Woman's Hour Folgen

Melanie C has been a household name for the past three decades, since the Spice Girls burst into the charts with Wannabe and went on to become the world’s biggest ever girl group. She says her new solo album Sweat is a chance to bring together all the different aspects of herself, from pop star to superstar DJ, teenage raver to being fit in her 50s. She joins Anita Rani to discuss her latest album, body image, and finding confidence in her 40s and 50s.At the height of the Covid pandemic, hundreds of women undergoing treatment for breast cancer had mastectomies without reconstruction - procedures that would usually happen at the same time, but were paused because they were considered non-essential. Many women were told they would be able to have reconstructive surgery once the restrictions lifted. But five years on, some are still waiting: living with pain and discomfort, and unable to move on with their lives. Joining Nuala McGovern are journalist Rosie Taylor, who has been speaking to the women affected, and Alison from StockportOn Monday, Sarah Finch became the European recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, for her work against oil drilling in Surrey, with the Weald Action Group. Their long legal battle led to a landmark judgement on fossil fuel emissions. The Goldman Prize, often referred to as the ‘Green Nobel’, honours grassroots environmental activists from around the world. For the first time since its inception, all six prizes were won by women. Sarah joins Anita to discuss what the award means to her. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

According to NHS England, every maternity service in England will need to meet new clinical standards set out by the NHS to significantly reduce the number of women who die each year during or after pregnancy. This comes after figures published earlier this year showed a 20% increase in maternal deaths between 2022 to 2024 compared to rates from 2009 to 2011. More than 500,000 babies are born in England every year and to discuss what these announcements mean in practise for pregnant women, Anita Rani is joined by Michael Buchanan, BBC Social Affairs correspondent.At the age of nearly 40, BBC broadcaster Sophie Raworth thought she was too old to start running. She’d done no exercise for decades. But after being invited to take part in The Great North Run and then seeing a friend do the London Marathon, Sophie decided to give it a go. Although it didn’t quite initially go to plan, she kept going on a path that would take her around the world, from Sydney to New York and the Sahara Desert, completing 20 marathons and 10 ultra-marathons. She tells Anita about her new book, Running On Air, and reveals how in running, she has discovered an unexpected strength, new confidence and great friendships. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust has published a report spotlighting the link between stalking and homicide to mark National Stalking Awareness week. They say there are huge gaps in recording stalking as a contributing factor to homicide and want to see further research on this. Anita is joined by Saskia Garner, Head of Policy and Campaigns at the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, and Detective Inspector Karen Butler from the Metropolitan Police, who works in the Stalking Threat Assessment Centre.On Monday, Sarah Finch became the European recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, for her work against oil drilling in Surrey, with the Weald Action Group. Their long legal battle led to a landmark judgement on fossil fuel emissions. The Goldman Prize, often referred to as the ‘Green Nobel’, honours grassroots environmental activists from around the world. For the first time since its inception, all six prizes were won by women. Sarah joins Anita from California where the awards took place.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Andrea Kidd

Melanie C has been a household name for the past three decades, since the Spice Girls burst into the charts with Wannabe and went on to become the world’s biggest ever girl group. She says her new solo album Sweat is a chance to bring together all the different aspects of herself, from pop star to superstar DJ, teenage raver to being fit in her 50s. She joins Anita Rani to discuss why she’s bringing the joy on a quest to get people dancing, and the enduring legacy of the Spice Girls. Concerns are being raised over a lack of safeguards for ‘child influencers’ after an investigation found children as young as two demonstrating skincare routines on TikTok. The Guardian's Consumer Affairs Correspondent Sarah Marsh tells Anita about their research which found that from 8,000 skincare-related posts on the social media platform, there were hundreds featuring children believed to be under 13, and at least 90 featuring children under five. Dermatologists have said children do not need multi-step skincare routines, which could damage their skin and increase anxiety about their appearance.Writer and newspaper columnist Bryony Gordon joins Anita to talk about her novel People Pleaser, her first work of fiction after writing seven memoirs about her experiences with addiction and mental health and her attempts to combat those. Maddie Haining, an 18-year-old wheelchair user from Oldham, posted online her experience of being asked to leave a Manchester nightclub for safety reasons. She described feeling embarrassed and infuriated when told that her wheelchair was a safety risk. Maddie joins Anita to explain what happened and we also hear from Dr Shani Dhanda, Disability Inclusion and Accessibility Consultant.Calli Hauger-Thackery was bronze medalist in the women's half marathon at the 2024 European Athletics Championships, and a member of the gold medal-winning team in the 2024 European Half-Marathon Cup, held at the same time. She represented Great Britain at the 2024 Paris Olympics and England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She's just returned from the Boston Marathon which took place on Monday, where she completed the marathon whilst 22-weeks pregnant with her first child. She tells Anita about her achievement. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Corinna Jones