1980s, of punk band The March Violets. In this podcast, Hannah chats to her about her latest novel, The Fates, which is about, you've guessed it, the Fates, about how mythology treats women and why Zeus was an absolute dick. They're also talking about Rosie's recovery from cancer, how that affected her writing and performing and about what's next on her very full life plate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mickey, Hannah and Jen are asking all the big questions this week. Such as, when a film's plot is so famous its title is now a verb, how's that going to affect three first-time viewers? And what would 1940s audiences have thought was going on? Also, were any Victorians called Paula and Brian?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A cursed wedding, a honeymoon meltdown, a gaslighting hotelier, and some pretty dodgy goings on: Scarlett Thomas’s latest novel, The Sleepwalkers, is a gripping tale of catastrophe from the contents page on.  Scarlett chats to Mick about finding inspiration on a holiday from hell, the chain of blame in Big Patriarchy, trusting women, judging women, a love of wrong things, and big lash action. The Sleepwalkers is published by Simon & Schuster, out now, and a brilliant, very dark, very funny read. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hot on the heels of Women in Revolt!, Tate Britain is hosting another huge exhibition dedicated to professional women artists, spanning 400 years from the early 16th Century. Now You See Us: Women Artists in Great Britain, 1520-1920 puts paid to the notion that women couldn’t make a living from art, and only ever pursued it as a cute leisure activity. Jen caught up with Tabitha Barber, Tate Britain's Curator of British Art, 1550-1750, to talk about what women artists were up to, why misconceptions around them exist and why art is *sort of* like football when it comes to ideas about the sexes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This mockumentary comedy flew under the radar when it was released last year. But our Yosra’s excited to make a song and dance about Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s big-hearted tale of a musical theatre camp, struggling to save itself after its beloved founder falls into a coma. It’s well charted that we love a mockumentary, but will there be enough gags for Hannah? Or too much singing for Mick? You know what to do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jen and Hannah are on Bush Telegraph duty this Thursday 23 May. They’re talking about how the only thing the UK doesn’t seem to be in short supply of these days, is court rulings against its own Government. Meanwhile the wait for a wheelchair hits frankly ludicrous levels. Harrison Butker (you heard) has his say on a woman’s worth, and with any luck it’s his balls Serena will be hitting in the near future, as Jen chats about a possible comeback in JOTB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff Goldblum, people! Turns out, the big fella isn’t necessarily a lure for Hannah and Jen, so will they find anything else to like in Julien Temple’s American-science-fiction-musical-romantic comedy? And yes, of course it was Mick who picked it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New drama series The Gathering is making waves on Channel 4 as we speak, so Hannah leapt at the chance to chat to one of its stars, Vinette Robinson. They talk about teenage ambition, playing real women with real problems, social media, teenage girls, working with Mike Leigh, the single-take logistics of Boiling Point, giving birth dozens of times in The Lazarus Project, and her upcoming appearance on Inside No 9. You are welcome. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buoyed by a positive sexual experience at university, journalist Kitty Ruskin decided to embrace her sexuality with a year of casual dating and no-strings sex. She was hoping to find pleasure and excitement, but the reality wasn't all fun and sexy games. All of which she chronicles in her new book, Ten Men: A Year of Casual Sex. Jen caught up with Kitty to talk about her quest, consent, dating apps and the so-called “sexual marketplace”. A heads up this interview touches on rape and on sexual assault, including Kitty's experience of this as a child. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah's in the market for a new favourite TV programme, so this week - along with Jen and Mick - they're auditioning Shogun, Shardlake, Renegade Nell, David Attenborough's Mammals, Sugar, Fallout and Palm Royale. Plus there's some chat about some of TV's more controversial offerings, Baby Reindeer and The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Hannah and Mick on Bush Telegraph duty this Thursday 16 May. They’re talking about: the humanitarian crisis playing out in Sudan and why we’re not hearing enough about it; lummoxes, tosspots and numpties, and – separately but connected – the Tories’ ongoing desperate bumblefuckfest ahead of the general election (BUT WHEN IS IT?); the rise and enforced rest of the robots, and Northern Ireland scoring goals for women and girls all over the shop.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Has Maggie Smith ever Maggie Smithed harder than in Tea with Mussolini? It's just one of Hannah's questions about Franco Zeffirelli's 1999 lady-fest, which Jen's picked despite her dad's apparent love for it. Other questions include, has Rated or Dated reached Cher saturation point? Is it ever okay to be pals with a dictator? And, from Mick: WTF is Dench doing? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Francesca de Tores, who you may know better as Francesca Haig, was gripped when she happened upon the Wikipedia entry for 18th century pirate, Mary Read. A woman pirate? Damn straight, a woman pirate. And so began Saltblood, Francesa’s first work of historic fiction. Jen caught up with her to chat all things Mary, and navigating the male-dominated waters of swashbuckling adventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For three years, comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean has had a secret alter-ego as a foster parent. But now she’s out, and talking about everything about fostering life – from gusset to hairline – in her new tour show, Peacock.  In this episode, she’s chatting to Mick about why she and her partner decided to foster, the processes involved, the joys gained, why your hair can never be too big, and what to do with those eight spare biros knocking around the kitchen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having been performing at the Edinburgh Fringe since she was 13, comedian and writer Ashley Storrie has had her fill of it. Lucky for her, she’s been starring in BBC Three comedy series Dinosaur. In this episode, she chats to Jen about the unusual way she came to co-create the series, neurodiversity on screen and how it compares to her experiences with autism spectrum disorder, and how to get started in comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Mick and Jen on Bush Telegraph duty this Thursday 9 May. They’re talking: male entitlement (whaaa?); police incompetence (no way!); remarkable women (come on now!); institutional sexism (surprise!), and Emma Hayes being brilliant (plus ça change).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does everyone have half a cup of tea? Great, let's begin. In this week's Rated or Dated, we're watching 1999's comedy-drama East is East. But how well does the comedy and drama really gel? Does anyone have any sympathy for George? And exactly how much does Hannah love Linda Bassett? All the answers lie within. Now wash your bastard curtains! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgie Carroll went from being a nurse in Rochdale to a stand-up comedian in Adelaide. In this podcast, she's chatting to Hannah about wanderlust, career changes, being on Britain's Got Talent and the contradiction between how we think of nurses and how we sometimes treat them. Georgie is on tour now around the UK. You can find out more about her show, Sister Flo 2.0, where it's on and how to get tickets here: https://www.georgiecarroll.com/live-shows/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When journalist Yuan Yang’s activist friend Sam joked about Yuan writing the news story if Sam was ever detained… and then disappeared, Yuan knew there was a bigger story to tell about modern China. Her new book, Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China, looks at modern China through the lives of four women in their 30s.  She’s chatting to Mick about China’s communist lie, the fear of falling off ladders, pigs, parenting, and how the stories of these four brave idealist women in China’s new social order led to Yuan standing for Parliament here in the UK.  Find out about China’s left-behind children, what happened to a magic pig, and more, by becoming a Standard Issue Patreon Champ or Legend at patreon.com/StandardIssue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We interrupt your normal Standard Issue broadcast this week to tell you about the *new* normal Standard Issue broadcast, starting on Monday 6 May. But don’t worry, it’s not a cryptocurrency podcast. Or a Star Trek podcast, for that matter. That’s right, we’ve been teasing it for a while now, and finally Mick, Hannah and Jen are here to explain to you, dear listeners, how the new podcast format will work. To subscribe to our new Patreon tiers to enjoy ad-free podcasts, as well as exclusive content, competitions and treats, visit: https://www.patreon.com/StandardIssue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stranger Things: a bonafide telly phenomenon. The Duffer Brothers’ Netflix series has won an army of diehard fans across all demographics with its big budget mix of horror, fantasy and 80s nostalgia that makes sure never to skimp on character or storytelling. Kate Trefry’s been a writer on the series since season two and is currently wrapping up the fifth and final season, expected to be released next year. She’s also written its stage production and prequel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, working with the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Stephen Daldry to bring Hawkins to the Phoenix Theatre in London. As well as a slew of five-star reviews, Stranger Things: The First Shadow recently picked up the best new entertainment or comedy play at the Oliviers.  Our Mick has also seen and been blown away by it, so was chuffed to bits to catch up with Kate a couple of days after the awards. They’re chatting Stranger Things (obviously), the play and the series, being an outsider, winning hearts and minds, new motherhood, and the birth of evil. Visit phoenixtheatre.co.uk for tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The BBC's Belfast-set police drama Blue Lights is back on our tellies, so Hannah grabbed the chance to talk to one of its stars: former comedian, now novelist and actor, Andi Osho. They chat about understanding history, running down alleyways and going grey in an industry where many women aren't. Jen's talking to writer Kate Atwell and director Diane Page about bringing women's cricket to the stage in Testmatch, and in Jenny Off The Blocks, there are some new Invincibles in town. There's Cher and a drunk dog in BT, and the "what I did on my day in Cambridge" that nobody asked for in SOTW. Meanwhile, in Rated or Dated, Mickey's trying to make fetch a thing, as we watch 2004's Mean Girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us would be able to name our energy provider and probably a list of reasons we’re annoyed with them, but when it comes to the hows and whos that get it to, say, our plug sockets, details can be a bit sketchy.  Mick’s been on the Zoom with Yasmin Ali, a chemical engineer dedicated to developing renewable energy projects and author of the book Power Up: An Engineer's Adventures into Sustainable Energy. All credit to Yasmin, who has taken a potentially dry and technical subject and made it a fascinating read. Although – spoiler alert – there are no easy answers to the looming energy crisis. And so, in this week’s Chops, Mick and Yasmin are talking about the complicated answers, about how Yasmin’s grounding in fossil fuels led her to hydrogen, her passion for (and optimism about) clean energy, why being born in Iraq made her love Norway, and why she’s not watching Oppenheimer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hold onto your fannies, because for this month’s Flicking, Mick’s picked Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthikos (man), based on a novel by Alisdair Gray (man), adapted for the big screen by Tony McNamara (man) and one of 2023’s hot feminist picks. DISCUSS. Emma Stone bagged an Oscar for her portrayal of Bella Baxter, the Frankenstein’s monster-esque creation of Dr Godwin Baxter (Willem Defoe), who goes on a voyage of self-discovery and empowerment/has sex with a lot of people – same, same. DISCUSS. And yes, Yosra and Hannah have a lot to say. And rightly so. Also includes *quite* the revelation for Yosra about Yosra. Hold onto your fannies! Did we already say that? Well, you can never have too much fanny. DISCUSS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You’ve seen Sharon Horgan’s brilliant sitcom Pulling, right? If you haven’t, please do go watch it immediately *waits impatiently, tapping foot* Okay! How good is Tanya Franks in it?!? SOOOO good. Which means you’ll understand why our Hannah has been champing at the bit for nigh on a decade to get an interview in. And here she is: Tanya Franks chatting to Hannah about accents, marathons, free speech, her current role in Power of Sail at the Menier Chocolate Factory and, of course, the joy and chaos of Karen in Pulling.  Another brilliant woman? But of course – have two. It’s been a while, but Liz Buckley, our resident font of all music knowledge, is back and she’s explaining to Mick why we should all love Loretta Lynn. Lynn might not have called herself a feminist, deeming the label too exclusive, but sweet Lordy, she was a shot in the arm for women in the very male, very conservative world of country music.  Get your camel toe out for the lads! In Jenny Off the Blocks, Jen’s looking at Nike’s new Olympics wear for Team America (fuck yeah!). And in Rated or Dated, can a satire satirise something before it’s even happened? Here’s looking at you, 1999’s Election. Power of Sail is at the Menier Chocolate Factory until May 12 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harvard Law School lecturer, consultant and speaker, Elaine Lin Hering, was frustrated in her professional life by the realising that having a seat at the table isn't enough if no one can hear what you're saying. This inspired her to write Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent and Lead With Courage, and she chats to Jen about it in this week's Chops. They talk about how we learn silence, how we actively silence others, why that disproportionately impacts certain groups, and the myth of imposter syndrome. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having a busy April? Why not have a nice sit down and turn on the telly? This month, Hannah and Jen are talking about Passenger, Manhunt, The Gone, The Dry, Masters of the Air, Mary & George, The Regime and Tell Them You Love Me.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all heard of the glass ceiling, right? But what about the phenomenon befalling the high-flying women who have dared to smash through it? It’s known as the glass cliff, and Sophie Williams has written a book about it. Sophie joins Mick this week, to talk about how and why it happens – and why the issue matters to all women. Meanwhile, Jen is on the Zoom with theatre company Dirty Hare, to talk witches, history and their play Gunter, which is showing at The Royal Court Theatre until April 25.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, there’s rugby, cricket and more. And in Rated or Dated, there’s more witchcraft afoot, but will 1989 “cult classic” Teen Witch be cinematic magic or a curse on the eyes, ears and emotions?   Meanwhile, in unrelated news *cough*, Hannah's wading through a river of jobbies in the Bush Telegraph.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, hospital admissions for eating disorders have increased by 84% over the past five years. And yet, for so many of us, anorexia remains very hard to understand. Hannah chats to author, journalist and recovered anorexic Hadley Freeman about her memoir Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia, about her experiences, as a teenager and now a mother, and about why so many women have a complicated relationship with food. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Experts - we should listen to them, right? RIGHT? Well, maybe not all of them. That's what Hannah learned while talking to Dr Julia Shaw, a criminal psychologist and the host of new Radio 4 show Experts on Trial. Jen's been on the Zoom with Heather McCalden to talk about her genre-bending debut book, The Observable Universe, which is about losing both her parents to AIDS in the early '90s, and grief in the internet age. And in Rated or Dated, having not seen it as kids, what will Mickey and Hannah make of 1984's The NeverEnding Story? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've not read the Atlantic article The Coddling of the American Mind, or the book that followed it, you've likely heard us recommend it. And now, it's a documentary, so Hannah got straight on the Zoom to California to talk to its producer Courtney Moorehead Balaker about the current mental health crisis among young people and how, rather than helping, the culture on US university campuses is making young people more vulnerable. And how tribalism, helicopter parenting and the “one strike and you're out” culture of public shaming has left young people afraid to make mistakes. The original Atlantic article, by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, is here: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/ You can buy the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coddling-American-Mind-Intentions-Generation/dp/0735224897 And you can watch the film here: https://www.thecoddlingmovie.com/ If you are struggling with your mental health, please reach out to the Samaritans. More details here: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/talk-us-phone/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Playwright Stef Smith is best known for her, well, plays. But her award-winning BBC Scotland drama, Float – a tender tangle of love, life and identity in small-town Scotland – is also well worth your time. Season one is already bingeable on the iPlayer and, ahead of season two hitting screens at the end of the month, our Mick chatted to Stef about water, women in love, representation, and the joys of being a soppy sausage. Talking of soppy sausages, Jen’s quite rightly feeling emotional about what seeing sporting women means to girls getting into sporting. And has top-tier cynic Hannah Dunleavy gone and picked a romance for Rated or Dated? Well, that’s up for discussion as we watch 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Plus bullies, unfinished church business, time theory, not enough nurses, and the return of Nelson Mandela.  PS: Scotland, we love you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Playwright Suzie Miller is best known for her award-sweeping masterpiece, Prima Facie, a searing critique of the criminal justice system and, specifically, how it deals with survivors of sexual assault and rape. She’s now adapted the play into a novel, and so Jen was chuffed to bits to talk to her about the process of adaptation, as well as why she wrote it, the impact the play has had, and the sheer lunacy of a system that simply isn’t fit for purpose. Also, Jodie Comer, who blew minds in the play, reads the audio book. Win.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They don’t come much bigger than Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s three-hour Oscar-nabbing historical drama, and Hannah’s pick for this month’s Flicking. It’s quite rightly made Cillian Murphy the man of the moment, but how’s Yosra feeling about Robert Downey Jnr’s gongs? And will it have enough bang for its buck as far as Mick’s concerned? Find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollie McNish - Standard Issue fave, award-winning poet, and all-round smasher - is back with Lobster, a brand-new collection of poems and prose. Naturally, Mick was delighted to jump on the Zoom to talk to her about it, as well as joy, not-joy, vulvas, knickers and RP. Over IRL, as the kids say, Jen was chuffed to bits to be reunited with writer Anoushka Warden, to talk to her about her debut novel, I’m F*cking Amazing. They also chat sweary titles, female pleasure, and navigating the NHS. There are recent retirements and romantic relationships in Jenny Off The Blocks, and in this week's Rated or Dated, we wonder if Hannah’s changed her mind about 1984 tearjerker Terms Of Endearment. And what did the Roman Empire ever do for women, eh? The British Museum has the, well *an* answer in this week’s Bush Telegraph. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist, broadcaster, documentary-maker, author and Mickey mind-blower is back on the podcast to chat about her incredible new book, The Price of Life: In Search of What We’re Worth and Who Decides.  It’s a fascinating and brutal investigation into who puts a price on our heads – because we all have not just one, but several, depending on the situation. Jenny’s met with a hitman, people who’ve faked their own death, modern-day slaves, the makers of F-35 fighter jets, scientists, effective altruists, parents whose children have died in terrorist attacks, kidnap victims and, for a frankly wild final chapter, an American funeral parlour owner and body broker to find out what we’re worth, dead or alive.  And now she’s chatting to our Mick about all of the above, whether cold calculations are the way to measure a life, and how she still has a deep faith in the good of humanity.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you find watching sport in public a bit intimidating, Set Piece Social will be for you. This week, Jen chats to Naomi Fitzgibbons and Kate Hetherington about their pioneering new project to get women watching women's sport. Hannah's talking to writer Farine Clark about her new play London Zoo, and what inspired her career changes from medicine through journalism and into the arts. In Rated or Dated, Mickey (*screeches to a stop in a 1974 Gran Torino*) has had us watching 2004's Starksy & Hutch (*doesn't run out of fingers on one hand counting female roles*). And in BT, we've got some good news and some more good news and some more good news. Also some bad news. But let's focus on the positive eh? More info about London Zoo at the Southwark Playhouse here: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/london-zoo/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz Jensen is better known for her fiction writing, but the author and activist has just published a memoir, Your Wild and Precious Life: On Grief, Hope and Rebellion. Her new book documents her grief after the death of her son Raphael, a zoologist and ecological activist, in 2020, aged just 25, and her fight for the future of our planet, in his name. In this week’s Chops, she talks to Jen about the cathartic experience of writing the book, the parallels between grieving the loss of a child and grieving the destruction of the planet, the point of protest, and the radicalising nature of bereavement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month's Outside The Box is here and this time we're talking about True Detective: Night Country, Masters of the Air, Mr & Mrs Smith, Trigger Point and Breathtaking, plus a load of stuff Hannah didn't even make it through the first episode of. Tuck in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine having an idea so engaging that you make Anjelica Huston want to talk about Tupperware. Well, hello journalist Annabelle Hirsch, whose book, A History of Women in 101 Objects, is a fascinating walk through female history via, well, 101 objects.  The book came out last October and is well worth your eyes, but if you like to get your ears involved and the voices of Helena Bonham Carter, Leila Slimani, Olivia Colman, Margaret Atwood and Meera Syal, to name but a few, tickle your pickle, then the audiobook of Annabelle’s work is a thing of joy. Annabelle’s chatting to our Mick in this week’s podzine about how objects – some everyday, some remarkable – can provide a deep dive into women’s lives throughout history.  There’s more herstory this week, as Jen’s been chatting to documentary makers Rachel Ramsay and Victoria Gregory about COPA 71, their new feature documentary in which the pioneering footballers in Mexico’s unofficial 1971 Women’s World Cup tell their remarkable story. It was a tournament that witnessed record crowds, but has been largely written out of sporting history and the stories of it – and indeed the stories behind the making of this documentary about it – are compelling.  There’s more compelling this week, in the form of Glenn Close and John Malkovich, doing some magnificent work in Hannah’s Rated or Dated pick: 1989’s Dangerous Liaisons. Any excuse for Mick’s French-via-Delboy accent, eh? Plus, drop shots, cheap shots and poor form all round in the Bush Telegraph.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Critical thinking isn't exactly everyone's strong point and in her upcoming memoir Learning to Think, Tracy King explains how she went from born-again Christianity to pseudoscience to teaching herself to think critically. And when she applied that thinking to the violent death of her father, she uncovered a whole other story from the one she'd been told. In this week's Chops, Tracy and Hannah chat about all that, plus poverty, school refusal and alcoholism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer and Standard Issue fave Kerry Hudson is back with brand-new memoir, Newborn, the follow-up to her previous work, Lowborn. In this week’s podzine, Hannah jumps on the Zoom to talk with Kerry about class, social mobility, money and why you can't air fry your way out of poverty.   A self-professed Mary Shelley “obsessive”, our Jen was delighted when news of Lesley McDowell’s new novel Clairmont, landed in her inbox. She and Lesley chat about why its namesake Clair Clairmont remains little known, as well as historical fiction, the Shelleys, and those dastardly Romantics. Meanwhile, will Mick ever stop being sick in her own mouth in response to this week’s Rated or Dated, 1999's The Other Sister? Find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian, podcast mogul, writer, broadcaster and professional oversharer, the glorious Catherine Bohart is this week’s Sunday Chops. She and Mick are chatting about the joy and freedom of podcasts, being a professional oversharer, living with OCD, the giving and receiving of advice and, of course, her new show, Again, With Feelings, which is on tour in various venues around this country, in Ireland and in Australia, from March 4. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lindsay Duncan - you heard us! - is on stage at the National Theatre in a revival of Dodie Smith's Dear Octopus, so of course Jen jumped at the chance to chat to her. They were joined by the play's director, Emily Burns, to discuss family dynamics, age and a whole lot more. Hannah's also talking theatre this week, with Hannah Walker, creator of Gamble, a new show on tour around the country, which deals with her partner's struggle with gambling, how it's affected their relationship and what's helped them overcome it. Mickey's astride a horse, figuratively (probably), in this week's Rated or Dated, as we chat about 1974's Blazing Saddles. We're (almost) all about the netball in Jenny Off The Blocks and in BT we're talking abortion rights, budget cuts and some not hot felons. And one hot one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Performance poet Len Pennie is a big deal on the social media, particularly TikTok, where her Scots Word of the Day videos, forthright, urgent poetry and wicked sense of humour have made her a bona fide star. Published by Canongate on February 22, her debut poetry collection, Poyums, she covers a lot of ground, from depression and mental health to misogyny and abusive relationships. If that all sounds bleak, well, the topics are, but Len’s honesty, rawness, humour and playfulness of language make her poems anything but.  She chatted to our Mick about all of the above, the joy and importance of Scots language, and the problem with “nice guys”.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greta Lee and Teo Yoo star in Celine Song’s debut feature, which follows deeply connected childhood friends Nora (Lee) and Hae Sung (Yoo) over the course of 24 years and an ocean of separation. It’s a gentle, poignant, philosophical, maybe romance, chosen by Yosra for this month’s Flicking. But will it have enough wallop for Mickey and not too much of the soppy stuff for Hannah? Find out.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine making a film set in a town where dancing is illegal. Imagine that bit being the true story element of said film. Imagine that not one of the team had ever seen 1984’s Footloose in full before this very week. SCENES, such very eighties scenes, in this week’s Rated or Dated, chosen by Offord, montaged by Bacon.  Before that, Mick’s been on the Zoom with comedian Olga Koch to chat about her latest show, Prawn Cocktail, the masters she did in lockdown, which looks at parasocial relationships and how the two might come together.  Hannah’s been to see Othello at The Globe’s Sam Wanamaker theatre, a new production directed by Ola Ince, and she loved it. Hannah chats to Ola about placing Othello in a police force, putting words in Shakespeare’s character’s mouths, and why she’s put a second black man onstage in a play which quite on purpose only ever has one. In Jenny Off the Blocks, Jen’s talking about allyship in football (we can all wave our scarves in celebration at CANDI Utd’s recent actions), while over in the Bush Telegraph, we’re getting up to date on who’s in charge of France and what a nutritious breakfast looks like, as well as looking at some bad maths for women.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why won't copy show up? Comedian, writer, podcaster, friend of Standard Issue, and glorious human being Jess Fostekew is back on tour with her new show Mettle, and so Mick jumped at the chance to talk to her about it. They also chat buses, bulking, and the tiny birds of Geoff Capes. Hannah’s been on the Zoom to talk to journalist and award-winning podcast host Catherine Carr about her podcast Where Are You Going?, why people are so keen to tell her the answer to this question and why listeners can't get enough of it. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen ponders what's next for the Women’s Tour. And we wonder what is this film, as we settle down for some Gen X stereotypes and miserable facial hair in 1994’s Reality Bites for this week’s Rated or Dated.  Meanwhile, there’s Viking fire, heavy workloads, and a crypt full o’ dust in the Bush Telegram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being a mum is great, but it can also be relentlessly challenging and impossibly difficult. Not to mention that from the day they're born, you know you'll eventually lose your children to adulthood. In her late 30s, writer and actress Michele Winstanley gave birth to a much-wanted child, and quickly realised that mumming wasn't the sugar-coated dream she'd been sold. And so she wrote a play about her own experiences and those of others at different stages of their motherhood journey.  A decade on, Broken Water is now playing at the Arcola Theatre. Our Jen caught up with Michele and director Nicola Samer to talk about the highs and lows of being a mum, the losses we incur along the way, and, when it comes to representations of motherhood, how much (or little) has changed in the last ten years. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sort of. This week, Jen's been on the satellite phone to bone fide polar adventurer Harpreet ‘Preet’ Chandi. Preet recently broke a third World Record, becoming the world’s fastest woman to complete a solo unsupported ski expedition to the South Pole. She chats to Jen about the how and why, accepting failure when it comes, becoming a role model and looking after your mental health. Speaking of which, Mickey's been on the Zoom with our resident psychotherapist Jane Watson to talk about "the overwhelm", how to spot it and what to do if it's not as simple as "have you tried removing stress from your life?" In BT, Hannah has a smorgasbord of vaccination news, while in SOTW, we look at #OppenOscarBarbieHeimerHistoryIsForMenKenGoslingGerwigGate. And in Rated or Dated, we ask "is this the reason there are so few statues of women?" as we watch 1974's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we addicted to our phones? Are they bad for our mental health? Are they changing the way we behave? Hannah gets the answers to these and many more questions from neuroscientist Dr Faye Begeti, otherwise known as the Brain Doctor, whose new book The Phone Fix: The Brain-Focused Guide to Building Healthy Digital Habits and Breaking Bad Ones is out on February 1. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stand up Laura Smyth came to comedy later in life and with a whole load of experiences, including cancer, under her belt. People are lapping it up, and tickets to her debut tour show, Living My Best Life, are selling like hot cakes. Mmm, hot cakes. Laura chats to our Hannah about wide-ranging appeal, the big C and maintaining a sense of self.  Mick’s been on the Zoom to America, chatting to author Kiley Reid, whose debut novel, Such a Fun Age, which had race relations as its focal point, was a much-hyped international bestseller longlisted for the Booker Prize. No pressure for the follow-up then, eh? They’re talking money, shame and Come and Get It, Kiley’s sophomore novel, set on a college campus. There’s more Stateside school time as Jen’s Rated or Dated pick of 1999’s She’s All That, unsurprisingly goes down like a lead balloon. Mmm, lead balloons. Not least with Jen. Still, she’s better news of a football, rugby and boxing nature in Jenny Off the Blocks.  Plus, there’s a rush of good news (although some is definitely broccoli in disguise) in this week’s Bush Telegraph. Laura Smyth will be on tour with brand new show Living My Best Life from April this year, tickets are available from https://laurasmyth.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If ever a subject demanded a bit more of our time, it’s what’s happening to women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Zahra Nader, editor-in-chief of Zan Times, a brilliant, women-led investigative newsroom, covering the human rights crisis in Afghanistan with a focus on women, is well-placed to tell our Mick what’s really happening on the ground in Afghanistan.  Despite the risk to the safety of those involved, since its genesis in August 2022, Zan Times has reported on the rise of child marriage, the impossible choices that women health workers face, the rise of female suicide, femicide and domestic violence, how women journalists continue to fight, and how humanitarian aid is not reaching the most vulnerable, bringing attention to distressing issues that affect women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.  Zahra also talks about how letting the Taliban get away with this treatment of women isn’t just bad for women in Afghanistan, it sets a precedent that’s bad for all women. But it’s only women, eh? Maybe that’s why the world seems to have forgotten about this particular, HUGE, human rights issue.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's cold out, although inexplicably sunny in Hannah's lounge, so let's all stay in and watch some telly. This month, we're talking about Julia, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Slow Horses, Fool Me Once, True Detective: Night Country, Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster, and the final ever episode of Ghosts. Tuck in!  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just how bad is fast fashion for the earth and and how can we help curb its impact? Just a couple of the questions Mick’s asking Harriet Saywood-Bellisario, designer and founder of sustainable womenswear label Saywood, as they chat about how fashion and sustainability don’t have to be at odds.   Jen’s chatting to Eurosport presenter Rachel Stringer about The Cube, early mornings and the runners and riders in this year's Australian Open.  We’re asking "has it dated?" (we hadn’t noticed) and Hannah’s shouting a big old fuckity fuck at herself for choosing 1994's Four Weddings and a Funeral as this week’s Rated or Dated offering.   And in the Bush Telegraph, the Government is expertly throwing money in a black hole again, as we talk about predictable chaos, problematic policing and preventative medicine. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frida Kahlo and Jean-Michel Basquiat are huge names from the world of art, but what must it have been like to hang out and grow up in their worlds? Author and poet Jennifer Clement knows all about it and has written about her fascinating life in new book, Promised Party: Kahlo, Basquiat & Me. In the memoir, Jennifer writes about her upbringing in a bohemian community in 1960s and 70s Mexico City, before moving to New York City as a dancer in the late 70s, and living through the counterculture scene of the 1980s. She chats to tocayo Jen, about her experiences, story-telling, posthumous fame, and the work she’s undertaken as PEN International’s ONLY woman president, to make sure women’s voices are heard, and celebrated. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mama’s got a brand new bag! And by “Mama”, we mean Flicking. This year, instead of watching firm favourites from their pasts, Hannah, Yosra and Mickey are giving their thoughts on films released in 2023.  And what an absolute classic to start with: Cocaine Bear. Elizabeth Banks’ 1980s-set creature feature, in which a massive black bear eats a whole load of cocaine and goes full carnage. It’s the magnificent Ray Liotta’s Swansong and he’s joined by a cast of dreams – and an apex predator off her furry tits on coke. But does it live up to the hype and that title?  (Guess who chose it. Guess who was the only one of them to see it at the cinema. Go on. Bet you can’t…) Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, we do keep banging on about medical misogyny and you'll get no apologies from us. On that note, Mickey's been on the Zoom with journalist Sarah Graham, who specialises in writing about women’s health, to talk about her excellent book, Rebel Bodies: A Guide to the Gender Health Gap Revolution. Hannah's chatting to Lonely Planet writer Jade Bremner about how to do a bucket list holiday on a budget. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's excited about the return of Emma Raducanu. In BT, we're banging on about electricity meters, plagiarism and hot flushes. And there's cold flushes aplenty in Rated or Dated, as well as useful info on how much a broken leg can hamper a nice walk in the mountains, as we watch 2003/4's Touching The Void.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist India Rakusen is about to launch an ambitious new project for Radio 4/BBC Sounds, so Hannah leapt at the chance to chat to her about it. The 27-part series (wow), Child, starts from when a sperm meets an egg, and then follows the mother and her pregnancy, through to birth and the first year of a child's life. India and Hannah chat about why we should all be interested, even if we've no intention of having children ourselves, about the science and the politics of this early stage of human development, and about how babies aren't just big lumps who cry and shit themselves. Who knew? * Child starts on Radio 4 on Friday, 12 January, at 2.45pm. It will also be available on BBC Sounds. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t worry, we’ve not come over all ‘new year, new you’ bollocks, but this week’s podzine is packed with exercise chat, from recognising a cult when you see one to getting a bit more bang for your buck when it comes to walking.  Jen’s been on the Zoom with writer and performer Kate Sumpter to talk about her one-woman show SPIN, as well as wellness in general, and the ‘church’ of fitness in particular.  Meanwhile Hannah, a recent convert to the joy of pounding the P, has been chatting to Joanna Hall, sports scientist and founder of Walk Active about walking, why we should all be doing it and how to maximise the time you have for exercise.    Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're having a little break for Christmas, but to keep you entertained over the festive period, here’s a blast from the gigcast past. Jen’s chosen a cracker - pun intended - from 2017, just as we were about to launch the podzine. In it, the Boss - Sarah Millican - and Mick, play host to Sue Perkins, Zoe Ball and Cariad Lloyd. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're having a little break for Christmas, but to keep you full of Standard Issue joy while you’re in a cheese coma/back at work, here's a favourite gigcast from the before times. In this episode, Mick's taking us back to 2018, when A Very Good Thing Indeed happened for women – and not just that we got Marian Keyes, KT Tunstall and Vicky McClure onstage.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're having a little break for Christmas, but just in case you are jonesing for our voices, here's a favourite gigcast from days of yore. In this episode Hannah's revisiting one from way back in January 2017, when we spoiled you rotten by putting Sarah Millican, Sharon Horgan, Sandi Toksvig and Claudia Winkleman on the same stage. Yes, you read that correctly. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The wonderful Lisa Palfrey is back on our screens over the festive period, alongside all of Wales (almost), in BBC One comedy drama, Men Up*, about a 1994 trial for the then-new drug, Viagra. Hannah jumped at the opportunity to get on the Zoom with Lisa to talk about the show, as well as Welsh talent, Christopher Guest, and one of Hannah’s faves, the 2014 film Pride.   Mick’s chatting to the legend that is Robyn Davidson, solo adventurer and author, whose wonderful new memoir, Unfinished Woman, explores unexpected fame, the slipperiness of memory and the impact of her mum’s suicide.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s talking about history-maker Rebecca Welch, who is set to become the first ever woman to referee a Premier League match. And did our hearts love, or indeed loathe till now? We find out by watching 1998’s Shakespeare In Love, in Rated or Dated.   Meanwhile, given it's nearly Christmas, it's quiz time in BT! Head scratchers pertain to current cabinet ministers and a woman's missing identity. BIG CASH PRIZES! *  Men Up is on BBC1 on Friday, December 29 at 9pm. It will also be available on the iPlayer. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the lowly F-bomb, all the way over to the spam-faced jizz clown end of the spectrum, we’re big fans of a swear here on Standard Issue. But why is swearing considered offensive when the words don’t really mean anything offensive? Dr Rebecca Roache, philosopher and senior lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, was keen to get to the bottom of this topic, which she examines in her book, For F*ck’s Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude and Fun. In this week's Chops, she joins Jen to chat about swearing in general, what makes anything offensive, the double standard when it comes to women and “industrial” language, and why “cunt” is The Worst Word. Contains strong language. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sure, you're probably busy with Christmas prep, but if you'd like some recommendations on what to watch during/after, you've come to the right place. This month we're talking about Lupin, Time, Kin, Vigil, Boat Story, Scrublands, The Crown and Squid Game: The Challenge. You're welcome. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Milton Keynes, once the UK capital of youth homelessness and dubbed "tent city" by the media, has successfully tackled its rough sleeping crisis. How? Hannah got on the Zoom with city councillor and soon-to-be Labour candidate in the next election (please arrive soon) to find out. Mickey asks theatre director Amy Hodge to pick her favourite kid as they talk about the fantastically great women getting some big rep in the stage show Fantasically Great Women Who Changed the World. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's talking about Joey Barton talking (oh God!), and in Rated or Dated, there's a fiery death and folk music as we watch 1973's The Wicker Man (oh Jesus Christ!). Which is more horrific? You decide. Also, we decide. And in BT, who fancies a pit-stop operation? Anyone?  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SPOILER ALERT: It’s a massive love-in on Flicking this month, and rightly so, because our Hannah has picked the glorious Paddington 2. Seriously, what’s not to love? Yosra and Mick are also big fans, and there’s even a guest appearance from the bear himself. It’s not all hearts and flowers, mind, as Hannah revisits a grudge against a cartoon bear from the past.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Curator Linsey Young spent five years working on the excellent Women In Revolt! exhibition at Tate Britain and, trust us, it was time very well spent. In this week’s podzine, she talks to Mick about punk art, reclaiming bodies, a three-minute scream, working-class humour, constellations not stars, and eating a baby. Jen has been on the Zoom with historian Kassia St Clair to chat about women drivers, the history of the average motor, sexy (and sexual?) cars, and her new book, The Race to the Future: The Adventure That Accelerated the Twentieth Century.  Meanwhile, in Jenny Off The Blocks, there’s huge news in women’s football, and the news has got Hannah smashing her (poorly) head against her desk in the Bush Telegraph. And seriously, who doesn’t want to see a model village destroyed by pebbles? Just one of Hannah’s excellent points in this week’s Rated or Dated when – is it a bird? (No) Is it a plane? (Kinda) – 1978’s Superman is in the hot seat/spiky starship. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s pretty well documented that the beauty industry isn’t particularly kind to women, but why are we accepting the capitalist forces that make us feel almost universally crap about ourselves? And where do they even come from? These are questions that writer, academic and broadcaster Emma Dabiri sets out to answer in her new book Disobedient Bodies: Reclaim Your Unruly Beauty. And in this week’s podzine she chats to Jen about beauty standards, empowerment and doing beauty better. Meanwhile, Hannah gets to be a hero just for fixing a hoover, as she chats to Fiona Dear, co-director of UK Strategy and Operations at The Restart Project, which aims to help us fix our own stuff and prevent it going to landfill. In Jenny Off The Blocks, we're fighting fit again, and Jen’s bigging up Katie Taylor. Plus, we’re appreciating every single one of Jane Horrocks’s voices in this week’s Rated or Dated, as we revisit 1998's Little Voice. Can Mickey ever get over Michael Caine and his bee facts? Should she even try? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arit Anderson, garden designer, presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World, host of the Growing Greener podcast, and passionate environmentalist, really loves trees. So much so, she’s co-authored a book about them with botanist Dr Henrik Sjöman. The Essential Tree Selection Guide, in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is a brilliant, comprehensive, jargon-free look at how which tree we choose to plant where really matters, as well as a tree bible when it comes to their climate resilience, carbon storage and other ecosystem benefits. Our Mick also really loves trees, so was delighted to get Arit on the Zoom to chat about our arboreal friends, how we can save them, how they can save us, gardening opportunities, starting again in your forties, and how we can all do our bit when it comes to sustainability.  Photograph of Arit by Diana Monkhurst Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As you know, we love an angry woman who gets shit done, so Mick's been on the Zoom with Lisa Baskott to find out about 2nd Line of Defence, her award-winning female-focused recruitment agency for the private security sector. Jen's chatting to fashion editor Bay Garnett about her new book Style and Substance: Why What We Wear Matters, thrifting a bargain and sustainable fashion. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Premiership women’s rugby is back and there's news about the environment and missing apostrophes in BT. And in Rated or Dated, are we laughing or wincing or both, as we watch Hannah's pick - 1983's Trading Places?  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since it’s International Men’s Day, we’ve only gone and invited a man to chat to us for this week’s Chops, because gender inequality is bad for everyone. And what group of men can better demonstrate this than... the England football team? Screenwriter and playwright James Graham’s new play Dear England, got off to a very successful start at the National Theatre and is now enjoying an extended run in London’s West End. So our Jen caught up with James to find out more about it. They chat toxic masculinity, fear of failure, national identity, and the gaffer himself, Gareth Southgate – call him Gareth. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh hello loadsa new TV, welcome to Outside The Box. This week we're talking about Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, The Newsreader, Robbie Williams, Shetland, What We Do In the Shadows, Planet Earth III, Bodies and Savior Complex. If there's not something in that extraordinarily mixed bag for you, we don't know what to tell you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joni Mitchell is 80, and so Hannah got on the Zoom with musician Jesca Hoop to celebrate the high priestess of folk and living legend. Mitchell’s songs have soundtracked our lives and her pioneering work changed music forever, all of which Jesca explores in her new Radio 4 series, Legend: The Joni Mitchell Story. Meanwhile, Mick’s been chatting to Yuliia Pykhtina, hoola hoop goddess and co-founder of be-Spiegeltented circus-cabaret, La Clique. They talk circus life, living in Ukraine, and delicious round potato snacks. In Jenny Off the Blocks, Jen’s once again tipping her hat to the incredible Emma Hayes, and – SPOILER! – there is absolutely no hat-tipping going on in Rated or Dated as the team watch 2008’s chaste, twinkly vampire, toxicity-fest, Twilight. Urgh, fucking Twilight. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sport is for everyone says Anna Ptaszynski – QI elf and host of the No Such Thing As A Fish podcast – which is one of the reasons she’s co-authored Everything To Play For: The QI Book Of Sports. In this week’s Chops, she talks to our Jen about how we can make sport more interesting to a wider audience, funny things we didn’t know about sport, novel ways of cheating in the modern pentathlon and, of course, Charlton Athletic. