Author Holly Jackson, Black Girl Gamers, Constance Martin case

The Invest in Women Taskforce, backed by the Department for Business and Trade, was set up last year with the aim of creating ‘the world’s biggest funding pot of £250 million’ to invest in female-led businesses. The Taskforce has been criticised by some MPs on the Women and Equalities Select Committee, suggesting that it is ‘lacking a sense of urgency.’ To respond to this and give context on the challenges and opportunities for female entrepreneurship in the UK, Nuala McGovern is joined by the co-chair of the Taskforce, entrepreneur and investor Debbie Wosskow OBE and the Chair of the Select Committee, Sarah Owen MP.

The UK’s bestselling female crime writer in 2024, Holly Jackson, has just published her first thriller for adults. Up to now Holly has been known for her success in writing for Young Adults – she has sold more than 10 million YA books and last summer a TV adaptation of her debut, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, was a hit for both BBC3 and Netflix. Holly joins Nuala to talk about deciding to write for older readers with her latest novel, Not Quite Dead Yet, and her ambition to out-perform Richard Osman and Lee Child.

In the second part of our new series about women and gaming, we’re finding out more about the impact gaming can have on women’s lives. Nuala heads to the Virgin Media Gamepad at the O2 to meet some of the women from the Black Girl Gamers community, who have over 10,000 members around the world, and neuroscientist Dr Faye Begeti tells us what actually goes on in our brains when we play video games.

Yesterday saw the long-awaited verdict in the Constance Marten and Mark Gordon retrial. The couple have been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence, more than two years after the body of their baby, Victoria, had been discovered in a shopping bag in Brighton. An earlier trial at the same court found them guilty of concealing the birth of a child, perverting the course of justice by not reporting her death, and of child cruelty. BBC News correspondent Helena Wilkinson has been following both trials. She joins Nuala to discuss the details.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Andrea Kidd