The Conversation

My image was used without my consent

30 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From “deepfakes” to “stealth filming”, women around the world are having their image stolen and shared online. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to...

Supporting women with endometriosis

23 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It's thought that around one in ten women of childbearing age have endometriosis, yet it often takes years of excessively painful periods and struggle...

How mother tongue moulds us

16 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayam speaks to two women who research what happens to our thoughts, feelings and behaviours when we speak many languages. To what exten...

How to share a top job

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to women in Switzerland and the UK about how job sharing can boost a career and bring many benefits to both work and home life.I...

Pregnancy by numbers

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women in Pakistan and America who use numbers to help others understand and take control of their pregnancies - by unpack...

Women-only living

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women in France and Canada about why single-sex living spaces appeal to older women.Pat Dunn is 75 and started a Fa...

Women making fashion for all

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women whose life changing illnesses led them to set up new businesses after they discovered high street clothes are...

Researching the lives of women in the past

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever wondered if there were a scandal buried in your family history? Datshiane Navanayagam meets two female genealogists from the US and Irel...

Telling the story of pioneering women in politics

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam brings together two women from the US and Australia to discuss the art of writing a political biography and whether women in pol...

Taking a fresh look at women’s designer shoes

26 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women who changed paths to design and manufacture their own shoes in their own countries. A former environmental en...

The female game-makers

19 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

How do video and board games get from idea to reality? Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women who invent, tweak and perfect the games that so many of us l...

Women changing the art space

12 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Two women with art galleries in Switzerland, London, Nigeria and the US talk about discovering and promoting new artists, building relationships with ...

The fast and fearless women of skeleton

05 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Skeleton is one of the oldest winter sports in existence. Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two Olympic medallists whose careers have seen them sliding down an...

Female philanthropists

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the season of giving, Datshiane Navanayagam talks to philanthropists from France and Nigeria about using their wealth to help others thrive. Histor...

Women living with severe allergies

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Having a severe allergy doesn’t just affect physical health - it’s often the social isolation and mental toll of dealing with a somewhat ‘invis...

Women tracking hurricanes

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jamaica to the Philippines, Cuba to Vietnam – countries around the world are dealing with aftermath of heavy storms and flooding; with hundreds dead...

What my disability taught me about parenting

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What's it like navigating the world as a disabled parent? Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women from the US and Italy about the reality of parent...

Weavers reviving an ancient technology

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Across continents and generations, the art of weaving has connected humans for thousands of years. But it’s dying out. Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to two...

Women at the forefront of medical research

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After the discovery of a new gene therapy for Huntington's, a devastating brain disease, Datshiane Navanayagam talks to one of the women in the UK who...

Behind the smiles of artistic swimming

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Artistic swimmers are known for making perfect synchronicity look effortless. Datshiane Navanaygam talks to athletes from Spain and Slovakia to reveal...

Female breadwinners

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Can women earn more than their partners and still be happy at home? How does a higher income affect family dynamics and the division of household chor...

Life as a top female referee

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to an ice hockey referee from Austria and a football referee from Denmark about their experiences as female officials in m...

Using sound as a tool for conservation

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What can the sounds of the natural world tell us about the health of our ecosystems? Datshiane Navanayagam talks two sound ecologists in Scotland and ...

Women giving cash to new mums

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For many families, income plunges and poverty spikes right before a child is born and remains high throughout the first year. Datshiane Navanayagam ta...

Being a brewmaster

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women from South Africa and Germany about reclaiming the craft of brewing beer - something which was historically the dom...

Female foragers

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From mushrooms to sea kelp: Two female foragers in South Africa and Japan tell Datshiane Navanayagam about how picking wild food has helped them to fe...

Women capturing time

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women from France and Finland who service and create timepieces. Camille de Rouvray is a French watchmaker from a famil...

Bringing movies back to life

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to women from Italy and US about the craft of film restoration and the importance of bringing movies, especially those by women,...

Managing an orchestra

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to women running orchestras in Hungary and the UK.Orsolya Erdödy is the managing director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra wo...

Healing with horses

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam speaks two women from the Czech Republic and the UK about the ways in which they use horses to promote human physical and mental...

How to be a confident woman

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While confidence is widely understood as important, actually building and maintaining it can feel like an impossible task. A comedian from New Zealand...

Women designing affordable homes

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The global housing crisis continues to grow, with the UN’s urban development agency estimating 40% of people worldwide lack access to adequate housi...

Women training dogs to be superheroes

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two women from Greece and Sweden tell Datshiane Navanayagam about the dog training process and the prejudices service dogs still face when it comes to...

Women tracking wolves

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two women from Italy and the US tell Datshiane Navanayagam about following the movements of growing wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park and the It...

Women and robots

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two women from Australia and Germany tell Ella Al-Shamahi about their work in robotics: from tackling loneliness with humanoid companions to making in...

