Woman's Hour

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BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

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Woman's Hour: Hormonal contraception, Ghost children, Narcissism, Mabel Constanduros

Hormonal contraception, Ghost children, Narcissism, Mabel Constanduros

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Hormonal contraception, Ghost children, Narcissism, Mabel Constanduros

The latest research into using hormonal contraception.

The trailblazing female broadcaster and comedian Mabel Constanduros who created the sitcom as a genre for BBC Radio in the 1920s.

Taking any type of hormonal contraception could increase your risk of getting breast cancer, according to a new study by the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Oxford Population Health, which is part of the University of Oxford. It’s one of the first big studies into this type of birth control assessing the risk of breast cancer.  But headlines like this will be alarming, so, what do we need to know and do? Dr Charlotte Porter, Vice President of Speciality at the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Karis Betts, Senior Health Information Manager at Cancer Research UK talk to Anita.

More than 140,000 schoolchildren in England were officially "severely absent" in the summer term of 2022, according to official Department of Education figures, and the number of these pupils, missing at least 50% of classes, is growing. So what can be done about it, and how can the individual contributions of headteachers and teachers make a difference? Anita is joined by Caroline Walker a headteacher in Barrow and Alice Wilcock, Head of Education for The Centre for Social Justice.

What are the traits of a narcissistic mother? In the second of a Woman's Hour series, 'Narcissistic Mothers,' reporter Ena Miller meets 'Louise' and talks to her about her late mother. Louise's sister 'Charlotte' thinks their mother was a narcissist, but 'Louise' isn't so sure.

Mabel Constanduros was a trailblazing female broadcaster and comedian on BBC Radio in the early days of the corporation. She created the sitcom as a genre and brought soap operas to the UK. So why has history forgotten her? Anita Rani speaks to Mabel’s great-great nephew Jack Shillito and the academic Jennifer Purcell.


Presenter: Anita Rani
Studio manager: Duncan Hannant

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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Hormonal contraception, Ghost children, Narcissism, Mabel Constanduros

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