Standard Issue Podcast

It’s Hallowe’en, so Mick’s picked a film considered a classic of the horror genre. But has Brian De Palma’s take on Stephen King’s debut novel stood the test of 50 whole years? Who’s most hysterical: the women in the film or the men who made it? How many tits is too many tits? Why doesn’t every local library have that section? And does Hannah agree Sissy Spacek looks like an axolotl?

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Parenting is, and always has been, a tough gig. With the rising cost of living, the breakdown of communities and a whole new digital world to navigate for both kids and parents, charities like Home-Start, provide vital support to struggling parents from all walks of life. Jen caught up with co-chief executive, Jodie Reed, to talk about Home-Start’s work supporting families in the home and wider community, the impact of screen-time and why parents are feeling so lonely in such a connected world.

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In this month's round-up of the best and worst TV, we're watching Slow Horses, Blue Lights, WAR, Below, Winter and The Reluctant Vampire. You are welcome.

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Jen's picked Rob Cohen’s family fantasy adventure starring Dennis Quaid as a disillusioned knight and Sean Connery as a good-hearted dragon, which was ahead of its time in terms of visual effects. But what about its treatment of women? Will Hannah approve of its interpretation of history? And why is Mick crying?

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You know the idea of an alpha wolf, dominating the pack and OBVIOUSLY male... Total wolfshit, mate. Wolves are matrilineal families who work, play and love together a lot like humans. Our Mick was delighted to learn even more about wolves in this chat with Natalie Lagstrom, owner, head behaviourist and team leader at Watermill Wolves, head of the not-for-profit charity Project Wolfheart, and bona-fide mother wolf.

Watermill Wolves offers loads of incredible wolf experiences, including Howloween and Santa Paws.

Access more of Mick’s chat with Natalie here.

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Next year, our Jen is running the London Marathon for the Samaritans. It's her second time round the 26.2 mile block, although some 18 years after her first one, her knees ain't what they used to be. And who better to talk to about knees, Vaseline, always having tissues to hand, and finding joy as a middle-aged, woman marathon runner, than Standard Issue favourite, Helen Thorn*? We’ll wait.

*You know Helen: author of How to Face Big Change and Come Back Stronger, and one half of the Scummy Mummies. 

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Relentless silliness, sight gags, wordplay and sheer chaotic comedic energy? Too right it was Mick’s pick for Flicking this month. And so she and Yosra are chatting about last year’s The Naked Gun reboot, in which Liam Neeson steps into Leslie Nielsen’s shoes as gumshoe lieutenant Frank Drebin… Jr. But is there still a place for old-school comedy in today’s film landscape, or is it more about nostalgia than keeping the genre alive? 

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Where does the word 'whore' come from? In this week’s Bush Telegraph, Mick’s wondering if Saturday Night Live guest host Shane Gillis knows (no), cares (no) or has any comedy chops whatsoever (no). For Jen, it’s medical misogyny o'clock again, with new research suggesting autoimmune conditions are, in fact, not just in our pretty little heads. Plus, there’s good news for victims in rape cases, bold Brexit overtures on Burnham's Venga bus, a terrifying new Press Secretary in the White House, and football and track cycling in Jenny off the Blocks.

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Hannah Arendt's most famous expression - the banality of evil - might be well quoted, but the woman herself is less widely known. Her time in the Gurs internment camp in France is the subject of a new play by Julia Pascal. Hannah talks to the playwright and director about life for women in camps, the importance of critical thinking and why Arendt's work is as vital as ever. 

* Tickets for The Banality of Evil: Hannah Arendt, France, 1940 are here: https://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/the-banality-of-evil/

* Join the Standard Issue supporters' club here: Standard Issue Pod...

It seems there’s scarcely a person alive, male or female, who doesn’t have some kind of hang-up about their hair. Whether we have too much, not enough, whether it’s the right colour or texture, we’re all obsessed and who can blame us? After all, human hair is fascinating, or at least that’s what author, educator and evolutionary biologist Judy Wearing thinks.

Jen chats to Judy about her new book Anxious and Hairy: The Evolution and Culture of Human Hair, why we’re all so preoccupied with our own foliage, and what exactly is the point...

Award-winning author Liz Hyder’s new book, The Teller of Tall Tales, is aimed at young adults but a total delight for grown-ups, too. Because we never grow out of stories: telling them and, well, being them. 

Mick chats to Liz about old-school folk and fairy tales with a modern sensibility, heavy awards, telling tales, second person narratives, the privilege of writing for the young adult audience and – of course – the power of stories.

The Teller of Tall Tales is published by Pushkin on October 22 and available for pre-order now.

As ever...

Brace yourself for a tension bellyache as Shane Meadows’ violence-smeared, working-class coming-of-age drama gets Rated or Dated. This Is England firmly marked out Meadows as the voice of working-class realism and introduced a host of brilliant British character actors to the screen. But 20 years on from its release, and more than 40 years on from its 1983 setting, is it still horribly, terrifyingly relevant? Mick, Jen and Hannah discuss.   

And here’s the gig we did back in 2018 with Vicky McClure.

On Apple.

On Spotify.

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Amelia Bullmore is about to star in Margaret Atwood's stage adaptation of her book The Penelopiad. So Hannah grabbed the chance to chat to the actress about The Odyssey and the price its women pay, as well as learning the guitar for Riot Women and, if you're a Standard Issue supporter, an early misunderstanding about the makeup bus. 

* Tickets for The Penelopiad are here: https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/the-penelopiad/

* Find out the benefits of Standard Issue memberships here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon

Paralympic athletes Tully Kearney and Melanie Woods are used to be recognised for their performance in the pool and on the track. And now they’re being recognised for their overall contributions to sport, with nominations in children’s charity Variety’s biannual Disability Sports Awards. Jen caught up with them to find out more about their careers, having mental fortitude, helping others get into sport, and what it’s like to be an “inspiration”.

Photo credit: Paralympics GB.

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It's 12 years since Standard Issue was founded by the boss, Sarah Millican. To celebrate, and just for the ears of our Patreon supporters, we got together to get the party started with a shuffle through our Spotify playlists. 

This is a preview. To hear the whole podcast and enjoy the other many benefits of membership, click here: Standard Issue Podcast | creating a magazine for ears, by women for women | Patreon

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This week Mickey takes a look at the case of the Cornell Seven, as well as what this year's PM, Andy Burnham, has planned for a better Britain. Which may happen. At some point. Meanwhile, Hannah's venturing back into the world of sport, and there's some dispute over which is the cutest of the world's most newly discovered species.

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Alex Cox’s biopic of punk-rock’s "ill-fated lovers" Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen, starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb, was met with critical acclaim upon release and in the years that followed. But has it romanticised a relationship in which a woman wound up dead? Does it glamorise heroin? And in what other ways has it done poor Nancy dirty?

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Iranian-American author Laleh Khadivi’s latest novel, Female Life on Planet Earth, centres on a mid-life woman, Heti, who comes up against some new information about her recently dead mum that questions everything she thought she knew about her. Or does it? From there, Laleh explores how an individual woman can be a multitude of women, and the distinctively female ability to regenerate. 

She chats to Mick about motherhood, daughterhood, legacy, heritage, female voices, and how well we ever really know a person. 

Female Life on Planet Earth is published by Oneworld and out now. 

...

In 2013 director Grace Harper Brighouse began work on a film about her dad Richard’s dying dog, in a bid to heal their fractured relationship. Over the course of filming, tragic events unfolded within the family, changing the nature of the film and the discussion about Richard’s long-standing drug addiction. More than a decade later, the finished film became her debut feature documentary Dependence, which is set to make its international premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, as part of the Grierson Award documentary competition.

Jen chats to Grace about the film, representations of ad...

In this month's Outside The Box, Jen and Hannah have been busying themselves watching Slow Horses, Youth, The Blame and Vigil, plus they look forward to the annual Autumn Drama Drop.

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A romance/fantasy/drama/comedy, there's a lot going on in Terry Gilliam's New York-set classic. But does the story of grief, guilt and forgiveness still have something to say today? Hannah and Jen tuck in.

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A hugely important work when it first ran on Broadway, it’s taken 50 years for Ntozake Shange’s seminal choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf to get a major revival in the UK. Overseeing that is director Diane Page, who’s brought it to The Yard Theatre, Hackney, for its grand reopening.

Jen catches up with Diane to find out more about the play, why it’s taken so long for the UK to pay attention, and whether or not black women are getting a fair deal when it comes to cultu...

Painter Beryl Cook divided the art world when she burst into the public consciousness in 1976. This year, she would have celebrated her 100th birthday, so Hannah grabbed some time with Hilary Bracegirdle, writer of new biography, Beryl Cook: Life and Art, and Teresa Cook, Beryl’s daughter-in-law, to find out more about the artist's life, work and legacy.

You can grab a copy of Beryl Cook: Life and Art here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beryl-Cook-Life-Hilary-Bracegirdle/dp/1805702629

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This week, Hannah and Jen are talking about a Hyrox horror, Carers UK's new report, unrest in the countryside, a drug hoping to stave off Alzheimer's, bad behaviour at Flushing Meadows (no pun intended) and, inevitably, Sydney Sweeney's tits. 

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2025 was a big year for horror, with the genre not only having some big releases, but also taking home some big awards. Including an Oscar for Amy Madigan for her role in Zach Cregger’s supernatural mystery horror, about a community left questioning WTF is going on when all but one child from the same classroom disappears at exactly 2.17am, running into the night like demented penguins. Hannah, Yosra and Mick share their thoughts.

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Many parents are moving away from the more authoritarian ideas of previous generations. But is it possible so-called “gentle parenting” has passed the point of being useful? Dr Siggie Cohen, a leading child development specialist, Instagram sensation, and author of new book You Are the Parent: Becoming the Calm Confident Leader Your Child Needs, thinks there is another way.

Jen chats to Dr Siggie about the concept of over-parenting, why it can be damaging to our kids, and why owning our own shit helps us to be better parents.

Lear...

