Standard Issue Podcast

It’s Robbie Williams, but he’s a chimp! But is there anything more to Michael Gracey’s biopic jukebox musical drama about the British pop phenomenon? Are there any facts in it? And will you look at that cast: Steve Pemberton! Alison Steadman! Damon Herriman! Jonno Davies (who? what?). It’s (oddly) Hannah’s pick, (poor?) Yosra’s second watch and (warning) may contain Mick singing.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Returning from a BT hiatus, Mickey and Hannah take a rifle through some of the daftest stories of the week, including AI failures, ball pits, watered down beer, rumours of Trump's death and odd book choices. While in Sexism of The Week, it turns out everything has been fixed in our absence. Oh no wait, it hasn't. Shame. Chloe's story about The Salt Path is here: http://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-real-salt-path-how-the-couple-behind-a-bestseller-left-a-trail-of-debt-and-deceit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there anything Meryl Streep and/or Shirley MacLaine can’t do? It's a question we return to, as we settle down with Mike Nichol’s 1990 dramedy, based on Carrie Fisher’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. But to what extent is it based on Fisher’s real-life relationship with her mum, Debbie Reynolds? How well does it reflect issues around addiction? And, another question we return to: what is Roger Ebert even on about? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A century after their birth, the Mitford Sisters continue to fascinate and appal in equal measure. As a new play about them, The Party Girls, opens at The Marlowe in Canterbury, Hannah chats to playwright Amy Rosenthal about why their stories still resonate, sisterhood and the frivolity of evil. Tickets for The Party Girls are here: https://showtours.co.uk/the-party-girls-tour-dates/ More info about becoming a Standard Issue supporter is here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fairy tales have long been a source of life lessons and observations. Adding to that tradition and brimming with female power, Wild Folk: Tales From the Stones, by writer and illustrator Jackie Morris and stained glass artist Tamsin Abbott, is officially one of the most beautiful books in our Mick’s possession. She chats with Jackie and Tamsin about the power of stories, the collaborative process, finding just the right sky and that aforementioned female power.  Wild Folk isn’t as easily available as it should be, but you can – and should – get it from www.sevenfables.co.uk. Also, give Tamsin a follow @tamsintheshed and ditto Jackie @jackiemorrisartist, both on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Featuring a couple of bona fide bangers by Irving Berlin, this Fred and Ginger bonanza, in which misunderstandings, misidentification and miscommunication slows true love’s flow, was the pair’s most successful film. But will the ‘idiot plot’ be too frustrating for words? Can Mick deal with the sheer amount of tap dancing? Why is Hannah screaming and refusing to look at the screen? And what am “Venice”? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2017, fashion model and counsellor-turned gender equality campaigner Karen Dobres, found herself on the board of her local football club Lewes FC, despite never having had an interest in the sport. But she discovered a passion for the women’s game and The Rooks made headlines as the first football club ever to pay its men’s and women’s team players equally. Her new book Pitch Invasion: My Story as a Feminist on a Football Club Board charts her time on the board. Jen caught up with Karen to chat about the book, the thorny topic of equal pay in football, the power of the sport to change hearts, minds and culture, and why football matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hold Fast, the latest series of the BBC World Service's Lives Less Ordinary podcast, tells the extraordinary tale of the Avontuur, a 100-year-old sailing cargo ship which left Germany heading for the Caribbean in early 2020. What happened next could never have been predicted, as the world was gripped by a global pandemic and the 15-strong crew found themselves unable to disembark for 188 days. Hannah was delighted to chat to producer Christina Hardinge and composer Noémie Ducimetière about making a truly immersive podcast series about an incredible story of survival and teamwork. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month's Outside The Box is a podcast of two halves. First up, Mickey and Hannah are chatting about Department Q, Untamed, Bookish and Parenthood. Then Jen arrives, and she and Hannah discuss Unforgivable, The Gone, Too Much, The Gilded Age and 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story. Yes, that is a whole lot of telly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A pig herding sheep? A kids film getting loads of Oscar nods? A main role containing just 16 lines of dialogue? Join Hannah and Jen as they discuss these and other unheard of (unherd of?) things, after watching an understated farmyard classic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices