Best Stigma Busting Podcasts (2025)

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Orla Donoghue: Busting the stigma of single parenthood 37:06

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21d ago37:06

37:06

Following the breakdown of her long-term relationship in 2021, Orla Donoghue became a single parent to her then one-year-old son, Rory. The transition, however, was far from easy. As a new mother, she grappled with feelings of isolation, shame and uncertainty and despite the fact that one in five households in Ireland are single parent families, sh…

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Taylor’s big announcement / Wild Words with Jan Brierton 46:42

11m ago46:42

46:42

This weekend the Women’s Podcast is joining the line up of Jan Brierton’s Wild Words at Electric Picnic. For the event, Róisín Ingle will be hosting a special live recording of the podcast with American comedian, actor and new Irish resident Rosie O’Donnell. Brierton joins the podcast today to look ahead to the weekend’s festivities and to explain …

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Sally Rooney’s support for Palestine Action / Hungary's poisonous women 58:35

7d ago58:35

58:35

In the early 20th century, in a remote village in Hungary, a group of women, driven to despair by their violent, abusive husbands, decided to take matters into their own hands. Their solution to their difficult life circumstances was arsenic, a deadly poison easily extracted from fly paper or arsenic-rich “flystones". The women began slipping this …

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Childfree by choice at 77: Helen Taylor reflects on a life without children 39:48

14d ago39:48

39:48

In recent years, more and more women have been speaking openly about their decision to not have children. There are numerous books on the subject, dedicated social media spaces for childfree women and an ever increasing media interest in sharing the stories of those who refuse to go down this well-trodden path. However, some of the lesser told chil…

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Book Club: The Marriage Vendetta by Caroline Madden 27:27

28d ago27:27

27:27

This month on The Women’s Podcast Book Club, Bernice Harrison, Niamh Towey, Róisín Ingle, and Ann Ingle are discussing The Marriage Vendetta by debut author Caroline Madden. The book tells the story of Eliza Sheridan, who seeks the help of a marriage therapist to mend her relationship with her unloving and unsupportive husband Richard. As their ses…

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Sleep Divorce: Why sleeping separately might be good for your relationship 56:07

1M ago56:07

56:07

Would you sleep in a different room to your partner? Or do you think couples should share a bed together? That's what we’re asking on today’s episode of The Women’s Podcast. While many people enjoy sharing a bed with their other half, there are many others who prefer to go solo when it comes to sleep. This could be for reasons including loud snorin…

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Why women should be lifting weights (especially as we age) 57:28

1M ago57:28

57:28

In today’s episode, Róisín Ingle is joined by women’s health and fitness coach Elaine Gillespie, to talk about the transformative power of lifting weights and strength training. From navigating fitness during perimenopause to returning to exercise postpartum, Gillespie explains why lifting weights isn’t just for bodybuilders - it’s essential for wo…

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Anne Marie Allen on her lost years inside Opus Dei 1:10:12

2M ago1:10:12

1:10:12

Anne Marie Allen was just 15 years old when she first entered the world of Opus Dei. It was the late 1970s and the young woman from Cork had enrolled in a cookery course run by the religious order. The program promised culinary qualifications and a pathway to a professional career, but it didn’t take long for her dreams to shatter. As Allen spent m…

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In Plain Sight: Noelle Brown and Camille O’Sullivan 43:28

2M ago43:28

43:28

This month, actor and mother and baby home survivor Noelle Brown and singer Camille O’Sullivan will take to the stage together for a new theatre performance called In Plain Sight. The project, written by Brown, focuses on Ireland’s history of mother and baby homes, paying particular attention to the large stately buildings dotted around the country…

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Deepfakes and AI Girlfriends: How artificial intelligence is putting women at risk 1:00:05

2M ago1:00:05

1:00:05

Concerns about the rise and rapid development of artificial intelligence often tend to focus on AI’s threat to jobs or its potential to influence politics and elections. But what about the very real threat that AI poses to women? In her new book, The New Age of Sexism, feminist writer Laura Bates explores how the ever-evolving world of technology h…

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The Book Club Live: Summer Reads with Marian Keyes 1:21:02

2M ago1:21:02

1:21:02

Last weekend our Book Club gathered for a live show at Kildare Village to discuss the best reading recommendations for summer 2025. Róisín Ingle, Bernice Harrison and Ann Ingle were joined at the event by special guest bestselling author Marian Keyes and a room full of Women’s Podcast listeners. There were recommendations to suit every style and ev…

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Why do some women still take their husband’s last name? 44:54

3M ago44:54

44:54

The tradition of women taking their husband’s surname stems from a time when marriage effectively erased a woman’s legal identity and she would become her husband’s property. While this is no longer the case and society has thankfully moved on, the practice of women changing their last name upon marriage still persists today. But why? In a recent f…

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Greta Thunberg sets sail for Gaza / Mary Ann Kenny on loss, psychosis and healing 1:03:43

3M ago1:03:43

1:03:43

It was a bright afternoon in April 2015 when Mary Ann Kenny, a university lecturer, received a call that changed her life in an instant. Her husband John, with whom she had two young sons, had collapsed while out jogging and died at the age of 60. Struggling to cope with the sudden loss and the loneliness that engulfed her life in the aftermath, Ke…

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The Macron 'wife shove' / Talking periods with Dr Hazel Wallace 1:00:15

3M ago1:00:15

1:00:15

What do you really know about the menstrual cycle? Can you tell your follicular from your luteal phase? Can masturbation ease period pains and why do so many women get the dreaded ‘period poo’? To answer all these questions and more we’re joined this week by Dr Hazel Wallace, medical doctor, nutritionist, and author of Not Just A Period, a groundbr…

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Kit de Waal on identity and belonging / Starving children of Gaza 1:04:59

3M ago1:04:59

1:04:59

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…

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Jacqueline Connolly: ‘I didn’t know what coercive control was until my family were killed’ 1:14:22

4M ago1:14:22

1:14:22

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 you…

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Down with that ‘skort’ of thing / Celebrating Tina Turner 45:28

4M ago45:28

45:28

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…

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Irish woman detained by US immigration / The Steminists 43:06

4M ago43:06

43:06

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 Sacre…

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Climate Changemakers: Three women on their fight against climate change 47:03

4M ago47:03

47:03

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 ep…

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Amanda Knox: My Search for Meaning 1:20:33

4M ago1:20:33

1:20:33

Seven years after Amanda Knox was definitively acquitted of the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, she flew to Italy to meet the man who had led the prosecution’s case against her, Giuliano Mignini. The now 37-year-old mother of two wanted to ask her former prosecutor why he had identified her as the chief suspect, pursued a murder conviction against…

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Victim blaming on the rise / How to be a good grandmother 1:00:41

5M ago1:00:41

1:00:41

Bookshops and libraries are bursting with books on parenting and what to expect when you’re expecting, but there aren't nearly as many guidebooks out there on how to be a good grandparent. That’s why family psychologist Terri Apter has written her latest book all about the topic. Grandparenting: On Love and Relationships Across Generations offers r…

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Wedding fatigue / What teens really think of Adolescence 1:06:02

5M ago1:06:02

1:06:02

When Adolescense arrived on Netflix last month, it was streamed nearly 25 million times in just four days and sparked a global conversation on the dark side of social media and the lives of teenage boys. But what is it really like to be a teenage boy in 2025? How much attention do they really pay to masculinity influencers? What kind of pressures d…

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The Book Club: Confessions by Catherine Airey 32:36

5M ago32:36

32:36

This month on The Women’s Podcast Book Club, Bernice Harrison, Niamh Towey, Róisín Ingle, and Ann Ingle discuss Confessions, the debut novel from Catherine Airey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Meghan & Gwyneth / The real cost of cancer 1:01:38

5M ago1:01:38

1:01:38

On Friday March 28th, the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) will celebrate Daffodil Day. It’s the charity’s biggest fundraising event and aims to raise millions of euros to support cancer patients and progress cancer research. In this episode, Kathy Sheridan is joined by Daffodil Day Ambassador Tara Doonan, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022 at …

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Conor McGregor at the White House / Sarah Corbett Lynch 1:10:10

5M ago1:10:10

1:10:10

Sarah Corbett Lynch was just eight-years-old when her father Jason was killed at their home in North Carolina by her stepmother Molly Martens and her father Tom Martens in 2015. Over the next decade, the Martens, who claimed self defence, were put on trial for murder, had their convictions quashed and later took a plea bargain for voluntary manslau…

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Rosie O’Donnell's move to Ireland / The importance of foster care 1:08:58

6M ago1:08:58

1:08:58

In Ireland, more than 5,500 children are currently in foster care. This could be because of illness in the child’s family, the death of a parent, neglect, abuse or violence in the home, or simply because the parent or family is not coping. Whatever the reason, foster carers are there to take care of children who cannot live with their own family, e…

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The Book Club Live: Books by women that challenged & changed us 1:03:02

6M ago1:03:02

1:03:02

To celebrate International Women’s Day, the book club gathered with a handful of podcast listeners for a live event at Kildare Village on Saturday morning. Niamh Towey, Ann Ingle, Bernice Harrison, and Roisin Ingle, explored the books by women that have challenged and changed them and that they think every woman should read. Book Club Choices: Ann …