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it a troll? Is it a cat-rabbit? Is it an imaginary Japanese spirit of the forest? All of the above, because in this month’s Flicking, our Yosra Osman has got us chatting Totoro, more specifically Studio Ghibli’s 1988 animated film, My Neighbor Totoro. Yosra’s a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s tale of two sisters who, with their dad, move to a new house in the countryside to be nearer their poorly mum, and have adventures with the wondrous spiritual tree guardian who lives nearby. But will Mick and Hannah be equally charmed? Find out.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With The Lazarus Project – the twist-tastic, time-travelling, Sky sci-fi drama – returning to our screens imminently, our Hannah is chuffed to bits. And even more so to be joined by one of its stars, Anjli Mohindra, on the Zoom, to talk about the show and why she’s just so damn good in it.   Mick chats to Natalie Haynes, comedian, classicist and one of our faves. This time, they're talking about Natalie's deep dive into goddesses, which are the subject of her latest book, Divine Might, and include Mick’s new [second] favourite spinster.    There’s a Mary Earps love-in in Jenny Off The Blocks, but how much is there to love about 1993’s The Piano? It's the greatest film by a female director of all time, or so some say, but will the team deem it Rated or Dated?    Meanwhile, Mick and Hannah cover questionable “lifestyle choices”, and questionable conspiracy theories in the Bush Telegraph, which also contains excellent sheep news. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cartoonist Lily O’Farrell, who you probably know better as Vulga Drawings, does a fine line in accessible, fun, free, educational, feminist cartoons tackling hot-button topics and the kind of stuff you chat about with your female friends.  And so it’s not surprise to find that Lily’s new podcast, No Worries If Not!, is an accessible, fun, free, educational and feminist exploration of how internet culture is affecting all of us, but women in particular. Three episodes in and Lily and her expert guests have looked at the Alpha Male myth and why it’s horseshit, talked about the insidious nature of diet culture, and investigated how AI is negatively impacting women – but also its positive possibilities. Mick got on the Zoom with Lily to talk cartoons, podcasts, primatology, trolls, Andrew Tate, masturbation, empathy, responsibility, buying spells off Etsy – and much more besides. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poker might be male dominated, but is it a man's game? Is it hell, says science writer and competitive player Alex O'Brien. She talks to Hannah about what poker can teach us about what to do when the chips are down and her new book The Truth Detective. Jen's been chatting to director Anastasia Osei-Kuffour about biological clocks, the weight of expectations, and new play, Brenda’s Got A Baby. And in Jenny Off The Blocks, she's talking about the WTA finals, and more besides. In Sexism of The Week, Mick's finally done all the sexism. (Of course she hasn't). And there's plenty more on show, as we watch 1953's Calamity Jane. Dagnabbit! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Autumn's usually a jam-packed time for TV schedules, but we're still waiting for some long-promised stuff. In this month's Outside The Box, we catch up with new arrival dates and take a look at some of October's big releases, including Ghosts, Boiling Point, The Long Shadow, The Reckoning, Partygate and Interview with the Vampire. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In playwright Sadie Hasler’s new thriller, Killing Jack, she explores women reclaiming the streets today, while honouring the lives of Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Jane – the women killed by Jack the Ripper. She chats to our Mick about family trees, class and privilege, difficult conversations, and why she’s not having Jack the Ripper in her Jack the Ripper play.  Jen chats to director Rosie Morris, whose documentary short, My Blonde GF, tells the story of Helen Mort, a woman whose life was turned upside down when she discovered she'd been the victim of deepfake pornography. They also talk about the deep-rooted misogyny that runs alongside image-based sexual assault, and why we need to think about what we post online. And it’s ballet a-go-go in this week’s Rated or Dated as Mick and Hannah watch Powell and Pressburger 1948 classic The Red Shoes.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Louisa May Alcott is best known for perennially popular novel Little Women, but her life, and indeed her mind, was a lot more interesting still. Hannah's been on the Zoom with writer and editor Liz Rosenberg to chat about the self-described "women's right woman" and essayist. They also talk about hippy communes, civil war nursing, paddling your own canoe, and A Strange Life: Selected Essays of Louisa May Alcott, edited by Liz and out next week. https://www.patreon.com/StandardIssue Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With “cosy crime” making waves in the literary world right now, journalist Hazel Davis jumped on the Zoom to chat to writer Flic Everett about why we’re forgoing gritty reality, and her new series of novels.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen chats to Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell, former Great British swimming champion and host of the Physical Capital podcast, about representation, mental health, and myth-busting. And in Rated or Dated, we’re feeling the rhythm and, indeed, the rhyme, as we watch 1993’s Cool Runnings.   Meanwhile in the Bush Telegraph, Mick and Hannah take the dog’s ears out of their mouths for long enough to chat bloodsuckers aplenty, including grifters and bedbugs. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susannah Walker and Imogen Clark are the two (very excellent) women behind Make Space For Girls, and you may remember Mick had a chat with them a couple of years ago when the charity was just nine months old. Two years on and its campaign to make our parks and public spaces more friendly and accommodating for tween and teenaged girls continues apace, so Mick caught up with Susannah to talk about their recently released Parkwatch report, the fact that most parks have more facilities for dog waste than for teenage girls, and why we’re still in the situation where 90% of the facilities provided are about 90% used by the male 50% of the population. It’s not all doom, gloom and nowhere to go for girls, though: Susannah also has good news. Praise be! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indiana Jones: one of cinema’s greatest characters. It’s big talk from our Mick, who’s in charge of this month’s Flicking and has chosen her favourite (note: not the ‘best’) of the trilogy. Yes, trilogy; you read that right and we’ll be taking no further questions on this matter.  1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a high energy, tall tale of derring-do, ancient knights, a big ol’ religious McGuffin and a father-son relationship in need of salvation, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery and a chef’s kiss Denholm Elliott.  But will some dubious casting, chauvinism and improbable luck at every turn be too much for Yosra and Hannah? Find out. Der-der-de-der… Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Private investigation isn't like it is on TV. Take that from Caitlin Davies, journalist, author and newly-minted PI, who's been on the Zoom with Mickey to talk about the history of women in the trade and her new book Private Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths. There's also some history (and science and comedy) in Kiri Pritchard-McLean's new Radio 4 Show The Best Medicine. She chats to Hannah about why she jumped at the chance to make it, as well as about sexual harassment and assaults in comedy. In Jenny Off the Blocks, Jen's chatting about Simone Biles, Panini stickers and more. And in BT, there's some good news about Nobel Prizes (and a lot of bad news about everything else). Which means you should at least be ready for Rated or Dated, in which we're watching Operation Market Rabbit, sorry, Watership Down. Sorry. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Through her own experience of becoming a single parent, Zoe Desmond wanted to change the often isolated picture for people in similar situations. So she set up the Frolo app, aimed at helping to foster a community focussed on the joy of solo parenting, rather than the negative stereotypes often perpetuated by society and the media. It was through the app that Zoe met journalist Rebecca Cox, herself a single mother to a young child, who shared many of the same concerns as her and others in their community. So they decided to write a book about it, How To Be A Happy Single Parent, a practical handbook for anyone parenting alone, or thinking about doing so. This week they chat to Jen about their experiences, the shared experiences of single parents, how society could better support them, and thee joy to be found in bringing up a child on your own. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you get the person who has everything? A home DNA testing kit seems to be the present du jour and in the UK alone, more than 4.7million of us have spit into a vial to find out more about our ancestry. Journalist Jenny Kleeman’s new BBC Sounds series, The Gift, explores what happens when technology, genealogy and identity collide, and our Mick got on the Zoom with her to chat crimes solved, sperm stolen, and why these kits’ popularity show no signs of waning. Because what could possibly go wrong? After a full six years of trying, it’s finally happened: the glorious Morven Christie is chatting to Hannah. They talk her new series, Payback (which starts tonight on ITV), The A-Word, leaving Twitter, and the effects, if any, of the #MeToo movement in telly.  In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s got her football on – there’s a lot of it about – from grassroots club Victoria Park to Nigeria’s Super Falcons. And all of those women are dealing with tomshittery. FFS. And how’s about some family-friendly child exploitation? You got it! In Rated or Dated, we watch 1968’s Oliver!. Will we be asking for more? How long is that song going on for? And does Mick actually know what ‘loveable’ means?  Plus, there are gaps all over the shop in the Bush Telegraph. Mind them? We’re fecking livid about them. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When journalist Moya Lothian-McLean was asked whether she’d be interested in exploring the truth about Britain’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and what that means to and for modern Britons, she didn’t need asking twice.  The resulting podcast, Human Resources, is a smart, nuanced, meticulously researched look at the realities and effects of the slave trade, the capitalist system it created, and how it’s indelibly shaped us all.  With Human Resources’ third season underway, Mick got on the Zoom to Moya to talk about why it’s so important to distinguish between the US and the UK, the connections of race and class, women slave owners (who were more numerous than you’d think), why the political is so personal to so many of us on this matter, and why ever-smaller “identity” boxes with no connection to each other are not useful for a solid society. NB: At one point, Moya talks about Ireland and says, "I know it's not part of Britain...", which is true today – and that's what Moya is referring to – but it was under British rule when what Moya refers to happened. Human Resources is from Broccoli Productions and available from all good podcasts apps. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is “sorry” so often the easiest word for women? It’s a question author and mental health campaigner Lucy Nichol found herself asking on a regular basis, and a topic she covers in her latest novel, No Worries If Not!. She and Mick chat about apologies, how empowered we really were back in the ‘90s, and what they'd like to see on a T-shirt.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Dr Carrie Dunn makes a welcome return to chat all things women’s football, the new WSL season, and her book Woman Up: Pitches Pay and Periods – the progress and potential of women’s football.   In Rated or Dated, we ask – once again - how romantic is stalking? And has Hannah finally found something she hates more than Love Actually? We watch 1993’s Sleepless in Seattle.   Plus, in the Bush Telegraph, we’re thankful for animals and, er, cornflakes. You heard. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you don't know a huge amount about the English Civil War, join the club. Also, perhaps get your hands on a copy of Francesca Peacock's excellent new book Pure Wit: The Revolutionary Life of Margaret Cavendish. Hannah got on the Zoom with Francesca to learn about how the war affected Margaret's life, and what that life can tell us about marriage, infertility, literature, fashion and feminism in the 17th century.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's September, the nights are drawing in and do we have some TV recommendations for you? Yes, we do. In this episode, we're chatting Winning Time*, The Woman in the Wall, Only Murders In The Building, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, Painkiller and Beef.  Since we recorded this, Winning Time has, indeed, been cancelled. *sobs* Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who wants to live forever? That's the question Hannah puts to Dr Aleks Krotoski, tech journalist and podcaster, whose latest series, The Immortals, looks at the tech millionaires searching for the key to eternal life. And if they are looking forward, Jen's looking backwards with Donna Freed, whose search for answers about her birth parents led her to a well-publicised crime. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's got some news about viewership of women's sport, and in Rated or Dated, we're on first name terms with the stars as we watch 1993's The Fugitive.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor, comedian and writer Doon Mackichan has written an incredibly to-the-point memoir, My Lady Parts, and so, OBVIOUSLY, Hannah leapt at the chance to talk to her. They chat about ageing, Smack The Pony, Paedogeddon, telling off Mamet, and dead naked women on TV.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Raising Arizona, The Coen Brothers’ second film, is a screwball comedy starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter, as a loved-up couple who can’t have kids of their own and so decide to steal a baby. It’s also a Dunleavy family favourite, hence our Hannah choosing it for this month’s Flicking.  Will Raising Arizona raise Mick and Yosra’s spirits as high as Cage’s hair? Or will it sink like two prisoners returning to the clink through a tunnel of mud? Find out! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dating: it’s weird, isn’t it? Two strangers having contrived chat in a lost-forever pocket of time. Which all makes it excellent fodder for playwright Miriam Battye, who’s chatting to Hannah about her latest stage offering, Strategic Love Play. Miriam also spent some time in the Succession writers’ room, but Hannah wasn’t interested in talking about that. LOLZ. There is also Succession content, including why Roman accidentally sending Logan a dick pic was always going to happen.  There’s more writing that leads to laughing, as Mick catches up with comedian and sketch-based internet sensation, Laura Ramoso, who gives her a few tips on making TikTok work for you even if you’re scared of it. Laura’s one-woman show, Frances, starts its run at Soho Theatre on September 19.  Jen’s rounding up women’s sports in Jenny Off The Blocks, and we’re keeping our fingers firmly crossed that Barbara Slater’s replacement as the Beeb’s director of sport is another woman. Preferably another Barbara. And hold onto your transparent panties, because we’re questioning the ‘masterpiece’ status of Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation as it hits its 20th birthday. A good few years older than Scarlett Johansson was when making it.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preventable deaths by suicide remain the biggest killer of young people under the age of 35 in the UK and continue to rise across the population. Though men account for 75% all suicides, the biggest increase in 2021, according to the most up-to-date Government statistics, was in women and girls aged 24 and under. Keen to bring these numbers down, is the suicide prevention charity, Samaritans*, and for those already bereaved by a loved one taking their own life, Suicide & Co** provides help and support. For World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, Jen caught up with CEO and co-founder of Suicide & Co, Amelia Wrighton, to talk about stigma, shame, the specificities of dealing with such a bereavement, and the help available to those in need. She also spoke to Samaritans volunteer, Roxy McCarthy, about her experience of both using the charity’s services, and becoming a volunteer. * Whatever you’re going through you can contact Samaritans at any time via the phone on 116 123, or via email at Jo@samaritans.org. ** You can find out more information about Suicide & Co via its website, or by contacting info@suicideandco.org. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ITV crime drama The Tower is back on our screens for a second series, presenting our Hannah with an excellent opportunity to jump on the Zoom with Gemma Whelan, who plays DS Sarah Collins. They chat about the reputation of the Met, telling women’s stories, Gentleman Jack, Upstart Crow and what exactly Gemma was doing with that fox. Jen's chatting to poet Maggie Smith about how when her career took off, her marriage declined, something she charts in her gorgeous new memoir, You could Make This Place Beautiful. They're also talking mumming, wifeing, and the division of labour. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s talking about the US Open, among other things. And get your strategically placed Chelsea buns out for the lads, as the team revisit 2003’s Calendar Girls. Plus, in the Bush Telegraph*, Britain’s schools are crumbling, but won’t somebody think of Gillian Keegan? Yeah, not even Mick's got the sarcasm levels to sell that one. *If you want to read the story Hannah references in BT about parental alienation, you can do so here. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anna Funder’s Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life is, ostensibly, a biography of Eileen Blair, nee Eileen O’Shaughnessy, aka the first Mrs George Orwell. And indeed, Anna tells Eileen’s story beautifully, using Eileen’s own words from letters to friends and to her husband, with added judicious fiction, as she imagines scenes from the Orwells’ lives, and from Eileen’s life.  Turns out, Eileen played a vital role in Orwell’s writing and in his life (in actually saving his life – and indeed in keeping alive many others during the Spanish Civil War) and yet she’s mostly absent from Orwell’s own writing and from his biographies, which are all written by men. And so, as well as shining a light on one woman’s hitherto hidden life, Wifedom is also a polemic against the patriarchy and an examination of what it meant and means to be a wife.  In this Chops, Mick chats to Anna about all of this, about wife-ing, about Eileen, about Orwell, and, not unrelated to that last name, a lot about arseholes.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nina Sosanya has been a regular presence on TV screens since the nineties, quite often portraying hard-working and so seen as “difficult” women, including Jenny in Teachers and now Leigh in Screw. Screw is back for season two, so our Hannah took the chance to get Nina on the Zoom to chat about, well, being on the Zoom, putting the prison uniform back on, those ‘difficult’ women and the strikes in America. Jen’s chatting to Dr Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science, about climate change and angry weather – which, coincidentally, is also the name of her new book. And in Jenny Off the Blocks, Jen’s rightly raging about Rubiales while also redressing the balance. And in Rated or Dated, the team visits a time capsule set in the north (so, spoiler, Mick’s delighted), as we watch Sir Tom Courtenay deliver performance magic in 1963 British New Wave classic, Billy Liar. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The British Empire has been a hot topic for centuries, but debates around its impact have reignited in recent years. In trying to explain these debates to her children, writer, podcaster and advertising executive, Shelina Janmohamed, was struck by how few resources there were available to help inform that conversation.  And so, Shelina wrote The Story Of Now: Why We Need To Talk About The British Empire, her own book for children aged ten and above. In this week’s Chops, she joins Jen to talk about why understanding the British Empire is instrumental in understanding the world around us, how conversations need to extend beyond those around slavery and colonisation, and why it’s important to get children involved in them. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much can a person's name tell us about them? Almost everything, says journalist Sheela Banerjee and in this week's podcast, she's chatting to Mickey about her book, What's In A Name? and how she’s used what we call ourselves and our kids to examine the history of modern, multicultural Britain. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen talks to Team GB triathlete Jess Learmonth, about being a gold medallist, support for athletes on maternity leave and gearing up for the next Olympics. So, does that mean we're not talking about the World Cup final? Of course not, in BT and SOTW, Hannah and Jen can't get enough of it. And in Rated or Dated, Mickey's picked 1998's Blade. Turn on the blood sprinklers! NOTE: Since we recorded on Monday afternoon, Luis Rubiales has apologised for kissing Spain player, Jenni Hermoso. Rubiales said: "I was completely wrong, I have to admit it." Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Henpocalypse! hit our screens this week, so Hannah's been on the phone with its writer and creator, Caroline Moran, to talk about the end of the world, hen parties and why hen parties sometimes feel like the end of the world. They also chat about big families, babysitting, working class characters on TV and why sometimes Danny Dyer is the only man for the job. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s our Yosra’s turn picking Flicking and she’s been a bit nervous about making Hannah and Mick watch Enchanted, 2007’s live-action/animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film from the House of Mouse, starring Amy Adams as would-be princess Giselle transported from her cartoon world to actual New York City for a reality check and, potentially, true love’s first kiss.  That’s right: Yosra’s chosen a Disney princess movie. Will Mick and (especially) Hannah suffer Nam-style flashbacks to some of the horrors of Dunleavy Does Disney? Or will there be a fairytale happy ending? *EastEnders theme tune* Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to creative partnerships, Standard Issue fave Helen Lewis is more interested in The Krankies than Beyoncé and Jay Z. In this week’s podzine, she got on the Zoom with Hannah to talk about the second series of her Radio 4 show Great Wives, as well as the upcoming 2024 US election.   Meanwhile, Mick chats to theatremaker Elisabeth Gunawan about dark clowning, mail order brides, cultural stereotypes and her award-winning play, Unforgettable Girl.     In Jenny Off The Blocks, there’s World Cup fever, as well as the cycling world championships. And in Rated or Dated, a melodramatic masterpiece and some objectifiable eyes, as the team revisits 1958’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Plus there’s dodgy policing and dated Disney in the Bush Telegraph. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kayla Feldman is directing The Arc, a trilogy of brand new short plays, of which Amy Rosenthal’s Birth is one. It’s joined by Marriage written by Alexis Zegerman and Death penned by Ryan Craig for a story of hatches, matches and dispatches told through a Jewish lens, as The Arc as a whole shines a contemporary light on the cycle of Jewish life, and what it means to live as a Jew in 2023. In the first half of this Chops, Mick chats to Kayla about the specific rituals in universal experiences, whether art can win hearts and change minds and the challenges of directing three plays at once. And in the second half, she talks to Amy a bit more about her play Birth, what inspired it, and the sometimes slippery nature of faith.  The Arc premieres at Soho Theatre on Tuesday 15 August and runs until Saturday 26 August. More details and indeed tickets can be had at sohotheatre.com. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winning Time is back on our tellyboxes! How excited are Hannah and Mick? That's just one of many questions we're asking in this month's Outside The Box. See also: What's going on with the Writers'/Actors' strikes? Is Packham the new Attenborough? Why didn't Stephen Root get an Emmy nod? Are Mickey and Jen still watching And Just Like That? Is The Bear style over substance? Why does Idris Elba make such strange choices? And has the BBC given us another summer stinker?  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could anything make the Edinburgh Fringe more stressful for a comedian? Well, American comedian Janine Harouni is doing it while nine months pregnant, so Mickey got on the Zoom with her to find out what her plan is, what it's like when your dad voted for Donald Trump, and family history. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's talking to director Georgina Cammalleri about her new boxing documentary, Right To Fight, and why sports documentaries can tell us a lot, regardless of whether we're interested in the sport in question. In BT, we meet triumph (Barbie) and disaster (Truss), and in Rated or Dated, we're off to the Wild West to ask some big questions, because Hannah picked 1998's Young Guns. Question 1: Did you guys see the size of that chicken? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian, firm Standard Issue favourite and now author, the mighty Jo Caulfield has penned The Funny Thing About Death…, a truly lovely, funny and moving book about illness and grief but, mostly, about her big sister Annie and their relationship. In this Chops, Jo chats to our Mick about siblings in general, Annie in particular, getting – or indeed not getting – to grips with someone you love dying, how to not get ashes in your face, and, well, the funny things about death.  The Funny Thing About Death… is available from all good bookshops, with all proceeds going to Macmillan.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Biological clocks, abortions rights, percussive speculum – it’s all happening in Larisa Faber’s brilliant play, stark bollock naked. Mick got on the Zoom with Larisa and her partner in collaboration, Shamira Turner, to chat whether that tick-tock is real, imagined or societal and to try to answer the evergreen question, ‘will women ever be fully human?’.  Samantha Lane, artistic director of Little Angel Theatre, talks to our Hannah about why it's never too early to start taking your kids to the theatre, and how shouting, pointing and tapping knees are all positively encouraged from the little ones.  There’s sports, sports and more sports, including some spicy Women’s World Cup footballing action, in Jenny Off The Blocks. The jury’s out on whether Hannah will ever recover from *that* scene in the Farrelly Brothers’ 1998 sleeper hit There’s Something About Mary. (Seriously though, how do you get the frank above the beans?)  And are our alien overlords finally here and, if so, have they made the woke list? Find out in this week’s Bush Telegraph.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s this, Smack The Pony’s Fiona Allen? Oh HELLO. Ahead of Fiona’s debut – debut! – standup show, Fiona Allen: On The Run, our Mick got on the Zoom to this one-woman whirlwind to chat Smack The Pony (obvs), women and comedy (obvs), and falling in love with a bull (erm).  Fiona Allen: On The Run, kicks off with an Edinburgh Fringe run at the Pleasance Courtyard from the 2nd to 20th of August, before going on a UK tour. For details of dates, just type ‘Fiona Allen On The Run tour’ into Google – or whichever search engine you use – and you’ll find links to Chortle and the British Comedy Guide. Or click here. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

