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Woman's Hour

Listener Week: Psychedelics, Strongwomen, Kleptomania, Living funerals, Being a refugee, Women in heavy metal

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A Listener Week Weekend Woman’s Hour Special, where you – our listeners – decide what you want to hear on the programme.

Our listener Rachel asked us to explore the potential of using psychedelic drugs in medicine, and whether these drugs might affect women differently to men. Anita Rani is joined by Professor David Nutt, Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London; and Catherine Bird, Senior Clinical Trials Manager at the Centre for Affective Disorders at Kings College London.

Eric, a listener, suggested we find out more about Vulcana, the Victorian strongwoman known for her 'jaw-dropping feats of strength and her breath-taking beauty'. Author Rebecca F John and Sam Taylor, Britain’s Strongest Woman 2020, join Nuala McGovern to talk about strongwomen past and present.

A listener who we’re calling Jane tells Nuala about her addiction to shoplifting. She wanted to highlight her experience and her struggle to cope with her compulsion - and explains her anxiety about regularly breaking the law.

Listener Nelly has asked us to talk about living funerals. She was inspired by Kris Hallenga, the founder of the CoppaFeel breast cancer awareness charity, who has stage 4 breast cancer and who held a living funeral for herself. Nuala hears from Jenna, whose sister had a living funeral.

Franceska Murati is a 27-year-old businesswoman and this year’s Miss Central London. At four years old, she arrived in the UK having escaped war-torn Kosovo, smuggled in the back of a lorry. She shares her story.

And our listener Laura wanted us to look at heavy metal and the role women play in the scene. Nuala speaks to Lindsay Bishop, who conducted 10 years of field work for her PhD on the subject and Becky Baldwin, a bassist from the band Fury.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Lottie Garton

Transcript

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0:00.0

He's a rule breaker, a trend setter. He reshaped art and redefined graffiti.

0:07.4

How does he smell?

0:08.4

Like paint.

0:09.3

Has he got any distinction features?

0:10.8

His anonymity.

0:11.9

But who is he?

0:13.2

What's his name?

0:14.1

Banksy.

0:15.0

Apparently I've met him twice.

0:16.5

The Banksy story.

0:18.0

Banksy's work is always about the human spirit versus establishment.

0:24.2

Listen on BBC Science.

0:26.4

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

0:32.2

I'm Anita Rani and welcome to Woman's Hour from BBC Radio 4.

0:36.5

Hello and welcome to a very special weekend woman's hour bringing you the highlights of

0:41.3

listener week.

0:42.5

This is the week where you've been the producers and every idea discussed on the programme

0:46.7

has been brought to us by one of you.

0:49.1

Our treasured, valued listeners.

0:51.9

And what a week it's been.

0:53.2

We've had everything from a woman who went through posthumous conception, having a baby

0:57.5

after her husband had died, to the women fighting on the front line in Ukraine, to the discovery

...

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