The Women's Podcast

• Kit de Waal on identity and belonging / Starving children of Gaza

  This week, we’re joined by the brilliant Kit de Waal—novelist, memoirist, and fierce advocate for working-class voices in literature. In conversation with Roisin Ingle, de Waal discusses her powerful new novel The Best of Everything, set in 1970s and 1980s England, which follows the interwoven lives of a single mother, her son, and their neighbours as they navigate grief, love, and survival.Best known for her acclaimed debut My Name is Leon, de Waal also shares insights from her 2022 memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes, where she recounts her unconventional upbringing as the daughter of a Caribbean father and an Irish Jehovah’s Witness mother. From the fear of a prophesied Armageddon in 1975 to the complexities of faith, identity, and family, the writer reflects on the experiences that shaped her—and how they now shape her fiction.This is a moving, sharp, and sometimes darkly funny conversation about resilience, storytelling, and what it means to find your place in the world. Also on today's episode, Niamh Towey joins us to discuss the stories of the week including Gaza, where the UN has said the lives of thousands of children are at risk due to malnutrition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Jacqueline Connolly: ‘I didn’t know what coercive control was until my family were killed’

  In 2016, Clodagh Hawe and her three sons, Liam (13), Niall (11) and Ryan (6) were murdered in their Co Cavan home, by their husband and father Alan Hawe, who took his own life shortly after. It was and still is Ireland’s largest murder-suicide and the brutal killings sent shockwaves throughout the country. In her book, Deadly Silence, Clodagh’s younger sister Jacqueline Connolly, gives her account of the circumstances leading up to the mass murder and how her brother-in-law, Hawe, coercively controlled and manipulated her unsuspecting sister. In this episode, Connolly talks to Róisín Ingle about the person Clodagh was, the relationship the pair had growing up and how their bond changed when Hawe entered their lives. She also talks about her family’s painful search for answers in the aftermath of the killings and the critical failures in the initial Garda investigation. But first, Irish Times Opinion editor Jennifer O’Connell is here to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week, including the conviction for sexual assault of actor Gérard Depardieu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Down with that ‘skort’ of thing / Celebrating Tina Turner

  Two years ago this month, Tina Turner died at the age of 83 at her home in Switzerland. The global superstar and rock icon had a career spanning more than five decades. Although she retired from performing in her late 60s, one of her final projects was to collaborate on Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which debuted in London’s West End in 2018. This month the show comes to Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre for a two week run and in this episode Róisín Ingle speaks to some of the cast members, Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy who plays the role of Tina Turner and choreographer Simone Mistry Palmer. But first, Irish Times opinion editor Jennifer O’Connoll is here to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week, including the camogie skorts row, the latest from the papal conclave and Prince Harry’s recent security woes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Irish woman detained by US immigration / The Steminists

  In March, a group of secondary school students from Co Offaly made history when they became the first ever all-female team to win the VEX IQ All-Ireland Robotics Competition. ‘The Steminists’ will now represent Ireland at the World Championships in Texas this month. The team consists of five students aged between 12 and 14 years old, from the Sacred Heart School in Tullamore. In today’s episode, two team members, Alice Duffy (12) and Rachel Ebenezer (13), along with their teachers Sindy Meleady and Aisling Burke join Róisín Ingle to discuss the upcoming competition and how they created their winning robot ‘Agatha Trunchball’. Later on we’ll be learning all about Luail, Ireland’s first all-island national dance company with creative director Liz Roche. But first, Irish Times podcast presenter Bernice Harrison is here to discuss some of the biggest stories of the week, including the Satchwell trial and why US immigration have detained Irish woman Cliona Ward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Climate Changemakers: Three women on their fight against climate change

  According to the latest European State of the Climate Report, 2024 was the hottest year on record for Europe and the fourth warmest year ever recorded in Ireland. As part of the global fight against climate change, Ireland has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 — but are we really on track to meet that goal?In today’s episode, we hear from three climate activists: CEO of the climate change NGO Opportunity Green Aoife O’Leary, marine environmentalist Flossie Donnelly and Catherine Cleary, co-founder of Pocket Forests. They discuss the changes needed at the top, the reasons to remain hopeful about the climate and why individual efforts, even small ones, still matter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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