K-Pop is known for its good-looking stars, catchy tunes, and teenage fanbase. However, as journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou investigates in her new Radio 4 series, Burning Sun, there is a darker and frankly horrifying side to this popular music phenomenon. She chats to Hannah about what life is like for women in South Korea, sexual abuse, and the digital culture enabling it.   Mick chats to Carole Fisher, host of new podcast The Girlfriends, a true crime story about the murder of Gail Katz by her husband Robert Bierenbaum, about how he got away with it for 15 years, and the women who eventually helped bring him to justice.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s chatting about a whole host of World Cup action, and the sporty theme continues in Rated or Dated, albeit with a lamentable lack of dancing horses, as the team watches 1978’s International Velvet. Meanwhile, there are rebrands galore in the Bush Telegraph, aka, The Home of Nuance. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Victoria Belim set out to write a family history, she uncovered a mystery that told her a lot about her family and Ukraine's past. And now, as The Rooster House: A Ukrainian Family History is published, all eyes are on Victoria's home country. She talks to Hannnah about uncles with bad opinions, cucumber whisperers, and how Ukraine is processing its past while struggling for its future. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cartoons and live action living together in total harmony? Movie fan Mickey Noonan has picked a cinematic game changer for this month’s Flicking. Robert Zemeckis’s boundary-bashing, genre-mixing, Oscar-nabbing 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a tightly structured classical noir script packed to the gills with gags and boasting a career-best performance from delightful furball Bob Hoskins. A joy for all the family, right. Right? Have Hannah Dunleavy and Yosra Osman got their stern judging faces on or is this episode a total love fest? Find out! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've not heard of 17th Century artist Artemesia Gentileschi, you're not alone. The good news is that Mickey's been on Zoom with author Elizabeth Fremantle to find out about Gentileschi's incredible life, what her beautiful but brutal paintings reveal about her story, and Elizabeth's new book Disobedient. Jen's chatting to journalist and author Paula Cocozza about her new book Speak To Me, and a lack of connection in an overly-connected world. In Jenny Off The Blocks, we'll be looking ahead to the Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday. Hooray. In Rated or Dated, will there be blubb(er)ing as Hannah picks one of New Zealand's most famous films, Whale Rider? And in BT there's sexism, more sexism, ageism and a bit more sexism for good measure. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world of sex, relationships and dating is a minefield, growing increasingly difficult to navigate thanks to the use of online apps. Fortunately, educator and social worker-turned-anonymous relationships expert, LalalaLetMeExplain is here to talk us through it. Known for her hilarious, honest and relatable advice – which she’s already turned into a book, Block Delete, Move On, and a regular column in OK! Magazine – LaLa is about to launch a new podcast, It’s Not You It’s Them…But It Might Be You.  In this week’s Chops, she joins Jen to chat about her unique brand of advice and how she turned it into an online community of hundreds of thousands, common relationship pitfalls, and why we need the language to call out bad behaviour. It’s Not You It’s Them…But It Might Be You With Lalalaletmeexplain is available to listen to on all podcast platforms from Monday 17th July. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cora Bissett isn’t just a woman of a whole load of talents, she's also a total smasher, so Hannah was delighted to natter about her award-winning show, What Girls Are Made Of. Returning to the Edinburgh Fringe for a third-time, it charts Cora’s time in early 90s indie band Darlingheart, so she and Hannah talk about the music industry then, the music industry now and being a teenager in a band.  Mick’s been on the Zoom with award-winning journalist and editor, author, podcast host and midlife expert Lorraine Candy, to talk about the magnificence waiting to be unlocked in a woman’s midlife, how we unlock it, and what the feck’s going to happen to our gums.  And in Rated or Dated, it’s Christmas in July as we watch 1988’s Die Hard. Yippee-ki-yay, listeners! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer, broadcaster and activist Sue Anstiss has been working in the women’s sports and fitness industry for the last 30 years, and has her fingers in a lot of pies. As well as setting up her own company, Fearless Women, and the Game Changers podcast, she also co-founded the Women’s Sport Collective, and is a founding trustee of the Women’s Sport Trust.   Having written award-nominated book Game On: The Unstoppable Rise of Women’s Sport, she’s now back with a new Netflix documentary of the same name, celebrating the big wins in women’s sport, while also commenting on how far we have yet to go. She joins Jen in this week’s Chops to chat about all of this, the role of the media – and indeed consumers – when it comes to flying the flag, and the ingrained attitudes we still need to unpick when it comes to women’s sport. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've been spoiling you on the podcast with a lot of great chats with female TV writers of late, but some stuff we watch is written by men, too. If you can believe it.This month we're talking about Best Interests, The Gallows Pole, Black Mirror, Shrinking, There She Goes, White House Plumbers and Idris on a Plane*. * Actually called Hijack, which we can all agree is a missed opportunity. You can hear Hannah's chat with McLennan and McCartney about Deadloch here: https://play.acast.com/s/standardissuespodcast/sim-ep-863-chops-259-mclennan-mccartney-australias-lennon-mc You can hear her talking to Bridget Christie about The Change here: https://play.acast.com/s/standardissuespodcast/sim-866-chops-261-christie-almighty Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tattooist Tanya Buxton has seen first hand what a difference some ink can make to body confidence. And for women who have undergone breast cancer surgery, Tanya’s work on areola tattoos has been life-changing. Mick caught up with her to chat about the hugely positive response from the women who have them, the frustration that comes from social media platforms censoring her work, and why she founded the Mastectomy Tattooing Alliance.  In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen chats to Luma Mufleh, CEO and founding director of the Fugees Family, and author of the new book Believe In Them: One Woman’s Fight For Justice for Refugee Children, about football as a route to empowerment. Hannah’s taking a walk down Tanya McQuoid memory lane in this week’s Rated or Dated, as the team revisits 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and there’s good news and – hang on! – good news, in this week’s Bush Telegraph. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When was the last time you heard a female character talk about the menopause? Or saw her take a break from her family? Thanks to comedian and writer Bridget Christie, the answer might now be "yesterday", rather than "I dunno, the mid '90s maybe?" She chats to Hannah about her new Channel 4 sitcom The Change, as well as the change, and change in general. You are welcome. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all need to worry about laws impinging on our right to keep our data, and specifically our phones, private. That's according to Kate Stonehill, director of new feature documentary Phantom Parrot. Jen got on the Zoom with her to talk about draconian laws, data security and what the hell a parrot has to do with any of this. And for pudding/dessert/afters*, Mickey's chatting to Tat Effby, a woman with a dry sense of humour and moist sense of cake, who’s taking TikTok and Instagram by sweet, delicious storm as The Caketoonist. In Rated or Dated, we've big love for Walters and Caine, plus Hannah's feeling nostalgic for polyester bridesmaid dresses, as we watch 1983's Educating Rita. And in Sexism of The Week, Mickey's got bad news for women wanting a pay rise.  * you do you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Jude Kelly – theatre director, and CEO and founder of the WOW Foundation – has done A LOT. As well as her previous role as artistic director of London’s Southbank Centre, she also set up the hugely successful global Women of the World festival, and is one of the 17 founding “primadonnas” behind the Primadonna Festival, which returns for its fifth year, this summer. In this week’s Chops, she chats to Jen about the festival, her career highlights, platforming women, and dismantling prejudice. WOW indeed.  The Primadonna Festival takes place in Stowmarket, Suffolk, July 28-30. Tickets available now. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ruth Kelly’s debut thriller, The Villa, is a sharp social commentary on the dark side of reality TV, as well as a total page turner. She tells our Mick about her time watching people in a glass box in Bristol, why the viewers of reality telly are as complicit and culpable as the stars and the TV execs, and what it’s like to be the Miss World of ghostwriting.  Our Hazel Davis has been on the Zoom with singer-songwriter Eddi Reader to talk singing, songwriting, playing the Balladeer in the new stage version of Brokeback Mountain, and why love is love – no matter what shape your nose is.  Jen's got good news and bad news – as ever – in Jenny Off The Blocks. And in Rated or Dated, we’re distrusting computers and wondering how we’ll ever work out when something’s made in the 1980s. Hello tiny Matthew Broderick and 1983’s WarGames. Shall we play a game, listeners? Let Hannah go first though, eh – she’s been waiting for aaaaages. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon's new murder-mystery series Deadloch is the latest project from Australian comedy pairing Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney. So, it's got many jokes and zero naked dead women. Hannah got on the Zoom with them to find out why this shouldn't be a radical concept but seems is, as well as writing in a tent in a park, getting recognised on the Bruny Island ferry and Australia's relationship with the c-word. Except, we don't call it the c-word and we say it a lot. Just so you know. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

STOP PRESS: Hannah Dunleavy – yes, *our* Hannah Dunleavy – has only gone and picked a rom-com for Flicking. In the face of such a shocker, will Mick and Yosra even be capable of speech in order to share their thoughts on 1940’s ‘comedy of remarriage’ The Philadelphia Story, starring powerhouse trio Katherine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant? Well, of course. Not least because there are some domestic violence LOLZ and attitudes towards women that don’t quite cut the mustard in 2023. But what do they all have to say about the rest of the film and the glorious Hepburn? Find out.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s British Summer Time (almost)! What better way to celebrate than with some new music on the beach? In this week’s podzine, Jen catches up with Jessie Maryon Davies, musical director and composer, and Hannah Jane Walker, librettist of new song cycle, Herring Girls: Greater Than We Are Alone, which kicks off the First Light Festival in Lowestoft this weekend. They talk about social history, the greatness of community choirs, and being (a bit) like Beyoncé.   Standard Issue fave and much-lauded author Liz Hyder, is back to chat to Mick about her new novel The Illusions, which explores the crossover between the golden age of magic and early moving pictures, and about the women heavily involved in both but left in the shadows of history – until now.  There’s netball, tennis and more in this week’s Jenny Off The Blocks. And what kind of parties is Hannah looking forward to as a Catholic pensioner? Find out in this week’s Rated or Dated, as we watch Rosemary’s Baby.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shubbak Festival is the UK's largest biennial celebration of contemporary Arab culture, bringing new and unexpected voices together with established artists to London – and other parts of the UK. It returns for its seventh edition this summer, from June 23 to July 9, so Mickey got on the Zoom with its joint CEOs, Taghrid Choucair-Vizoso and Alia Alzougbi, to find out more.  They chat about what to expect from this enormous celebration of Arab artists’ creativity, innovation and diversity, as well as how it’s hard *not* to programme women, why it’s so important to share and celebrate Arab cultures across communities, and some of the challenges of putting together such an enormous, borders-busting festival. Check out the Shubbak programme at shubbak.co.uk – and keep your eyes peeled for a few Standard Issue faves. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back to the witch hunts this week, albeit of a different kind, as Hannah chats to Sophie Perrins, producer of new documentary Forced Out. They chat about the hard reality of what it meant to be a gay man or a lesbian in the British military at the end of the 20th century and about the brave people who stood up to this huge injustice and, eventually, forced a change. Jen's chatting to author, film critic and broadcaster, Anna Bogutskaya, about her new book Unlikeable Female Characters, and, not coincidentally, Shiv Roy. And there’s a broadcast backlash in Jenny Off The Blocks. Huge sigh. In Sexism of the Week, Mickey's got news from an Aussie bar, sorry, bra, sorry bar bra. And in Rated or Dated, load up the pussy wagon (yuk), because we're watching Grease. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suzy Madigan, senior humanitarian advisor on gender and protection at international humanitarian charity CARE International, is a human rights specialist who’s worked as an international humanitarian aid worker for 15 years within the UN and NGOs. So, when it comes to humanitarian crises and responses to them, she very much knows her shit. And her name probably rings a bell, because Mickey chatted to her in spring last year about the then-fairly new war on Ukraine.  She’s back from Ukraine and back on this week’s Chops. Her recent visit to Ukraine, saw Suzy meet with the women-led organisations doing a lot of the heavy lifting in keeping the country running. She and Mickey chat about how things are on the ground, what these brilliant women are doing and their concerns now – and for what happens after the war.  Suzy is also founder and author of The Machine Race, an ongoing series of essays investigating artificial intelligence and what it means for Joe and Joan Public. Because, as citizens, our understanding of AI is mostly pretty limited. And so, with The Machine Race, Suzy’s hoping to demystify and, in doing so, help democratise AI. Because it’s happening. And it’s happening fast. Can she stop Mick watching that Pepperoni Hug Spot advert? Find out.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All good things come to an end and in this Outside The Box we talk about a few of them. So brace yourself for some Succession and Barry finale chat, as well as Mickey's better late than never Better Call Saul thoughts. Or should that be Better (late than never) Call Saul? Dunno. Moving on, we're also talking about the latest Inside No 9, Perry Mason, Malpractice, Poker Face, The Steeltown Murders and Black Ops. Plus there's an interlude on how much Hannah loves Stephen Root. Spoiler alert, it's a lot. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Witchcraft, witch hunts, and which witches are witch: in this week’s podzine, Hannah has a fascinating, feminist (obviously) chat to journalist India Rakusen about all things witch-related and her new podcast, Witch.   Jen’s chatting to Peaky Blinders’ Amber Anderson, star of a new production of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things at London’s Park Theatre, about cruel relationships, societal pressures, controversial characters, and absolutely not aligning with the women she plays.  There’s a regular dollop of sporting action in Jenny Off the Blocks, and Mick’s chosen a Rated or Dated that threatens everyone’s warm childhood memories and might even ruin Hannah’s Christmas: 1988’s Big.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lady Margaret Beaufort was a major player in the War of The Roses and the mother of Henry VII. This week marks 580 years since her birth so Hannah's been on the Zoom with historian Nicola Tallis, author of Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Matriarch, to chat about Margaret's life, her legacy and why many people believe she's the greatest monarch we never had. You can subscribe to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/StandardIssue Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Making babies for a chance to win cold, hard cash sounds like something out of a dystopian nightmare, but was something wealthy lawyer and high-level prankster/prick Charles Vance Millar planned for lols in Toronto, in the decade after his death in 1926. When our Hannah heard about Caroline Lea’s fictional retelling of the shockingly real-life Great Stork Derby in her latest novel Prize Women, she had to talk to her. They chat about Vance Millar, the women who got caught up in his dubious legacy and why the number of children women have is topical again. Award-winning and best-selling author, and long-distance runner, Dr Rachel Hewitt was interested in the erasure of women from the history of sporting pursuits in the great outdoors, when a series of family bereavements made her question loss in the wider sense. She joins Jen to chat about In Her Nature: How Women Break Boundaries in the Great Outdoors, her new book, which examines grief, the things women lose - or rather are taken from them - just by virtue of their sex, and the women who blazed a trail in early outdoor sports.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Working-class poet and writer Natasha Carthew is Cornish. She grew up in a small village called Downderry, where the rockpools, beautiful beaches and hedgerows were as constant as the low wages, high property prices, lack of nearby resources and services, and the high rates of alcoholism, drug misuse, mental health crises and suicide. How’s that for a picture perfect postcard? Rural poverty often gets lost amid the stats on urban poverty, so in her first non-fiction, Undercurrent: A Cornish Memoir of Poverty, Nature and Resilience, amid recollections of her youth, Natasha investigates the state of poverty in rural places in general, and Cornwall in particular.  In this Chops, Natasha chats to our Mick about the generational trauma of rural poverty, the othering of poor kids, and how careless tourists add to the problem. But it’s not all doom and gloom: Natasha is a huge champion of working-class voices and so they also talk about the power of resilience and writing, and the return of the excellent ClassFest in 2024. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good morning listeners! And in case we don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight. Jim Carrey’s Truman Burbank is the star of this month’s Flicking, but maybe we’re all the subjects of Yosra’s pick: Peter Weir’s terrifyingly prescient 1998 drama/sci-fi/dystopia/horror, The Truman Show. How do Hannah and Mick feel about that? Find out.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Digital frustration affects most of us, which probably explains why comedian Stevie Martin's sketches went viral in lockdown. This week, Mickey catches up with her to talk about all sorts, including her new YouTube pilot, screen time, and how her bum is. Hannah's been on the Zoom with writer, actor and director Daniella Isaacs to chat out about her new BBC audio drama People Who Knew Me and why they both keep forgetting to take their earphones out. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's looking ahead to the French Open and in Rated or Dated, we've been watching 2003's Daddy Day Care, with mixed results. And in Sexism of The Week, someone's been reading the Daily Mail. Why Mickey? Why?!? You can watch screen time here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQYdc-FxeYg Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Born of frustration around a lack of body literacy and taboos hindering progress in women's health and fitness, Baz Moffat, a coach and former GB rower, founded The Well HQ in 2021 with scientist Dr Emma Ross and GP Dr Bella Smith. They hoped to address the huge knowledge gap around how women’s bodies work and function, which hinders our ability to optimise performance and enjoyment in sports and fitness. Fast forward two years, with The Well going from strength to strength, they've published a new book, The Female Body Bible: A Revolution in Women’s Health and Fitness. Jen talks to Baz about her experiences as an elite athlete and coach, and the more than marginal gains to be made in women’s sport by a better understanding of women’s bodies, as well as addressing some of the myths doing the rounds around women’s participation in sport and fitness at different life stages. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now then, it’ll probably come as no surprise to you that we reckon 51% of the population deserve to get a bit more than the 1.8% of the grants awarded to charities in the women and girls sector. That the number is so low is new info uncovered by Rosa and its fresh research into the state of funding for women’s and girls’ organisations across the UK, so Mick got on the Zoom with Rosa’s CEO Rebecca Gill to find out more and organise a sky scream flashmob.  Hannah’s been chatting with journalist and fellow podcaster Coco Khan, who’s just hit the podwaves as co-host of the new Pod Save the UK alongside comedian Nish Kumar. They’re talking politics and Politics and whether we’re always bound to catch a cold when America sneezes.  Jen’s feeling a bit sheepish at the top of Jenny Off the Blocks, but makes up for it with some good news of double headers. And just how creepy can one, potentially Vaseline-smeared man be? Rated or Dated takes a look at 1993’s Indecent Proposal, and really? You couldn’t pay Mick and Hannah enough. Jen’s got her 50p ready though.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Messalina was the notorious third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. But is she also history's top shagger? Or its most maligned woman? Or, and hear us out, can she be both? Hannah got on the Zoom with historian Honor Cargill-Martin, author of new book, Messalina: A Story of Empire, Slander and Adultery, to learn more. They also find the time to fangirl about Mary Beard. Because they're only human. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Mick is a big fan of strength training these days, and so she was delighted to jump on the Zoom with writer Rebecca F John to hear all about real-life Welsh strongwoman Kate Williams, aka Victorian music hall sensation, Vulcana. They talk strength, beauty, heroism, tragedy, Scotland Yard, Wales, and Rebecca’s new novel Vulcana, a fictional retelling of Kate's life.   Jen catches up with professional organiser Jenn Jordan to talk about the cathartic powers of decluttering, and the unexpected things one finds in a Ryvita box. And in Jenny Off The Blocks we look back at a HUGE weekend in women's sport.   This Is Spinal Tap quite rightly holds a special place in Hannah's heart – and Mick's. And the team all loved Christopher Guest's debut mockumentary, 1996's Waiting For Guffman. So what will they make of his 20-year-old foray into folk, A Mighty Wind? And how do you get a potato out of a paddywagon? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vicki Pepperdine is in some of our favourite comedies, so - of course - we leapt at the chance to have her on the podcast. Vicki chats to Hannah about playing Princess Anne in The Windsors, working with Julia Davis, their "filthy" podcast Dear Joan and Jericha, and why not enough people have watched Getting On. In Jenny Off the Blocks, Jen chats to Kelly Gordon, executive lead for Netball England’s NETBALLHer campaign, about sport for life and the barriers women face when it comes to sports participation. In Rated or Dated, we overpluck our eyebrows and crack open a Grolsch, because we're watching 1998's Sliding Doors. And Mick's got some batfish news in the Bush Telegraph, where we're also trying to untie an artistic gordian knot. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bafta Television Craft Awards get dished out tonight, so Hannah's been on the Zoom with Nancy Harris, one of the nominees in the Best Writer (Comedy) category, to talk about her excellent comedy drama, The Dry, which struggled to find a home for eight years and is now available to watch on ITVX. They chat about why alcohol is such a fascinating but difficult topic to write about, dealing with high drama in a low-drama way and how Irish women are all over it when it comes to comedy writing in the UK.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So much telly to watch and so little time. But we've given it our best shot. What troopers! This month we're talking about Succession, Blue Lights, Swarm, The Power, Ted Lasso, Wellmania, Rain Dogs and Dreamland.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For 44 years, the third page of what was the most widely sold newspaper in the UK was dominated by a topless young woman. Depending on who you asked, Page 3 of The Sun was either a great British institution or a sexist time-warp. And then, in 2012, Jo Cheetham and a group of fellow campaigners took on The Sun and called for No More Page 3. They won. In this week’s podzine, Jo chats to our Hannah about her role in No More Page 3, her new book Killjoy, and why she hates fun. Clearly having the whale of her life is actor, screenwriter and showrunner Emer Kenny, whose adaptation of Val McDermid’s bestseller The Distant Echo smashed it on our screens as ITV series Karen Pirie. Mick has an excellent natter with Emer about when you shouldn’t listen to true crime podcasts, asking for chairs, and playing Tash in Channel 4’s period crime caper The Curse, which returns for its second series on April 27. In BT, there’s bad maths, convenient T-shirts and a freezer full of poo, while in Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s noticing it’s one step forward and a few more back. And there’s more fancy footwork in Rated or Dated, as the team have a total blast watching 1983 smash hit, Flashdance, with and without their bras on.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Home is the focus of this week’s Chops, in which Mick chats with Kieran Yates, journalist, broadcaster and author of new book, All The Houses I’ve Ever Lived In: Finding Home in a System That Fails Us.  We all move from place to place, finding and writing the stories that make us who we are, and Kieran knows more than most about moving, displacement, housing and home, having lived in 20 different houses by the time she was 25, navigating the chaos of a housing system often not fit for purpose. As a result All The Houses… is part-memoir, part indictment of our current political climate and part celebration of the things that make a home.  Kieran and Mick chat depressing stats around housing, mould, gnomes, activism, the joy and hope of community action, and how we’re all in this together. All The Houses I’ve Ever Lived In is published by Simon & Schuster on April 27 and available for preorder now. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another Mickey Flicking pick, another comedy. But come on now, surely there’ll be no complaints when it’s Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s 2004 zom-rom-com, Shaun of the Dead? Aka Spaced with zombies? That’s just one of the questions answered by Yosra and Hannah, as the conversation covers scares, terrible friends, apocalypse plans, and drunkenly ripping your shirt off on the streets of your hometown. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We could all do with a little refresher in adulting from time to time, says Sarah Knight, author of the multi-million selling No F*cks Given Guides. Sarah’s back on the podzine this week, to talk about the latest in the series, Grow The F*ck Up, as well as giving Jen a few pointers on where grown-ups go wrong, why self-awareness can be a real drag but is absolutely crucial, and how to ask for what we want.   Hannah's chatting to Davinia Hamilton and Marta Vella, the Maltese actors and writers behind Blanket Ban, a play about Malta's total ban on abortion, which opens at the Southwark Playhouse on 25 April.   In JOTB, Jen's asking how on earth it can be possible that women’s football isn’t cool enough, as she talks all things international. And it’s mashed potato and strong nana game at the ready in Rated or Dated, as Mick takes us to her leader, Steven Spielberg, to revisit UFO blockbuster Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Is it out of this world? Find out. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Believability underpins our political, legal, and judicial systems – it’s key to who we trust to make laws, enforce laws and administer justice to those who breach them. And yet our own individual subconscious (and conscious) biases heavily dictate who we choose to believe.  Writer, activist and teacher Dina Nayeri experienced how where you are in the social hierarchy can change how believable others find you first hand, when she and her family fled Iran for the US as refugees. Her new book, Who Gets Believed? When the Truth Isn’t Enough, examines what constitutes believability in our culture.  In this week’s Chops, Dina chats to Jen about why women traditionally fare badly on the believability scale, why culture can have a huge impact on how we perceive the truthfulness of others, and how that can impact particularly badly for those seeking asylum in other countries. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We bloody love Zoe Lyons. She's funny, she's honest and she gives great interviews. So, in this week's podcast, Mick grabbed some time with the comedian to talk about midlife crises, jokes as a defence mechanism and lifting weights. Jen's having a chat with Liv Hennessy and Lisa Spirling, writer and director of the new play Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial. And there's more celebrity trials ahoy in BT, as Hannah takes a look at Paltrow v Man who can't enjoy a wine tasting anymore. There's golf and Wimbledon chat in Jenny of The Blocks, and in RoD we're watching 1998's The Butcher Boy. Did we like it? Well...  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ugly: Giving Us Back Our Beauty Standards, the new book from award-winning journalist, beauty editor and broadcaster Anita Bhagwandas, explores how (and, crucially, why) the Eurocentric beauty ideal thrust upon us by capitalism, white supremacy and classism is making so many people – women in particular – feel shit. In this Chops, Anita chats with our Mick about the view behind the curtain, the stolen powers driving accepted beauty standards – and why we don’t have to, and indeed shouldn’t, accept them.  Ugly is published by Blink and is out now. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beaches are nice, eh? Green spaces are nice, eh? Looking at places generally not covered in shit is nice, eh? They are, and in this week’s podzine, Jen’s chatting to Nicky Green, CEO of the Two Minute Foundation, about how we can all do our bit to keep Britain tidy (remember that?) in a teeny-tiny amount of time.  Hannah’s been talking to Lucy O’Brien, author of many music books about brilliant women. They cover a whole load of ground about being a woman in the music business, but focus on Karen Carpenter, an incredible musician whose tragedy tends to overshadow her achievements, as detailed in Lucy’s latest book, Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter.  This week’s Rated or Dated is a particularly interesting and complicated slice of history, with added Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier, as we watch 1967/8’s Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. Make another pie would you, Tillie?  And where’s Mick? Well, you might find her in a feather boa, sambuca in hand, being loud near Rolex wearers in York. Sorrywhatnow? The Bush Telegraph should put you straight.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chief fire officer, Big Issue ambassador, psychologist, author, champion of dogs – there are legion reasons Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton is one of our favourite guests. And now she’s gone and penned a book that’s bang up Standard Issue’s alley. The Gender Bias: The Barriers That Hold Women Back and How to Break Them explores the serious amount of glass – ceilings, cliffs, breadlines – thwarting women’s potential and delaying equality being reached. So our Mick got on the Zoom to chat to Sab about gender bias, women biased against women, the modesty trap and the glass case of emotion trapping women. And dogs. There’s quite a lot of dog chat. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Only a few sleeps until Succession, so in the meanwhile we've been gorging on a lot of documentaries, including We Need to Talk About Cosby, Wild Isles, Paula, Kathy Burke: Growing Up and Finding Michael. Still time for a bit of drama as Hannah and Mick chat about the last three episodes of The Last Of Us, Jen talks Fleishman Is In Trouble and we all have thoughts on Unforgotten's fifth series. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're full of life advice in this week’s podzine. First up, Mick chats to Helen Wills, mum of teenagers and host of the Teenage Kicks podcast, about navigating the teenage years as a parent, letting go of control, and what we can learn from the adolescents in our lives. If you’ve ever wondered what happens if someone dies without family or money to deal with the aftermath, Evie King has written a book about exactly this, Ashes to Admin: Takes from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer. She chats to Hannah about the practicalities of planning a funeral and why it’s good to keep death at the back of our mind. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s chatting equal prize money, stupid stories, and alpine excellence, and for god’s sake don’t say his name three times – we’re watching 1988’s Beetlejuice in Rated or Dated. Meanwhile there’s #Patygate, policing, and period pains in the Bush Telegraph – but does it taste of metal? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Considering that we all start life in one, and that roughly half of the global population has one, the womb remains one of the most under-researched, misunderstood, and controversial organs in the human body. Midwife and best-selling author Leah Hazard wanted to highlight this absence of knowledge, as well as the incredible work being done to better understand it in the future, in her endlessly fascinating new book Womb: The Inside Story of Where We All Began. In this week’s Chops, Leah chats to Jen about some of that incredible work, why the womb remains profoundly political, and the challenges of getting men, and publishers, to care. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you want to make our Hannah angry, simply refer to God’s Own Country, Francis Lee’s 2017 film about love between an isolated young sheep farmer (Josh O’Connor) and a Romanian migrant worker (Alex Secareanu) set on a failing farm, as the Yorkshire Brokeback Mountain and watch her Bruce Banner it up. And right enough. It’s fair to say that love for this film, for its cast (hello also Ian Hart and Gemma Jones) and for its closing song from Patrick Wolf is in the air for Yosra and Mick, too. So please enjoy three women having a lovely chat about a wonderful bit of cinema.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Embalming and rape might not sound like the makings of a great conversation, but Mickey proves that theory wrong when she gets on the Zoom with Alexandra Donnachie, whose play When We Died covers both topics. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's chatting to boxer Caroline Dubois about the Olympics, trash talking, and turning professional. And in Rated or Dated, well, as you'll hear for yourself, we've thoughts on 1968's The Producers. And - spoiler alert - most of them aren't warm ones. Hannah's got some fun facts about the Elgin Marbles in BT and in SOTW, Mick's talking about childcare costs. Because when aren't we? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"But women are violent, too" is a phrase often designed to shut down conversations about male violence. But, the inconvenient truth is, women can be and are violent. When? Why? And how does it differ from male violence? They're just some of the questions Hannah puts to Anna Motz, author of a fascinating new book A Love That Kills: Stories of Forensic Psychology and Female Violence. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Politics, power and sex play important parts in both of this week’s interviews. Ahead of new BBC documentary, Becoming Frida Kahlo, Hannah’s been on the Zoom with filmmakers Louise Lockwood and Nancy Bornat to talk about the superstar Mexican painter, who channelled her pain, heartache and womanhood into her art.  Jen takes us even further back in time to revisit Tudor queens, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, who are the focus of a new exhibition at Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. Assistant curator Kate McCaffrey chats about Catherine and Anne: Queens, Rivals, Mothers and explains why we still find their lives so fascinating.  In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s talking about athletics, and a big new deal in women’s sport. In Rated or Dated, there’s bowling, blunts and bonus Tara Reid, as we watch a bonafide cult classic: 1998’s The Big Lebowski. And in the Bush Telegraph, we’re talking boats, bellends, some really bad policies, and Mick is absolutely not wishing you a happy International Women’s Day.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do we have hundreds of terms for the different stages of childhood and adolescence, but just one for the parents navigating their way through them all? This is just one of the questions asked in journalist Nell Frizzell’s excellent new book, Holding the Baby: Milk Sweat and Tears from the Frontline of Motherhood. Nell joins Jen to talk about her part-memoir, part-manifesto examining why we treat parenthood as an individual slog rather than a shared cultural responsibility. They chat mental health, maternal rage, relationships, and sleep deprivation, as well as how to fix a system that isn’t working for anyone. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One woman’s “reasonable” is another woman’s eating cheesy crisps on the Tube. With our own concept of what it is to be reasonable, and indeed unreasonable, so entrenched in personal experience, Mick was fascinated to chat to cultural studies expert Kirsty Sedgman about her new book, On Being Unreasonable: Breaking the Rules and Making Things Better. Titanic Belfast is about to reopen after a major refurbishment, so Hannah got on the Zoom to Eimar Kearney from the centre to talk about the world's most famous sunken ship, why it remains fascinating, and why the capital of Northern Ireland is well worth a visit. There is no good news in Jenny Off The Blocks, but there are some excellent women hoping to change the sporting landscape for others. Meanwhile, we are all a-flap, as 1963 Hitchcock classic The Birds gets Rated or Dated.  Plus, spiralling costs, awkward admissions, and surprising progress in the Bush Telegraph. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In sociologist Dr Marieke Bigg’s new book, This Won’t Hurt: How Medicine Fails Women, she explores the huge gaps in women’s health, the sexism inherent in medicine and the lingering gender bias which means women are mocked, misdiagnosed and dismissed. Come on now, that’s bang up our street, right? Right. And, as you’d expect from a sociologist, Marieke is interested in the role society has to play in the medical landscape, and so in this Chops, she chats to our Mick about history, research, the lie of objectivity, the win-win of sex disaggregation, Nancy Friday, Gillian Anderson and hope.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Last of Us is breaking hearts, inspiring nightmares and repopularising Linda Ronstadt. Is there a more versatile show on TV? In this month's Outside the Box, we find out as we watch Nolly, Lockwood & Co and Better, plus we've final thoughts on Happy Valley *sobs*. There's been some documentary viewing going on too, as we chat about Stolen Youth, Emily Atack: Asking For It? and Killing County. And if that's not enough for you, there's a good fistful of Christopher Walken, as we finally catch up with Severance and series two of Outlaws.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where can you find a new exhibition featuring the work of more than 20 female artists, curated by another - Sarah Lucas? Essex, that's where. This week, Jen's chatting to Sally Shaw, director of Firstsite Colchester, about its new BIG WOMEN exhibition and the state of art in the UK right now. Mick's been on the Zoom with award-winning actor Bukky Bakray, star of the film Rocks, currently on our screens in Netflix’s new psychological twister The Strays, and about to make her stage debut in Sleepova at The Bush Theatre. In Jenny Off The Blocks, we're all about equality, diversity and inclusion. And in Rated or Dated, we find out if Hannah would run naked down the street if there was no tomorrow. For context, we're watching Groundhog Day. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday (18 February 2023) was the 80th anniversary of the arrest of two youngsters, brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl, members of The White Rose, a non-violent group pledged to resisting the Nazis through a leafleting and graffiti campaign. Just four days later, Hans, 24, Sophie, 21, and another member of the group, Christoph Probst, 23, were executed for high treason. Hannah was lucky enough to grab some time with Dr Alexandra Lloyd, who runs the White Rose Project, based at the University of Oxford, to chat about what drove the group, their legacy and why it's Sophie that has come to represent them in the public imagination. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's got Oscar nominations coming out of its ears, and now our Yosra Osman has given Daniels Kwan and Scheinert's dizzying multiverse adventure the nod, by picking it for this month's Flicking.  But what will Mick and Hannah make of this tale of a middle-aged woman (Michelle Yeoh) unwillingly embroiled in an epic battle in various parallel universes to save the various parallel universes while still having to file her tax return? How has Mick managed to find nostalgia in a brand new film? Will Hannah make it through a multiverse film without vomiting? And how many sex toy jokes is too many sex toy jokes? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacqui Honess-Martin’s brilliant ITV drama, Maternal, centres on three female doctors going back to work after having children and our Jen bloody loves it. As well as exploring mumhood and female friendship, it’s also a warts-and-all look at the NHS, so Jen and Jacqui chat dodgy temperatures, dodgy infrastructure, and why it’s not helpful to put the NHS on a pedestal.   Hannah’s been on the Zoom with Rachel Casey, Director of Canine Behaviour and Research at Dogs Trust, to talk about the cost of living crisis, how it's affecting pet owners and what can be done to keep pets with their owners. In Jenny Off The Blocks, even Alex Morgan doesn’t understand FIFA, while in Rated or Dated, Hannah and Mick’s forthcoming trip to Rome could be on the rocks following a discussion of who’s the real prick in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. And in the Bush Telegraph, there’s abhorrent nonsense in America, abhorrent nonsense over here, but some potentially good news from Australia.  A heads up that this is a particularly C-bomb heavy episode, but, y’know, with good cause as ever. *If you are struggling to look after your dog and need support, if you're interested in fostering or adopting a dog, or if you want to make a donation, you can find out more at the Dogs Trust website https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Merchant of Venice remains one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays, but how does a gender-swapped Shylock change things? In this week's Chops, Hannah finds out as she chats to actor and playwright Tracy-Ann Oberman, who is about to start a UK tour playing theatre's most notorious money lender. They chat about Tracy-Ann's tough-as-nails female ancestors, anti-semitism then and now, Twitter pile-ons and a whole lot more. * The Merchant of Venice 1936 opens at Watford Palace Theatre on February 27, ahead of a national tour.  https://watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk/events/the-merchant-of-venice-1936/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Hannah might not seem like the most likely candidate for a chat about Valentine’s Day, but when she found out Standard Issue fave Val McDermid was presenting Cupid Loves Eros, a Radio 4 programme exploring queer love poetry, she was on the Zoom like a ferret up a (too long) trouser leg. They talk about representations of love in literature, the interest in queer love, and the return of Karen Pirie, among other things. Presenters, former DJs, gut health aficionados and hosts of Know Your Sh!t, Lisa Macfarlane and Alana Macfarlane-Kempner, aka The Mac Twins, are breaking taboos with the new Channel 4 show. They join Mick to chat about all things gut health, and how they ended up as ‘chief guinea pigs’ for King’s College London’s British Gut Project. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s full of good news from the world of women’s sport – and some Tory ambition. Speaking of which, Liz Truss is back, and Mick’s all for it. Find out why in the Bush Telegraph. The full series of Know Your Sh!t is available to watch now on All 4, and Cupid Loves Eros airs on Radio 4 from February 9th. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jo Todd has worked in the domestic abuse sector for more than 30 years, so she really knows her shit. For the past 22 years, she’s been CEO of Respect UK, a pioneering domestic abuse organisation, developing safe, effective work with  perpetrators, male victims and young people who use violence. In this week’s Chops, she chats to our Mick about what safe, effective work with perpetrators looks like and why it’s vital in the prevention of domestic violence moving forwards. They also talk about the unhelpful narratives around domestic abusers in the media and in everyday life, why domestic violence is absolutely not a gender neutral issue, and how we all need to be involved in the huge societal shift needed to tackle it.  respect.uk.net is a wealth of information and resources, and if anything Jo and Mick talk about resonates with you or someone you know, you can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline 24/7 on 0808 2000 247 or online at nationaldahelpline.org.uk. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The gang's all here! And by that I mean, this week Mick is having a very lovely natter with The Boss, Sarah Millican, about Bobby Dazzler, Late Bloomer, Taskmaster, robots, balloons and safety potatoes. And Hannah is chatting to our Yozzie - Yosra Osman - about what she makes of this week's Oscar nominations. Jen's got words for the president of motorsport's governing body in Sexism of the Week. And we hop aboard the Summer Holiday bus in Rated or Dated. But will we make it to the final destination/end? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The whole country's watching Happy Valley, so we decided not to bother because ... nope, can't keep that up. Of course we're watching it and of course we've loads to say about it. But that's not all. We're also chatting about The Last Of Us, The Light In The Hall, Our Flag Means Death, Without Sin, I Hate Suzie Too, Christmas - remember that far back? - and more.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ellie Gibson, comedian, one half of comedy double act The Scummy Mummies and self-proclaimed “bit of a pisshead”, has taken a long, hard look at her relationship with booze and decided to do something about it. She’s started a podcast! She tells our Mick about the excellent Sort Your Shit Out, the joys and rules of moist January, the perils of kiwi fruit, and finding a liveable middle ground when it comes to alcohol. Jen talks to Guildford Refugee Aid* volunteer Melanie Keane about how she's helping refugees via the practical as well as therapeutic powers of sewing. And will Jen also get the help she needs with making those trousers?  Jen’s talking "embarrassment" in women’s football and the gender gap in women’s sport in Jenny off The Blocks. And in Rated or Dated, Hannah’s much more tickled by John C Reilly than Mark Wahlberg’s hefty schlong, as we watch actual wang-fest, Boogie Nights. Plus, there’s a big resignation, a landmark law and more of the old kickball in the Bush Telegraph. *If you fancy helping out the refugees Melanie is helping out, here’s the link to the Guildford Refugee Aid’s Amazon wishlist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/registries/custom/2SI9TJN75QUND/guest-view Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech whizz, creator of award-winning social enterprise Stemettes, host of the Women Tech Charge podcast, and a familiar face off the telly thanks numerous Countdown appearances, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon is a firm advocate for women and girls owning it in tech spaces. Her excellent new book, She’s In CTRL: How Women Can Take Back Tech, aims to help more women and girls do just that.  She got on the Zoom to talk to our Mick about why women are under-represented in tech, why it matters, and how we can all help change that – starting with ourselves. They chat gatekeepers and getting round them, herstories lost to history, why it’s SO important that women and girls claim their rightful spaces in the world of technology, and how there’s no such thing as being too full to learn.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another Mickey Flicking choice, another veritable wang fest. OTT pro Will Ferrell heads up a stellar comedy cast in Anchorman, a 2004 satire of 1970s newsrooms co-written with and directed by Adam McKay. Packed with clever silliness, silly silliness, incredible performances, quotable lines and a really cute dog that speaks Spanish, it’s one of Mick’s go to ‘cheer me up’ films. But what do Hannah and Yosra make of it? And will their thoughts leave Mick in a glass case of emotion? Tridents at the ready.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Familiar TV face Kate O'Flynn is back on the box in Everyone Else Burns, a new Channel 4 sitcom about a family in a religious cult. So Hannah jumped on the Zoom to chat to Kate about her career to date, the joy of deadpan delivery, representation of the regions, and acting alongside Olivia Colman.   With the Australian Open underway, Jen caught up with former world number 5 and legendary pundit Jo Durie, to talk about who to watch out for, who we’ll be missing, and just what the what is going on with Emma Raducanu.   In Rated or Dated, we’re steering well-clear of the blackberries, as we tuck into 2002/3’s The Good Girl. And in the Bush Telegraph, Mick’s got a horrible taste in her mouth, as we talk unpaid taxes, new Labour, and the same old bullshit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2016, actor and comedian Cariad Lloyd started Griefcast, her award-winning podcast in which she talks to people about their experiences of grief and death. That’s seven years of talking about death and grief, and Cariad has poured all of the things she’s learned into a wonderful new book, You Are Not Alone: A New Way To Grieve, which – like her – is candid, funny, warm and full of empathy. In this Chops, Cariad chats to our Mick about the power of conversation, what question about grief makes her rightly furious, and writing a book about grief when the whole world was grieving. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Valley is finally back for a third and final series, hooray, so Hannah leapt at the chance to chat to its creator, the writer Sally Wainwright. They talk about the return of Catherine Cawood and why there might be life in Gentleman Jack yet. Mickey's been on the Zoom with comedy double act Norris and Parker – Katie and Sinead to their pals – to talk sirens (the female kind), witches, friendship and poo. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's got news on what's coming in the first sporting quarter of 2023. In BT we're talking about that broken necklace, a crisis in pathology and Macron (any excuse). And in Rated or Dated, we're wondering if time has been kind to Good Morning, Vietnam. * Norris & Parker: Sirens is at Soho Theatre, Wed 11 to Sat 14 Jan, 10pm. sohotheatre.com/shows/norris-and-parker-sirens/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After stalling while the Tory Party considered which unelected Prime Minister was going to lead the country back in 2022, the Online Harms Bill is now back on the agenda in Parliament, rebranded as the Online Safety Bill. In this week’s Chops, Jen catches up with Dr Lisa Sugiura, Reader in Cybercrime and Gender at the University of Portsmouth, to find out why that rebranding might be a problem. They chat about how the online world presents new opportunities for domestic abusers, why the Online Safety Bill isn’t worth the paper it's written on, and why it's not all LOLZ about Andrew Tate's pizza box faux pas. Don’t have nightmares, like. Lisa's book, The Incel Rebellion: The Rise of the Manosphere and the Virtual War Against Women, is available here. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The so-called “wellness” industry is worth an estimated $4.4 trillion, but what does “wellness” even mean? As we deal with the onslaught of #newyearnewyou Instagram advertising, and algorithms set to do a guilt-tripping number on us over any festive indulgences, Jen jumps on the Zoom with journalist Rina Raphael, author of the new book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop and the False Promise of Self-Care. They talk about the concept behind wellness and how it has been appropriated for cold hard cash, the allure of influencers over medical professionals, and the value of self-heating crystal mats. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What an incredible year for women's sport: the Lionesses’ glorious Euro win at Wembley; Commonwealth Games triumphs; the inaugural Tour de France Femmes - there's been A LOT to feast on. It all means there are tough choices in store for England Cricket captain, Heather Knight, Sky Sports' NFL expert Phoebe Schecter, Eurosport's Queen of cycling Orla Chennaoui, and England Rugby's Shaunagh Brown, as Jen asks them for their highlights of 2022. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're so often told that our "other half" is out there somewhere, but author Tania Hershman thinks she's a full person by herself. A concept that is absolutely in Hannah's wheelhouse. They chat about the joys of being alone, even at this time of year, the "baffling" world of women who don't marry, and Tania's new book, Go On. If you're alone this Christmas and it doesn't fill you with joy, remember that the boss, Sarah Millican, will be running #JoinIn on Twitter on Christmas Day. You don't need an invitation, just get involved.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The issue of violence against women and girls is depressingly evergreen (see this week’s Bush Telegraph), and one which writer Emma Hickman takes on in her science fiction fairytale podcast, Eliza: A Robot Story. Mick caught up with Emma to chat about why she made a robot the protagonist of the series, what it was like to work in partnership with Manchester Women’s Aid and The Pankhurst Trust, and our old friend Poor Samantha, the sex robot*.   Journalist Chanté Joseph talks to Jen about fronting the Guardian’s Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph podcast, the small-p politics in pop culture and her top stories of 2022. And in Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s looking forward to the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year awards.   In Rated or Dated, we travel back in time to 1997 in a Routemaster Tardis to reminisce Miss Selfridge T-shirts and Michael Barrymore among other things, as Hannah asks herself why in God’s name has she made us watch Spice World The Movie.   Plus there’s bad “jokes” and bad healthcare in the Bush Telegraph.   *A heads up: this chat also includes discussion around rape, sexual abuse and coercive control. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It must be great to have one show on at The Globe. Hannah Khalil has two. In this week's podcast, the writer in residence at London's most famous theatre talks to Hannah about Hakawatis: The Women of the Arabian Nights, which is on at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse until January 14, and The Fir Tree, a reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's classic children's story, which on at the Globe until December 31.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The weather outside is frightful, but TV is so delightful. Well, not all of it, but you know. This month we've been watching The White Lotus, Upright, Granite Harbour, Mammals, Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen, God Forbid and The Patient. And Jen really took one for the team and watched some of Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal. What a trooper! Plus there's a round-up of the best TV to come over Christmas and into 2023. Exciting! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HOLLA! Our Mick’s got resident music guru Liz Buckley on the request line to chat the majesty, mischief and massive talent that is rap icon Missy Elliott. Why? Well, MISSY ELLIOTT. But also, it’s happy 25th birthday to her debut album Supa Dupa Fly, *and* happy 20th birthday to Under Construction. Inflatable bin bags all round! In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s chatting to England and Harlequins prop, Shaunagh Brown, about the rise of women’s rugby, why we still need to go further, putting the day job on pause, and what it's like to be an internet sensation.  This week’s Rated or Dated dispenses with any pretence of being non-partisan, as Mick and Hannah celebrate a festive film close to both their hearts. Step forward 1992’s The Muppet Christmas Carol, you absolute felty, furry, Michael Caine-y delight.  Plus there’s feminism 101 in the Bush Telegraph and a stinking bellend in Sexism of the Week. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're wondering where you recognise Ruth Sheen from, the answer could be literally anything. This week, she chats to Hannah about Mike Leigh films, Inside No 9, It's A Sin, Unforgotten, acting roles for women over the age of 60, and joining the cast of Strike, which returns to BBC tonight for a fifth series.   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’ll come as no surprise that our Hannah is a huge Armando Iannucci fan. And The Death of Stalin, his 2017 satire on the brutality and absurdity of tyranny and what happens in the aftermath of, in this case, the death of Soviet monster Joseph Stalin, is a firm favourite. Brimming with trademark Iannucci smarts, wit and creative insults, boasting a dream cast of big names, and darker than the inside of a cow, fellow Iannucci fans Mick and Yosra were bound to love it too. Well, you’d have thought. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone does a lot of talking about being "their authentic self" but is that a performance that means they are not really "authentic" at all? This week, Jen poses that question - and many more besides - to journalist Emily Bootle, author of a new book This Is Not Who I Am. Mick's chatting to Takara Small, host of the They Did That podcast, which shines a light on history’s forgotten – or often, usurped – inventors, scientists, educators, musicians, artists and activists. Hannah tries to get to the bottom of the Balenciaga photoshoot drama in BT and there’s Twitter twattery in Jenny Off The Blocks. And, finally, we wonder if Nicolas Cage will go full Nicolas Cage in Rated or Dated, as we watch 1987's Moonstruck. Spoiler alert: Of course he does. What is this? Your first rodeo? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miki Berenyi, probably best known as one of the founding members of late 80s and early 90s alt-rockers Lush, has written a superb, painfully honest, no-holds-barred memoir about her tricky (to put it mildly) childhood and time in Lush and on the Britpop scene.  And so Mickey got on the Zoom to Miki to chat Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me From Success, bands and fallouts, Britpop and misogyny, difficult childhoods and understanding that nobody’s perfect  Though beautifully written, Fingers Crossed is, at times, brutal. A heads up that she and Mick talk about child sex abuse and neglect in this podcast. They are both fairly philosophical about their own experiences – now, at least – but keen that these conversations continue to happen as a reminder that this doesn’t just happen “over there to someone else”.  Miki is a beautiful writer and, given December is upon us, Fingers Crossed would make an excellent gift for anyone into music and/or brilliant, fierce women. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A while ago, Mick made the team watch Love Actually for Rated or Dated and, well, regular – and even irregular – listeners can probably figure out how that went. Given that Richard Curtis’s celluloid toilet bowl of loose stools is currently celebrating another anniversary, it seems a good time to remind women exactly why this film is self harm for the eyes, ears and soul. As Hannah so succinctly puts it, Cunts Actually.   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theatre might be making big strides in some areas of inclusion, but how does it look for neurodiverse performers or audience members? Hannah spoke to Liselle Terret*, associate professor of performance at the University of East London, to find out, as they chat about the Access All Areas Theatre Company, and how to better promote and support a wider range of artists.    Hygiene poverty now affects an estimated 6% of adults in the UK, so Jen caught up with Ruth Brock, CEO of The Hygiene Bank, to talk about why we need to spread the word about an often forgotten (or ignored) issue, what The Hygiene Bank is doing to combat it, and how we can all help.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s talking heading, jabbing and putting, while in Rated or Dated Hannah’s picked a romance from the past, in 1942’s Casablanca. Is it going to be the start of a beautiful friendship? And in the Bush Telegraph, Mick’s calling bullshit on treating women’s body types as trends.   *If you want to get in touch with Liselle, you can do so here: https://www.uel.ac.uk/about-uel/staff/liselle-terret Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities coming up on December 3, Jen jumped on the Zoom with Kate Nash OBE, the woman behind Purple Space, the world’s only networking and professional development hub for disabled employees. They chatted about Kate’s new book Positively Purple: Build an Inclusive World Where People with Disabilities Can Flourish, how employees and colleagues can support disabled co-workers, the power of positivity, and why referring to disabled people as “inspirational” just for living their lives needs to not happen anymore. To enjoy our podcasts without adverts you can support us on Patreon. But times are tough, and for absolutely zero pounds, you can also do us a massive favour by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Thanks. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we still talking about Brexit? You bet your badgers, we are, because it’s still causing – euphemism warning – mischief all over the political, trade and, well, everything shop. So Mick got on the blower with Naomi Smith, CEO of Best For Britain and co-host of the Oh God, What Now? podcast to talk Brexit fallout, the political upshot of the latest Tory “budget”, and why Best For Britain is campaigning for a general election now. Yes please and thank you. Hannah chats to Keala Settle, actor, star of The Greatest Showman and the woman behind that huge singing voice, about why she was desperate to do a pantomime. So now she’s in one*. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s talking fast women and fast cars, and also quite understandably explaining how things in Qatar remain a royal mess of human rights violations. And in Rated or Dated, Mick and Jen are watching 1942’s Cat People – a horror movie from the past. Two of their very favourite things. Cats though. They do love a cat.  *And you can get your tickets here: https://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/whats-on/jack-beanstalk/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After an eventful series four of everyone's favourite haunted house sitcom, Hannah catches up with two of its stars and co-writers, Jim Howick and Ben Willbond, to talk about sucking off Mary, dealing with grief, fan art, Christmas specials, There She Goes, working with Guillermo del Toro – and more.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this month's Outside The Box, we're asking all the important questions. Has The White Lotus set itself too high a bar? Will The English be the first Hugo Blick series Hannah likes? Why didn't anyone tell Jen The Devil's Hour was sci-fi? Does anyone want to watch Charles and Diana's marriage fail - again - in The Crown? And lastly, where are all the lads? (Well, that one's easy to answer, they're in SAS: Rogue Heroes.) Plus, there's a tiny Rated or Dated for you, as Mick reports back on watching Buffy in her 40s. More on Paris Syndrome here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome That scene with Alex Ferns (mining in the altogether) in Chernobyl can be found, sadly, nowhere.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The cost of living is dominating conversations around the country, so, in this week's podcast, Jen chats to Helen Barnard, associate director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and director of research and policy at Pro Bono Economics, about assumptions made about poverty. Mick's chatting with Claudia Brewster, course leader of Graphic Design, Creative Advertising and Visual Communication at the University of Gloucestershire, and one of her second-year students, Siobhan Smith, about the posters they’ve been designing for the March for Freedom for Afghan Women and Girls taking place in London on Sunday 27 November. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's boycotting Qatar and in BT, Hannah's rounding up the results of the midterms in the US. And last, but oh so very much not least, we'll find out what's easier to look after, heroin or babies, as we watch 1987's Three Men And A Baby in Rated or Dated. * You can grab your March for Freedom posters here: https://marchforafghanwomenandgirls.com/ * Helen Barnard's book can be bought here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788213971/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_F9YMB439145K46BBZEMB_3 Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the Chops, we’re chatting depression, because – as we’re seemingly constantly told – it’s okay to not be okay and it’s good to talk. But what do those soundbites really mean and how helpful are they for people dealing with depression No stranger to the black dog, Mick got on the Zoom with Maddy Dilley, managing director of The Blurt Foundation, a brilliant social enterprise dedicated to helping those affected by depression and anxiety, to talk stigma, self-stigma, self-care, misconceptions, peer support and how Dougal can be there for Ted. If anything in this podcast makes you think you need help, then please get in touch with your GP. The sooner you see a doctor, the sooner you can be on the way to recovery. And do check out blurtitout.org, which has a wealth of information and resources – and people who genuinely give a shit. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SIM Ep 788 Flicking #31: West Side Story (1961) Our Yosra Osman isn’t alone in loving 1961’s cinematic musical West Side Story, in which love-at-first-sighters Maria and Tony find themselves entangled in a bitter battle between rival gangs The Jets and The Sharks amid music from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. 60+ years on, with a recent Steven Spielberg revival in the bag, is it a cinematic gem packed with bangers or a problematic white vision of racial unrest? Can a film be both? Will Hannah ever stop hanging out in underground car parks, making shapes and saying “cool!”? And why are she and Mick looking nervous?  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“What’s going on inside our noggins?” is a question we are often terrified to ask, but neuroscientist and Standard Issue favourite Professor Sophie Scott is more than happy to delve right in. She chats to Hannah about "lady brains", the infinite wisdom of post-menopausal killer whales, how chromosomes affect the old grey matter, and her new book, The Brain: 10 Things You Should Know.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen chats to Leonie Pryor, match official developer at the Rugby Football Union, about their #Inspire campaign, aimed to get more women into refereeing.   Grab your hankies and hold on tight, as Hannah and Mick revisit Michael Winterbottom’s 1997 war drama, Welcome To Sarajevo. And in this week's Bush Telegraph, Mick has some interesting (*question mark*) Christmas list ideas. Prepare the underground cellar and light the dusty vagina candle! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Medieval Britain can feel somewhat impenetrable, even for history fans, so thank goodness for Dr Amy Jeffs, writer of the best-seller Storyland and new book Wild: Tales From Early Medieval Britain. She chats to Hannah about the many ways of telling a story, the tie between the individual and the landscape, the weirdness of the Fens and finding hope in a time of hopelessness.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The expression "cat lady" comes with a lot of baggage, something writer and podcaster Dawn O'Porter couldn't understand. She talks to Jen about her new book Cat Lady, which challenges stereotypes around the love we have for our pets. They also chat complicated characters, the reality of living in LA, and the ongoing refugee crisis*. Imagine a women-only fitness space that encourages women to strength train with heavy weights and builds confidence as much as muscle. It’s real! StrongHer, in London’s Bethnal Green (but with excellent online options), exists thanks to Tig Hodson and Sam Prynn, who created a place they wanted to work out in. And it’s where our Mick flips tyres and chucks herself over walls. She borrowed Jenny Off The Blocks for a week to chat with Tig about strength training, listening to your cycle, and why the fear of getting ‘bulky’ is a nonsense. Lucas “Luke” Jackson clearly isn’t worried about a bit of bulk, as he stuffs 50 eggs down his gullet in one of cinema’s most iconic scenes. Yep, this week’s Rated or Dated is 1967 prison drama classic, Cool Hand Luke and unlikely inspiration for Hannah.  And in the Bush Telegram, there’s bad at your job and then there’s Suella Braverman.   *You can donate to Choose Love here. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Essex alone, around 1000 people – predominantly women – were accused of witchcraft between the 1500s to 1800s, as part of the now infamous English witch trials. As the jail where many of the accused were held, Colchester Castle played a key role, and so Colchester Museums have teamed up with the Museum of British Folklore and the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle to create an exhibition about the witch trials, and the people who fell victim to them. In this week’s Chops, Jen catches up with Mellany Robinson, projects manager of the British Museum of Folklore and co-curator of Wicked Spirits? Witchcraft and Magic at Colchester Castle. They chat about the historical context of the trials, the women who were accused, and why the witch trials remain worryingly relevant to contemporary society. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Working a four-day week can benefit employees, businesses, the environment and the economy. That's according to Mariam Salman from The Four Day Week Campaign, so Hannah got on the Zoom with her to find out more. Ahead of the NFL match between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Jen gets the lowdown on the match and indeed the sport, from Sky Sports presenter Hannah Wilkes. In Rated or Dated, 1992's Buffy The Vampire Slayer comes under the microscope, but can it escape constant comparison to the TV series? In Sexism of the Week, Mick's got news of another drama over a statue of - wait for it - a woman. And in the Bush Telegraph? Well, what can we say? Other than Steve Baker really is a c*nt. