We interrupt your normal Standard Issue broadcast this week to tell you about the *new* normal Standard Issue broadcast, starting on Monday 6 May. But don’t worry, it’s not a cryptocurrency podcast. Or a Star Trek podcast, for that matter.

That’s right, we’ve been teasing it for a while now, and finally Mick, Hannah and Jen are here to explain to you, dear listeners, how the new podcast format will work.

To subscribe to our new Patreon tiers to enjoy ad-free podcasts, as well as exclusive content, competitions and treats, visit: https://www.patreon.com/StandardIssue

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Stranger Things: a bonafide telly phenomenon. The Duffer Brothers’ Netflix series has won an army of diehard fans across all demographics with its big budget mix of horror, fantasy and 80s nostalgia that makes sure never to skimp on character or storytelling. Kate Trefry’s been a writer on the series since season two and is currently wrapping up the fifth and final season, expected to be released next year.

She’s also written its stage production and prequel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, working with the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Stephen Daldry to bring Hawkins to the Phoenix Theatre in London. As well as a slew of five-star reviews, Stranger Things: The First Shadow recently picked up the best new entertainment or comedy play at the Oliviers. 

Our Mick has also seen and been blown away by it, so was chuffed to bits to catch up with Kate a couple of days after the awards. They’re chatting Stranger Things (obviously), the play and the series, being an outsider, winning hearts and minds, new motherhood, and the birth of evil.

Visit phoenixtheatre.co.uk for tickets.

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The BBC's Belfast-set police drama Blue Lights is back on our tellies, so Hannah grabbed the chance to talk to one of its stars: former comedian, now novelist and actor, Andi Osho. They chat about understanding history, running down alleyways and going grey in an industry where many women aren't. Jen's talking to writer Kate Atwell and director Diane Page about bringing women's cricket to the stage in Testmatch, and in Jenny Off The Blocks, there are some new Invincibles in town. There's Cher and a drunk dog in BT, and the "what I did on my day in Cambridge" that nobody asked for in SOTW. Meanwhile, in Rated or Dated, Mickey's trying to make fetch a thing, as we watch 2004's Mean Girls.

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Most of us would be able to name our energy provider and probably a list of reasons we’re annoyed with them, but when it comes to the hows and whos that get it to, say, our plug sockets, details can be a bit sketchy. 

Mick’s been on the Zoom with Yasmin Ali, a chemical engineer dedicated to developing renewable energy projects and author of the book Power Up: An Engineer's Adventures into Sustainable Energy. All credit to Yasmin, who has taken a potentially dry and technical subject and made it a fascinating read. Although – spoiler alert – there are no easy answers to the looming energy crisis.

And so, in this week’s Chops, Mick and Yasmin are talking about the complicated answers, about how Yasmin’s grounding in fossil fuels led her to hydrogen, her passion for (and optimism about) clean energy, why being born in Iraq made her love Norway, and why she’s not watching Oppenheimer.

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Hold onto your fannies, because for this month’s Flicking, Mick’s picked Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthikos (man), based on a novel by Alisdair Gray (man), adapted for the big screen by Tony McNamara (man) and one of 2023’s hot feminist picks. DISCUSS.

Emma Stone bagged an Oscar for her portrayal of Bella Baxter, the Frankenstein’s monster-esque creation of Dr Godwin Baxter (Willem Defoe), who goes on a voyage of self-discovery and empowerment/has sex with a lot of people – same, same. DISCUSS. And yes, Yosra and Hannah have a lot to say. And rightly so. Also includes *quite* the revelation for Yosra about Yosra. Hold onto your fannies! Did we already say that? Well, you can never have too much fanny. DISCUSS

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You’ve seen Sharon Horgan’s brilliant sitcom Pulling, right? If you haven’t, please do go watch it immediately *waits impatiently, tapping foot* Okay! How good is Tanya Franks in it?!? SOOOO good. Which means you’ll understand why our Hannah has been champing at the bit for nigh on a decade to get an interview in. And here she is: Tanya Franks chatting to Hannah about accents, marathons, free speech, her current role in Power of Sail at the Menier Chocolate Factory and, of course, the joy and chaos of Karen in Pulling. 

Another brilliant woman? But of course – have two. It’s been a while, but Liz Buckley, our resident font of all music knowledge, is back and she’s explaining to Mick why we should all love Loretta Lynn. Lynn might not have called herself a feminist, deeming the label too exclusive, but sweet Lordy, she was a shot in the arm for women in the very male, very conservative world of country music. 

Get your camel toe out for the lads! In Jenny Off the Blocks, Jen’s looking at Nike’s new Olympics wear for Team America (fuck yeah!). And in Rated or Dated, can a satire satirise something before it’s even happened? Here’s looking at you, 1999’s Election.

Power of Sail is at the Menier Chocolate Factory until May 12

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Harvard Law School lecturer, consultant and speaker, Elaine Lin Hering, was frustrated in her professional life by the realising that having a seat at the table isn't enough if no one can hear what you're saying. This inspired her to write Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent and Lead With Courage, and she chats to Jen about it in this week's Chops. They talk about how we learn silence, how we actively silence others, why that disproportionately impacts certain groups, and the myth of imposter syndrome.

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Having a busy April? Why not have a nice sit down and turn on the telly? This month, Hannah and Jen are talking about Passenger, Manhunt, The Gone, The Dry, Masters of the Air, Mary & George, The Regime and Tell Them You Love Me. 

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We’ve all heard of the glass ceiling, right? But what about the phenomenon befalling the high-flying women who have dared to smash through it? It’s known as the glass cliff, and Sophie Williams has written a book about it. Sophie joins Mick this week, to talk about how and why it happens – and why the issue matters to all women.

Meanwhile, Jen is on the Zoom with theatre company Dirty Hare, to talk witches, history and their play Gunter, which is showing at The Royal Court Theatre until April 25.

In Jenny Off The Blocks, there’s rugby, cricket and more. And in Rated or Dated, there’s more witchcraft afoot, but will 1989 “cult classic” Teen Witch be cinematic magic or a curse on the eyes, ears and emotions?

Meanwhile, in unrelated news *cough*, Hannah's wading through a river of jobbies in the Bush Telegraph. 

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According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, hospital admissions for eating disorders have increased by 84% over the past five years. And yet, for so many of us, anorexia remains very hard to understand. Hannah chats to author, journalist and recovered anorexic Hadley Freeman about her memoir Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia, about her experiences, as a teenager and now a mother, and about why so many women have a complicated relationship with food.

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Experts - we should listen to them, right? RIGHT? Well, maybe not all of them. That's what Hannah learned while talking to Dr Julia Shaw, a criminal psychologist and the host of new Radio 4 show Experts on Trial. Jen's been on the Zoom with Heather McCalden to talk about her genre-bending debut book, The Observable Universe, which is about losing both her parents to AIDS in the early '90s, and grief in the internet age. And in Rated or Dated, having not seen it as kids, what will Mickey and Hannah make of 1984's The NeverEnding Story?

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