The Conversation

BBC World Service

5.0 (4)
Society & Culture
Every two weeks

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

2 days ago

The challenges for women in palliative care

Confronting the death of a loved one – or the end of our own life – can be frightening and overwhelming. And yet it is something that will happen to all of us. So how can we open up conversations about the way we want to die? Is it possible to avoid pain and suffering? And who are the people who will care for us in our final moments? Datshiane Navanayagam talks to two women who work in palliative care. Dr Tania Pastrana is from Colombia and is now based in Germany where she works for the International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care (IAHPC). And Dr Catherine Millington-Sanders is a general practitioner, and national lead in palliative care for the Royal College of GPs. Producer: Hannah Sander

26 min
25 May

Women saving amphibians from extinction

Datshiane Navanayagam talks to Whitley Fund for Nature winners from India and South Africa who are protecting endangered frogs and salamanders. Dr Barkha Subba is leading the first grassroots protection for the Himalayan Salamander in Darjeeling. The scientific adviser at local NGO, Federation of Societies for Environmental Protection (FOSEP), Barkha is working to restore habitat, remove invasive species and screen for deadly diseases, as well as engage local people in awareness programmes promoting sustainable land use and eco-friendly tourism. Environmentalist Jeanne Tarrant works on protecting frogs and their habitat in South Africa. Almost two-thirds of the country’s 135 frog species are found nowhere else. She uses frogs as flagships for habitat protection, contributing to the broader conservation of freshwater and grassland areas that serve as important watersheds and carbon sinks. Produced by Jane Thurlow (Image: (L) Jeanne Tarrant, credit SABC. (R) Barkha Subba, credit Whitley Fund for Nature.)

26 min
18 May

Catfishing and its consequences

Online romance fraud and 'catfishing' – when someone pretends to be someone they’re not - is a problem across the globe. It causes financial and emotional devastation, yet many people refuse to take it seriously. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women from the UK and Sweden who have spent years rebuilding their lives after being targeted by men they met on dating sites. Pernilla Sjöholm is from Sweden. She was conned by the infamous Simon Leviev, the so-called "Tinder Swindler" and allegedly scammed out of the equivalent of $65,000. Pernilla is now an international speaker on AI, cybersecurity and fraud prevention. She also co-founded IDfier, working on digital identity verification, and is the author of Swindled Never After. Anna Rowe is pushing for greater support for romance fraud victims after her own experience of being conned. In 2015 she fell in love with a man who she had met online. After 14 months she discovered that the man she was in a relationship with, ‘Antony Ray’ was using a fake identity and leading a double life which left Anna feeling emotionally and sexually violated. Anna is now dedicated to helping victims of all types of romance fraud and catfishing through her platforms LoveSaid and Catch the Catfish. (Image: (L) Anna Rowe, credit Nina Rangoy. (R) Pernilla Sjöholm, credit Daniel Diamond.) Produced by Jane Thurlow and Hannah Dean

26 min
10 May

Falling in love with flowers

Datshiane Navanayagam meets the women behind leading nurseries and flower farms in Germany and America. From a vase of cut roses to the perennials that brighten our gardens, these women cultivate beauty from bare earth. Danielle Dall’Armi transformed a derelict lemon and avocado farm in California into a rose farm with an international reputation. A self-taught horticulturalist, she now has 25,000 rose plants and supplies high-end customers. Anja Maubach runs the nursery founded by her great-grandfather, renowned botanist Georg Abends, specialising in perennials. She is also an expert on the great female horticulturalists of the past, such as Gertrude Jekyll and Vita Sackville-West. Producer: Hannah Sander (Image: (L) Anja Maubach, credit Daniel Welschenbach. (R) Danielle Dall'Armi, credit Victoria Pearson.)

26 min
4 May

Resolving conflict in relationships

Divorce and separation are often a time of upset and distress. Ella Al-Shamahi talks to women in Latvia and the UK whose work as mediators is about trying to find calm and co-operation in conflict. Evija Kļave is a certified mediator and sociologist. She’s also an associate professor teaching mediation at masters level at Turiba University (a business school) and sits of the Commission of Certification and Attestation of Mediators which regulates mediators in Latvia as well as running her own private practice. Romina Kamran is an accredited family and children mediator in the UK and member of the Family Mediation Council. She also heads the National Family Mediation training academy. Her own experience of divorce negotiations was tough, and she works to make decisions around separation ones that both parties can be comfortable with. She says mediation is not about being what one person might consider fair; it's about coming to a resolution that meets the needs of the whole family. Produced by Jane Thurlow (Image: (L) Evija Kļave, courtesy Turiba University. (R) Romina Kamran, credit Romina Kamran.)

26 min
27 Apr

Newspaper cartoonists: Drawing on women’s lives

Newspaper cartooning has a long history of using satire and humour to provide social commentary on the issues of the day – but how do female perspectives inform the approach, themes and tone of newspaper cartooning? Andrea Arroyo is from Mexico City. Her work as a dancer took her to New York in the early eighties. In the US, an exhibition of her visual art was picked up to feature in the New York Times and spawned a career as a newspaper cartoonist. Her influence as a dancer can be seen in her rhythmic, fluid line work. Her artwork about the Me Too movement won a United Nations award for Political Cartooning. Sarah Akinterinwa is from Kent in the UK. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she created a comic about a millennial couple called Oyin and Kojo, hoping to create better representation of Black British people in cartoons. After posting a daily drawing to social media, the cartoon editor of the New Yorker discovered her work and asked her to become a contributor. Sarah is also a cartoonist at The Guardian. Her strips tackle women’s issues, gender dynamics, friendships, relationships, health and politics. Produced by Elena Angelides and Jane Thurlow (Image: (L) Sarah Akinterinwa, credit Sarah Akinterinwa. (R) Andrea Arroyo, credit Felipe Galindo.)

26 min
20 Apr

The women rethinking rice farming

Rice nourishes 3.5 billion people worldwide with women providing the majority of agricultural labour – especially in poorer countries. Datshiane Navanayagam talks to women from India and Tanzania about their work improving the resilience of rice to climate change, and about the lives of female rice farmers. Ranjitha Puskur is a socio-economist in India leading gender and youth research at the International Rice Research Institute. She's working on innovations that would lead to more equitable outcomes for women in agriculture. She says there would be no food without women. And yet women farmers across the world still face disproportionate barriers in their work. Dr Pauline Chivenge is a Zimbabwean agronomist working in Tanzania. Her research is focused on management of natural resources for improved crop productivity in Africa and South-East Asia: issues such as soil and water management, and how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Produced by Jane Thurlow (Image: (L) Ranjitha Puskur. Credit CGIAR. (R) Pauline Chivenge. Credit IRRI)

26 min
13 Apr

How war shapes women's lives

As war flares across the Middle East, and conflicts rage in other parts of the world, it is often said that women and girls are the hardest hit by war. But what does that actually mean in practice? What are the key statistics that tell us how conflicts impact women? And what role are women playing in peace processes too? Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women who look at how war shapes women’s lives. Idil Absiye is a policy advisor on Women, Peace and Security at the United Nations, and is based in Kenya. Dr Laura Muñoz-Encinar is an archaeologist and forensic anthropologist at the Spanish National Research Council. Her main focus is the Spanish Civil War, a conflict from almost a century ago that offers many lessons for today. Producer: Hannah Sander (Image: (L) Laura Muñoz-Encinar, credit Laura Muñoz-Encinar. (R) Idil Absiye, credit Idil Absiye.)

26 min

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5

out of 5

4 Ratings

Inspiring

07/05/2018

MariEscapeInABook

This podcast gives insight and provides us with hope for a better future. I’m so happy that I discovered this podcast, each episode gives me a bit more knowledge of our world and all the inspiring women out there. Thanks to everyone who shares their stories and to the brilliant host, Kim, steering the conersations in a plesant manner making the best possible conversations.