Very Loose Women

Change.org campaigners Laura Coryton and Atticus Kidd explain why a 5% "non-essential goods" tax on sanitary items unfairly penalises menstruating women and helps bolster a society where periods are taboo.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Third Very Loose Woman, Lili, returns to talk about her 8 months away in Bougainville and the mobile cinema project she was part of there.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emma, Katherine and Leonore ask SOAS divestment campaigner Julia Christian about her success campaign to get the London university to divest from fossil fuels and her broader motivation for taking action against climate change. Also featuring an interview with law student Kelsey Skaggs, from Divest Harvard, discussing her landmark suit against the university. Engineered by Ilia.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From the 2013 archives, and back when the Very Loose Women were a foursome, former VLW stalwart Lucy leads the discussion on underwear choices and limitations featuring: breast bags, bum boobs, bikini line rashes, elephant pants, the 90's high leg, poor posture and Austin Powers.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's adventure themed Very Loose Women, hosts Emma Grinfeld and Katherine Johnston interview Elsa Hammond, whose solo row across the pacific saw her spending 51 days completely alone at sea.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Very Loose Women Katherine and Emma debate the merits of binge drinking. Could you survive a night out without boozing?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Katherine and Emma discuss the benefits and possible pitfalls of polyamorous relationships with broadcaster, comedian and writer, Rosie Wilby. Follow us on Twitter @VLWRadio, Instagram VLWRadio and on Facebook.com/VeryLooseWomen.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Campaigners from Housing Action Southwark & Lambeth, Sisters Uncut, and the Sound: Gender: Feminism: Activism Conference 2014, discuss how and why they take action, and former Slits guitarist, the songwriter Viv Albertine tells Emma and Katherine about the politics of punk and fashion.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Writer and performance poet Richard Purnell joins Very Loose Women Katherine and Emma live in the Resonance FM studio. Richard curates, alongside Andrew Brown and Anthony Fairweather, The Bus Drivers Prayer, an off-beat variety night of music, poetry and comedy held at Kahaila Cafe on Brick Lane. In this week's podcast episode, Richard performs an extract from his new comedy show Bathtime, directed by Kellie Tori, described as "an unsettling comedy about when the love runs cold but the bathwater is still hot" leading to a debate on one of life's great questions: are you a bath or a shower person?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Very Loose Women share their stories and strategies for getting over heartbreak in a light-hearted and humorous take on failed relationships and love affairs.Follow us on Twitter @VLWRadio, Instagram VLWRadio and on Facebook.com/VeryLooseWomen.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Katherine and Emma delve into the world of vulvas/vulvae! Trying to answer the questions of what actually is your vulva? Does yours look like your mum's? Would you change it if you could? And featuring listener tales of their own vulva journeys.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How important are orgasms? The Very Loose Women sit in a pub and have a frank and intimate discussion about self pleasure, whether the Big O is all it's cracked up to be, and the more emotional aspects of intercourse in a highly personal episode dedicated to the female orgasm.Follow us on Twitter @VLWRadio, Instagram VLWRadio and on Facebook.com/VeryLooseWomen.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Very Loose Women reports from Arab Women Artists Now, a pilot one day festival held in March at the Rix Mix in Shoreditch, showcasing female first and second generation Arab artists. Arab Women Artists Now was organised by Arts Canteen. We meet Arts Canteen Founder & Director Aser El Saqqa, and Katherine and Emma interview three panel speakers from the day including Irish-Palestinian playwright Hannah Khalil. Hannah discusses how her Palestinian identity and experience growing up in Dubai has influenced her work; from her Meyer Whitworth Award nominated Plan D and latest play Scenes from 68* Years due to be staged at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston in 2016, to her recent BBC Radio 4 play, Last of the Peal Fishers, which examines the treatment of migrant domestic workers in the Arab world. Katherine and Emma also meet film curator Yasmin El Derby, currently working with the Nour Festival, and Tania Diggory, founder of Pioneers History Dance, tells us about the social origins of Middle Eastern Dance and

From the Very Loose Women 2014 archive: historian and journalist Dr Miranda Kaufmann joined us live on air to discus her research into the history of Africans living in Renaissance London. Miranda studied History at Christ Church, Oxford, where she completed her doctoral thesis on 'Africans in Britain, 1500-1640' in 2011 and has found evidence of over 360 Africans living in Renaissance Britain. Miranda has worked with The National Trust and English Heritage; contributed to the Oxford Companion to Black British History and the Influential Black Londoners exhibition at Sutton House; and is a frequent speaker on Britain's multicultural history at events and in schools across the UK. Her first book, 'Black Tudors', will be published in 2016.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, the Very Loose Women - Emma and Katherine - examine the effect pornography has on love and sex in the age of the internet. In an interview recorded at the Feminism in London Conference 2014, anti-pornography campaigner and academic Gail Dines discusses her book 'Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality', and why she believes that porn is always violence against women. Sam Bowman, Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute; a free market libertarian think tank, offers a contrasting view and explains why he believes porn is good for society as a whole. Independent, Telegraph and New Statesman journalist Matt Rowland Hill discusses the impact hardcore pornography has had on his own sex life, and a female listener catalogues her first forays into the world of online porn. Part 2 will explore female-centric pornography.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

VLW and friends discuss everything they hate- from glitter explosions to the garden gate.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emma and Katherine take a look at the songs that have helped them navigate heartbreak and doomed romance, with special guest collaborators Switched On Pop examining Taylor Swift's megahit "Blank Space" in a specially produced mini episode. Switched on Pop is a US music podcast presented and produced by songwriter Charlie Harding and musicologist Nate Sloan. They take a look at the songwriting behind great pop songs. For episodes on the history of the American national anthem, the politics of funk, and the pop music scene in Nairobi, check out http://www.switchedonpop.com/  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Special guests Ruth Fehilly from Southside WFC, Thomas Chambers from the Old Alleynians and Stuart Mason from the Kings Cross Steelers discuss how their teams have promoted inclusivity in sports. The group also question what being a lad means today.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emma and Katherine discuss breasts, bras, the pitfalls of being a larger busted lady and the "pinkification" of breast cancer; with special guest Ruth Fehilly.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Embarrassing and compelling in equal measure, the Dad Special from 2007 is the only surviving episode from the Very Loose Women, which aired on Oxide Radio during our second year of University. Edited down from two hours, our fathers discuss their hopes for our romantic lives and careers, and share their thoughts on their best and worst moments in life.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.