Standard Issue Podcast

Rosie Morris on the kids making sure Mum's OK 08.06.2026 26мин

An estimated one million under-18s in the UK help to look after a relative with a disability, illness, mental health condition or drug and alcohol problems. Inspired by her experience of providing end-of-life care for her own mum, director Rosie Morris's short documentary Is Mum OK launches on The Guardian this week. In it, Rosie meets with some of Britain's young carers dealing with responsibilities far beyond their years. Jen chats to Rosie about the incredible young people in the film, recognising their achievements and their struggles, and combating the shame that comes from caring as, or being cared for by, a child. The Carer’s Trust provides help and support for carers. You can find out more by visiting their website: https://carers.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Anoushka Warden have All The Rage 05.06.2026 25мин

Like women all over the world, writer and director Rebecca Lenkiewicz found herself in a state of disbelief, horror and rage when the naming of huge numbers of well-known, powerful associates of convicted child sex offender Jeffry Epstein, failed to trigger any meaningful legal action. Wanting to recognise the Epstein victims, and to give women feeling this collective pain a voice, Rebecca invited writers to join her in creating All The Rage: A Theatrical Response to the Epstein Files. Jen chats to Rebecca, along with writer and producer Anoushka Warden, about the production, the endemic nature of male sexual violence against women and girls, and the rage women feel as we grapple with our treatment within modern society. All The Rage is showing at London's Theatre Deli from June 11-13. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bush Telegraph: PSG, FOH, WTAF? 04.06.2026 31мин

Why are fans rioting when they won? Is a degree as worthwhile as it used to be? How badly are some pregnant women treated in maternity wards? Where is London's newest museum? And who has just become one of the highest paid female athletes in the world? This week, Hannah and Jen have all the answers. And yet, somehow, still have more questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rated or Dated: Hudson Hawk (1991) 03.06.2026 26мин

Is it a bird, is it a fish, is it a pig, or is it swinging on a star? Turns out, Michael Lehmann’s Bruce Willis vehicle is everything and nothing much at once. But the film that famously blew its budget, bombed at the box office and got savaged by critics is having a renaissance. WHY, ask Mick, Hannah and Jen? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Straight talking, with Phoebe Maltz Bovy 02.06.2026 28мин

Fewer and fewer woman now identify as straight. Why? Well that's what Phoebe Maltz Bovy's new book The Last Straight Woman sets out to discover. She chats to Hannah about how trends, empathy for LGBT people, a rejection of gender roles, bad PR for men and porn may all be playing their part. You can buy The Last Straight Woman here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-last-straight-woman/phoebe-maltz-bovy/9780771013027 You can join the Standard Issue members club here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Light knows the price of pretty 01.06.2026 27мин

Over on Instagram, Alex Light is a rare voice of sanity amid the relentless madness that is beauty standards for women and girls. Her new book, The Price of Pretty, examines the crushing beauty standards women are subjected to – and how we can learn to fight back. Mick chats to Alex about finding compassion for ourselves and other women in how we navigate these toxic waters, whether we choose to opt in, try to opt out, or just want to see change for the young girls growing up in a system that’s rigged against us. The Price of Pretty: How toxic beauty standards are bringing women down and how we can fight back is published by HQ and out now. And you can follow Alex on Instagram at @alexlight_ldn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lalala Let Me Explain on why ‘unwise’ should also be illegal 29.05.2026 27мин

Much older men have dated much younger women since time immemorial, but should it feel inappropriate when the younger women in question are over the age of consent, but not yet 18? Dating educator, social worker, and podcaster Lalala Let Me Explain wants to end the “unwise but not illegal” defence used by grown adults entering relationships with young people who are above the age of consent but not yet eligible to vote. Having joined forces with campaigner Poppy Mason to launch Close the Consent Gap, a campaign aimed at making such relationships illegal, she chats to Jen about it, and the harm that such power imbalances can cause. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bush Telegraph: Piss poor judgment all round 28.05.2026 28мин

Join us for a little tour of the devolved Governments (where Wales comes out a lot better than Scotland, if we're honest), and for a look at one of the worst rulings in an English court in a long time. Bring a Chris or a talking animal, or indeed anything but a woman over 60. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rated or Dated: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) 27.05.2026 26мин

Who do we forgive in times of war? Louis de Bernières’ 1994 novel, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, has some suggestions, but are they the same as John Madden’s 2001 imagining of it? Still, never mind the morals, what about the accents? And can Nicolas Cage ever laugh like a normal person? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The haunting of New York, with Natalie Adler 26.05.2026 27мин

