meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Woman's Hour

Maternity services inquiry, Women in architecture, Witches

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Personal Journals

4.22.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The government has announced an independent inquiry into repeated failings in maternity services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Earlier this year, a BBC investigation revealed that the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers over the past five years at the Trust could perhaps have been avoided. BBC correspondent Divya Talwar joins Nuala McGovern, alongside Lauren Caulfield and Amarjit Kaur Matharoo, who both tragically lost their babies while receiving care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust. This month, the Ironman World Championships were held in Kona, Hawaii, where Britain’s Kat Matthews won silver. The men’s and women’s championships, previously held simultaneously, were split into separate events in 2023. However, they are set to reunite next year. Questions have been raised about the impact this change may have on female competitors. To discuss the championships and celebrate Kat’s achievement, Nuala is joined by Kat Matthews and Jordan Blanco, a contributor to Triathlete magazine who attended the event. A new report reveals that progress towards gender equity in the architecture profession still remains too slow. Inequalities remain deeply rooted — with pay disparities, toxic and exclusionary workplace cultures, and half of female respondents surveyed said they had been bullied, and a third had experienced sexual harassment at work. Nuala hears from Valerie Vaughan-Dick, Chief Executive of Royal Institute of British Architects, and Helen Lee who was the project architect on a social housing development in London for the elderly which has just won this year’s Stirling Prize for Architecture. The Essex witch trials represent one of the darkest chapters in British history. A new Sky History series, Witches of Essex, revisits the real lives of women accused of witchcraft in the 16th and 17th centuries, drawing on newly examined court records and the latest historical research. Historian Dr Eleanor Janega joins Nuala to discuss.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Dianne McGregor

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.

0:07.3

Welcome back to the home of the oxymoron.

0:10.5

Evil genius.

0:11.6

He asked the newspaper to print his obituary early so he'd enjoy it.

0:15.5

That's like hiding at your own funeral.

0:17.1

Yeah, a bit great gig.

0:18.6

I'm Russell Kane.

0:19.6

Join me to weigh in on whether the biggest players in history are more evil or genius. Becoming that rich, I'd say that is some level of genius. It also helps that it's a long time ago, right? It's like the podcast version of telling your kids the ice cream van plays music when it's out of ice cream. Listen to Evil Genius on BBC Sounds.

0:43.2

Hi, I'm Nula McGovern and you're listening to The Woman's Hour podcast. While you're here,

0:48.3

I wanted to let you know about the Woman's Hour Guide to Life, your toolkit for the juggle, the struggle and everything in between. Life is complicated and often incredibly busy. So whether you're fixing a problem

0:56.6

at one of life's crossroads or just looking to shake things up a bit, this is the guide you'll

1:01.8

need to help you survive and even thrive. Each episode brings together world-class experts

1:08.3

with women sharing their honest, powerful stories, offering real

1:12.3

insight and also practical tips that really work. From work and career to relationships

1:17.9

and family issues, the focus is on helping you grow, also adapt and overcome life's curve

1:24.7

walls. It's your companion, your life coach, it's your Woman's Hour

1:29.2

Guide to Life. Join us only on BBC Sounds, but now back to today's Woman's Hour.

1:35.5

Hello and welcome to the programme. Well, you will have seen and heard details from the posthumous

1:39.8

memoir of Virginia Dufre Nob-D's Girl over the morning. I do want to let you know that we will

1:45.6

have the co-author Amy Wallace on the program on Thursday, so do make sure you tune in for that.

1:51.8

And so to today, as you were just hearing in the news bulletin, an independent inquiry into

1:56.7

repeated failures at maternity unionists under Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust,

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

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.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.