The Women's Podcast

In this episode, Bernice Harrison spoke to Irish author Marita Conlon McKenna about her new book, The Hungry Road. As with the author’s well known children’s book Under the Hawthorn Tree, this new novel is set in Ireland during the famine. Marita revealed the real life inspiration behind the characters and why she decided to revisit such a dark time in Irish History. Also, Róisín Ingle spoke to presenter Romana Testasecca about her new web series, ‘Anything you can do, I can do...almost’, which launched this month. In the series, Romana tries her hand at a wide range of activities hoping to inspire others to try something new. She spoke to Róisín about learning Brazilian funk, rock climbing and acrobatics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Ciara Jordan and Áine Ryan joined Kathy Sheridan in studio to speak about their experience caring for parents with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Ciara’s mum Bernie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years ago, while Áine’s father George developed Dementia around the same time. They spoke to Kathy about the early signs of the illness, what life is like for them now a few years down the line, and how best to support someone going through the same experience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the run up to polling day on February 8th, we invited three inspiring women into The Women’s Podcast to examine the 2020 Irish General Election through a feminist lens. Which political parties and candidates supported Repeal, who is fighting for equal pay and how can we increase female representation and diversity in politics? In studio with Kathy Sheridan to discuss all of this was CEO of Women for Election, Ciarín De Buis, Independent Senator Lynn Ruane and Irish Times political journalist Jennifer Bray. Róisín Ingle was also here with some stories of the week, including the couple in Cork who are running against each other in the upcoming Irish election and a headline-grabbing convention in Florida called ‘Make Women Great Again’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Róisín Ingle was joined by former model, food blogger & influencer Roz Purcell, who has just released her third cookbook ‘No Fuss Vegan’. Roz spoke to Róisín about her early life growing up on a farm in Tipperary, learning to cook with her grandparents and the unlikely inspiration behind her latest book. They also took a look back at Roz’s journey into the modelling industry and the eating disorder that troubled her early twenties. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Kathy Sheridan is joined by Clodagh O’Hagan, who is now over twenty weeks pregnant with her first child. In late 2018, Clodagh made the decision to have a baby on her own using artificial insemination. Despite being given just a 2-5% chance of becoming pregnant, Clodagh defied the odds and is now looking forward to her new arrival this May. She spoke to Kathy about deciding to go it alone, choosing a donor (which she compares to online dating) and the medical process behind the successful pregnancy. We also hear from Irish Times Social Affairs Correspondent Kitty Holland who spoke to Róisín Ingle about her recent piece on the homeless crisis in Dublin. Kitty visited a free food stall in the city centre and spoke with lots of different people using the service, including a family with five children and an eighty year old woman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever wondered why there’s always a long queue in the women’s toilets, while men just seem to waltz in and out? Why do some public toilets charge you for the pleasure of emptying your bladder? And what’s with the lack of decent public toilets in nearly every city around the world? These are the kind of questions that occupy the mind of Canadian journalist & author Lezlie Lowe. In her brand new book No Place To Go: How Public Toilets Fail Out Private Needs, Lezlie takes a look at the many ways that public bathrooms just don’t work. Lezlie spoke to Kathy Sheridan about becoming Canada’s ‘Toilet Lady’ and why the queue for the women’s bathroom is ultimately a feminist issue. Also joining the discussion is Fóra.ie journalist Zuzia Whelan, who has written about Ireland’s dreadful approach to women’s toilets for the Dublin Inquirer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we’re exploring the complex world of female friendships: why do some friends come and go? How to go from acquaintance to best pal? And what are friendship apps like Bumble BFF really like? To discuss this and more, Róisín Ingle was joined by American comedian Erin McGathy, London based journalist Laura Kennedy and Irish Times columnist Hilary Fannin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by Dr. Niamh Shaw who’s on a mission to make it into outer space. As a young girl, Niamh dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but never thought of it as an achievable ambition. That all changed in her early forties when she finally decided to believe in herself and pursue her long held childhood dream. In her new book, Dream Big (out this March) Niamh documents her space journey so far, which includes taking a zero gravity flight, simulating a mission to Mars in the Utah desert and getting to watch a live rocket launch. She spoke to Róisín about her next ambitious plan and how we can encourage young women to choose careers in STEM. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode Róisín Ingle spoke to Jane Goodall, the woman who devoted her life to the study of chimpanzees. In this fascinating conversation, Jane describes how her African adventure started in 1957 when she travelled to Kenya by boat (it took over a month). With no formal training or scientific background, Jane became a chimp researcher under the supervision of archaeologist Louis Leakey. She told Róisin about how her mother’s unwavering support enabled her to reach her goals, what it’s really like to live amongst chimps in the wild and how her unusual methods of research annoyed the senior academics who thought they knew better. She also talks about the ways each one of us can contribute as the world grapples with climate crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Women’s Christmas or as it’s known in Ireland Nollaig na mBan and it’s also the Feast of the Epiphany. To mark the occasion The Irish Times Women’s Podcast been collecting Epiphanies or as Oprah calls them “a-ha moments” from women. In this special episode women recount the lightbulb moments that influenced and in some cases transformed their lives. You’ll hear epiphanies from lots of inspiring women including the award winning author Margaret Atwood, musician and writer Andrea Corr, former United States Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, fashion designer Sonya Lennon and podcast presenters Kathy Sheridan and Róisín Ingle. A New Year brings with it a feeling of hope, change and motivation. We hope this episode is just what you need to get that New Year’s spring in your step. It might even lead to an epiphany of your own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.