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Thriving in male dominated industries / International Women’s Day event guide 59:48

6M ago59:48

59:48

International Women’s Day is on Saturday the 8th March and there are lots of events happening all around the country to celebrate the occasion. Irish Times features writer Ella Sloane joins Róisín Ingle on the podcast today to tell us about some of them, including a free guided tour exploring how women are represented in a selection of works at the…

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Andrew Tate’s new-found freedom / Rosie Schaap’s love letter to Northern Ireland 1:01:55

6M ago1:01:55

1:01:55

Born and bred in New York, the last place that Rosie Schaap thought she’d end up, was living in a rural village in Northern Ireland, miles away from the bustling city she once called home. But that’s exactly where she’s found herself. Five years ago, the writer and journalist moved from NYC to the tiny town of Glenarm in Co Antrim, in search of a n…

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What can be done about ‘sex for rent’ ads? / New women in the Dáil 1:07:56

6M ago1:07:56

1:07:56

After lengthy government formation talks and a chaotic first week in the Dáil, the new Government is finally settling into it's first few weeks of a new term. There’s a whole host of new faces in Leinster House, including 10 new women TDs. We wanted to hear what life is like for three of those women, so we’ve invited Labour’s Marie Sherlock, Fianna…

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Working from home / Single on Valentine's Day 1:11:41

7M ago1:11:41

1:11:41

This Valentine’s Day, we’ve decided to shift the focus away from love and relationships and onto the joy and excitement of the single experience. If you’re single and sick of dating apps, Irish Times relationships columnist Roe McDermott is here with some new dating ideas, from singles running clubs to mindful dating events. Later on, Róisín Ingle …

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The Grammys viral moment / Mamobo Ogoro on why diversity and inclusion matters 54:48

7M ago54:48

54:48

America might be rowing back on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, but one woman who is fighting to keep interculturalism at the forefront of people’s minds is Mamobo Ogoro, the CEO of Irish social enterprise GORM. Ogoro is a Nigerian-Irish Social Psychologist and multi-award-winning social entrepreneur, who is “on a personal missio…

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Living with Bipolar, Mania, and Finding Stability 56:26

7M ago56:26

56:26

Hey everyone, welcome back to Touching Tornadoes! In this episode, I dive deep into what it’s like to live with bipolar 1 disorder—especially the process of getting diagnosed, the struggle for acceptance (both personal and from family), and the fear of another episode. I reflect on my past manic episodes, the crash that followed, and how I’ve tried…

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Portiuncula Hospital review / The Edna O’Brien story 1:03:44

7M ago1:03:44

1:03:44

Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien story is the brand new documentary by Irish filmmaker Sinéad O’Shea. It’s a portrait of one of Ireland’s finest writers, featuring extracts from O’Briens journals, contributions from the likes of Gabriel Byrne and Anne Enright and a remarkable final interview with O'Brien shortly before her death aged 93 last year. In th…

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Bishop Budde vs Trump / Becoming a mother at 49 59:37

7M ago59:37

59:37

Yoga teacher and wellness coach Kerry White was 48 years old when she finally decided to pursue her long-held dream to become a mother. As a single woman, who had just entered perimenopause, White used donor sperm and donor eggs to become pregnant. Then, in 2020, two months shy of her 50th birthday, her baby girl Freya was born. In this episode, Wh…

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(Audio Only) Dancing with the Devil: My First Manic Episode 1:10:09

7M ago1:10:09

1:10:09

In this deeply personal episode, I'm diving into my first manic episode - a life-changing journey that unfolded while running a taco shop with my cousin in 2023. Before being diagnosed with bipolar 1 in 2024, I experienced a surreal period of intense delusion and heightened energy. I'll share how I transformed from a landscape business owner to a f…

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Meta’s new masculine energy / Understanding ultra-processed food 54:24

8M ago54:24

54:24

These days, we’re hearing a lot more about ultra processed foods and the dangers of over eating these highly industrialised food products. But what exactly are UPFs, how bad are they really and how can you spot them when out doing the grocery shop? In this episode, nutrition consultant Sophie Morris joins Róisín Ingle to answer all these questions …

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Dead or Dreaming? Unpacking My First Bipolar Mania 57:50

8M ago57:50

57:50

In this episode I share how I remember the first manic episode I had with bipolar disorder. I try to describe the events that were spiraling me into my first manic episode, from thinking I was dead, to having a cosmic dream. Let me know what you think. It was and is a very confusing time for me, and I am still processing it. Visit my website and bl…