Women-only holidays

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two women from Nigeria and the Czech Republic speak to Ella Al-Shamahi about what it's like to lead adventurous expeditions for other women to countri...

Medics in remote communities

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two doctors from South Africa and Australia tell Ella Al-Shamahi about rewards of working in rural communities and the challenges of being hundreds of...

Pastry queens

30 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An Indian chef who opened a patisserie in Jaipur and a Syrian chef with two pastry shops in the heart of Paris tell Datshiane Navanayagam about adding...

Women in glass

23 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two women from Hungary and the UK talk to Datshiane Navanayagam about the intensity, skill and resilience required for modern glassmaking. Mira Davi...

Guided by women: Feminist city walks

16 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two women in Iceland and Bolivia talk to Ella Al-Shamahi about creating female-centred walking tours that help people get to know the cities of Reykja...

Freeflying and the sphere of fear

09 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to an ex-circus performer from Bulgaria and a skydiver from France to find out what it takes to achieve some of the world’s m...

Women saving endangered species

02 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whitley Fund for Nature 2025 winners from Brazil and Nepal tell Datshiane Navanayagam about their efforts to save the plants and animals they love fro...

Crime, children and custody

26 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when children break the law - and how does juvenile punishment vary across countries? Ella Al-Shamahi speaks with two women from the Neth...

The next generation of women wrestlers

19 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to professional wrestlers Xia Zhao from China and Divya Aale from India about their passion for the sport and what it’s like ...

Tackling the tide of trash

12 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to women from Nigeria and the UK who are trying to ensure what we throw away doesn’t go to waste.Esther Fagbo is a partn...

The power of performance poetry

05 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Spoken word poetry is a powerful tool for storytelling, activism and self-expression. Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to two award-winning poets who use the cr...

Slavery, reconciliation and me

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How does it feel to meet someone who connects you to a darker chapter of your family history? Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by two women whose exper...

Faith and tackling climate change

21 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A Muslim woman from South Africa and Christian from Kenya talk to Ella Al-Shamahi about how their faith influences their thoughts on addressing climat...

Digging up dinosaurs

14 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A Mongolian and a South African palaeontologist speak to Ella Al-Shamahi about dinosaurs and education, as well as the fight to preserve their prehist...

Challenging mainstream economics

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An academic from India and writer from Denmark talk to Ella Al-Shamahi about how the way economies are measured influences policy and undervalues both...

Women working through menopause 

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by two women from the UK and Australia whose personal experience of menopause and perimenopause has led them to advoca...

Air traffic controllers

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to controllers from the UAE and Sweden about guiding aeroplane take-offs and landings and dealing with the extreme stress ...

One-woman sound machines

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From breaking bones to trudging through snow – it is a Foley artist's role to reproduce the everyday sound effects that are added to film, TV and ga...

Giving used clothes a new life

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women from Brazil and the UK who have online businesses buying and selling second hand clothes.Ana Luiza McLaren is...

Fostering: Being a ‘bonus parent’

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of children globally are separated from their birth families. For many, foster care is the best option. Foster carers from Moldova and the US...

Women investigating bribery and corruption

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to women from Egypt and the US about their work detecting fraud, bribery and corruption for multi-national corporations and law ...

Teaching consent in relationships

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam hears from two women in Nigeria and Denmark to discuss how they teach consent as part of sex education.Mette Øyås Madsen is an...

Women providing prosthetics

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women about prostheses for amputees in Ukraine and children with limb difference in the UK. Following Russia’s in...

Lessons from female philosophers

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two academics dedicated to uncovering the vital role of women in shaping philosophical thought, both past and present....

Child helplines: Giving young people a voice

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Telephone helplines support millions of children every year with issues ranging from serious abuse to children who just want someone to chat to on the...

What’s it like to be a private chef?

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you're planning a big celebration, the idea of having someone else handle all the cooking might feel like a dream...but for some it's a worthwhile ...

Deminers: Women excavating the explosive remnants of war

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to Angie Chioko and Nika Kokareva about clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance, in order to return safe land to their...

Women turning pain into art

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Chronic illness - and the pain it often brings - affects millions globally. But while women are more likely to experience chronic pain, they’re less...

Why I kept a teen diary

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What do Audre Lorde, Pamela Anderson and Florence Nightingale all have in common? They all began writing diaries as young girls and remained seasoned ...

Women in love with romance

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two writers of romantic fiction about their passion for creating stories that end happily ever after.Kiru Taye wanted t...

Women using satellites to track coastal erosion

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rising sea levels and increasingly powerful storms are threatening coastlines, low-lying island states and coastal cities around the world. Ella Al-Sh...

Deep sea explorers

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Less than 0.001% of the deep ocean has been explored. Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to two women from South Africa and the US who have dedicated their career...

