135 episodes
Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women LBC
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- Society & Culture
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3.0 • 12 Ratings
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Well-behaved women rarely make history – as someone once said – difficult women do.
In this new LBC new podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel will be talking to women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today.
Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done.
Listen and subscribe on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow Rachel on Twitter: @RachelSJohnson
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Rachel Goldberg's 208 days without her son
"We are frozen in a trauma that has now become our reality" This week's difficult woman may well be one of the strongest I have ever met. The terror attack of October 7th changed thousands of lives; Rachel Goldberg is one such life. Her son, Hersh, was kidnapped and remains a hostage inside Gaza to this day. Our conversation was a fascinating insight into the daily turmoil that she has to reckon with, holding on hope that she will maybe, one day, see her son again.
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Patsy Stevenson on the arrest that catapulted her into the public eye
When something goes wrong, you don't take it lying down" This week's difficult women is Patsy Stevenson. She is a writer and campaigner who was catapulted into the public eye after being arrested at the vigil for Sarah Everard back in March 2021. The stark image of her arrest was splashed across every paper in the country and for many, it laid bare the oppression they had been facing in silence for years. She has now pivoted her life to champion women in STEM as the AI revolution comes upon us.
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How Alexandra Tolstoy escaped from a Russian Dacha
"He brought in a Psychiatrist to sedate me and handcuff me" From a Bareback Cossack to an abusive Russian Oligarch, Alexandra Tolstoy has lived one hell of a difficult life... Related to the great Russian author Leo Tolstoy, Alexandra has written of her many horseback adventures. She was also in a relationship with the Russian Oligarch known as 'Putin's Banker', with whom she has three children, though escaping his control proved to be her most difficult time yet...
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Sam McAlister, the woman behind THAT Prince Andrew interview
This week’s difficult woman is Newsnight's star booker Sam McAlister. A working class girl who’s mixed with princes and paupers, Sam has always known how to get where she needs to be. The story behind THAT Prince Andrew interview has now been turned into a blockbuster Netflix film, listen as I interview the woman behind the SCOOP
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How Daisy Goodwin derailed the Conservative Mayoral campaign
"Men get away with it because women don't want to report it" This week's difficult woman is author, producer, and screenwriter Daisy Goodwin. The brilliant mind behind Grand Designs, Victoria, and Diva, Daisy's multi-format career is impressive to say the least. Though you may be more familiar with her as the defiant voice who exposed Tory Mayoral hopeful Daniel Korski and derailed his campaign. Listen as she tells EXACTLY what went on that day.
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The Former Chief of Ofsted on the death of Ruth Perry
“People assume everything should be about making the adults comfortable and happy and forget about the extra risk that puts on children.” This weeks difficult women is Amanda Spielman. Former chief of Ofsted who stepped down at the end of last year amid the death of Ruth Perry. A death which has subsequently lead to a total overhaul of how we assess schools and the role Ofsted should play in that process. In her first interview since leaving the role, listen as we discuss the state of education and the future of Ofsted.
Customer Reviews
Barbara Amiel Was An Arrogantly Uninformed Guest
Barbara Amiel was an arrogantly uninformed guest. This review gets 2 stars because the host corrected this horrible guest on at least one significant lie. Ms. Amiel said something like "North American women are horribly spoiled." What utter unkind ignorance pretending to be insightful and the latest example that money or even formal education can still mean that Ms. Amiel can be stupid. The truth is USA women have
A. 0 guaranteed paid vacation
B. 0 guaranteed paid parental leave
C. crushing education debt, the balances of which increase because of predatory interest rates (total education debt in the USA is over 1.5 trillion USA dollars)
D. 0 guaranteed healthcare and can be prosecuted for seeking an abortion and certain gynecological procedures in 26 out of 50 states
E. on average have salaries of 78 cents for every 100 cents that a man with less education gets paid
F. lowest life expectancy among all peer countries
I could go on. The above statistics are even more brutal for African-American women whose ancestors survived Europe’s and America’s crimes against humanity to build the wealth of the United States and Europe.
There are intelligent, insightful women. Ms. Amiel isn’t among them. Please invite intelligent, informed women on your podcast.
Barbara Amiel AND Rachel Johnson
A combination so awful it was essential listening for me. Absolute drivel from two particularly nasty people.
Throwing Tina Brown under the double decker bus
I can not believe how Rachel said to Tina around 20:30 into the podcast, “ Oh yes, you met Harold and started romancing him while he was still married and eventually married him”. Unbelievably obnoxious thing to say to a guest that Rachel supposedly “adores”.
No matter our opinion on what the circumstances were between Harold and Tina those years ago, I just felt like Rachel could not WAIT to throw that into the interview. It came off as nothing more than a jealous fellow journalist trying to make someone much more successful and well known than her, look bad.