meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Woman's Hour

Weekend Woman's Hour: Matrescence, Ramadan & the 'sandwich generation', The Traitors' Harriet Tyce

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 7 March 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The BBC has had exclusive access to the world’s largest study scanning pregnant women’s brains. The BeMOther project is based in Spain and has found that women's brains change significantly through pregnancy and beyond. Nuala McGovern talks to Smitha Mundasad, a BBC health and science reporter and Lucy Jones, author of Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood.

Ramadan is a time for worship and reflection. But many women of the so-called 'sandwich generation' may feel that they are up against the clock, juggling caring for young children and elderly parents, while also trying to find the time to fuel their bodies and their minds. Anita is joined by Shelina Janmohamed, an author and podcaster, and Tabassum Niamat, a mother and community activist, both of whom think of themselves as 'sandwich carers.'

According to the NGO International Justice Mission, live-streamed online child sexual abuse is one of the fastest‑growing yet least‑detected types of child abuse globally. Nuala is joined by Molly Hudson from the International Justice Mission, and Sharon Pursey, co‑founder of SafeToNet, a British online safety technology company.

Barrister turned bestselling crime author and recent star of The Traitors, Harriet Tyce joins Nuala to talk about her latest novel, Witch Trial. Harriet reflects on how motherhood was the impetus for her career change, how her knowledge of the legal system inspires her work and her experience as a ‘Faithful’ on the hit BBC TV series.

Model, author and activist Charli Howard says she has always been treated like a sex object. Charli joins Anita to discuss how, through a new book of essays called Flesh, she is reclaiming her body for herself, piece by piece.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Kirsty McQuire

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

0:07.0

I'm no longer ravenous. I'll no longer eat until I fall asleep.

0:11.0

The Hunger Game, a new five-part series exploring the meteoric rise of weight loss drugs.

0:16.0

It's been an incredible story with these drugs.

0:18.1

The uptake, the amount of product that's been sold, the amount of money

0:21.2

is cost. What the drugs do, how they work, and the knock-on effects of their widespread use.

0:26.5

We'll be sitting here in three years' time going, oh, it caused problems that we're now going

0:31.3

to have to fix. The Hunger Game with me, Professor Gilesio. Listen first on BBC Sounds.

0:38.4

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

0:43.5

Hello and welcome to the program. Coming up, barrister turned crime writer and traitor's

0:49.6

faithful Harriet Tice on her new novel, Witch Trial. Model and activist Charlie Howard explores piece by piece

0:57.1

how her body has been objectified in her new book, Flesh,

1:01.0

and we'll also hear about an extremely tough issue,

1:05.1

a hidden form of child sexual abuse live streamed onto phones.

1:09.4

But our guests do have a solution to offer.

1:12.6

Plus, how to carve out time for reflection during Ramadan as a sandwich generation carer.

1:18.6

But first, matrescence and the transformations that come with pregnancy, birth and raising a child

1:25.6

are only just starting to receive attention as a distinct life stage

1:29.5

that some women go through. Only in recent years has it started to receive the widespread attention

1:35.0

of neuroscientists asking what happens to women's brains as their bodies go through the changes

1:40.6

of pregnancy and beyond, but already the answers are fascinating.

1:45.6

The BBC has had exclusive access to the world's largest study scanning pregnant women's brains.

...

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.