大象传媒

Listener Week is when all the topics, interviews and discussions are chosen by YOU!

We hear from listener Siobhan Daniels. She wrote to us on Instagram: 'I would love you to talk about van life and an alternative way of living.' Siobhan is 65 years old and after selling her home and possessions has lived in her motorhome for five years. She joins Nuala McGovern on the programme.

Listener Kitty Dowry wanted us to take a look at so called 'risky' sports, and to encourage us all to look at them in a different way. Kitty is a climber; she has been doing it for 10 years and wants to see more women give it a go, even those who might have written it off for fear of it being too dangerous. Kitty joins Anita, as does Hazel Findlay, a professional climber and coach.

As part of Listener Week we have been asked by widows to discuss one side effect of bereavement 鈥� hyper-arousal, and the term 鈥榃idow鈥檚 Fire鈥�. Nuala McGovern explores these ideas with listener Lizzie, Stacey Heale, who has written a book 鈥� Now is Not the Time for Flowers - about her experience of being widowed, and also by the psychotherapist Lucy Beresford, who can shed some light on what might be going on.

How one moment or person can change your life鈥檚 trajectory. Listener Bettie tells Anita how a childhood invite to a friend's house introduced her to a new way of life -one she says saved her.

Listener Sarah Palmer got in touch to tell us about the volunteer work she does with the charity Pets As Therapy. She joined Nuala to talk about how her life has been 鈥渋mmeasurably improved鈥� because of her dog Haggis and the work they do together visiting local hospitals and care homes.

Why do so many of us feel bad about our tummies and why are the rounded or wobbly ones never celebrated? That鈥檚 what listener Carole wants to know. Content creator Lottie Drynan created the IBS blog The Tummy Diaries and #mybloatedwardrobe and has learned to love her rounded stomach. She joins Nuala McGovern, along with Charlotte Boyce, Associate Professor in Victorian Literature and Culture at Portsmouth University, and columnist Pravina Ruda to discuss our historical and cultural relationship with our tummies.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Annette Wells
Editor: Sarah Crawley