Beth Orton performs live, The 23-year divorce case, DJ Smokin Jo
Woman's Hour
BBC
4.1 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 26 June 2026
⏱️ 54 minutes
🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS
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Summary
For three decades, the singer-songwriter Beth Orton has remained one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music. She’s developed a devoted audience, winning a BRIT Award and Mercury Prize nominations for albums such as Trailer Park and Central Reservation. She has collaborated with artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Andrew Weatherall and Nick Cave, and she’s performed at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Glastonbury Festival and Carnegie Hall. Her 2022 album, Weather Alive, became a major critical breakthrough. Her first self-produced album, it earned widespread acclaim, with The New York Times praising its “modal vocal phrases". Beth joins Anita to discuss her new album The Ground Above, and to perform live.
Schools across England and Wales have faced major disruption this week as extreme heat forces closures and early finishes. BBC analysis suggests more than 2,400 schools have either shut or been disrupted as temperatures climbed. It’s raised fresh questions about whether the education system and its buildings are prepared for hotter summers. BBC Education reporter Vanessa Clarke explains the impact the heat has had alongside Harry Paticas, architect and Founder of RAFT, non-profit community organisation focussing on reducing emissions in schools and communities.
Varsha Gohil’s 23 year case against her ex-husband changed the law for anyone whose spouse hides their wealth in divorce proceedings. It is thought to be the one of the longest-running financial disputes in English family law. Varsha tells Anita Rani about a two-decade battle that included gaining a law degree and representing herself in court.
DJ Smokin Jo has been a trailblazer in an industry largely dominated by men. A resident at the legendary Trade parties in London in the early 90s she was soon playing the world’s biggest clubs and was the first - and still only - woman to be named DJ Magazine’s DJ of the year. Jo joins Anita to discuss her memoir which details the highs and lows of her career, from finding her community on the dancefloor to rehab, misogyny and what has and hasn’t changed for women in dance music.
Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Simon Richardson
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:06.9 | Hi, I'm Zing Singh. |
| 0:08.3 | And I'm Simon Jack. |
| 0:09.3 | And together we host Good Bad Billionaire. |
| 0:11.4 | The podcast exploring how some of the world's richest people made their fortunes. |
| 0:15.2 | And we're back for a new season with a brand new lineup of billionaires. |
| 0:18.6 | Yeah, global pop icon Beyonce. |
| 0:20.6 | Hollywood movie director Stephen Spielberg. |
| 0:22.8 | Football superstar Christiana Rinaldo, anyone? |
| 0:25.2 | And as ever, we're asking you to decide whether they're good, bad or just another billionaire. |
| 0:30.0 | That's good, bad, billionaire. |
| 0:31.3 | Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:34.6 | Hello, I'm Anita Rani and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:39.4 | Just to say that for rights reasons, the music in the original radio broadcast has been removed for this podcast. |
| 0:45.8 | Good morning and welcome to the programme. |
| 0:48.3 | Beth Orton is with us. |
| 0:50.3 | She'll be performing live in the Woman's Hour studio music from her stunning new album. |
| 0:55.9 | Now, imagine being in a 23-year court case with your ex-partner seeking to prove that they were hiding assets. |
| 1:04.1 | Versa Gohel has set a new legal precedent that spouses must honestly declare their assets before a divorce settlement can be |
| 1:11.8 | reached. How did she do it? By training as a lawyer herself to fight her case. She'll be here to |
| 1:18.6 | tell us all about it. And she was the first and still is the only woman ever to be named DJ |
| 1:25.8 | Magazine's DJ of the year. |
... |
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