Standard Issue Podcast

Actor Honeysuckle Weeks has been onstage and screen for more than 30 years and can currently be found touring as Marmee in a new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott classic, Little Women. Jen chats to Honeysuckle about how relatable the 1868 novel remains to young women, the tragedy of Jo, and loving Leslie Manville. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a whole lot of manosphere in this week’s Bush Telegraph, helmed by Hannah and Mick, but maybe, just maybe, there’s a side of justice to boot. Thank Christ? Turns out a lot more Gen Z-ers have turned to God than we thought, so perhaps. Thank dire wolves? Well, now you’re just being silly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Waters’ follow-up to smash hit Hairspray saw the so-called “Pope of Trash” enjoy the first-ever bidding war for his work. But does 1990’s cult classic Cry-Baby live up to the hype? Is it the lol-a-thon Jen remembers? And can Mick and Hannah still bear to look at Johnny Depp’s face?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Writer, actor and top woman Brona C Titley was keener than mustard when she was asked to adapt Brian Helgeland’s 2001 medieval action comedy for the stage. A Knight’s Tale the Musical opens at Manchester Opera House this Friday, so Mick got Brona on the Zoom to chat the whys, the hows, and the horses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Namulanta Kombo pitched an idea for a podcast to the BBC World Service and the result - Dear Daughter - has become a worldwide success story, garnering a devoted listenership and a bunch of awards. She joins Hannah from Nairobi, to talk about advice, good and bad, and the importance of passing on life lessons.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Directed by Nora Fingscheidt and adapted from Amy Liptrot’s prizewining 2017 addiction memoir of the same name, The Outrun follows the recovery of young alcoholic Rona, and offers emotional turmoil in dramatic places. How will Mick, Yosra and Hannah cope with that? And it stars Saoirse Ronan. How will Hannah cope with that? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mick and Jen are steeling themselves for the seven bill (sort of) increases rolling out across the country this week, as they chat budget bloopers and a 45p consolation prize. Meanwhile, it’s bleak news indeed as in the UK further crimes are alleged against serial rapist Zhenhao Zou, and across the pond, women in the US are up against infringements on democracy via the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. Still, thank God for that new UTI drug, eh? In Jenny Off The Blocks there’s tennis, rugby, an April Fool's and Cilla Black. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we get into the groove of a "feminist cult classic". Is that jacket lush? Is Madonna playing Madonna? Is Desperately Seeking Susan a feminist film at all? All the debate is raging here. And Jen's in fancy dress. You're welcome. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian Hallie Rubenhold's non-fiction book The Five found the stories of the victims of Jack the Ripper underneath a whole pile of misogyny and myth-making. She's about to do the same for the women at the centre of the Crippen murder, with her book Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress and Dr Crippen. Hallie chats to Hannah about the wrongs done to Belle Elmore, by both her husband and history, and why most true crime sucks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At various points in her life, writer and walking enthusiast Annabel Streets has felt a pull towards certain landscapes and wondered if there was a reason for that. In her new book, The Walking Cure: Harness the Life-changing Power of Landscape to Heal, Energise and Inspire, she explores the restorative and healing powers of walking. Jen catches up with Annabel to talk about why we should all be getting outside, the mindblowing new findings about the different benefits of different landscapes, and the many things to love about wandering around a cemetery.The Walking Cure is published by Tonic and is available now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices