Woman's Hour Folgen

Irish actor Caitríona Balfe was nominated for a Bafta for her performance in Kenneth Branagh’s film Belfast and is also known to many as Claire in time travel drama series Outlander. Caitríona joins Nuala McGovern in the studio to discuss her latest role in new film The Amateur, playing a Russian spy alongside Rami Malek. There has been a "significant increase" in the number of female swimmers having indecent images taken of them in changing rooms whilst competing in the elite level of the sport, according to a leaked report. The Times newspaper has seen a report by the sport’s governing body Swim England which states that pictures have been taken using camera phones over or under cubicles. Nuala is joined by BBC Sport correspondent Laura Scott and Mhairi Maclennan, CEO of Kyniska Advocacy, which supports women and victims of abuse in sport. The latest figures on child maintenance show there is currently £690m unpaid, leaving thousands of children without the financial support they are entitled to. Critics argue that the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is failing to use its legal powers, while the Government says enforcement measures are improving. As an inquiry by the cross-party House of Lords Public Services committee calls for evidence, we look at how unpaid child maintenance can be used as a form of economic abuse. Nuala hears from Sam Smethers, Chair of the charity Surviving Economic Abuse, and a survivor whose ex-partner used the system to control her.A new exhibition called Curious Cures at Cambridge University Library explores medicine in the medieval era. Dozens of unique medical manuscripts, recipes, cures and guides to healthy living from the 14th and 15th centuries are on display. To discuss women’s role in medieval medicine, Nuala is joined by the exhibition’s curator and medieval manuscripts specialist, Dr James Freeman.Grammy award-winning singer Chappell Roan has been causing a stir with some comments she made about motherhood on the podcast Call Her Daddy. The 27-year-old singer said her friends her age who have kids "are in hell", adding "I actually don't know anyone who's happy and has children at this age." So is motherhood worth it - or is Chappell Roan right? Anna Whitehouse, also known as Mother Pukka, is a campaigner and mum of five. She joins us to discuss. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Eid is a celebration of strength and gratitude where Muslims all around the world come together to mark the end of Ramadan. Nuala McGovern is joined by one of the first Muslim headteachers in the country, Bushra Nasir, author & podcaster Shelina Janmohamed and Executive Board Member at the Muslim Council of Wales Jamilla Hekmoun to discuss what roles they have on this day, from acting as the ‘memory markers’ to passing down the rich traditions that keep religious stories and practices alive as well as some of the pressures women can feel at this time. Women across England will be able to get the morning after pill for free from pharmacies from later this year, the Government has said. Emergency contraception is already free of charge from most GPs and sexual health clinics. But ministers say getting it in pharmacies is a "postcode lottery" - with some councils funding free prescriptions, while elsewhere women can pay up to £30. Nuala discusses the plan with Dr Janet Barter, President, Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare.The Government says it's going to create 10,000 new school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream schools. Ministers are saying £740 million will be allocated in England over the next three years. It comes as a new report is launched at Westminster today which warns that more and more children are 'losing learning' because their needs are not being met, or they are being suspended or excluded. Nuala discusses the issues and possible solutions with the report's author, Ellie Harris, Aaliyah, a young woman who couldn't attend school due to SEND, and the actress and mother Anna Maxwell Martin and Louise McLeod, the Executive Headteacher of two primary schools in Norfolk.Darkly funny, unsettling, and razor-sharp, I Hope You’re Happy by Marni Appleton is a haunting collection of short stories exploring modern womanhood through the lens of horror and satire. From viral photos to eerie performances in dead-end jobs, these stories capture the weirdness of millennial life... where power struggles, fleeting connections, and social media anxieties collide with the surreal. Marni joins Nuala to discuss the themes and her inspiration.Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer: Louise Corley

In the documentary Growing up Gypsy, Stacey Dooley gets to know three young English Romany Gypsy women. Invited into the traditionally private community, Stacey discovers the complex balancing act the young women face growing up in one of Britain’s most maligned ethnic minorities. She meets 23 year old Chantelle who prides herself in keeping with the ‘old’ Gypsy values her granny Rita taught her and shares her ‘Gypsy Cleaning’ videos on social media where she has nearly 400,000 followers on TikTok and 15 million likes on her page. Chantelle joined Kylie Pentelow to talk about her life, alongside Stacey Dooley.In this week’s Women’s Prize discussion, Clare McDonnell heard from two authors about the debut books they’ve had long-listed for this year’s prestigious literary prize. Sanam Mahloudji’s novel, The Persians, tells the story of the Valiat family from the perspective of five women from 1940s Iran into a splintered 2000s. And Labour MP Yuan Yang’s non-fiction book, Private Revolutions, explores the lives of four women born in China in the 1980s and 90s during a time of rapid change in society.Since its release, the Netflix TV series Adolescence has caused widespread discussion about what’s shaping our teenagers’ lives. The four-part series follows the fallout from 13-year-old Jamie’s arrest on suspicion of murdering his female classmate, Katie. The show is a critique of social media-boosted toxic masculinity and its role in the teenage experience. Clare discussed the issues with clinical psychologist, Dr Amani Milligan and Consultant Forensic Psychologist, Dr Ruth Tully.Do you enjoy a bit of gossip? The thrill of being the first to hear something and sharing it, or the irresistible urge to be let into the lives of others? What’s the difference between idle gossip and hurtful criticism behind someone’s back, do women gossip as much as men and can gossip be used to keep women safe? American journalist Kelsey McKinney joined Clare to discuss her new book, You Didn't Hear This From Me: Notes on the Art of Gossip.Technology journalist and author Lara Lewington asks how artificial intelligence can improve women’s health, and what we are ready for it to do for us? From prevention and diagnostics to testing and tracking, we speak to female experts, scientists and practitioners. Her experts include Madhumita Murgia, AI Editor of the Financial Times, Nell Thornton, Improvement Fellow, The Health Foundation and Dr Ellie Cannon, a GP and author.This week we heard how victims and survivors of domestic abuse want the police to better protect them from perpetrators, but there's also a very practical and positive way some women have been trying to process their trauma to build a future for themselves. British boxer Lesley Sackey - who previously won gold at the EU Championships - is a survivor of an abusive relationship and now helps other women to gain confidence and move forward by getting into the boxing ring. She joined Claire, along with Olivia Culverhouse, who took part in Lesley’s 10-week Fight Forward course.Presenter: Kylie Pentelow Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Sarah Crawley