Forced adoptions, Massage therapists, Menopause & heart problems, Financial investing

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.1 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today the Prime Minister is expected to apologise on behalf of the state for its role in historical forced adoptions. Thousands of unmarried women were pressured into giving up their babies in the 30 years after the Second World War. Krupa Padhy talks to two women who are keenly awaiting this apology - Zara who was adopted, but tracked down her birth mother when she was aged 23 and Susan whose baby was taken from her when she was 16.

A large multinational cohort study published in June provides important new evidence of the increased risk of cardiovascular events for women who have premature and early menopause, across ethnic groups. To discuss what this could mean for you, Krupa is joined by Dr Ellie Cannon, GP and author of The Little Book of HRT, and Professor Anne McGregor, menopause specialist and trainer at the British Menopause Society.

Some female massage therapists are refusing to take on any more male clients after being subject to sexually inappropriate behaviour. Krupa is joined by Maria Slowik-Capanni, a therapist and Ruth Duncan, Chair of the General Council for Manual Therapies with 26 years of experience in the industry. They discuss why the idea of regulating massage therapy is such a complex issue and what can be done to protect therapists in their workplace.

Money is broken for women, according to the founders of Female Invest, a subscription-based Danish financial education app. Their aim is to close the financial gender gap by educating women about investing and in their new book, It’s a Rich Man’s World, they explore the life events and systemic obstacles women face to build and hold onto wealth and what can be done to change things so women can thrive. Krupa speaks to Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, one of the co-authors of the book.

Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Rebecca Myatt

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

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.
0:35.7	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. Hello, I'm Neula McGovern, and welcome Radio, Podcasts.
0:39.4	Hello, I'm Nula McGovern and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4.
0:44.0	Just to say that for rights reasons, the music in the original radio broadcast has been removed for this podcast.
0:50.6	Hello and welcome to the programme.
0:52.4	Well, did you see the 11-foot-t tall figure of Superman that was suspended a thousand feet above the pavement when it's actually within the exposed spire of the shard, which is the capital's tallest skyscraper? Now, the photos and the video of it are quite a sight. But Rachel Brosnahan, who plays the latest Lois Lane in the new Superman film, was there in the flesh yesterday. She is in our studio today. So Superman and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel fans do stay with us. We also have the journalist Jenny Evans to discuss her memoir, Don't Let It Break You, Honey. It is her story of fighting back against a system
1:28.7	that had harmed her following sexual assault, including abuses of power in the press and the
1:33.8	police. We have the author, DJ and footballer Annie McManus this hour on how the lionesses
1:39.7	win at the Euros inspired her to get back on the pitch. The Euros or UEFA's European Women's Championship gets underway tonight.
1:48.1	And I'm wondering, are you planning on following the tournament?
1:51.0	Which team? Where will you watch?
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 3 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.