The Women's Podcast

The gap between what it's really like to be a woman and what people expect women to be is the primary cause of burnout. Why? Because we exhaust ourselves trying to close the space. On today's show we speak to identical twin sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski, authors of a groundbreaking new book about women and stress. It is called Burnout: The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle and it is a science-based book also drawing on the writers' personal experiences and those of the hundreds of women the spoke to for this eye-opening and entertaining account of burnout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's show Kathy meets Maria Ní Fhlartharta and Róisín Ní Hacéid – two disabled women under the age of 30 and members of Disabled Women Ireland. The organisation was founded in May 2018, partly out of a frustration with the voices of disabled people not being heard in the debate around the referendum to repeal the 8th amendment. Maria and Róisín tell Kathy what Disable Women Ireland are about, what they hope to achieve and getting down to the "nitty gritty", one year into their campaignLater: Irish Times tech journalist Ciara O’Brien speaks to feminist activist and author Caroline Criado Perez about her book Invisible Women. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s show Kathy talks to theatre legends Ger Ryan and Marie Mullen about their play at the Gate Theatre, The Children, directed by Oonagh Murphy. Written by Lucy Kirkwood and also starring Seán McGinley, the play is about three retired nuclear scientists staying at a crumbling cottage by the sea, as the world grapples with the aftermath of a catastrophe at a nuclear power station.Marie and Ger talk to Kathy about the production, about Waking the Feminists, about the reality of life as a jobbing actor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s show Róisín meets one of fashion’s original supermodels Yasmin Le Bon to talk about beauty icons, menopause, ageing and her 30+ year marriage to Duran Duran star Simon Le Bon. In a frank and funny interview, Yasmin speaks about the difficulties of parenting, hot flushes and why #MeToo wasn’t an issue for her and her fellow 90s ‘supers’ including Kate Moss.Plus: Kathy and Róisín talk about period poverty and positive moves by the Oireachtas Women’s Causcus in putting the cause on the government agenda.And, Róisín waxes lyrical about the perfect pair of tights. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On International Women's Day, we joined the 15th annual #IWD Accenture Ireland breakfast at the Convention Centre in Dublin. In front of a crowd of 1,700 (gulp!) in the main auditorium, Kathy hosted a panel on technology, Changing the Game in Tomorrow’s World, examining the future for inclusion and equality, and how the technologies we live and work with can set us up for success in tomorrow’s world.Joining her on stage were Brenda Romero, Bafta award-winning game designer; Zahra Bahrololoumi, Accenture’s UKI technology lead; and Gavin Kelly, chief executive, Retail Ireland, Bank of Ireland. The panel spoke about inclusivity, the historical absence of the female lens in design, machine learning, the importance of ensuring there’s a lack of bias in data, and lots more. Plus: Brenda Romero gave an entertaining and inspiring speech on the importance of getting more women into the tech industry at all levels.Thanks to Accenture Ireland for a great event. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.