The Women's Podcast

Ep 473 Poland's abortion crisis

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of Poles have taken to the streets again in recent weeks, in protest against the introduction of new legislation effectively banning abortio...

Ep 472 “Women and girls are never to blame” - Dr Jessica Taylor

04 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Jessica Taylor is a UK-based psychologist, sexual violence survivor and author of the best-selling book Why Women Are Blamed For Everything. She is...

Ep 471 Bad Bridget

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bad Bridget is a five-part podcast series which tells the unheard stories of Irish girls and women who emigrated to North America in the 19th and earl...

Ep 470 Lockdown Style: what have we become?

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What’s your lockdown style? Are you still getting fully dressed, washing your hair and putting makeup on? After 12 months at home, for many of us, l...

Ep 469 The shocking gender disparity on Irish radio / Conductor Marin Alsop

25 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In our latest podcast we hear about the Gender Disparity Report on Irish radio, compiled by the Why Not Her? collective. It outlines a continuing gend...

Ep 468 Five Minute Therapy - Sarah Crosby

21 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Five Minute Therapy is the first book by Dublin-based psychotherapist Sarah Crosby. Packed full of practical exercises and powerful insights, it provi...

Ep 467 Professor Jane Ohlmeyer

19 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This Friday, Trinity College Dublin professor Jane Ohlmeyer will deliver the Ford Lectures at the University of Oxford in England. Just ten women have...

Ep 466 The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes

15 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Raw, tired, angry and emotional. That’s how our guests on today’s podcast feel.It’s as they attempt to digest the government-commissioned report...

Ep 465 Ten Truths to Change Your Life with Caroline Foran

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Author and podcaster Caroline Foran took the world by storm in 2016 with the release of her best selling self-help book, Owning It: Your Bullsh*t-Free...

Ep 464 The Book Club: Untamed - Glennon Doyle

07 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In our first book club of 2021, Róisín, Ann Ingle, Bernice Harrison and Niamh Towey discuss Untamed, a memoir by American author Glennon Doyle. This...

Ep 463 Things can only get better in 2021, right?

04 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that the future is never certain. But with a number of vaccines against Covid-19 on the way, there is some ligh...

Ep 462 Panel Review: Looking back at 2020

31 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

At the start of 2020, as we began a new decade, we were caught up with news stories about the Australian bushfires, the seemingly never-ending Brexit ...

Ep 461 Best of 2020

28 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The time has finally come to say goodbye to 2020. But before we bid adieu to the longest year on record, we want to take you on a journey back through...

Ep 460 Maeve Binchy - Season of Fuss

24 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this special festive episode, we’re bringing you a story written by Maeve Binchy, first published in The Irish Times on Saturday, December 29th, ...

Ep 459 Emma Gannon: Olive, childfree by choice

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Emma Gannon is a writer, broadcaster and podcaster who is best known for her podcast Ctrl Alt Delete and Sunday Times Bestselling business book The Mu...

Ep 458 Pandemic Puppies & Farms: Thalia Heffernan

17 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past year, the sale of puppies in Ireland has increased by over 200%. It’s no surprise that during these difficult times with lockdown rest...

Ep 457 Our Book Club’s Best Reads

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve reassembled our book club one last time before we bid adieu to 2020, to have a chat about the books they got lost in this year. Ann Ingle, Nia...

Ep 456 Sharon Shannon

10 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, Irish musician Sharon Shannon was due to travel the world celebrating her 30th anniversary in the music industry. However, Covid as we know, ...

Ep 455 A Girl From Mogadishu: Ifrah Ahmed

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Somali-Irish activist Ifrah Ahmed is one of the world's foremost campaigners against Female Genital Mutilation. Ahmed came to Ireland in 2006 after fl...

Ep 454 Waking the Feminists - Five Years On

03 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This year marks the fifth anniversary of a pivotal moment in Irish cultural history. In November 2015, the Waking the Feminists movement emerged in re...

Ep 453 Four Wise Women: How to Survive Christmas 2020

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode, we’re bringing you the recording from our recent Women’s Podcast Live event. On Thursday evening, in front of a very festive...

Ep 452 The Greatest Secret: Rhonda Byrne

26 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Rhonda Byrne shot to worldwide fame in 2006 with her massively successful film and book, The Secret. With fans like Oprah Winfrey, the book went on to...

Ep 451 The Book Club: Just Like You – Nick Hornby

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this book club podcast Róisín, Ann Ingle, Bernice Harrison and Niamh Towey discuss our latest read, Nick Hornby’s ninth novel, Just Like You. T...

Ep 450 Food Month: Lilly Higgins

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's Food Month in The Irish Times but you might say it's been Food Month pretty much everywhere since last March when the pandemic took hold and we f...

Ep 449 Rosemary Adaser: Growing up black in Irish institutions

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

While many of us were rightly outraged by the Government's approach to rushing through the Mother and Baby Homes Bill, and relieved by the U-turn that...

Ep 448 Suicide Cluster: The lives and deaths of 8 young women in Ballyfermot

12 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You might have seen a shocking and disturbing news story in The Irish Times this week by Kitty Holland who wrote about a cluster of suicides among you...

Ep 447 Twilight Together & Ireland's TikTok Superstar: Ruth Medjber & Victoria Adeyinka

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we meet Ruth Medjber the talented young music photographer who, having lost all her work due to the pandemic, found a novel and engag...

Ep 446 US Election 2020: Is it really time to celebrate?

05 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Four years ago this week, we called an Emergency Episode of this podcast to lament and analyse the ascent of racist, sexist Donald Trump to The White ...

Ep 445 Early Bird: Áine Lawlor returns to Morning Ireland

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today's episode, Kathy Sheridan talks to broadcaster Aine Lawlor as she marks the move from anchoring RTE Radio 1's News At One to a gig she has to...

Ep 444 A Ghost in the Throat: Doireann Ní Ghríofa

29 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by Doireann Ni Ghriofa, a talented poet and the author of an original, evocative and lyrical book calle...

Ep 443 Break the Mould: Sinéad Burke

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Kathy Sheridan talks to little person Sinéad Burke about her extraordinary activism and her new stigma-busting book Break the Mould. ...

Ep 442 In Her Shoes: Erin Darcy

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode Roisin Ingle meets Galway based Erin Darcy the author of a new book called In Her Shoes which tells the stories of women left beh...

Ep 441 Sealing The Records: Maeve O'Rourke & Mary Harney

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For years now, campaigners and activists have been calling on the government to prevent records compiled by the Commission of Investigation into Mothe...

Ep 440 Jen Hogan: Why we need to talk about pregnancy loss

15 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The 15th of October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Each year, to mark the day, a global wave of light is created through the lighting o...

Ep 439 Caoimhe Butterly: 400 Welcomes

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You’ve probably heard of the 400 Welcomes campaign, an all-female campaign group, made up of doctors, teachers, writers, community and social care w...

Ep 438 Majella Moynihan - A Guarded Life

08 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 1984, Majella Moynihan was a fresh faced young garda recruit when she gave birth to a baby boy. Charged with breaching An Garda Siochana disciplina...

Ep 437 Herself: Clare Dunne

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Who knows when we'll get to lose ourselves in the darkness of a cinema again? But when we do all of us at The Women's Podcast are urging you to go and...

Ep 436 The Glorious Guinness Girls

01 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The most fabulous and famous family dynasty in Britain and Ireland during the 1920s were the grand-daughters of the first Lord Iveagh also known as th...

Ep 435 The Skin Nerd: Jennifer Rock

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On the podcast today we have skin expert Jennifer Rock who aswell as talking about her new book The Skin Nerd Philosophy, deals with all your pandemic...

