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Weekend Woman鈥檚 Hour: Caitlin Moran, Trichotillomania, Prison Officers, TikTok Nans, Olivia Dean

Best-selling author Caitlin Moran on turning her hand to writing about men.

Caitlin Moran鈥檚 multi-award-winning bestseller How to Be a Woman has been published in 28 countries. Now she has turned her attention to men; what's wrong with them, what they should do about it and why they need feminism to help. Caitlin joins Anita to discuss her new book What About Men?

Trichotillomania is often referred to as 鈥渉air-pulling disorder鈥. There is little research in this area, but statistics suggest 1.1m people in the UK could have the condition, with 80% of them women. Half of those never seek treatment. What exactly is it? Why do people do it? And what can be done to help them stop? Clare MacKay is Professor of Brain Imaging at Oxford University. She joins Nuala to share her personal experience for the first time, and discuss the academic review she is doing in this area.

Half of prison officers in England and Wales do not feel safe at work, according to a recent large-scale survey. Alex South spent 10 years working as a prison officer, and she鈥檚 written a book, Behind These Doors, about her experiences. She speaks to Nuala about working in such a male-dominated environment and shares her stories.

A bar in Portsmouth is due to open later this month, which is themed on Jack the Ripper 鈥 described as an "immersive cocktail and dining experience with a modern horror twist". The publicity features a young woman in Victorian dress, being followed at night by a mysterious man. Objections have been raised to the whole idea of a business which trades on the notoriety of a serial killer. However the trading licence has now been granted. The owner has said, "There is always a fine line when working on things like this and we are working really hard not to upset anyone". Nuala speaks to Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five, in which she painstakingly reconstructs the lives of the five women killed by the so-called Ripper, in 1888.

What鈥檚 it like to go viral on TikTok in your late 80s? 27-year-old Jess and her 89-year-old grandmother, Norma, have gone viral on TikTok posting videos showing their close connection and the fun they have together. They join Anita to discuss their relationship and new found fame.

Young singer-songwriter Olivia Dean, has collaborated with the likes of Loyle Carner and Leon Bridges, earning a reputation for her stellar live shows. She joins Nuala to discuss her recent Glastonbury performance, her inspirations and her debut album - Messy.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Hanna Ward
Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant

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53 minutes

Broadcast

  • Sat 8 Jul 2023 16:00

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