meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Woman's Hour

Russian journalist-in-exile Elena Kostyuchenco, Karen Farquharson, Teleri Glyn Jones, Nerys Evans, Innes Fitzgerald

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 24 February 2022, Elena Kostyuchenco, one of Russia’s most fearless independent journalists, crossed into Ukraine to report on what was happening in the country. The paper she had worked at for 17 years, Novaya Gazeta, was shut down just months later in response to her reporting. Elena’s latest book, I Love Russia, gives a rare insight into her homeland, bringing us voices we have never heard. She speaks to Emma Barnett. We hear from Karen Farquharson who has been awarded £37,000 at an employment tribunal after her boss told her she used the menopause as an “excuse for everything”. In a separate case, a woman assisted by the Equality and Human Rights commission says her menopausal symptoms should be considered, in her case, as a disability. The economist Vicky Pryce comments on the potential implications of the case. We talk to BBC Wales political correspondent Teleri Glyn Jones about the victimisation of a whistle-blower and a complainant who made allegations of a serious nature about the Plaid Cymru MS Rhys ab Owen. Both say they were harassed by a family member of the MS who has been suspended from his party since last November pending an investigation by the Welsh Parliament’s standards watchdog. Emma Barnett also talks to former Plaid Cymru politician Nerys Evans who recently produced the damning report into Plaid’s sexual harassment complaints procedures earlier this year. Innes Fitzgerald is the current under 17s UK number one in the 3000 metres and she’s made the conscious decision to no longer fly to any championships or running events abroad. She’s been nominated for Young Athlete of the Year in the BBC Green Sports Awards. She joins Emma to tell us more. Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Sue Maillot

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey, let me ask you, sir, have you heard George's podcast?

0:06.1

Me and Ben Brick are back with a blast, this time with stories from Africa's past.

0:11.0

Not too distant, unsolved mysteries, unsung heroes from untold histories, I'm trying

0:16.9

to make sense of the present day, join me on this journey by pressing play.

0:23.8

Have you heard George's podcast?

0:25.7

Chapter 4.

0:27.1

Listen on BBC Sounds.

0:29.5

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

0:35.5

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

0:40.6

Good morning, here we are again on a Monday and there's a lot going on on the economic

0:45.3

front.

0:46.3

Doctors on strike over wages and conditions, water bills potentially set to rise and a

0:51.9

chancellor promising to toughen sanctions for people on benefits who do not take steps

0:56.2

to find work.

0:57.5

At the same time, as announcing the National Living Wage is set to increase to at least

1:01.7

£11 an hour from next April.

1:04.2

It is Conservative Party conference season and it's the day we hear about the numbers,

1:08.4

but it's quite a morning on the financial front for one woman in particular.

1:13.0

She's making a large statement about her own ability to earn money.

1:17.0

In a legal first, Maria Rooney, a social worker, is claiming the menopause is a disability

1:24.8

as she sews her former employer.

1:27.0

We're going to hear from another woman shortly, Karen Farcason, who just won her tribunal

...

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 2026.