Ep 434 Dr Catherine Motherway

24 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Last April, which seems a hundred years ago now, we spoke to Dr Catherine Motherway, consultant anaesthetist at University Hospital Limerick and forme...

Ep 433 After The Silence: Louise O'Neill

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Cork author Louise O'Neill joined Roisin Ingle on the podcast to talk about her latest novel After The Silence. The book marks a departure for O'Neill...

Ep 432 The Joy of Orgasms: Jenny Keane

17 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There is a lot of confusion and covid-weariness swirling around at the moment so we thought we'd bring you an episode that will divert, intrigue and d...

Ep 431 The Nothing Man: Catherine Ryan Howard

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There are hundreds of books out at the moment so it's difficult as an author these days, when people are reading more than ever, to stand out from the...

Ep 430 Menopause & Klopp, Actually

10 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When we've asked you what subjects you'd like us to discuss on the podcast, menopause is often mentioned. One listener who got in touch was Helen Kirw...

Ep 429 The Book Club: Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

07 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our last Book Club took place months ago, early in Lockdown, so we are delighted that in this show Ann Ingle, Bernice Harrison and Niamh Towey are bac...

Ep 428 Nimko Ali: What we’re told not to talk about (but we’re going to anyway)

03 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Female genital mutilation is a practice that, according to the World Health Organisation, has affected 200 million women and girls alive today. Today’...

Ep 427 Back to School & parenting anxious kids

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a long time coming, but this week the kids are finally going back to school. For many, it will be a welcome return to normality and routin...

Ep 426 Georgie Crawford & The Good Glow

27 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Cancer is life changing in many ways, but our guest this week found that her devastating diagnosis in 2017 set her off on a new career path. Georgie C...

Ep 425 How to Fall in Love in a Pandemic

20 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

After six months of a global pandemic we needed some good news so this episode features Mimi Wilcox, a young filmmaker from Chicago who after a whirlw...

Ep 424 The Artist’s Way: Unlock your creativity with Julia Cameron

13 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Artist’s Way was first published in 1991 by screenwriter and teacher Julia Cameron. A classic guide to creativity, the book has sold over five m...

Ep 423 Fat Cow, Fat Chance: Dame Jenni Murray’s weight loss journey

06 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

By age sixty-four, Jenni Murray's weight had become a disability. The broadcaster and author avoided the scales, wore a uniform of baggy black clothes...

Ep 422 Big Night In: Emma Donoghue

30 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The last Big Night In of our first season took place on Zoom last Saturday night with author, literary historian and playwright Emma Donoghue. The Roo...

Ep 421 The Joy of Yoga: Cathy Pearson & the Celtic Yoga Woodland Festival

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Yoga has had an excellent pandemic. There's been a boom in online classes and even President Michael D Higgins was still getting his downward dog on i...

Ep 420 Tennis Lessons: Susannah Dickey on periods, sex and friendship

23 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Roisin Ingle talks to Susannah Dickey, the author of a stunning debut novel Tennis Lessons which is set in Northern Ireland and follow...

Ep 419 Grief, death & celebrating lives during a Pandemic

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On today's episode, we are talking about life, death and grief in the time of Covid-19. This is a fraught issue, not just for those who've lost loved ...

Ep 418 Dublin's 9th woman Lord Mayor: Hazel Chu

16 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Roisin Ingle talked to Green Party Councillor Hazel Chu who has just been elected Lord Mayor of Dublin, only the 9th woman in the cit...

Ep 417 Cancelled Weddings: Laura de Barra & Suzanne Brennan

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For many women the Spring and Summer of 2020 will always be the time when their much anticipated weddings were prevented from happening because of the...

Ep 416 Karin Slaughter

09 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, Róisín Ingle speaks to American crime writer Karin Slaughter from her home in Atlanta, Georgia. Slaughter has just released he...

Ep 415 Big Night In with Lynn Ruane

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Activist, writer, addiction specialist and senator Lynn Ruane was the brilliant guest for our seventh Big Night In hosted by Róisín Ingle. An audien...

