The Women's Podcast

Lynn Enright is on a mission to empower women with vital knowledge about their own bodies. Chances are, if you've got one, you've been incorrectly referring to your vulva as a vagina for most of your life. In her book, Vagina: A re-education, Lynn provides girls and women with information they need about their own bodies - about the vagina, the hymen, the clitoris, the orgasm; about conditions like endometriosis and vulvodynia. It confronts taboos, such as abortion, miscarriage and masturbation, and it tackles vital social issues like period poverty and female genital mutilation. On today's show, Róisín talks to the journalist and author about the book and why she wrote it.Also today: Kathy and Róisín discuss Vodafone's new domestic violence policy and the new Women on Walls exhibit at the Royal College of Surgeons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liza Pulman of the satirical songwriters Fascinating Aida talks to Kathy in advance of her concert Liza Pulman Sings Streisand in the National Concert Hall on the 20th of April. She speaks about her long career in music and about being caught on the London Underground Train which was bombed on the 7th of July 2005. (Her mobile phone footage of the experience was broadcast on television news stations across the world.) Also on this episode Róisín talks to Irish Times tech journalist Karlin Lillington and Ann Mulvihill, the sister of the late science journalist Mary Mulvihill, about the science award created in Mary’s name. For more on The Mary Mulvihill Science Award see: https://marymulvihillaward.ie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2014 Maria Walsh became the first openly gay woman to win the Rose of Tralee. That was one year before Ireland voted for same-sex marriage and since then the Mayo woman has remained in the spotlight with a broadcasting career and commitment to mental health advocacy. Now the 31 year old is standing as a Fine Gael candidate in the upcoming European elections. She talks to Women’s Podcast host Kathy Sheridan about her vision for Ireland and the strong commitment she has to her Catholic faith despite the attitude of that organisation to the LGBTQ community. In this episode, Kathy also speaks to Grace Tallon, the woman behind And Still I Rise, an event being held on International Women’s Day, Friday March 8th, in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin. Grace is one of the members of Sounding The Feminists and her event features only music composed by women including sets from DJ Mona Lisa and spoken word from Grace Dyas and others. For more see https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/co-presents-and-still-i-rise-tickets-56148015225 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist and author Anna Carey talks to Kathy about the joy of needlework and explains why she felt a greater sense of achievement when she finished sewing a 1920s-style dressing gown than when she finished writing most of her six novels.They talk about the emotional benefits of making things by hand, the historical lack of recognition of needlework as an art form, its place in the history of female expression and two books on craftwork that Anna read recently – Threads of Life by Clare Hunter and Craftfulness by Rosemary Davidson and Arzu Tahsin.Plus: Róisín tells Kathy about her new penfriend, Bunny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New domestic violence measures announced last year came into force at the start of 2019 under the Domestic Violence Act 2018, with the aim of improving the protections available to victims of domestic violence under both civil and criminal law.How is this different to the previous legislation? And, are the resources in place sufficient enough to police the new laws?Kathy talks to Gillian Dennehy, Services Manager at Women’s Aid and Ursula Regan, a Family Law Practitioner, about what the new provisions mean for domestic violence victims and how they should be enforced.Women’s Aid 24 hour National Freephone Helpline 1800 341 900 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Róisín talks to theatre maker Louise White about her show, This is the Funeral of Your Life – a production she made in response to the death of her father five years ago and an attempt to cope with her grief. She says it’s not morose, it’s about talking about death in a healthy way. Louise is performing the show as part of a fundraising exercise for a new musical she is working on called Poor Little Rich Girl. That show is about privilege and inequality, in which Louise will explore invisible systems of privilege in Ireland by examining the implications of her own.https://www.louisewhiteperformance.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anne Maher, director and co-founder of The National Ballet of Ireland – Ballet Ireland, talks to Kathy about her career as a professional dancer, ballet's snooty image and her commitment to making her company less reliant on traditional ballet. She also talks about ballet's #MeToo moment, why there's no misogyny in her studio and Ballet Ireland's upcoming double-bill at the O’Reilly Theatre, Belvedere College, Dublin - Bold Moves & Lost.Later: Hedy Fry has been an MP in Canada since 1994, making her the longest-sitting woman in the country’s parliament. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, the Liberal Party politician was in Dublin recently to visit her old stomping ground at the Royal College of Surgeons, where she studied in the 1960s. She talks to our co-producer Jennifer Ryan about Ireland in the 1960s, Canada under Justin Trudeau and why she went from medicine into the "scuzzy business" of politics.Plus: Róisín and Kathy on the true meaning of Valentine's Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

St Brigid is having a 'moment'. For too long the iconic patron saint of Ireland has been overshadowed by St Patrick, but now Lá Fhéile Bríde has become an annual celebration of Irish Women. It began in the Irish Embassy in London and now takes place across the world at various Irish embassies, consulates and other venues. This year Róisín Ingle took part in the festivities when she joined RTÉ's Aine Lawlor, Marie Claire editor-in-chief Trish Halpin, former Irish rugby international Sophie Spence and actor Olwen Fouréré for a discussion about challenge and change in women's lives at the Irish Embassy in London. Today's podcast is an edited version of that conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Intensive Care doctor Aoife Abbey went to work on Christmas Day and four of her patients died. That's normal. It's just part of the job. Every day at University Hospital Coventry she experiences feelings of fear, grief, anger, joy, distraction, disgust and hope. The former 'Secret Doctor' blogger has written about those feelings in her first book, Seven Signs of Life: Stories from an Intensive Care Doctor, which describes what it means to be alive and how it feels to care for the living and the dying. She talks to Kathy about the book, about empathy and why there are no 'fighters' when it comes to medicine.Plus: Kathy and Róisín talk about Derek Scally's call-out to the 'Magdalene men', the women in white at President Trump's State of the Union address and the insanity of suggesting that women should avoid going jogging alone to combat abuse and catcalling from men. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ellie Kisyombe and Carol Deans will contest the local elections in May for the Social Democrats in Dublin’s North Inner City ward. They speak to Kathy about why they chose to run, what drew them to the Social Democrats and what they'll do if they succeed in becoming Dublin City Councillors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.