Woman's Hour Folgen

The Department for Work and Pensions has just published statistics on the number of people affected by the so-called two-child benefit cap, which restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households. Some campaigners have called the cap the biggest driver of the rise in child poverty in the UK and are demanding the new Labour government scrap it immediately. So what is the future of the policy? Anita Rani talks to BBC political correspondent Hannah Miller, to Sara Ogilvie, Director of Policy, Rights and Advocacy at the Child Poverty Action Group and to mother of three Olympia.Women of the Windrush is an opera which portrays the stories of women who travelled to the UK from the West Indies between the 1940’s and the 1960’s. It is being re-staged as part of the Re-discover Festival from StreetWise Opera which celebrates the impact of African and Caribbean heritage on contemporary British culture. Anita is joined by Festival’s director, the soprano Opera singer Abigail Kelly and Dr. Shirley Thompson OBE composer of Women of the Windrush.Will Kamala Harris step in as a the Democratic nominee in the US elections? Anita talks to Shannon Felton Spence, Communications and Political Strategist at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center in Boston..And a recent article in the New York Times coined the phrase "medium friends" to describe “not our besties, but more than just acquaintances.” What is the significance of the mid-table friendship? Anita talks to Dr Susan MacDougall, a social anthropologist at Oxford University and to Shazia Mirza, a comedian and writer.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Laura Northedge

Irish soldier Cathal Crotty was given a three-year suspended sentence after beating Natasha O'Brien unconscious in May 2022. Now, in the latest development, he is due to be formally discharged from the Defence Forces. Nuala hears Natasha's reaction and speaks to Diane Byrne, a spokeswoman for the Women of Honour group, to hear what impact this could have. Hannah Mills is the most successful female sailor in Olympic history, having won medals at the London, Rio and Tokyo Olympic Games. Now she’s taking part in the Sail Grand Prix, an international sailing competition. Ahead of the finals this weekend, Hannah joins Nuala to talk about the work going into making the sport more gender equitable. Nusrit Mehtab spent 30 years serving in the Metropolitan Police before resigning, citing her own mental health and a toxic culture as reasons. Now she’s written a memoir looking back on her career. Nusrit joins Nuala to talk about the more shocking revelations as well as what it was that kept her going.Cathy Rentzenbrink is known for her non-fiction books – but now she’s written a second fiction novel – Ordinary Time. It tells the story of Ann, a reluctant vicar’s wife, and her grappling with ideas of marriage, duty and temptation. Cathy joins Nuala to tell us more.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lottie Garton

Former Chief Prosecutor Nazir Afzal speaks to Nuala McGovern about his independent culture review of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which is the independent regulator for nurses and midwifes in the UK. The report is highly critical, finding that a "dysfunctional culture" at the council has "threatened public safety and puts nurses at risk." Sir David Warren, Chair of the Council also joins them to respond to the findings of the report.Women are turning to increasingly risky ways to get weight loss drugs, like Ozempic and Wegovy, as online prescribers become more stringent about who they will give them to. Two young women tell Woman’s Hour’s Melanie Abbott about using drugs they buy on the black market, despite the potential dangers. Plus Professor Kamila Hawthorne from the Royal College of GPs explains the dangers of taking unregulated drugs.A new Radio 3 documentary looks at the life and work of 20th Century American composer Undine Smith Moore. Presenter Dr Samantha Ege tells Nuala about the woman affectionally called “The Dean of Black Women Composers”. She explains how Moore’s radical, experimental composition ‘Soweto’ helped her find her anger and heal after trauma.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Olivia Skinner