Ep 414 UN Women & Megan O’Neill

02 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

No pandemic is gender-neutral and neither is Covid-19, which is negatively affecting the lives of women and girls. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the Execu...

Ep 413 Solo parenting in a pandemic

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

During the pandemic, there has been increased pressure placed on one parent families, from shopping struggles and homeschooling demands to dealing wit...

Ep 412 Staycation Once Again: Holidaying at home

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Where are you going on your holliers? That's the question we are asking on this episode with travel writer Joan Scales who has been uncovering deals u...

Ep 411 Big Night In with Olwen Fouéré

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Born in Ireland, to Breton parents, Olwen Fouéré is a writer, producer and theatre maker. A reviewer once said of her that if she sat on a stage doi...

Ep 410 Sex & The Pandemic: Cindy Gallop

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Some listeners may remember Cindy Gallop from 2009 when she did a hugely popular Ted Talk in which she shared her experience of how hardcore pornograp...

Ep 409 Rachael English: The Paper Bracelet

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It feels like a lifetime ago, but it was only March when Morning Ireland presenter and best-selling author Rachael English came in to the Irish Times ...

Ep 408 Tik Tok Tadpoles & Women's Mental Health

11 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It was not on the agenda at her career guidance meetings at school, but somehow in Lockdown 17-year-old schoolgirl Hannah McSorley has ended up as a "...

Ep 407 Big Night In: Hilary Fannin

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our fifth Big Night In happened on Zoom in front of an audience of 250 on Saturday June 6th with author, playwright and Irish Times columnist Hilary F...

Ep 406 How to be Anti-Racist: three black Irish women explain

04 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The year 2020 will not just be remembered for the pandemic. It will also be remembered for George Floyd and his final words 'I can't breathe' as he la...

Ep 405 Normal People's Ita O'Brien on how to make great TV sex

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The sex in the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People became a huge national talking point. It was praised for its authenticity and compl...

Ep 404 Big Night In with Lisa Hannigan

28 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We were joined by almost 300 listeners, readers and Irish Times subscribers last Saturday night for our fourth Big Night In on Zoom. This one was with...

Ep 403 Naoise Dolan, Write Now & Repeal memories

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's two years since 64.66 per cent of us voted to Repeal the 8th Amendment. Roisin Ingle reads her column looking back on that important day. Also on...

Ep 402 Jane Casey, crime writer

21 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jane Casey is one of the most successful crime writers of recent times, blazing a trail in a genre that has been dominated recently by Irish women suc...

Ep 401 When Lockdown Is Lifted

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There's something in the air. A tiny bit of longed for freedom. The timeline for the gradual lifting of lockdown restrictions has been released and we...

Ep 400 Amy Huberman celebrates our 400th episode

14 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to our 400th episode! We never imagined when we started the podcast back in September 2015 that we'd still be here 400 episodes later telling ...

Ep 399 Frances Fitzgerald

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle was joined by MEP and former Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald. In a recent article for The Irish Times, Fitzgerald wrote a...

Ep 398 Alison Spittle & Joanne McNally

07 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, comedians Alison Spittle and Joanne McNally join Róisín Ingle to discuss the highs and lows of the London lockdown life. From livin...

Ep 397 Normal People

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by journalist Jenn Gannon and author Emer McLysaght for a discussion about Normal People, the Irish TV ...

Ep 396 Eavan Boland & New Irish Writing

30 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today's episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by three of Ireland’s newest authors, Michelle Gallan (Big Girl, Small Town), Niamh Campbell (This Happ...

Ep 396 Big Night In: Deirdre O’Kane on Zoom

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the second of our ‘Big Night In’ zoom events, Róisín Ingle was joined by comedian and actor Deirdre O’Kane. In front of an audience of 250 ...

Ep 395 Mary Lou McDonald

23 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle spoke with president and leader of Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald. Earlier this month, McDonald received a positive diag...

