Woman's Hour
By BBC Radio 4
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire. Listen to our new series of conversations, The Woman's Hour Guide to Life, on BBC Sounds - your toolkit for the juggle, struggle and everything in between: www.bbc.co.uk/guidetolife
Episodes (16)
Woman's Hour
Rugby star Ellie Kildunne, Baroness Jacqui Smith, Working from bed, Kimberlé Crenshaw
The episode of Woman's Hour delivers a powerful, multi-layered exploration of resilience, systemic inequality, and the quiet revolutions of everyday life. At its core is a striking revelation: the most transformative change often begins not with grand gestures
Woman's Hour
Gisèle Pelicot, Women's Tennis, Osteoporosis, Zoe Birkett
Gisèle Pelicot has transformed from a survivor of one of the most harrowing mass rapes in modern history into a global symbol of resilience and justice. After enduring nearly a decade of systematic abuse by her husband, who drugged and raped her while recordin
Woman's Hour
02/06/2026
A disturbing pattern of sexual harassment and intimidation targeting female medical students at the University of Manchester has erupted into a national reckoning, with Charlotte Buttercase leading a courageous campaign that has now drawn 32 women forward. The
Woman's Hour
Lady Brittan on false accusations, playwright Anna Jordan on Mother Courage, author Claire Powell
Lady Brittan, widow of former Home Secretary Leon Britton, delivers a powerful call to action after being falsely accused in the 2019 Operation Midland scandal, where Carl Beech made baseless allegations of child sexual abuse and murder against high-profile fi
Woman's Hour
Al Fayed abuse allegations, Co-housing, Ovarian cancer, Queens
In a landmark episode of Woman's Hour, survivors of alleged abuse by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed met with the UK Prime Minister in a historic moment that has reignited demands for justice and systemic reform. Over 400 allegations dating back to 1977
Woman's Hour
Emergency C-sections, Hannah Murray, Strip clubs
A record-breaking 26% of births in England now involve emergency caesarean sections—up from 18% five years ago—raising urgent questions about why the rate is surging and what it means for maternal health. Despite no clear data on causes, experts point to a com
Woman's Hour
Weekend Woman's Hour: Gisèle Pelicot and Mother Courage
Gisèle Pelicot's decision to waive her anonymity and testify in the largest rape trial in French history has become a global symbol of resistance against patriarchal violence. Her memoir, A Hymn to Life, reveals a harrowing decade of drugging and repeated sexu
Woman's Hour
Nottingham Inquiry, New generation thinkers, Female sexual pleasure, Serena Williams
The Women's Hour podcast delivers a powerful, multi-layered examination of systemic failures, historical erasure, and the radical potential of female pleasure. At the heart of the episode is the aftermath of the Nottingham public inquiry into the 2023 murders
Woman's Hour
Clare Connor, Archers BRCA storyline, Yassmin Abdel-Magied
The BBC's Woman's Hour podcast explores a powerful convergence of personal, cultural, and systemic issues in a single episode. At its core is Clare Connor, the transformative figure behind England’s women’s cricket revolution, who reflects on her 18-year journ
Woman's Hour
Kanye West allegations, Government Experts at Hand programme, Author Doireann Ní Ghríofa
A groundbreaking civil lawsuit against Kanye West (now known as Ye) by model Jennifer Arm, who alleges he choked and sexually assaulted her during a 2010 music video shoot, takes center stage in this episode of Woman's Hour. Arm, a former America's Next Top Mo
Woman's Hour
11/06/2026
A Belfast stabbing has ignited a wave of violent unrest, with protests escalating into arson, property destruction, and targeted attacks on minority communities—many of whom are asylum seekers from Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. BBC correspondent Louise Cullen and r
Woman's Hour
Women's Prize winners, Weight, T20 World Cup, Mental healthcare
The 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction and Non-Fiction winners, Virginia Evans and Lise Doucette, join Woman's Hour to discuss their groundbreaking books—The Correspondent and The Finest Hotel in Kabul—while confronting the deep cultural obsession with women’s wei
Woman's Hour
Weekend Woman's Hour: Women’s Prize winners, Clare Connor, SEND, Weight, Mum’s poem in son’s exam
A poem written by Emily Cullen for her son when he was eight has resurfaced on his English exam paper seven years later—turning a personal moment into a profound synchronicity that moved both mother and son to tears. This touching story opens a broader convers
Woman's Hour
Social media ban, Flower farmers, OnlyFans
The BBC's Woman's Hour tackles three urgent, interconnected stories about technology, labor, and care in modern Britain. First, the government's announcement of a ban on under-16s using social media—framed as a public health intervention to combat addiction, b
Woman's Hour
Jo Cox 10 years on, Actor Geraldine James, Swinging investigation
Ten years after the murder of MP Jo Cox, this episode of Woman's Hour confronts the enduring crisis of online abuse and intimidation faced by women in public life. Despite promises of a more respectful politics, data reveals that 96% of MPs have experienced th
Woman's Hour
Women voters in Makerfield, Scotland cricketers, Peptides, Sex work book
The UK's political future may hinge on a single by-election in Makerfield, Greater Manchester, where women voters are being targeted with messages on cost of living, immigration, and local services. BBC political correspondent Alex Forsyth reveals a fiercely c
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