logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
55m 21s

Joan Armatrading, Baroness Lola Young, M...

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Joan Armatrading joins Nuala McGovern to discuss her 23rd studio album, How Did This Happen and What Does it Now Mean?

Losing a baby in the early stages of pregnancy can be an extremely painful experience. Having to think about what you're going to tell your employer about why you're not able to come to work can compound the difficulty. In the UK you are not entitled to any time off work if you experience miscarriage in the first six months of pregnancy. But today, the Women and Equalities Select Committee is hearing evidence for the case of extending your right to bereavement leave to the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Sarah Owen MP, Chair of that Committee is in the Woman's Hour studio.

Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey has spent the last 20 years as an independent crossbench peer in the House of Lords, championing social justice causes such as the fight against modern slavery and promoting ethical fashion. She was also one of the first black women to enter the Lords. In her memoir Eight Weeks, she reflects on her childhood in the care system during the 1950s and 60s and the challenges she faced moving between foster care and children’s homes, and what she learnt from accessing her care records some fifty years later.

After writing her Spinal Column for the Times newspaper since 2010 – the first just two weeks after breaking her neck and back in a riding accident - columnist and author Melanie Reid has decided it’s time to stop and has published the final one. She joins Nuala to discuss why she has made that decision and what her plans are now.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Up next
Today
Pelicot trial, Lucy Guo, Bebe Jackson, Travel writing
A court in southern France has increased the jail term of the only man who challenged his conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot. Gisèle was drugged by her then-husband Dominique for over a decade and raped by dozens of men he recruited on the internet. Of the 51 men convicted of a ... Show More
54m 23s
Yesterday
Tanita Tikaram, Sally Wainwright, Nature and kids with SEND
NB: The music in this broadcast has been removed from this podcast for rights reasons.In Sally Wainwright’s new BBC drama Riot Women, a group of women in mid-life escape the pressures of caring for parents and kids - and the menopause - by forming a rock band. Rosalie Craig stars ... Show More
50m 40s
Oct 8
Kemi Badenoch's leadership, Manon Garcia on Gisele Pelicot, Joy Gregory
As Kemi Badenoch prepares to address Conservative Party conference for the second time this week, Nuala McGovern reflects on her first year as leader of the party and Leader of the Opposition, with BBC political correspondent Georgia Roberts and Conservative peer Baroness Kate Fa ... Show More
54m 23s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
How Can We Help Anxious Youth? With Joan Lunden and Laura Morton
Children and teenagers are expressing unprecedented levels of anxiety and many experts believe there is currently a crisis of anxiety in the United States. If that is true, what can adults — who may also be managing anxiety — do to help young people? While many experts believe so ... Show More
27 m
Dec 2024
Jane Dowden (Mum and a Mic) on going into labour at 21 weeks
Gi’s guest this week is the hilarious actress, comedian, and content creator, Jane Dowden, aka Mum and a Mic! Jane shares her journey of conceiving her twin boys through IVF. She also reflects on the emotional turmoil she faced when she went into early labour at just 21 weeks, be ... Show More
1h 2m
Jul 2020
Frida
Kate and Sam are pregnant again. Another girl. But this pregnancy comes with all the baggage from the first. In this episode, Kate and Sam prepare for the arrival of Frida.Content warning: This podcast contains graphic descriptions that some people might find difficult.After losi ... Show More
38m 21s
Mar 2025
Book Club Meets: The mess of motherhood, with Holly Bourne
Nicki, Lauren, Charlotte and Steffi have been friends since university. Now in their thirties, life is pulling them in different directions - but the girls are reunited when Charlotte organises the baby shower from hell for pregnant Nicki. Tensions are high as these women are for ... Show More
35m 53s
Aug 5
JOANNA MACY on the World as Lover and Self⌠HOMAGE⌡ /371
On July 19th, Joanna Macy, beloved teacher and past guest, passed away peacefully at home in Berkeley, California. In honor of her legacy, we are rebroadcasting her episode “The World as Lover and Self,” originally released in 2015 when the show was titled Unlearn and Rewild.In t ... Show More
59m 43s
Jun 2024
The Real Carrie Jade: 01 - I'm Carrie Jade Williams!
When we first went to meet Carrie Jade Williams in 2021, we were blown away by her strength, her vision, her determination and her untold story. She was a young woman on a pioneering journey, not only to help herself, but to help others. We wanted to help her tell her story, from ... Show More
29m 33s
Sep 2024
Sojourner Truth Read By D'Atra "Dee Dee" Jackson
Once there was a girl whose powerful voice would inspire people to fight for equality. Her name was Isabella Baumfree, but we know her now as Sojourner Truth. She was a Black woman born into slavery in Dutch-speaking rural New York in 1797. She escaped to freedom after nearly 30 ... Show More
20m 16s
Mar 2024
Women of Sound: Jean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie (1922-2015) was the mother of folk music. She was an instrumental voice in the American folk music revival of the 1940s and 60s, and introduced a traditional dulcimer sound to a wider audience.  For Further Reading: Jean Ritchie, Lyrical Voice of Appalachia, Dies at ... Show More
7m 44s
Jan 2025
“Women Talking Sh*t in a Sewing Circle” | Balance
The Protestant Work Ethic? I don’t know her. What even is work-life balance? Stephanie and Melissa discuss the modern concept’s ancient philosophical roots, its undeniable feminist ties and the influence that Samantha the American Girl doll had on their generation’s understanding ... Show More
34m 11s