Female farming entrepreneurs

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Women fusing tech and agriculture to farm food - indoors, local and soil-free

Women discovering the music stars of tomorrow

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The music industry is notoriously competitive, making it difficult for artists to break through. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two music scouts to f...

Fabrics for the future

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

According to the UN, the fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global emissions. That's more than aviation and shipping combined. We talk to tw...

How to get ahead in the workplace

11 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone wants to feel confident in the workplace. But knowing what to do to perform at your best isn’t always easy. Datshiane Navanayagam is joined...

Women with a love of language

06 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to translators from Turkey and Argentina about giving a writer's work a new life in another language, and whether the age ...

Femicide: 'The shadow pandemic'

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Femicide is defined as the intentional killing of women and girls because of their gender. More than half of these murders are carried out in the home...

Feel the fear: Women directing horror movies

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when women bring traditional folklore into the horror genre and subvert it? You get award-winning feature length films, Iranian vampires ...

Women causing a stir in the tea business

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Women make up a large proportion of the workforce in the global tea industry. But despite their crucial role, women in the tea sector often face lower...

Women's hidden role in the history of healing

07 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Despite their pivotal roles in advancing healthcare, women’s contributions to medicine have often been overshadowed or erased by male-dominated narr...

The life of a female driving instructor

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, the world of driving instructors was largely male dominated. Up until recently not every woman even had the right to drive - that only c...

Glaciologists: Women on rivers of moving ice

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Glaciers have shaped the world's landscapes and continue to affect earth's climate just as human caused climate change impacts them. Datshiane Navanay...

The changing world of women's magazines

16 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Women’s magazines collectively reach millions of readers each month. Beyond their influence in fashion, these publications are pivotal in addressing...

Women changing the shape of bra design

09 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The bra industry is worth billions of dollars a year, yet designs haven't changed a lot since the modern bra came into common use in the early 20th ce...

Children's TV presenters: magic, mayhem and mishaps

02 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Children's TV presenters from Ireland and South Africa tell Datshiane Navanayagam about working in television and their love for inspiring young minds...

Underwater mechanics

26 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Commercial divers from Canada and Australia share their experiences of working in a dangerous, male-dominated field with Datshiane Navanayagam.Sarah A...

Modern-day matriarchs

19 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Traditionally women often take on much of the responsibility for practical and emotional support for a family as well as passing on family knowledge a...

Women hitting the note on ancient instruments

12 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Musicians from China and Syria tell Datshiane Navanayagam about taking up traditional instruments and introducing them to western audiences.Wu Man is ...

Women, bats and meerkats

05 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women from Costa Rica and Switzerland about how animal behaviour is studied and what it reveals about life on our ...

The magic of music in dementia care

29 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Music therapists from Spain and the UK tell Datshiane Navanayagam about the role music can have reducing isolation and easing some symptoms of dementi...

Teaching empathy: A blueprint for social change?

22 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The ability to understand and share the feelings of others is a fundamental part of what makes us human. But is our ability to empathise with others a...

Sports psychologists for elite athletes

15 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to sports psychologists from the US and South Africa about helping athletes achieve peak performance mentally and physically. No...

Women designing for a future in space

08 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How are extraterrestrial spaces being designed? Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two space architects from Austria and the US to hear about how living spaces ...

Women enjoying judo

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Judo is a powerful practice that cultivates discipline, resilience and community. It's also an incredible test of physical and mental strength. Ella A...

Women rethinking imposter syndrome

24 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to ‘Tine Zekis from the US and Hira Ali from Pakistan, two career coaches seeking to understand and reexamine what impos...

Lessons in laughter

17 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Laughter isn't just for fun - it's a powerful tool that strengthens social bonds, enhances group dynamics and fosters emotional connection. It’s als...

Journalists working in exile

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do you report on what is going on in your country when it is no longer safe for you to be there? Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women journalists wh...

Digital defenders: safe online spaces for women

03 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to Lilian Olivia Orero and Nighat Dad about the scale of harassment women face on the internet.Lilian Olivia Orero is an ...

Women on allotments: soil in the city

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years women have overtaken men as the majority on allotments and community gardens. These spaces for growing fruit and vegetables to eat at ...

F-16 fighter pilots: Breaking barriers in combat aviation

20 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi speaks to two of the first generation of women to ever fly F16s, Manja Blok for the Netherlands Air Force and Heather Penney for the U...

Pioneering women in neurosurgery

13 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two female neurosurgeons to hear about the pressures and rewards that come from working in their intense and male-domi...

Women writing about travel

06 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A British explorer who transformed travel and travel writing and a Nigerian novelist and travel blogger talk to Ella Al-Shamahi about their adventures...

Women saving lives at sea

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women from Wales and Goa rescuing people in trouble on the coast. Vivienne Grey was one of the first women to become a ...

Women confronting ageism

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ella Al-Shamahi meets two women tackling negative or ageist attitudes towards older people around the world. Alana Officer is leading the World Heal...