Standard Issue Podcast

Starring Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd and a genuinely beautiful school building, Robert Zemeckis’s time travel comedy blockbuster continues to be a cultural touchstone. At the time, it dazzled at the box office and with critics alike. But 40 years on, how does it fare with Mick, Hannah and Jen? Do the inevitable time travel plotholes matter? How much did the young Jen fancy the young Fox? Does Mick own this 1980s smash on DVD? And, perhaps most importantly, what in the Doc Brown is going on with Hannah’s hair?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oddbody is Rose Keating’s debut short story collection, an anthology of bold and unsettling tales inspired by her love of horror – and the genre's intersection with the female experience. In this episode, Jen gets inside the weird and wonderful mind of the Marian Keyes Young Writer Award winner, as she and Rose talk about how the body horror genre lends itself to the lived female experience, the inherent comedy of horror, and the horror (the horror!) of eggs. Oddbody is published by Canongate and is available now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Esther Freud first shot to fame with her debut novel, Hideous Kinky, back in 1992. Her tenth novel, My Sister and Other Lovers, reunites readers with sisters Lucy and Bea, and astutely captures the realities of being a sister and having a sister. Spoiler: as much as pop culture would like us to think it, a sister is not a built-in BFF.  Our Mick chats to Esther about sisters, siblings, parents, the slippery nature of memory, and love in its many forms. My Sister and Other Lovers is published by Bloomsbury and out now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rachel Talalay's 1995 take on the much-loved comic series Tank Girl had so much promise, but does it live up to its "truly feminist" hype? Who gets to decide? And how will a jazz-loving kangaroo-man help or hinder these efforts? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hannah's joined by playwright Iman Qureshi and director Hannah Hauer-King to chat about their play about the members of a lesbian choir, The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs. They chat about disability on stage, the search for community, and joining a uniquely British genre. * The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs is on at the Kiln Theatre until July 12. You can find tickets here: https://kilntheatre.com/whats-on/the-ministry-of-lesbian-affairs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theatre maker Jess Andrews found herself exploring the murky world of dating apps after she and her husband decided to join the polyamorous community. The experience inspired her to create her one-woman show I Met All My Friends on Dating Apps, which is now touring. Jen chats to Jess about misconceptions around polyamory, why no one’s having a great time on dating apps and how we might fix some of the problems within it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This animated sci-fi adventure, adapted from Peter Brown’s much-loved books and written and directed by Chris Sanders, got a fair few Oscar nods, even if it missed out on an actual statue. But how will the tale of futuristic, task-oriented robot Roz, thrust into mothering gosling Brightbill amid the natural world’s chaos, fare with Mick, Hannah and Yosra? And what’s Bullseye got to do with it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there a conspiracy to stop us watching a feel-good film about pensioners? Who was younger than Hannah when it was filmed? Whose legs does Jen envy? How high are Mickey's socks? We answer all these questions and more as we watch Ron Howard's sci-fi comedy drama about old people fighting age with the help of aliens.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this month's Outside The Box, Hannah and Jen are chatting about The Rehearsal, The Bombing of Pan Am 103, Beth, The Better Sister and The Last Anniversary.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Announced as the new associate artistic director of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre back in November 2024, Tinuke Craig is keen to show just how broad the theatre's programming can be. A production of Noughts and Crosses, based on the Malorie Blackman young adult series, and directed by Tinuke kicks it all off. Jen chats to Tinuke about bringing Noughts and Crosses to the stage, giving young actors a break, and the wet panic of British Summertime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices