The Women's Podcast

This week, as we ease into the rhythm of a brand new year, we are taking the opportunity to bring you some highlights from your favourite episodes of The Women’s Podcast in 2023. You’ll hear Marian Keyes sharing some learnings on life as she celebrated her 60th birthday, author and academic Katriona O’Sullivan on how a chance encounter transformed her life, plus columnist Caitlin Moran on the worrying rise of Andrew Tate. There’s also a snippet from our interview with Sinéad O’Connor recorded during the promotion of her memoir Rememberings, plus a lesson on botox from journalist and broadcaster Sali Hughes.If there is a subject you’d like us to cover on the podcast in 2024, please get in touch with us thewomenspodcast@irishtimes.com or DM us on Twitter or Instagram at @itwomenspodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023: It was a year that broke global temperature records, riots took over the streets of Dublin and the world looked on in horror as more than 20,000 people were killed in the Gaza Strip, around 70% of which were women and children.  HSE-funded fertility treatment became available to couples and the Irish football team did us proud at the Women’s World Cup. Josef Puska was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Aisling Murphy, singer and activist Sinead O’Connor died at the age of 56 and the Irish Government brought in paid leave for victims of domestic abuse. To talk through the pivotal moments of 2023 and how they impacted women in Ireland and around the world, Róisín Ingle is joined by author and academic Katriona O’Sullivan and journalist and broadcaster Alison O’Connor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re looking for a last minute gift idea, you can never go wrong with a good book. So that’s why we’ve gathered our book clubbers, Niamh Towey, Bernice Harrison, Róisín and Ann Ingle in studio to share their favourite reads of 2023. Their recommendations include a collection of feminist essays, an unforgettable memoir and a best-selling novel on time travel. Whether it's a gift for family, friends or even for yourself, we hope there's something for everyone here. Here's the list of books mentioned in this episode:Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Bad Feminist by Roxane GayBefore the Coffee gets Cold by Toshikaz KawaguchBirnam Wood by Eleanor CattonTom Lake by Ann Patchett Western Lane by Chetna Maroo  Past Lying by Val McDermid An Eye on Ireland: A Journey Through Social Change by Justine McCarthy Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan So Late in the Day, Foster and Small Things Like These, all three by Claire Keegan. All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow Good Material by Dolly Alderton Dear Gay by Suzy Byrne The Bee Sting by Paul Murray Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life by Arnold Schwarzenegger Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish motorsport legend Rosemary Smith died last week at the age of 86. To pay tribute to the trailblazing rally driver, we want to bring you this interview with Smith from 2018. Following the release of ‘Driven’, her memoir ghostwritten by none other than Ann Ingle, Smith joined Róisín Ingle in studio to discuss her colourful racing career, her love affairs with the likes of Oliver Reed and Adam Faith and how she overcame the odd bump in the road along the way. Rest easy Rosemary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2020, author and reality television star Georgia Harrison became a victim of so called ‘revenge porn’ when she was secretly recorded having sex with her ex partner, Stephen Bear and the footage then put online without her consent. The intimate moment between the two was captured on the CCTV system at Bear’s house and despite pleas from Harrison to delete the footage, her ex uploaded it to the internet, for the entire world to see. In March this year, Bear was sentenced to 21 months in prison for sharing the sexual content. In this episode, Harrison tells Róisín Ingle about the trauma of her most personal moment becoming public, why she didn’t think twice before going to the police and how she campaigned to change a major loophole in the UK law on image based sexual abuse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish-Nigerian author and broadcaster Emma Dabiri is giving the middle finger to modern beauty standards. Growing up, Dabiri felt pressured to conform to “oppressive” beauty ideals, to shrink herself to fit in and to straighten her afro hair. Now, as she explains in her new essay ‘Disobedient Bodies’, it’s time to rebel against those suffocating beauty constructs. From going makeup free to embracing her natural hair, Dabiri tells Róisín Ingle about the power that comes with reclaiming your unruly beauty. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In her new book, An Eye on Ireland, award-winning journalist and Irish Times columnist Justine McCarthy shares new and selected pieces of work from her long-spanning career in journalism. For four decades, McCarthy’s writing has challenged stereotypes, held power to account and helped amplify the voices of women in Ireland. In this wide ranging conversation with Róisín Ingle, McCarthy reflects on her entry into journalism, how the death of her father as a young girl shaped the woman she would become, and she shares some of the stories and subjects that left a lasting impression. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In her new book Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, author Cat Bohannon explores the history and science behind the development of the female sex. In this episode, Bohannon explains to Róisín Ingle why the frequent omission of female bodies from scientific research inspired her to write the book, the ‘superpowers’ that she says only females are born with and how the advancement of gynaecology and midwifery helped drive civilisation forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exploration of character Karl and his interactions with Sabine in 'So Late in the Day' by Claire Keegan, delving into his insecurities and complexities. Analysis of the book's creation process and Sabine's revelation. Discussion on the author's writing style, character dynamics, and a controversial music scandal.

Six years ago, when writer and psychotherapist Lucy Cavendish turned 50 , she began to feel like she didn’t fit in anymore. With her four children reared, Cavendish’s identity as a working mother was gone, leaving her feeling as though she was fading into invisibility; a feeling that some other women in their fifties also experience. After numerous ‘moments’ where she felt a profound ‘loss of self’, she was left wondering, ‘who am I?’ It is this question that the writer tackles in her latest piece for The Guardian, which explores how women in their 50s can begin to step out of the shadows. In this conversation with Róisín Ingle, Cavendish speaks about her feelings of irrelevance and being ‘othered’, what she’s been hearing from those of a similar vintage, and the positive ways in which women can reclaim a sense of purpose and identity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.