S23 Ep5: Polly Vernon, Journalist & Author — The power of women speaking out — The fearless feminist
Conversations of Inspiration
Holly Tucker MBE
5.0 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 13 October 2025
⏱️ 86 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You know those conversations that leave you buzzing — proud to be a woman, alive in your skin and ready to take on the world? This is one of those.
In this episode, Holly speaks with Polly Vernon — journalist, author and all-round truth-teller — known for her fearless interviews with the likes of Donald Trump and Harry Styles, and her sharp, insightful writing for The Times and Grazia. Describing herself as a “thoroughly imperfect, atypical feminist,” Polly is rewriting the sisterhood rules.
Together, they explore everything from growing up in a feminist household to navigating expectations around motherhood and childlessness, aging and appearance, fitness and feminism, trauma and resilience. Polly is unflinchingly honest about the pressures women face — and why open, unfiltered conversations about health, choice and defining womanhood on our own terms matter more than ever.
She says what many only dare to think — and that courage, that raw authenticity, is what makes her voice so powerful. This is a conversation that challenges, comforts and might just make you a little braver too.
Trigger warning: This episode includes mentions of rape and abortion, which may be distressing for some listeners. If you prefer to skip these parts, the discussion on rape runs from 15–23 minutes, and abortion from 46–49 minutes. Please take care while listening.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I do think we are stupidly obsessed with how women look and we need to stop being. |
| 0:05.1 | But I also think you can enjoy the way you look and you can enjoy boosting the way you look |
| 0:10.2 | without being completely screwed up. |
| 0:13.8 | The conversation I've just had is one that's made me feel proud to be a woman of the age that I am |
| 0:20.3 | born in the 70s and growing up in the 80s and 90s. |
| 0:24.8 | Because I was speaking to Polly Vernon, you'll know her from her interviews with everyone |
| 0:30.2 | from Donald Trump to Harry Stiles and her books and her writing for The Times and Grazia. |
| 0:36.1 | And the one thing I thought when speaking to her is that |
| 0:38.8 | just, I don't know, she's so fearless. And then after I spoke to her a little bit more, I just thought |
| 0:44.4 | she's a fearless feminist and she's rewriting, I suppose, I don't know, sisterhood rules. And |
| 0:51.3 | and I'm really interested in that because she sort of has gone where many of us |
| 0:56.8 | don't and she speaks and writes beautifully and she's so articulate about the things I don't know |
| 1:03.6 | most of us might just think and never dare say and I think that takes guts but it's made me think |
| 1:10.1 | don't we need these people in the world, |
| 1:12.1 | the ones who, I don't know, speak their truths or challenges the status quo and maybe someone |
| 1:21.2 | who makes us a little bit braver to say what we think? And that's certainly what I've taken |
| 1:26.7 | away. I think my conversation with |
| 1:29.0 | Polly is going to really resonate with you, and I think it's going to give you a dollop of |
| 1:34.5 | courage. Enjoy. Buy your head and let your eyelids close on down. Where we're going, you |
| 1:41.8 | won't need to bring your frown. |
| 1:49.8 | Hi, I'm Holly Tucker and welcome to my podcast Conversations of Inspiration. |
| 1:57.2 | I've reached out to founders and those who simply inspire me to share their hard-earned wisdom with you. |
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