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What’s in and out for 2025 / Where’s our free HRT? 1:03:17

8M ago1:03:17

1:03:17

It’s a brand new year and to celebrate we’ve got a brand new segment to kick off the podcast each week. It’s our weekly news wrap covering the stories that affect women in Ireland and around the world. This week, Róisín Ingle is joined by Irish Times podcast producer Aideen Finnegan to talk about some of the stories that caught her eye this week an…

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The Women’s Podcast 2024 review 58:46

8M ago58:46

58:46

2024 was the year Americans chose a convicted felon as their next president, Afghanistan banned women from speaking or singing in public, and the slaughter of innocent women and children continued in Gaza. In Ireland, a record number of female candidates stood in November’s general election, but only seven additional women were elected to the next …

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(Audio Only) What is Bipolar Disorder? by someone who lives it. 37:57

8M ago37:57

37:57

In this episode of Touching Tornadoes, I dive into the three major types of bipolar disorder and how they’re defined in the DSM-5. I share my personal experience with a Bipolar 1 diagnosis, reflecting on how some of the symptoms have affected me. I also talk about the role of medication in my treatment and the steps I’m taking to manage my mental h…

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Róisín Ingle: My breast cancer diagnosis 1:06:43

8M ago1:06:43

1:06:43

Each week on The Women’s Podcast, we hear from women from all walks of life who come on to talk about their lived experiences, their life stories, their passions and their challenges. This week, it’s the turn of podcast presenter Róisín Ingle, who in October 2023 received a life-changing breast cancer diagnosis. This is the first time she has spoke…

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Facing Family After a Breakdown: My Bipolar Journey 41:21

8M ago41:21

41:21

This episode of Touching Tornadoes is about showing up—whether it’s for family, life, or just yourself—after a tough year. I talk about facing family after my bipolar diagnosis, the stigma that still creeps in, and how I’m working to rebuild my life while staying true to who I am.There’s also some lighter stuff—like stinky gym clothes, losing my se…

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Sober at Christmas: How to enjoy being alcohol free 45:11

8M ago45:11

45:11

For many people, alcohol and the festive season go hand in hand. It’s the season of excess when normal rules around eating and drinking seem to go completely out the window and a mimosa for breakfast becomes perfectly normal. But now, more and more people are deciding to cut down on their alcohol consumption over Christmas or are opting to go compl…

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Housewife of the Year winners: Ena Howell and Margaret Carmody 1:02:11

9M ago1:02:11

1:02:11

The Housewife of the Year competition ran for almost three decades, from 1969 to 1995. Thousands of women from all around Ireland entered, hoping to win a cash prize along with some home appliances, such as a luxury gas cooker. In later years, the competition was broadcast on RTÉ, featuring footage of contestants taking part in domestic duties at h…

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My Bipolar Diagnosis 45:07

9M ago45:07

45:07

In this episode of Touching Tornadoes, host Conrad opens up about his journey to a bipolar type 1 diagnosis with psychotic features. From the chaotic launch of a taco shop on Route 66 to the beginnings of a manic episode marked by sleepless nights, racing thoughts, and an intense sense of purpose, Conrad shares the raw and unfiltered events that sh…

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The Book Club: Best reads of 2024 1:03:53

9M ago1:03:53

1:03:53

If you’re looking for a new book to curl up with over the festive period or to give as a Christmas gift, The Irish Times Women’s Podcast is here to help. We’ve gathered our book clubbers Niamh Towey, Bernice Harrison, Róisín and Ann Ingle in studio to share their favourite reads of 2024. Their recommendations include a comedy-crime novel, a “surpri…

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Arezo Rahimi: Fighting for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan 49:36

9M ago49:36

49:36

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, following the withdrawal of US troops, the lives of women and girls across the country changed almost overnight. Under Taliban rule, women and girls are removed from almost every aspect of daily life, are denied access to education and even face restrictions going out alone, speaking or s…

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Election 2024: What are the parties promising women? 52:44

9M ago52:44

52:44

With the General Election campaign in full swing and just over a week to go until polling day, political parties are making all sorts of promises to garner votes and ensure they make it into the next Government. On the campaign trail, the focus has been put on housing, the cost of living crisis and immigration, but what promises have each party mad…

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What teenage girls wish their mothers knew 1:03:28

10M ago1:03:28

1:03:28

In today’s episode, Chelsey Goodan aka the “teenage whisperer” joins Róisín Ingle to talk about her new book Underestimated: The Power and Wisdom of Teenage Girls. It’s an empowering guide to better understand our teen daughters, stemming from Goodan's 16 years spent mentoring young people from all different backgrounds. Goodan talks about the chal…