Ep 394 Uncharted - Margaret Heffernan

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle spoke with entrepreneur, CEO and keynote speaker Margaret Heffernan. In her latest book ‘Uncharted: How to navigate ...

Ep 393 Big Night In: Marian Keyes on Zoom

16 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the live recording taken from the first ever Zoom event for The Women's Podcast. Last Saturday night, Marian Keyes joined Róisin Ingl...

Ep 393 Lockdown Book Club & Sex Toys Boom

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle spoke with Shawna Scott from Sex Siopa about the recent increase in sex toy sales due to the Covid-19 lockdown. In the...

Ep 392 Frontline Women & Domestic Abuse Pandemic

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle spoke with Dr Catherine Motherway, a Consultant Anaesthesiologist and Intensive Care Physician at University Hospital...

Ep 391 Angela Scanlon & Razan Ibraheem

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Syrian born journalist Razan Ibraheem spoke to Róisín Ingle about adjusting to this new life under lockdown and the importance of m...

Ep 390 Pandemic Pantry - Roz Purcell & Catherine Cleary

02 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode is all about food, glorious food. Róisín Ingle caught up with food blogger Roz Purcell, to talk about her new fundraiser "Feasta: ...

Ep 389 On Call For Ireland & Home Beauty Hacks

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle spoke with Dr. Zoë Lynch, a young Irish doctor who has just returned home to Ireland having spent the last two years ...

Ep 388 Home Schooling & Direct Provision In Lockdown

26 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle spoke with Precious Matumba who lives in direct provision in Mosney. Precious arrived in Ireland from Zimbabwe in 2018...

Ep 387 Sinéad O’Connor & Rosemary Smith

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle spoke to music legend Sinéad O’Connor, who is on lockdown at her home in Bray with members of her family including ...

Ep 386 Lockdown Life: Rome, Dublin and Waterford

19 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle spoke to three women about how life has changed since the outbreak of the coronavirus. Irish Times journalist Jennifer...

Ep 385 Pandemic Life & Patricia Scanlan

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of our episodes recorded remotely, Róisín Ingle catches up with her mother Ann, who is finding ways to keep herself busy during the cor...

Ep 384 Coronavirus Pandemic: The Delay Phase

12 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the words of Irish Minister for Health Simon Harris, we are now "in the delay phase". Schools, colleges and other public facilities are set to clos...

Ep 383 International Women’s Day - Live with Accenture

08 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Happy International Women’s Day. This episode was recorded live from The Convention Centre in Dublin, as part of Accenture’s International Women’...

Ep 382 Bookclub: Motherwell by Deborah Orr

05 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, our book clubbers got to grips with Motherwell: A Girlhood by Deborah Orr. It’s a fiery, honest memoir, which ultimately became the...

Ep 381 How to Raise Teenagers: Mothers (and a teen daughter) discuss

02 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The teenage years are a period of intense growth, both emotionally and physically. Add to that, the pressures of social media, school, relationships a...

Ep 380 Leap Year the Movie & Women working together

27 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

2020 is a leap year, meaning that we get an extra day, the 29th February. According to tradition, this is the day in which it’s “acceptable” for...

Ep 379 Anne Enright Live

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of The Women’s Podcast was recorded live at Liberty Hall Theatre in Dublin with the award winning author Anne Enright as our special gu...

Ep 378 Me and White Supremacy

20 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Three years ago, Layla F. Saad began an Instagram challenge called #MeandWhiteSupremacy, which asked her followers to own up to their racist beliefs a...

Ep 377 Siobhan McSweeney

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Róisín Ingle was joined by actress, activist and Cork woman Siobhan McSweeney. Best known for playing the legendary Sister Michael ...

Ep 376 Stories of 'How we met' / Good Food: Better Sex

13 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this special Valentine's Day episode, we've got loads of lovely 'how I met my partner' stories from listeners and guests of The Women's Podcast. Fr...