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While we’re all distracted by those in power doing the leadership hokey cokey and making the UK a political laughing stock, damaging policy is being pushed through. And it’s outrageous. In September, the Government launched what’s basically an attack on nature, proposing policy that’s a huge threat to the UK’s already rapidly depleting wildlife and explicitly breaking promises it made in its 2019 manifesto. So Mick got on the Zoom with Laura Taylor, conservation manager for Bedfordshire at The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, who outlined exactly what the Government is doing and why it’s catastrophically harmful to nature, wildlife, us and the economy. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're trying to escape the chaos on the news, October's Outside The Box has some suggestions of what you should switch on instead. And this month that includes spectres, chefs and a very hot pensioner, because we're chatting about This England, Ghosts, The Old Man, The Bear, The Walk-In and Inside Man.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EDIT: In this episode, when talking about Chelsea women's manager Emma Hayes, Jen accidentally said Emma had undergone an emergency caesarean, when in fact she had undergone an emergency hysterectomy. We apologise to Emma and our listeners for this error, which has now been corrected. True crime is a solid part of our popular culture these days. Focus tends to fall on the perpetrator rather than the victim, though, something historian Hallie Rubenhold, author of excellent book The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, wanted to challenge. And did! And continues to do! She chats to Mick about her podcast Bad Women, back for a second season. This season explores the rich and complex lives of the victims of Blitz killer, The Blackout Ripper, and looks at what wartime meant for Britain's women in terms of new opportunities and old-as-time danger.    After one train vestibule too many, Abby Taylor got onboard with the Campaign for Family-Friendly Trains, and joins Jen this week to talk about why accessibility matters, and what train companies can do to make it easier for those of us with small people to get around. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen recaps the week in women’s sport, including a cracking bout between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall, and joy for the Republic of Ireland’s women’s football team. In Rated or Dated, Hannah takes us back in time to the origins of the Bitches Be Crazy genre, as we revisit 1962’s What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? And in Bush Telegraph, there's a lot of toilet talk. Blame the Tories.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Sarah Churchwell is interested in the big cultural beasts and there's maybe none bigger than Gone With The Wind. In her latest book - The Wrath to Come: Gone With the Wind and the Lies America Tells - Sarah looks at the mistruths spread by Margaret Mitchell's book and the film adaptation, where they came from, why they were so readily accepted and how they fit into America's tendency towards myth-making. Hannah caught up with Sarah to chat about the Lost Cause, the treatment of Hattie McDaniel, and why Scarlett O'Hara spoke to the women of war-torn Europe.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A comedy? From the 1980s? Starring mostly men? And one of those men is Christopher Guest? Once again, it’s a tough old task to work out whose pick it was for this month’s Flicking, but – entirely predictably – Mick is head over big bottom with 1984 cult classic This Is Spinal Tap, the mockumentary of a rockumentary following one of England’s loudest bands. But how does Hannah feel about the film that started a genre? And what’s that, Yosra’s got a confession to make? Turn it up to 11.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guardian journalist Sirin Kale’s new podcast, Can I Tell You A Secret?, explores how a cyberstalker wreaked havoc across the internet and ruined people’s lives. She chats to Jen about obsession, fear, the lives we lead online, and how the police and CPS are letting victims of cyberstalking down.  Back on September 8, Hannah chatted to actors Kate Fahy and Marion Bailey about playing Margaret Thatcher and The Queen in Moira Buffini’s play Handbagged. That’s right, September 8. Just hours later the Queen died, and so we’ve held onto this interview for a little while. The play is still running (at The Kiln Theatre, London, until Oct 29) and Hannah, Kate and Marion’s chat is still a corker.  In JOTB, Jen’s looking at various internationals and doing some announcer practice, and in BT, there’s good energy, bad energy, and a whole lot of Hands.   Plus, Mick girds her loins as she throws a much-loved film to the Rated or Dated wolves. Rob Reiner’s 1987 fantasy adventure comedy The Princess Bride is a firm favourite in the Noonan household, but what do Hannah and Jen make of it? FIND OUT. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chosen is New York-based artist Danielle Durchslag’s first solo exhibition outside of the USA and its mix of video collage and film explores the political and psychological complexities of American Jewish wealth. Yeah, you’re right, that is one hot potato. But it’s also something Danielle knows very well, given her family background and family money means carrying the complicated baggage – as well as incredible privilege – that being one of what she terms “the Jewish 1%” brings with it.  Danielle chats to our Mick about powerful victims, powerful dynasties, the power of humour, Katharine Hepburn, and eating her dinner off Edward VIII’s china.  Chosen is at The Four Corners Gallery in Bethnal Green, London, from Tuesday 11 October until Saturday 15 October. Visit https://www.fourcornersfilm.co.uk/whats-on/chosen-danielle-durchslag for more details.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tova Friedman had survived a ghetto and a gas chamber in Auschwtiz before the age of five and you can read her amazing life story in her memoir, The Daughter of Auschwitz. In this week's podcast, she chats to Hannah about Holocaust denial, leaving guilt behind and becoming a TikTok sensation in her 80s. Mick chats with the force for good that is Soma Sara about Everyone’s Invited, her campaign focused on exposing rape culture, the damage done by porn, the reality of online lives, and why parents really need to step up when it comes to conversations around sex. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's talking about major stages for women's sport and in BT, we're talking about the Kwarteng U-turn and some worrying cancer statistics. And in Rated or Dated, we find out what happens when you mix wood and ham, as we watch 1997's The Devil's Advocate.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Think you don't like sci-fi? Maybe you should think again. In this week's Chops, ahead of a major new exhibition at The Science Museum*, Hannah chats to our favourite sci-fi geek (not nerd), Samira Ahmed, about how the sheer breadth of the world of sci-fi should mean there's something for everyone. They also chat about the legacy of Nichelle Nichols, collecting, making space stations out of egg boxes and Doctor Who.  * More info here: https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/science-fiction Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not to remind you that the nights are drawing in, but *whispers* they are. So, let us help you plan some TV viewing. In this month's Outside The Box, we talk about The Capture, House of The Dragon, Shetland, Only Murders In The Building, Frozen Planet II, The Rings of Power, The Suspect, Mind Over Murder and Karen Pirie. Some of it in Brian Blessed's voice. You're welcome? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We'd take any excuse to chat to award-winning author Kamila Shamsie, and her excellent new novel, Best Of Friends, was more than enough reason for Mick to jump on the Zoom with her. In this episode, they talk about childhood friendship, “girlfear”, and the changing face of democracy. Jen chats to broadcaster and art historian Katy Hessell about her new book The Story Of Art Without Men, why women haven’t had much of a look in in the world of art, and how the internet is democratising the traditionally elitist industry. In Jenny Off The Blocks, big things are happening in the broadcasting of women’s sport, and over on Rated or Dated Hannah is posing quite the f*cking dilemma with this week’s pick: Glengarry Glen Ross. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Austerity and the dangerously stretched state of the NHS have never cut so deep. And yet, that statement felt just as true back in 2015 when Iphigenia In Splott, Gary Owens’ lauded monodrama reimagining of Euripedes’ Iphigenia In Aulis, first debuted.  It’s only right that Iphigenia In Splott is back now, once more starring the phenomenal Sophie Melville as Effie – our Greek heroine via Cardiff. Effie’s life is a mess of drink, drugs and drama every night, and a hangover worse than death the next day – until one night gives her the chance to be something more.  In Greek myth, the story of Iphigenia is a tragedy: a young girl sacrificed for male hubris, ambition and legacy, and Mickey chats to Sophie about the Iphigenias, the Effies, of today, how they’re being sacrificed and why the time is ripe for revolution. Iphigenia In Splott is at the Lyric Hammersmith, London, until October 22. Tickets available here: https://lyric.co.uk/shows/iphigenia-in-splott-2/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s no escaping that tough financial times are only going to get tougher, and so Hannah got on the Zoom with Dr Jodi Gardner to talk about debt, and why the demise of payday loan companies might not have been the victory it first seemed, as the cost-of-living crisis bites and one million desperate householders turn to loan sharks to make ends meet. As England Women prepare to play India in a one-day international at Lords*, Jen nabs team members Kate Cross and Sophia Dunkley for a chat about the changing face of women’s cricket, and the significance of playing at the incredible venue. And it’s one of the most beloved, highly respected films of all time, but will that save 1952’s Singin’ In The Rain from a slagging off on Rated or Dated if needs be? *hollow laughter* * Tickets for the England Women’s Cricket Team’s ODI against India on September 24th are available here. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While most of the world was reeling from the shock of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, a conspiracy theory began to form that it was a hoax designed to force through new gun control laws in the US. In her excellent book Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth, New York Times journalist Elizabeth Williamson takes us through events, from the horror police found at the scene to the ongoing struggle of the bereaved parents to defeat the lies told about their children by InfoWars' Alex Jones. She talks to Hannah about the effect such mass shootings have on the local community, why America seems more susceptible to conspiracy theories than most and how this whole tragedy has been a blueprint for the spread of fake news.   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jen's taken up clothes making, so who better to get on the Zoom with than winner of 2021's Great British Sewing Bee, Serena Baker? They chat about stitching, sustainable fashion, and her book Serena Sews. Hannah chats to actor Jennifer Kirby about Vampire Academy, why teenage girls can't get enough of bloodsuckers and why Linda Bassett is the cat's pyjamas. In BT, we're talking about - what else? - reaction to the Queen's death, but fret not, there is good news in Jenny Off The Blocks. And in Rated or Dated, we're back to the 1990s or the 1950s, depending on how you look at it, as we watch LA Confidential.   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A western? About a spiky teenage girl? With Jeff Bridges? Who could possibly have chosen that? This month, it was (unsurprisingly) Hannah who plumped for the Coen Brothers' True Grit as the film under the microscope. But will Jen and Yosra come along for the ride?  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we think about the average British tourist, we don’t always conjure the most sympathetic image. This week, Hannah chats to Lucy Lethbridge - author of fascinating new book Tourists - about the democratisation of the foreign holiday and the impact that's had on the places we go. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen chats to CEO of charity The Youth Sport Trust, Ali Oliver, about the School Games National Finals, getting kids active, and the Lionesses Effect. We're watching 1992's The Last of The Mohicans in Rated or Dated and "welcoming" a new Prime Minister in the Bush Telegraph. But is it just a case of mummy being called to clear up again? To enjoy our podcasts without adverts you can support us on Patreon. But times are tough, and for absolutely zero pounds, you can also do us a massive favour by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Thanks. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back last May, when Mick interviewed classicist, comedian and author Natalie Haynes about Pandora’s Jar – her anthology of women in Greek myths – she asked who Natalie’s favourite woman from Greek myth is and the answer was swift: Medusa.  And it’s easy to see why. Medusa, best known as a monster with snakes for hair and the ability to turn living creatures to stone with just a look, was actually a young woman, horribly wronged, terribly punished and then painted as a villain.  Stone Blind is Natalie’s new novel, a sharp, warm, funny and incredibly moving take on Medusa’s story.  She and Mick also chat religion, capricious deities, goddess alter-egos, knitting, and how to research the women in Greek myths when women in the Classics tend to get pretty short shrift.  Stone Blind is out on September 15, but you can also listen to Natalie on her excellent Radio 4 series Natalie Haynes Stands Up For The Classics, available on BBC Sounds.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a year since US and UK troops pulled out of Afghanistan, in what can only be termed a clusterfuck of mishandling. The Taliban wasted no time in regaining control of the country and, despite a lot of chatter that this would be a more enlightened Taliban 2.0, different from the brutal backwardness of the 1990s, immediately began restricting freedoms for women and girls.  Campaigner and founder of Action For Afghanistan, Zehra Zaidi, knows all too well how horrifically the Taliban’s rule has affected Afghan women and girls and, in this week’s podcast, she talks to Mickey about the direct, violent threat to their lives from the Taliban – and why we need to be doing so much more to help.  In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s talking retirements galore, while wearing her best I love Serena T-shirt in honour of the start of the US Open, which marks the closing chapter in the GOAT’s career.  And in Rated or Dated – spoiler – Hannah’s not happy again, as we watch Richard Donner’s 1897 shoot-first-don’t-bother-asking-questions study of 1980s machismo on the edge, Mel Gibson, sorry Lethal Weapon. Same diff, innit.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tracy Dawson had a steep learning curve when she was starting out in screenwriting, as she came to realise the same opportunities didn’t exist for her, deemed as “niche” as a woman, as they did for men. This inspired her new book Let Me Be Frank, about women who disguised themselves as men to get what they wanted. She chats to Hannah about the book, defiance, and whether or not “shit” is a swear word.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen hits the beach to chat to former world champion Pauline Menczer, about being a trailblazer in women’s surfing, and the new documentary Girls Can’t Surf.   In Rated or Dated, Mick’s eyes are hurting, because we’re back in 1992, revisiting the ker-ay-zy bitches of gratuitous tit-tastic Single White Female. Meanwhile, there’s a medley of protests with a dash of human excrement in the Bush Telegraph.   To enjoy our podcasts without adverts you can support us on Patreon. But times are tough, and for absolutely zero pounds, you can also do us a massive favour by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Thanks. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not been all sport and Love Island on the telly in August. In fact, it's not even been all August on our TVs, as we tuck in to recent offerings as well as some stuff we've been meaning to watch for ages. So brace yourself for a whole lot of chat about Winning Time: The Rise of The Lakers Dynasty, The Resort, The Newsreader, Shetland, Marriage, Gaslit, The Sandman and Ted Lasso.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would happen if a food writer became an accidental murderer and deliberate cannibal? In this week’s podcast, Mick finds out as she chats to journalist Chelsea G Summers about her debut novel A Certain Hunger. They discuss the symbolism of cannibalism, women’s relationships with food and their bodies, and how it is used against them. Jen chats to C E Riley - director of Primadonna Festival and author of new book Is This Love? - about bad behaviour, toxic love and messing with the patriarchy, one football match at a time. And in Jenny Off The Blocks, she’s paying tribute to The Queen, Serena Williams, as she approaches an “evolution”. And finally, did Hannah have the time of her life watching Dirty Dancing for this week’s Rated or Dated? You’ll have to listen to find out. To enjoy our podcasts without adverts you can support us on Patreon. But times are tough, and for absolutely zero pounds, you can also do us a massive favour by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Thanks. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Being the guy who wanks on the Tube – that’s not aspirational.” Just some of the words of wisdom from this week’s Chops guest, comedian Esther Manito, who has some thought-provoking opinions around the role women play in generational sexism.  Esther’s currently at the Edinburgh Fringe with her show, #NotAllMen, but here she’s chatting to our Mick about '90s lad mag culture, why applauding men for basic decency is bad, the rise and rise of King Baby (and the part women play in their creation), and how SHE KNOWS IT’S #NOTALLMEN, but how do women help make it #notanymen? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*sings* Spider-Man, Spider-Man/Does whatever a spider can./Spins a web, any size./Catches thieves just like flies./Look out/Here comes the Spider-Man… and another Spider-Man… and a Spider-Woman… and a Spider-Pig… and Nicholas Cage… WHAT NOW? If you’ve already seen 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, this month’s Flicking pick from Yosra, that will all make sense. If not, strap in, as Yosra, Hannah and Mick enter the Oscar-winning animated Spidey multi-verse.  Did Mick rekindle her old love for the emo kids’ superhero of choice? Did Hannah manage to keep the contents of her belly down? FIND OUT.  Also, enjoy Mickey forgetting the word “touchstones” and instead referring to characters as “grounding rocks”. Mmm, words. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nestled in the sweet spot of ‘cartoon for kids that adults love, too’, the Emmy Award-winning Bluey is a firm favourite in the Offord household. Which means our Jen’s trying really hard not to fangirl as she chats to actress Melanie Zanetti, aka Chilli, about Australian cattle dogs, crossing comic boundaries, parenting goals and never meeting your husband.  If you’re not already a fan of comedian Eleanor Morton’s zero-fucks-given tour guide Craig, then get yourself onto the socials for a watch immediately. Or stay here and listen as Mick catches up with Eleanor to talk Craig, what happens when a history fan makes comedy, her Edinburgh show Eleanor Morton Has Peaked, and the joy of out-of-season graveyards. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s quite rightly still wanging on about us winning Euro 2022, and explaining why the Commonwealth Games are more than the poor (wo)man’s Olympics. And finally, it was bad enough before Hannah brought innocent donkeys into it… There’s vabbing, an Amnesty on decent Twitter etiquette, just desserts for a human heart attack, and the return of Mick’s favourite electric sheep in the Bush Telegraph. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Old women aren't often the protagonists of stories, which is why when Hannah got the chance to chat to Jane Campbell, she jumped at it. Jane, who is 80, has just had her first collection of short stories - Cat Brushing - published, and she tells us why it's never too late to make your hobby your job. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Mickey loves her some Mabel Stark, so when she heard about Tiger Lady, a new play from Dead Rabbits Theatre Company, she got straight on the Zoom with Natisha Williams-Samuels and Kasia Zaremba-Byrne, star and writer/director respectively of the new show about Mabel's incredible life. Hannah's been chatting to author Rebecca Wait about her latest book I'm Sorry You Feel That Way, mother/daughter disasters and why we put too much pressure on youngsters to have "the time of their life" at university. And in the Bush Telegraph, we're talking about the Labour Party, monkeypox and, sorrywhatnow, England are European Champions? Yeah, they bloody are! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Violence against women is an issue that isn't going away any time soon. In the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, and a string of widely reported murders of women by men, some men are asking what they can do to be better allies. Sophie Gallagher, deputy features editor at the i paper, has some ideas, which she puts forward in her book How Men Can Help: A Guide To Undoing Harm and Being A Better Ally. In this week's Chops, she chats to Jen about the mammoth task of getting men to understand the scale of the problem women face, what she hopes to achieve with the book, and why #NotAllMen can get in the bin. If you've been affected by any of the issues Sophie and Jen are talking about, you can find out more information about where to get support from Refuge, or Rape Crisis England and Wales. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Birmingham Festival 2022 about to get underway, Hannah ventures (via Zoom) to the glorious Midlands for a chat with artist Dawinder Bansal about her exhibition, Jambo Cinema, which opens on July 28. They're talking Bollywood, social history, video shops and “daytimers”, among other things. Jenny Off The Blocks also takes us to Birmingham as, ahead of the Commonwealth Games, Jen catches up with lawn bowling superstar Amy Pharoah of Bowls England. Plus, we ask how many times a film’s dialogue can reasonably repeat the central character’s name? The team finds out as 1987’s The Lost Boys gets Rated or Dated. And in BT, Mick’s got a stunning new rendition of the theme to Top Cat, as she reflects on the Tory leadership cuntest. Sorry, we meant, yeah, cuntest. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not one, but TWO funny women in this week’s Sunday Chops, the first of two Edinburgh Fringe specials – although if you can’t get to the festival, fret not, as both of these excellent comedians can be found elsewhere, too. Human fireball Helen Bauer tells Mick about giving advice on the Trusty Hogs podcast, dealing with diet culture in her show Madame Good Tit, and what it’s like to have Marsha from Spaced as your mum in her BBC Three pilot Small Doses. She also introduces her to Pen Island. After the break, Yuriko Kotani, a Japanese comedian based in the UK puts the wind up Mick with her talk of “kaiju” – that’s monsters or strange beasties to those of us who don’t speak Japanese. Actually, no wind at all; turns out Godzilla lives in Mick's house.  You can give both of them a follow on the socials. Helen is @Helenbabauer and Yuriko is @YurikoComedy.  Helen Bauer’s Madame Good Tit is at the Pleasance Courtyard, Aug 3 to 28, 5.40pm Yuriko Kotani’s Kaiju About is at the Pleasance Dome, Aug 3 to 28, 7.30pm Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is The Lazarus Project Sky's best original drama in a long time? Did Sherwood avoid the Spycops cliche? Does Hannah still love, love, love Only Murders In The Building? Does Mick regret her trip to Paris? Will Jen ever make it past episode one of anything? We answer these questions - and more - in this month's Outside The Box. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ayisha Malik’s new book, The Movement, explores life in a world where everyone is talking, but no one seems to be listening, and what it means to have a voice. She chats to Jen about how we communicate and why a female protagonist shutting the fuck up is a feminist statement. Our regular music mistress, Liz Buckley, gives Mick the lowdown on Phoebe Bridgers, the joy of puns, slagging off Ryan Adams, and why it’s never not fun to put an expletive in your name.  In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s rounding up all the action in athletics, cricket and of course, the Women's Euro. And in Rated or Dated, filler, spray paint and misogyny at the ready as we watch Robert Zemeckis’ star-studded 1992 schlocky horror show, Death Becomes Her. Plus, thank goodness Hannah found Bonnie in this week’s Bush Telegraph. What a good girl! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jihyun Park's new book, The Hard Road Out, details how she escaped, not once, but twice, from one of the world's most repressive and secretive regimes: North Korea. She talks to Hannah about why, with the help of South Korean writer Seh-Lynn Chai, she's now chosen to tell her story, about brainwashing, escape, sexual exploitation, and a new life for Jihyun and her family in the UK.