September is Gynecological Cancers Awareness Month, so Hannah took the chance to catch up with our friend Jane Hill, a writer and comedian who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year. Jane’s Substack, Have You Got Somebody With You?, has been chronicling her experiences, so they chat about that, about planning for the worst, going through cancer "alone" and how she got that title for an Edinburgh show.

Jane's Substack is here: https://janehill64.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips

Hannah's interview with Evie King is here: https://podfollow.com/standard-issue-podcast/episode/fb9ac3a1...

Spider bites, violent pensioners, a Bill about dying that refuses to die, some appalling headline writing, and bonnes nouvelles de France – Mick and Hannah have braved this week’s news (and the garden), so you don’t have to. 

Here’s Mick’s chat with Alessia Camoirano about Britain’s Forgotten Girls

Here’s Hannah’s chat with Professor Clare McGlynn about extreme pornography

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Across Britain, young girls from all demographics are being groomed, trafficked and sexually exploited by drug gangs. Authorities have been warned repeatedly about what’s happening to these girls, often known as ‘gift girls’, and yet the same failures continue. 

In Britain’s Forgotten Girls, a documentary for BBC Current Affairs, director, producer and journalist Alessia Camoirano speaks to survivors, whistleblowers and those who raised the alarm, to investigate why horrific criminal and sexual exploitation has been allowed to continue for more than two decades. Mick got Alessia on the Zoom to find out more. 

Britain’s...

Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz star in Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s "Western" "action" “comedy”, but what will the script by *eyeroll* Luc Besson have them do in this tale of two unlikely bank robbers? How empowering is wet brawling? How many times will Jen, Hannah and Mick say “tits” in this episode? And who on earth is this film for?

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Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be executed in England, back in 1955, sparking public outcry and becoming a catalyst for huge change in the justice system. Like many, author Louisa Treger had always been fascinated by the story of Ellis’s life and death, which became the subject of her new novel, A Fatal Love.

Jen chats to Louisa about Ellis, how the justice system failed her and many other women besides, the media’s portrayals of domestic violence, and what we can learn from her story today.

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When Mike Judge showed us a vision of America in the future, nobody thought the future would arrive so soon. Did the social satire predict the rise of Trump? Can a film about dumb people ever really be clever? And what's the worst thing to have taped to your car bonnet? 

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It’s a podcast of positivity, as our Mick has one of her regular catch ups with NASA’s Suze Kundu. 

They’re covering all sorts of topics, starting of course, with the recent eclipse and why its study is so important. Then there’s the new discovery that menstrual blood is basically magical, wound-healing elixir to celebrate, as well as some brilliant, inspirational kids who are filtering microplastics out of water with tamarind seeds. 

If you’re one of our £5 and above patreons, there’s a bonus good news story to do with little lungs doing bet...

Elizabeth Crawford picked up her nickname after decades of work uncovering rare books and collectables related to the suffrage movement. She chats to Hannah about her latest book, The British Women's Suffrage Movement in 100 Objects, lesser known historical heroines, and how merchandising helped the Suffragettes make their mark.

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It’s the Spielberg-Kubrick vision of the future no one was sure about at the time, but later got some pretty big acclaim. 2001’s AI: Artificial Intelligence remains a Marmite movie, so how will Hannah and Mick feel about this Pinocchio story of a robot who wants to be a real boy? Where can we get us one of those robo-teddies? And having witnessed Jude Law as a rent-a-pump mecha, will Hannah ever sleep soundly again?

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As the star of daytime TV, radio and podcasts for more than 30 years, there’s not much we don’t think we already know about Vanessa Feltz. But there's always more to learn, so now she’s back on our screens with At Home with Vanessa, a new YouTube show filmed in her actual home, with her actual friends, and her actual favourite crisps shipped over from Ireland for the occasion.

Jen visited Feltz Towers to chat about the show, her career, the tabloid press, and whether or not she really was drinking custard.

In this month's round-up of some of the best and not-so-best things on TV, we're talking about Furious, Possession, Evolution, My Brilliant Career, 100 Years of Solitude, Station 11 and the return of Ted Lasso.

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This week, Hannah and Mickey look at some of the week's best and worst stories, including major finds by archeologists, the scandal that continues to engulf Cambridge University, free travel for disabled people in England, and the ongoing "early release" crisis.

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Alejandro Amenábar’s creepy AF tale of grief and darkness in post-war Jersey cleared a path for the return of old-school horror. But does it stand up when you already know the twist? Is there a fate worse than Keith Allen in your upstairs? And will we ever stop inflicting Nicole Kidman on poor Hannah?

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It’s been a while since comedian Susan Calman went on tour: 10 years, in fact. Her brand new show, Tall Tales, kicks off in September, and promises stories, big laughs, a dose of peri rage, and – possibly – some dancing. 

Mick got on the Zoom with Susan to talk comedy, weights, cats, anxiety, grief, facing big challenges, sex cruises and serial killers.

As ever, there’s more chat for our £5 and above patrons, including a really very convincing argument about why we should all be playing golf. Get involved at patreon.com/standardissue.

Tickets and info f...