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Woman's Hour: Marian Keyes, Juliet open letter, Swiss climate victory

Marian Keyes, Juliet open letter, Swiss climate victory

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Marian Keyes, Juliet open letter, Swiss climate victory

Irish author Marian Keyes talks about her latest page turner, My Favourite Mistake.

Irish author Marian Keyes writes funny, clever novels about life including: Rachel’s Holiday, Anybody out There, Grown Ups, Angels. She covers issues such as  addiction, break-ups, baby loss, anxiety, depression and love, with women at the heart. We all make mistakes, but when do we stop making the same one over and over again?  This is the question at the heart of Marian’s latest novel: My Favourite Mistake. She joins Anita Rani to discuss that, mistakes, perimenopause and ‘feathery strokers’.

In a landmark case, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Switzerland was violating the human rights of its citizens by inadequate action on climate change. A group of more than 2,000 older Swiss women launched the case nine years ago, calling for better protection of women's health from the effects of climate change. The Court's ruling is binding and can trickle down to influence the law in 46 countries in Europe. Anita talks to one of the senior women who brought the case, Elisabeth Stern, and the group's lawyer, Jessica Simor. 

Almost 30 years ago, Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman were stabbed to death in Los Angeles. The prime suspect was OJ Simpson, Nicole’s ex-husband and a well-known NFL player turned actor. What followed remains one of the most famous murder trials in history, televised and watched by millions. He was acquitted of the murders of Nicole and Ron. He did plead no contest to charges of ‘spousal battery’ – what we now call domestic violence. And he was later found liable for the deaths in a separate civil case. OJ Simpson died on Wednesday at the age of 76. To talk about the impact his trial had on the perception of violence against women in the US is Sarah Baxter, Director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting and former Deputy Editor of The Sunday Times.  

This week, it was announced that 883 actors, writers, comedians and creatives had signed an open letter in support of Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, the star in a new production of Romeo & Juliet, due to run in London's West End next month. The open letter came after a statement was published by the Jamie Lloyd Company, "Following the announcement of our Romeo & Juliet cast, there has been a barrage of deplorable racial abuse online directed towards a member of our company..." It was co-authored by actors Susan Wokoma and writer Somalia Nonyé Seaton and Susan joins Anita to talk about the issues.

On 6 April 1999, Mamma Mia! opened in the West End. As the show celebrates its 25th anniversary, Woman's Hour celebrates the music of one of the most popular and successful musicals of all time.  


Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rebecca Myatt
Studio manager: Duncan Hannant

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