Waiting On A Friend, the debut novel of journalist Natalie Adler, is set in the crucible of the early years of the AIDS crisis in New York. Natalie chats to Hannah about what inspired her to write it, a lost generation, and Old "affordable" New York. * Waiting on a Friend is available to buy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/waiting-on-a-friend/natalie-adler/9781529439052 To find out more about supporting Standard Issue click here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outside The Box May 2026 22.05.2026 51мин

Want some TV recommendations? Yeah, you do. This month we're chatting about Legends, Ponies, Widow's Bay and Believe Me, as well as some good and bad news about what's still to come this year, plus what should probably never have been on the telly in the first place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rated or Dated: Short Circuit (1986) 20.05.2026 28мин

Number 5 is alive! Or is he? This week, Hannah and Jen talk about the family-friendly sci-fi comedy, its inappropriate casting and why the love interests have the same haircut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Virginia Mendoza's search for water 19.05.2026 25мин

The Search for Water: A Human History of Thirst is an expansive and important new book from journalist and anthropologist Virginia Mendoza. Part-memoir and part-history, Virginia weaves personal reflection and her memories of growing up in La Mancha – the driest region in Europe – with a meticulously researched anthropological exploration of how water – both too little and too much – has shaped our species. Mick chats with Virginia about water and how it connects us to our oldest ancestors, from where we were all born in Africa to migration, from myth-making and religion to what our relationship with water means today. English isn’t Virginia’s first language so a heads up that she pronounces drought “druth” the first couple of times she says it. The Search for Water: A Human History of Thirst is translated into English by Thomas Bunstead, published by Pushkin and out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gillian Best knows pain 18.05.2026 25мин

Inspired by her own experiences of autoimmune diseases, writer Gillian Best decided to delve deeper into the topic of pain. Her book, Chronic: Understanding Pain, explores what pain is, how to treat it, and the research being done to improve the lives of the 1.5billion people across the world living with chronic pain. Jen chats to Gillian about chronic pain, how to navigate it, its impact on women, and why it’s more than a medical issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flicking #73: Sinners 15.05.2026 31мин

Ryan Coogler’s much glazed box-office smash is Yosra’s pick this month. It’s a vampire horror about life and times in the Jim Crow South with a banging Blues soundtrack and a lot to say about cultural appropriation, colonialism and the Black experience. Does its midway handbrake turn work or is it too reminiscent of a film Mick and Hannah would rather forget? Do the not one but two Michael B Jordans bring out the actor’s best? Is Jack O’Connell under control? And could we love Wunmi Mosaku any more? Find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bush Telegraph: Hey, hey, there's no monkeys 14.05.2026 28мин

With Labour suffering huge losses in last week’s local elections, Hannah and Jen look at the wholesale batshittery of the reaction to it, from the party itself and the media, as well as misinformation and the women (allegedly) begging Nigel Farage to “save them”. Thank God for the nuns, and the slightly safer territory of end-of-season football and tennis’s clay season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rated or Dated: Mulholland Drive (2001) 13.05.2026 30мин

Take off all your clothes and climb into bed with your female pal, as David Lynch’s twisty neo-noir nightmare-dream that tickles the seedy underbelly of Hollywood gets Rated or Dated. Join Mick, Hannah and Jen, as they ask questions, such as ‘what the fuck is happening?’, ‘who cares?’ and ‘WHY?’ about a film some regard as one of the greatest movies of the 21st century. Is that a dolphin? What’s in this Twinkie? WHO CARES. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exposing the cost of extreme porn 12.05.2026 23мин

Professor Clare McGlynn is fighting the good fight when it comes to tackling the growing harms of extreme porn. She chats to Hannah about her new book, Exposed: The Rise of Extreme Porn and How We Fight Back, not being cool with the kids and how we're all having worse sex because of porn, whether we watch it or not. * You can buy Clare's book here * More info on ad-free listening and bonus content here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Family Lawyer’s guide to courts, with Laura Naser 11.05.2026 26мин

The family courts in England and Wales are going through some changes. In particular, a move to a 'child-focused' approach – designed to minimise trauma and cut a huge backlog of cases. But what does that really mean? Weren’t the family courts already child-focused? And will the changes really help victims of domestic abuse? Jen got on the Zoom with Laura Naser, award-winning partner in family law at Penningtons Manches Cooper, and author of The Family Lawyer’s Guide to Separation and Divorce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bush Telegraph: Are we all still going on a summer holiday? 07.05.2026 40мин

Laura Jackson, Deputy Head of Travel at the Times and the Sunday Times, joins Hannah to talk about the very many questions facing us all right now when it comes to booking a holiday. Where is safe to visit? How are the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East affecting long-haul flights? Should we boycott America? What are the new rules at EU borders? Are anti-tourism protests in Europe here to stay? And are the price of jet fuel and mass cancellations by airlines going to make travel unaffordable? Plus there's some important, but maybe surprising, news about the expiry date on your passport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices