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Woman's Hour

Maria Corina Machado, Netball cardiac screening, Gabby Logan, AI teachers

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.22.9K Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Venezuelan politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado was met with cheers on a hotel balcony in Norway in the middle of the night this week. It was the first time that she has been seen in public since January, after being forced into hiding. She also gave an exclusive interview to BBC News and spoke about the significance of this moment. So who is Maria Corina Machado? To find out, Anita Rani was joined by Norberto Paredes who is a journalist with BBC Mundo, the BBC's news service for the Spanish speaking world.

When Kaitlin Lawrence was just 22 years old, she collapsed whilst playing netball for the then Super League side Surrey Storm. She was eventually diagnosed with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a genetic condition she never knew she had. Following this she was forced to give up her dream of playing professionally for Scotland and has gone on to successfully campaign to get cardiac screening introduced in the Netball Super League next season. She tells Anita her story.

As 2025 draws to a close, it’s clear this has been a landmark year for women’s sport. From the UEFA Women’s Euros to the Rugby World Cup, record-breaking attendances and soaring TV audiences have put female athletes firmly in the global spotlight. One person who’s been at the heart of that story is Gabby Logan. Part of the all-female presenting team for BBC Sports Personality of the Year - returning next week - Gabby has also had a standout year herself, stepping into one of football’s most iconic roles as a new presenter on Match of the Day. She joins Anita live.

Yesterday, we heard the very sad news about author Sophie Kinsella, who has died at the age of 55. Her real name was Madeleine Wickham and she wrote more than 30 books for adults, children and teenagers, which sold more than 50 million copies in more than 60 countries - they have been translated into more than 40 languages. She joined Nuala in October 2024, when she spoke about her last novel, What does it feel like? She described how her personal experience had heavily influenced the novel: the protagonist had brain cancer, a hugely supportive husband and five children, exactly like Sophie. You can listen to Sophie's final Woman's Hour interview on BBC Sounds - it's the episode from 8 October 2024.

A new BBC report looks into the uses of AI in schools, from generating lesson plans to marking and even deepfake teachers. Anita speaks to BBC Education reporter Hayley Clarke about what she found and how it could help with the pressures that teachers are under, plus we hear from CEO of the Great Schools Trust Shane Ierston about the ways they've been putting AI tools to use in the classroom.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Corinna Jones

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.

0:07.0

My Christmas Mix is pure 90s festive nostalgia.

0:11.1

You know, the Christmas songs you listen to on repeat.

0:14.0

Ho!

0:14.3

Ho! Ho! No, no, no.

0:17.5

I'm all about the big hitting Christmas anthems.

0:20.4

Come on, guys. What about those tunes that really slay? It's Christmas kitchen disco season, surely.

0:26.4

Give me hip-hip-christmas bangers every day. Those Christmas tracks that are straight out of lapland.

0:30.9

Get all kinds of Christmassy. Just search Christmas music on BBC Sounds.

0:35.8

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

0:41.0

Good morning, welcome to the programme. A new BBC report has been looking into the uses of artificial

0:46.5

intelligence in schools, from automated marking to lesson plans and even deep fake teachers. So how can

0:53.8

AI be used in the classroom? We'll be discussing

0:56.6

the findings of the report. And of course, if you have experience of this, either as a teacher,

1:01.3

parents or student, get in touch and share your thoughts. The text number 84844. Maria Carina

1:07.8

Machado, Venezuela's most prominent opposition leader, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1:13.9

She's been living in hiding in Venezuela and her daughter, Anna Karina Sosa Machado, collected the award on her behalf.

1:21.3

However, Maria made a surprise appearance in Oslo in the middle of the night.

1:26.0

The first time she's been seen in

1:27.9

publics since January will be finding out more about Maria Machado. In 2023, Caitlin Lawrence

1:35.7

was just 22 years old when she collapsed whilst playing netball for the then Super League side,

1:41.4

Surrey Storm. She was eventually diagnosed with a genetic heart condition she never knew she had.

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