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clearly, a franchise revival-cum-nostalgia fest of one of Mick’s all-time favourite movies was going to be Noonan catnip, so she’s been in giddy bliss the four times she’s watched Ghostbusters: Afterlife since it came out in November 2021. But what do Yosra and Hannah make of Jason “son of Ivan” Reitman’s sort of sequel, sort of reboot, definite love letter to the 1984 supernatural comedy classic? Just how many Easter eggs can you enjoy before you feel sick? And – altogether now – who you gonna call(back)? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a wealth of cracking shows at the West End this summer, so Hannah got on the Zoom with Ruth Bratt – actress, comedian, and star of Showstoppers – to get the lowdown on where to spend your cash.   Mick chats queens of crime, the golden age of detective fiction, and why Richard Curtis can do one with journalist and host of the excellent Shedunnit podcast, Caroline Crampton.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s chatting kicking off, mouthing off, and a shed load of goals, as she looks back at the Wimbledon finals and all the latest action from the Women’s Euro. There's bad rapping and shaken pugs in Rated or Dated, as the team revisit 1997 blockbuster Men In Black. Plus, in the Bush Telegraph: clowns to the left of us, and frankly terrible people to the right, as the Tory party implodes and a leadership contest hots up. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the sexual revolution was the biggest lie ever sold to women? With her new book, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century, journalist and campaigner against male sexual violence, Louise Perry has penned a fierce, bold, radical exploration of whose interests sex positivism really serves. Spoiler: it ain’t women.  She chats to Mickey about sociosexuality, the murky nature of consent, taking sex seriously, how porn is ruining our sex lives, why she’s not Mary Whitehouse, and the freedom that comes with knowing you’re probably going to annoy everyone.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you keep calm during an LBC call-in? This week, Mick finds out from writer, broadcaster and mental health champion, Natasha Devon, as they chat about privilege one-upmanship, toxic friendships and Natasha's new book Toxic. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's talking balls to one half of the Two Girls Talk Balls Podcast, Charlotte French, about the Women’s Euro, which kicks off TONIGHT. It's definitely a balls-heavy Rated or Dated too, as Hannah picks 2002's Road to Perdition. It's all gone a bit 1930s Italy in SOTW and there's balls and Balls in BT. Balls for everyone, basically. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this year saw the publication of Deep Deception, a non-fiction book about the Spycops scandal by five of the many women targeted by undercover police officers in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and into the 2010s. They were part of left-wing activist groups routinely spied on by the Special Demonstrations Squad, a police unit founded in 1968. All five were hoodwinked into believing they had met their perfect man, when, in fact, the person they shared their life with did not really exist. Instead, their partners were being played by specially-trained - and married - police officers who had stolen the identity of a dead child. This week, Hannah chats to two of them: Helen Steel and Alison* about the fascinating, mysterious, horrifying and important history of the Spycops scandal. * Not her real name Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s definitely a podcast of two halves this week. In BT, Mick chats the US Supreme Court’s barbaric striking down of Roe V Wade and what that means for women and people who can get pregnant, and Jen looks at the ongoing binfire that is the UK government and every fecker in it. Screaming pillows mandatory.  But, it’s not all doom and gloom, as that’s followed by not one, but TWO brilliantly funny women being brilliantly funny. Mick catches up with everyone’s favourite “Tory MP” Rosie Holt, aka actor, comedian, satirist and social media sensation, Rosie Holt. And Jen somehow manages not to shout “Pivot!” at the excellent Laura Lexx, even though they’re talking about Laura’s new book, set in the world of recreational netball and called Pivot.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following a 2020 investigation by Guardian journalist Lucy Osborne that exposed an historic culture of control, coercion and abuse within some of the world's leading modelling agencies, the fashion industry has been having something of a #MeToo moment. Building on Osborne's ongoing investigation, a new Sky Documentaries series, Scouting For Girls: Fashion's Darkest Secret, began on June 24. In this week's Chops, Jen chats to former model, actor, therapist, and contributor to the series, Marianne Shine, about her experience as a young model in Paris in the 1980s. They talk about the endemic culture of abuse, its links to serial abuser Jeffrey Epstein, and how the unregulated industry put - and continues to put - young women and girls in harm's way. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teresa Lim’s first book, The Interpreter's Daughter, recounts what happened when she set out to trace her family history. She tells Hannah about her discoveries, which span 19th century China to modern-day Singapore, and include a hidden tale about her great aunt, who was, it turns out, a woman after our Hannah’s own heart. Mostly.  In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s been on the Zoom with fellow journalist Natasha Everitt to find out about the HerGameToo campaign, which works to eradicate sexism in the football industry. They chat about what the campaign’s up to, why men's football is still an unwelcoming place for women, and Charlton Athletic. Obviously.  And if Mick sounds giddy in Rated or Dated, it’s because she is. But what will Hannah and Jen make of Face/Off, John Woo’s 1997 blockbuster of batshittery, and just how tall is Snoop Dogg? Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than half of young women are ‘filled with dread’ at the state of their finances and 29% are “always in debt”. The picture for young mums is bleaker yet. That's according to The Young Women's Trust's annual survey, released this week. Hannah got on the Zoom with Claire Reindorp, the charity's chief executive, to find out more. They chat about university debt, discrimination, the gig economy, the cost of childcare and – of course – whether cancelling the Netflix subscription is the cure-all some people seem to think it is. SPOILER ALERT: It is not. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leila Mottley is the author of the hour – and don’t take our words for it, that’s straight from Oprah Winfrey. She joins Mick to talk about her novel Nightcrawling, based on a real-life story, which tells the tale of Oakland teen Kiara, who is fighting to keep her life together any which way she can, leading to her being sexually exploited by police. Meanwhile Hannah catches up with actress Sinead Matthews, star of Hullraisers - who can currently be seen on stage in The Madhouse, alongside David Harbour and Bill Pullman - about dysfunctional families, death, and money, among other things. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s chatting about the ongoing outpouring of stories of abuse in gymnastics, while it’s high fives all round in cycling. And can women really not play baseball? Hannah and Jen question 1940s American Voice’s judgement in this week’s Rated Or Dated, as they watch 1992’s A League Of Their Own. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having private photographs you sent to your boyfriend hacked from your iCloud and spread around the internet is most people's idea of hell. When it happened to actor Melissa Johns, she knew there was only one way through it. She chats to Hannah about intrusion, body image, shame, disability and turning the whole thing into a one-woman show, Snatched.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She’s kept it quiet until now, but turns out Hannah loves Kayvan Novak. Who knew? (Everyone. Everyone knew.) But his beautiful face isn’t the only reason our Dunleavy’s a colossal fan of Four Lions, Chris Morris’s 2010 cult gem about an inept gang of jihadis. But will it make Yosra and Mick laugh? Will it make them cry? Both? Find out in this month’s Flicking. WARNING: Toploader earworm imminent…  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We need to ditch the shame around sex. Everyone's good with that, yeah? If that hasn't convinced you, Natalie Lee - aka Style Me Sunday - will almost certainly do a better job. She chats to Mick about the absolute joy of feeling herself and her aptly-titled new book, Feeling Myself. And while we're on the subject of feelings, Hannah gets dangerously close to having some when she chats to Theresa Heskins, director and co-writer of a new play, Tom, Dick & Harry, based on the true story of the "great" escape from Stalag Luft III. And we stick with the history in Rated or Dated. Of course we don't, we're watching The Untouchables. Also, Mick has a SOTW MASTERclass and there's mosquitos, mojitos and that Bojo mofo in the Bush Telegraph. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Football’s domestic leagues have wound up for this season, but we are here for you with some excellent chat from excellent women, as Dr Carrie Dunn joins Jen to chat about their respective new books.  In 1921, women were banned from playing football in the grounds of affiliated Football Association clubs for 50 years. Of course women didn’t just stop playing football, and Carrie’s new book, Unsuitable for Females, is a deep dive into the history of women’s football during the ban, and the people who kept the women’s game alive.  Our Jen’s new book, The Year Of The Robin, charts the ill-fated 2019/20 season of her beloved Charlton Athletic. She recounts her personal experiences living through it with her brother, Michael, and looks at what a lower-league football club can tell us about society.  Carrie and Jen also chat about being female football writers, tribalism, and where the women’s game is at ahead of the Euros this summer. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kidnaps, rebirths, mythical serpents, magical pregnancies, the Upside Down and people who take a chunk out of your salary, this month's Outside The Box has it all. In it, we chat about The Essex Serpent, Ten Percent, Floodlights, Stranger Things, Inside No 9 and Life After Life. So yes, you can spend the long weekend watching TV if you want. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

251km across the Sahara on foot? Erm… Sabrina Pace-Humphreys tells Mickey about the Marathon Des Sables, aka “the toughest footrace on earth” and what in the sweet fancy fuck inspired her to do it. She also chats about how ultrarunning and rural racism led her to activism, founding the Black Trail Runners, and writing her memoir, Black Sheep.  Jen’s been on the Zoom with Shelina Janmohamed, author of the new book, BeYOUtiful, and they’re talking about why we need to mix things up when it comes to understanding beauty, and how advertising is finally shifting away from the male gaze when flogging products to women. Inspired by The Witches of Eastwick, which is this week’s Rated or Dated, the team somehow manage to manifest Chris Hemsworth for tea-making duties. And it’s Platty Jubbs weekend ahoy in the Bush Telegraph, although Hannah and Jen’s chat about booze culture might well put you off your royal insignia-ed pint. No worries, just light up that royal insignia-ed reefer and let a horse sort any admin. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ace actor Shobna Gulati has taken on the role of Mari Huff in a new version of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, so Hannah jumped on the Zoom to find out more. Not that we needed much excuse. They chat about being on tour with your son, embracing the grey and working with Victoria Wood.    Mick speaks to Ellie Greenhalgh, the lead on the Women’s Development Unit, a partnership project between The Connection at St Martin’s and Solace Women’s Aid, and Caroline Muir from the 18Keys project at St Martin’s Trust, about the specific needs of homeless women, and a new strategy that aims to end women’s homelessness in London – and hopefully beyond.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s hailing an historic development in, hang on, men’s football? And, hold on to your habits, as we revisit 1992’s Sister Act in Rated or Dated. Plus there’s grubbiness galore and some unexpected blacklists in the Bush Telegraph. * The Women’s Development Unit has published a new London-wide Strategy for Ending Women’s Homelessness to transform how the capital responds to women’s homelessness.   * The Connection is working with St Martin-in-the-Fields Trust to raise funds for the 18 Keys project. 18 Keys will provide specialist support and safe, stable accommodation for women who have been sleeping rough to recover and become independent again. * The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is touring nationally until July 16, and you can buy tickets here. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Men are looking for sex and women are looking for love, right? Wrong, says Kala Ellis, creator Spreadsheet, a new sitcom starring Katherine Parkinson, which debuts tonight on Channel 4. Hannah chats to Kala about what happens when you're not looking for "the one", comparisons to Sex and The City and why new apps can be frankly terrifying. Meanwhile, Jen's been learning more about 20 years of Deafinitely Theatre from its artistic director Paula Garfield, as well as some pretty shocking facts about domestic violence and educational attainment. And in Jenny Off The Blocks, she's chatting about the French Open. In Sexism of the Week, Mickey's got some thoughts about how the BBC is spending its comedy budget, plus we're watching violent AF 2007 neo-western No Country For Old Men in Rated or Dated. You're welcome. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Acclaimed writer Sarah Perry’s surprise (to her) best-seller The Essex Serpent has been adapted to a six-part Apple TV series, starring Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes (we know). Could there be a better excuse – not that we needed one – to get her on the Zoom, for a natter? Our Jen was giddy as a kipper to chat to Sarah, about having a book fly off the shelves, what it’s like to have a Hollywood star play your protagonist, the fetishisation of women’s trauma, and – of course – being an Essex girl. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Jordan Peele's directorial debut a horror film, a satire or both? We find out, as Yosra brings 2017's Get Out to the court of Flicking. We chat about race (obvs), class (natch) and Daniel Kaluuya's iconic tears (because of course).  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s podzine, the glorious Laura Bates joins our Mick to rage against the sexism machine. The feminist writer, activist, founder of Everyday Sexism and author has written another book – Fix The System, Not The Women – and it’s both vital and full of righteous fury.  Hannah’s been chatting to Julie Owen Moylan about her debut novel That Green-Eyed Girl, about getting her first break in publishing over the age of 60, and about making the big leap over the class barrier. In Jenny Off The Blocks, it’s Emma Hayes appreciation time. Again. And no one’s complaining. And in Rated or Dated, we’re asking how good does Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi mega-blockbuster E.T. look at 40? Tricky, given E.T., the delightful sweaty sausage/joke shop turd protagonist, always looked 187 anyway. Plus, abortion, poverty, class, the menopause and *spits* Allison Pearson in the Bush Telegraph. And here's that link Hannah promises: https://twitter.com/RobynVinter/status/1521872761689419777. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marys Seacole is Jackie Sibblies Drury's new play exploring the life of the Scottish-Jamaican nurse who treated British soldiers during the Crimean War, and of other ‘Marys’, those in the caring professions. Hannah catches up with Kayla Meikle and Olivia Williams, who play Seacole and Florence Nightingale respectively, to chat about in what – and indeed whom – society places value. In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen talks to Vera Wienken, senior brand manager at Riot Games, about esports and the forthcoming Game Changers tournament. And in this week’s Rated or Dated, hold on to your sports bras and keep your eye on the ball, as Mick and Jen revisit 2002’s Bend It Like Beckham. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frances Scott is the woman behind 50:50 Parliament, a brilliant campaign working with all the UK’s political parties to help women progress in politics in order to build a better democracy. We can all agree it needs to be better, right? Right. She talks to our Mick about how it all started, why it’s so damn important to have women’s voices in Parliament, and how we can all help make it happen.  Please, please bear all of this – and indeed a lot of the drums we bang on Standard Issue – in mind when you head to the ballot boxes on Thursday 5 May to vote for councillors if you’re in England, Wales or Scotland or if you’re in Northern Ireland, your government.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At home this Bank Holiday Monday? If you're looking for some TV to watch then you've come to the right place. This time, we've talking about Julia, Gentleman Jack, The Witchfinder, Inside No 9, Russian Doll and Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian Isy Suttie just announced her first stand-up tour in six years, so Hannah got on the Zoom with her to find out more and reminisce about childhood trips to Center Parcs. Because why not? In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen's chatting to Leah McDerment of the London Lions about the team’s fantastic season and the growth of basketball in the UK. We're back in 1997 in Rated or Dated, as we watch romcom-cum-shoot 'em up Grosse Pointe Blank. And what's Mickey doing? Well, she's been bitten by a strange rat, which could be the start of a new superhero franchise. Watch this space.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clearly what’s happening in Ukraine is horrific for everyone there, but women and girls are particularly at risk during conflict, whether they’re fleeing the country or staying put in Ukraine.  Suzy Madigan, senior humanitarian advisor on gender and protection at CARE International, has 20+ years experience in humanitarian work, with a focus on helping women and girls, and in this Chops, she explains to Mick the specific risks for them during conflict. They chat about how the Ukraine conflict impacts women and girls, the processes in place and that need to be put in place to help, other emergencies that must not be forgotten, the role of the UK Government, and – of course – what we, the public, can do to help. (Cash not stuff, smashers. Cash not stuff.) Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in October at the Newcastle Stand, Mickey was tasked with herding the following brilliant comedy cats: Sarah Millican, Louise Young and Sally-Anne Hayward. As ever during In Conversations, the gamut of topics is vast, but with a healthy focus on cats, chocolate and periods. However, the real issue is clearly how the hell Sally-Anne Hayward still walks among us given her unsanitary sanitary product behaviour. You’ll never look at a sock the same way again.   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Louise Kennedy’s short story collection The End of the World is a Cul-de-sac garnered her all sorts of well-deserved plaudits. Her debut novel, Trespasses, is a page-turning story of love and loss set in Belfast during The Troubles, in which Louise’s spare, lyrical writing brings to uneasy life the reality of people getting on with their lives in a time and place where the unspeakable is just everyday.   In this Chops, Louise chats to our Mick about the Troubles and their legacy, and what problems Brexit and the unresolved difficulties of the Northern Ireland Protocol might mean, starting writing in your 40s, dealing with cancer, and why the joy of doomed love might just mean readers are perverts.  Trespasses is out now, published by Bloomsbury. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian Lucy Beaumont is a busy woman, starring as a fictionalised version of herself in Dave’s Meet The Richardsons and being the co-writer of new Channel 4 sitcom, Hullraisers. In this week’s podzine, she chats to our Hannah about why Hull is no longer the butt of a national joke and that time she wet herself before 8 Out of 10 Cats.  For Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen’s been on the Zoom with multi-award-winning audio documentary maker and writer Hana Walker-Brown. They’re talking about degenerative brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), concussive and sub-concussive trauma, and how that all ties to sport, its players, and their lives – and those of their families – off the field. All of which is covered in Hana’s new non-fiction book, A Delicate Game: Brain Injury, Sport and Sacrifice.   And it’s bonkers galore in Rated or Dated, as Mick’s choice of Robert Altman’s 1977 avant-garde piece, 3 Women, leads to all sorts of questions, but not many answers.  Plus, there’s loads of good news in the Bush Telegraph. If you’re patient, like.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A life-threatening ectopic pregnancy at 37 caused writer Georgina Scull to re-evaluate her lot. Having not lived the life she’d “planned”, she set about talking to people facing their own mortality to find out what they wished they'd done differently. Her new book, The Regrets of The Dying: Stories and Wisdom That Remind Us How to Live, is the result. She chats to Jen about common themes of regret, the patterns that drive them and how, by listening to other people’s regrets, we can lead more fulfilled lives. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The love for Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo's 2011 comedy brimming with women is flowing out of Mickey like lava, in the latest episode of Flicking. But what do Yosra and Hannah make of Bridesmaids? The cast? The plot? The outrageous opulence? The weird American tradition of having 27 big days before The Big Day? Find out!  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Times are tough, financially speaking, and Makala Green knows a thing or two about looking after the pennies, having worked her way up from a 16-year-old cashier at Nationwide bank to being a chartered financial planner. In this week’s podzine, she chats to Jen about her new book, The Money Edit, and what we can do to keep on top of our finances.   When do you think the first woman was paid to work in science? Hannah finds out as she chats to Izzy Wall, assistant curator at Bath's Herschel Museum of Astronomy, about astronomer Caroline Herschel.   In Jenny Off The Blocks, Jen chats about the new Number One in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings, while in Rated or Dated, Mick’s ready to rename the whole section after sitting through 1997’s Chasing Amy. And in the Bush Telegraph, there’s a plague island and some tiny joyous ear hairs. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and writer Lucy Ward tells Hannah how she turned a tale of family history she heard in a school playground into the cracking new non-fiction book The Empress and the English Doctor: How Catherine the Great defied a deadly virus. They talk about how Catherine The Great's bold decision to be inoculated - and talk about it publicly - helped the fight against smallpox, about writing that book during a pandemic, and about why now is the perfect time to try to understand Russian history a bit better. And pus. There's quite a lot about pus. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Areej Osman is a senior placement coordinator at Refugees At Home, and this week, she’s explaining the realities of hosting a displaced person. She and Jen chat pros, cons, vulnerabilities and responsibilities.  Victorian girl power is the foundation of author Liz Hyder’s latest fiction, The Gifts, and she’s talking to Mick about fierce women, unscrupulous surgeons, surprise wings and the joyful power of storytelling.  In Jenny Off The Blocks, there’s a surprise retirement and more cricket, while in Rated or Dated, Hannah’s pick of 1997 Aussie cult classic The Castle leads to some Dunleavy and Noonan reminiscing about gifts from Lourdes. And in the Bush Telegraph, there’s trafficking, taxes and toxic behaviour, but absolutely no Nazis.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The stage version of The Life of Pi is currently pulling in the crowds and snaffling all the Olivier nominations, so Hannah got on the Zoom with the woman responsible for adapting the book: Lolita Chakrabarti. They talk about the highs and lows of tackling such a well-loved novel and its themes of storytelling and faith, as well as chatting about some of Lolita's other recent projects, including A Working Diary, the book she wrote with her husband, fellow actor Adrian Lester. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/standardissuespodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices