All by Alys Marshall
Sarah Everard was kidnapped while walking the 50-minute journey home from her friend’s house through Clapham Common. She took a well-lit route, made a phone call on the way and wore brightly coloured clothing – in short, she did everything women are taught to do to protect themselves, and it still wasn’t enough.
We don’t associate 2020 with good news. It’s been a year of doom scrolling, mask wearing and quarantining for many, but behind the miserable clickbait there are plenty of positive stories flying under the radar, from sudden onset lust for Andy Burnham to a fourth season of Big Mouth.
Full disclosure – this isn’t expert advice from a qualified recruiter. But hopefully these job-hunting tips can offer you some solidarity in what is essentially the weirdest, shittest year most of us have lived through, especially if you’re dealing with the added pressure of being made redundant.
2020 has either diluted or distilled our personal lives, bringing them to a halt or putting them in a pressure cooker. You might be excited, apprehensive or downright terrified to resume any semblance of pre-lockdown life – however you’re feeling, here are a few things to bear in mind as we begin that transition.
Coronavirus coverage is inescapable and mainstream media are, just for a change, pouring flammable headlines all over this anxiety fire. Here’s how to say sane amid all the COVID-19 induced panic.
True crime is having a moment – or maybe more of an hour. From Netflix specials like Making a Murderer to the 2019 Bundy biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, there’s a plethora of grizzly content to consume. If you’re keen to hop on the bandwagon but can’t face being clobbered by patriarchal reporting, this one’s for you. Here’s a handful of true crime podcasts that won’t make your feminism shudder…
It’s that strange week between Christmas and New Year where time is measured in number of Lindor consumed, and setting foot outside the safety of your lovely, lethargic lounge feels positively heroic. If you’re lucky enough to have this stretch of daily cold spreads off work, then rest assured we’re not here to galvanise you into action, but rather enable your annual slump. Here are some of our fave feminist shows to stream before the countdown to NYE begins…
In recent weeks, the fantastic #FridaysForFuture movement has brought millions to the streets, and there’s no doubt that the press coverage surrounding climate change has reached fever pitch. But as global awareness increases, it seems our political leaders move in the opposite direction, guffawing their way through the UN Climate Change Summit and fervently favouring profit over planet…
This is a podcast about porn. You might think that listening to a (rich) straight white man talk about the porn industry would be eye-rollingly irritating, but in this podcast series Ronson takes a refreshingly holistic approach…
Has early adulthood got you questioning every decision you’ve ever made? Are you having a quarter-life crisis? You’re not alone! There’s a podcast for that.
When it comes to the elderly, loneliness is taken seriously. It’s a silent killer, an epidemic; charities and initiatives dedicated to combating it have sprung up all over the world, and rightly so. Why then as a society are we so reluctant to admit that loneliness is prolific amongst the younger generations too?
This week, we’re departing from the celebrity interview and recommending NPR’s podcast documentary, Believed. This series takes a deep dive into the case of Larry Nassar, the Olympics gymnastics doctor who was last year convicted of serial child molestation and sexual assault, in the midst of the #MeToo movement. He’s currently serving 40 – 175 years in a Michigan state prison.
In the midst of the dark January days this year, something magical happened; David Tennant launched a podcast. Former (and arguably, favourite) Doctor Who, beloved Broadchurch detective and Marvel villain, Tennant is a national favourite, and I for one was thrilled to hear his delectably soothing Scottish syllables grace the podcast-sphere.
When I saw that Jonathan Van Ness had interviewed Jameela Jamil for his podcast Getting Curious this week, I knew it was going to be glorious. Queer Eye’s resident hair guru and all-round wholesome shiny star, Jonathan is an effervescent interviewer, but he doesn’t shy away from the serious. He met with the actress and activist to talk body image, self-love, and her role as the loveably snobbish and extraordinarily elegant Tahani, on NBC’s The Good Place.
I’d like to say it was a moment of triumphant epiphany but, like a lot of people, I don’t exactly remember the first time I called myself a feminist. For a long time, sheltered as I was by white-middle-class privilege, I didn’t recognise feminism was something that we still desperately need. When I was at school, I knew about extreme instances of rape culture, and was often subjected to ‘get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich’ jokes - but I thought of equality as something we’d already achieved.
Happy Place is comforting, reassuring and informative; it’s a breath of fresh air. Fearne has had a spectacular selection of guests (all of whom are public figures), including Matt Haig, Poorna Bell, Russell Brand, Kirsty Young and most recently, Natalie Dormer.
Hosted by author, broadcaster and journalist Elizabeth Day, How to Fail is dedicated to discussing exactly that. Day asks her guests to bring a few of their most significant failures to the table, and in return, she helps them to explore how these failures have led to success. In this first episode, Day meets with actress, writer and director (not to mention, superhero of feminist comedy) Phoebe Waller-Bridge…
Hibernation period is upon us! If the darker evenings don’t coincide with a significant increase in sofa time, are you really doing winter? SO, instead of feeling guilty that you missed the gym again or fretting about your extortionate heating bill, put the kettle on, grab a blanket and settle down with one of our least problematic faves…
This week’s #PodcastPick is episode 63 of Cariad Lloyd’s Griefcast! For a little context about the show, it’s not as sad as it sounds. A comedian herself, Cariad presents the podcast with her usual quick and whimsical wit. She approaches these discussions of grief with both kindness and curiosity; her interest in the emotion stemming from the death of her father when she was 15.
