Woman's Hour Folgen

Listener Week continues on Woman's Hour as we bring your stories, ideas and the issues you want to hear about to the air.Carola got in touch to ask if we could find out more about the benefits of testosterone for post-menopausal women. Dr Joyce Harper, Professor of Reproductive Science at the Institute for Women’s Health at University College London, joins Nuala McGovern to discuss the evidence. When we think about children in situations of domestic abuse, it’s often young children we think of - but what about adult children? We received a letter from a listener telling us about a dilemma she is facing. After previously being in an abusive relationship with the father of her four adult children, she’s now considering whether to tell them that their parents’ relationship was coercive. Gemma Sherrington, CEO of Refuge, and coercive control expert Dr Gemma Katz join us to discuss the issues around a parent deciding whether to be honest with their grown-up children or continue to protect them from their reality. Jess wrote in to tell us about a poem she came across on social media about the post-partum period, calling it “absolutely beautiful”. She added: “There are hundreds of comments across Instagram and TikTok of mothers feeling exactly the same way. Please check it out, I would love to hear more from this poet.” We’ve tracked her down and her name is Amy Williams. She joins us to perform the poem live in the studio. Listener Sarah Hutchinson wants to know more about dreams. Specifically, why she has been having more vivid, memorable dreams during the recent heatwaves, and whether women’s experience of dreaming is linked to the menstrual cycle? Sarah joins Nuala along with Caroline Horton, Professor of Sleep and Cognition and director of the DrEAMSLab at Bishop Grosseteste University. And listener Heather tells us what it was like setting up one of the first dating agencies in the 1980s, aimed at helping people in rural communities find love. Presented by: Nuala McGovern Produced by: Sarah Jane Griffiths and Di McGregor

To kick this week off, we heard from listener Melanie Williams. Melanie is forever having to adjust her seatbelt because of her bust size. She worries if she were to be in an accident she would end up choking or being strangled by her seatbelt rather than protected by it. Melanie joins Nuala McGovern to discuss, along with motoring journalist Maria McCarthy who has been looking into the issue. How might the use of AI in recruitment be negatively impacting women's chances of finding work? Listener Valerie joins Nuala to talk about the challenges of being shortlisted for jobs. They are also joined by Judy Wajcman, Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, she has written extensively on the relationship between gender, science and technology, and Lauren Spearman who is a careers content creator and brand consultant. After 30 years of marriage, Margaret Murphy moved from the family home in Australia to the UK—alone. Fifteen years later, she and her husband are still married, despite living on opposite sides of the world. She believes her later-life choices reflect a freer, more modern way to look at traditional married life—one that may appeal to listeners. Amy Ennion is a 32-year-old engineer from Surrey, who in her spare time, is an ultra-marathon swimmer. She has swum the English Channel, the length of Lake Windermere twice, she has swum Lac Leman in Geneva for 28 hours straight and just a few weeks ago she swam the length of Loch Ness! After her mother and partner wrote into Woman's Hour about her, Amy tells us what it’s like to swim for such an extreme period of time. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stand in front of a room full of strangers and make them laugh? Listener Susan Warlock wanted to explore older women taking up stand-up comedy. At 66, she decided to try it herself – and after just one gig, she was completely hooked. She joins Nuala along with writer, performer & stand-up comedy teacher Rach Sambrooks. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Dianne McGregor

The Lionesses have made history by becoming the first England football squad to win a major trophy on foreign soil, they successfully defended their European title in Basel last night. The match went to extra time and penalties - Clare McDonnell got reaction and reflection from guests including 5Live commentator Vicki Sparks, BBC Sport correspondent Katie Gornall, chief executive of the Women's Professional League Nikki Doucet and star player Lucy Bronze's mum Diane.The BBC has found that five women who were exploited by so-called grooming gangs in Rotherham as children say they were also abused by police officers in the town at the time. One woman says she was raped repeatedly in a marked police car, and threatened with being handed back to the gang if she didn't comply. The BBC's Ed Thomas brings us the story and Clare hears from Professor Alexis Jay who is the author of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse and Zoë Billingham, former His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary.Actor Michelle Collins, best known as Cindy Beale in the BBC’s EastEnders, makes her Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut in Motorhome Marilyn, a dark comedy inspired by Michelle's real-life encounter with a woman Cindy saw in LA. The play reveals the toll of living in the shadow of an icon, exploring failure, ageing and the heartbreaking cost of unattained dreams. Michelle joined Datshiane from Edinburgh to talk about her debut.Hattie Williams lost her mother when she was 18 years old leaving her feeling anchorless and needing to embark on a self-exploratory journey to recover some stability. When she experienced motherhood, she felt that she had achieved that. She told Anita Rani how these experiences inspired her first novel, Bitter Sweet, which she wrote on her maternity leave.Sara Pascoe is a comedian, and her children don’t sleep, her kitchen won’t clean itself and her husband “doesn’t want to be in it”. Sara’s new show - I am a Strange Gloop – is on a UK tour. She stumbles stunned to the stage from the soft play area, with battle-hardened tales to tell on the front line of motherhood.Nicola Benedetti is a Grammy award winning violinist and ambassador for classical music. She is also director of the Edinburgh International Festival, which begins on Friday. In October she’s due to embark on her first solo tour in more than ten years. She joined Clare to discuss the repertoire, and how she will combine solo performances with storytelling, and share a selection of shorter works.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Corinna Jones