Woman's Hour

New research into IVF and donor eggs suggests that older women face a lower chance of fertility treatment working, even when using young donor eggs - with a marked drop-off from around the age of 49. Experts studying more than 1700 women say the findings challenge the idea that donor eggs can fully "reset" the reproductive clock - BUT that they should not put older couples off trying. Researchers believe age-related changes in the womb lining may be the cause. Nuala McGovern is joined by Dr Ippokratis Sarris, who is chair elect of the British Fertility Society, and writer Grace Ackroyd who had a baby at 47 using donor eggs.
Have you ever found love in an unexpected place? At a gig? A restaurant?... What about a library? Four couples have found love in the stacks of Anlaby Park Community Library, in Hull. Nuala is joined by one of them, Mandy and Adrian Strickland, who share their story.
What do we know about domestic violence in post-conflict societies, and how important is this knowledge for tackling violence against women in Northern Ireland? Do we see the history of conflict in Northern Ireland reflected in patterns of abuse and violence that women face today? Our guests share their views. Monica McWilliams is a long-standing peace activist and Emeritus Professor at the Transitional Justice Institute Ulster University and Aisling Swaine is Professor of Peace, Security and International Law in Uni College Dublin.
Trish Patterson, a 41-year-old mother of twins, has just set a new world record for the National Three Peaks challenge, running 425 miles over five days. We talk to her about her extraordinary feat and what motivates her to keep going.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Parents are being warned about the risks of posting images of their children online due to an increase in AI-generated child abuse imagery. The Internet Watch Foundation found 3,440 AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse in 2025, compared with just 13 in 2024. The National Crime Agency says it is increasingly seeing offenders exploit AI technologies to target children in new ways. What's behind this rise, and what advice is there for parents? Nuala McGovern is joined by Emma Hardy, Director of Communications at the Internet Watch Foundation and Dr Elaine Kasket, cyberpsychologist and the author of Reset: Rethinking your Digital World for a Happier Life.
Should emergency contraception – sometimes referred to as the morning after pill – be available to buy next to the condoms on the supermarket shelf? President of the College of Sexual and Reproductive Health Dr Zara Haider thinks so and joins Nuala to discuss.
Schools have already broken up for summer in Scotland and schools in England and Wales will begin their holidays later this month. The Great British Summer Savings scheme is, a UK government initiative that recently came into effect with the aim of helping families enjoy the weekend treats, the days out, the small plans that make life enjoyable during the cost of living squeeze. To explain more about what is being made available and the difference this could make to families, Nuala hears from marketing expert and CEO of Get Savvy, Catherine Shuttleworth.
At least 11 people have been killed in Kyiv following a second night of Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital in a week, the city's top military administrator has said. For more than four years Ukrainians have been enduring Russian attacks on their cities.  Ukraine is now also carrying out its own drone strikes on targets deep inside Russia.  With no end to the war in sight people in Ukraine have found different ways to cope.  Some women turn to beauty and fashion as a way of dealing with the trauma of war, and as a sign of defiance. Isabella Jewell reports from Kyiv.
Trouble Was is the debut novel by the journalist Charlotte Edwardes. It’s the story of a mother who takes her children to live with relatives in Devon in the long hot summer of 1976 – and the unravelling of family secrets, all told from the perspective of nine-year-old Frank. Charlotte joins Nuala to talk about the baby blues, breakdowns and the realities of ‘70s life that she has fictionalised.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Dianne McGregor

Annabel Rook dedicated her life to supporting vulnerable women, yet her own life was violently taken by her partner. Annabel co-founded MamaSuze, a creative grassroots arts organisation in North London to enhance the lives of women who have survived violence. Her co-founder, Catherine Milne and Annabel's sister Sophie join Chloe Tilley to discuss Annabel's impact and what people can learn from their loss.
Money is broken for women, according to the founders of Female Invest - a subscription-based financial education app founded in Denmark. In their new book, It’s a Rich Man’s World, they explore the life events and systemic obstacles that women face in building and holding on to wealth. Krupa Padhy talks to co-founder Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen about the possible solutions.
As part of Radio 4's Once Upon a Time season we're looking at fairytales through a feminist lens. Award-winning author Kirsty Logan joins us down the line from Glasgow and the mythologist and psychologist Dr Sharon Blackie joins us from Cumbria. They tell Nuala McGovern why they believe women need fairy tales now more than ever and, crucially, why we should keep re-writing them for ourselves.
In the week that Baroness Amos released her long-awaited National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation into maternity service failings in England, we hear reaction from the Labour MP and Government Maternity Advisor Michelle Welsh.
When the award-winning poet Helen Mort became a stepmother, she went in search of literary role models, but was sadly disappointed by portrayals from the fairytale ‘wicked queen’ to the put-upon parent of the modern blended family. She talks to Anita Rani about creating her new collection, Stepmother, to re-write the role.
Presenter: Krupa Padhy
Producer: Kirsty McQuire

Joining Nuala McGovern and Anita Rani on stage is Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty, host of the BBC Podcast Fame Under Fire, which focuses on celebrity court cases. Anoushka talks to Nuala about how attitudes to women in high profile trials, such as the trial of P Diddy, influence culture. They are in conversation with Dr Kathryn Higgins who has written about misogyny in the media in her book Believability: Sexual Violence, Media, and the Politics of Doubt.
When award-winning poet and author Helen Mort became a stepmother, she went in search of some literary role models, but was sadly disappointed. From the fairytale ‘wicked queen’ to the put-upon parent of the modern blended family. She talks to Anita about writing her new collection, Stepmother, which explores the origins of these maligned female archetypes alongside her own real-life experiences.
Lisa Lloyd is a campaigner for SEND children and the author of the best-selling book Raising the SENBetweeners. Following her own diagnosis with autism in her forties, Lisa explains how becoming a mother led her to discover she was autistic, and the challenges of parenting when you’re neurodivergent. Lisa is joined by Prof Megan Freeth from Sheffield University’s Autism Research Lab, who explains how autistic women can experience motherhood.
And Nuala and Anita are also joined by Sheffield sportswoman Vanessa Ellis, head coach of the Sheffield Hatters Women’s Basketball Team. She explains how she’s followed in the footsteps of her mother, Betty Cadona, who set up women’s Basketball in Sheffield in 1961.
Presenters: Anita Rani and Nuala McGovern
Producer: Olivia Skinner
Editor: Karen Dalziel

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.