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If you’re looking for a new book to curl up with over the festive period or to give as a Christmas gift, The Irish Times Women’s Podcast is here to help.

We’ve gathered our book clubbers Niamh Towey, Bernice Harrison, Róisín and Ann Ingle in studio to share their favourite reads of 2024.

Their recommendations include a comedy-crime novel, a “surprisingly good” western and a book for the people in our lives that are impossible to buy for. Whether it’s a gift for family, friends or even for yourself, we hope there’s something for everyone here.

You can find the full list of recommendations here.

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When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, following the withdrawal of US troops, the lives of women and girls across the country changed almost overnight. Under Taliban rule, women and girls are removed from almost every aspect of daily life, are denied access to education and even face restrictions going out alone, speaking or singing in public.

Not long after the takeover, Arezo Rahimi, a 21 year-old journalist and photographer, arrived in Ireland with her mother, leaving behind the life she once knew in Kabul. She joins Róisín Ingle today to talk about what life was like for women in Afghanistan before the Taliban seized power, how that’s changed and why she ultimately made the journey to Ireland.

We also hear about her involvement with Daricha School, an organisation which runs an underground network of schools for girls who are denied education. The classes take place either online or in secret locations across Afghanistan. Rahimi explains how this movement forms one part of the resistance against the Taliban, but that the international community needs to do so much more.

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With the General Election campaign in full swing and just over a week to go until polling day, political parties are making all sorts of promises to garner votes and ensure they make it into the next Government. On the campaign trail, the focus has been put on housing, the cost of living crisis and immigration, but what promises have each party made in their manifestos regarding women? What has been said about women’s healthcare, the childcare crisis, or how to address record levels of domestic violence? Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) joins Róisín Ingle to discuss the issues and to also outline the NWCI's own election manifesto for women. 

In this episode, we’re also focusing on women’s participation in politics. The last Daíl had 37 women TDs, out of a total of 160. That’s 23 per cent female representation. Katie Deegan, Communications coordinator from Women for Election joins Ingle and O’Connor to talk about the barriers facing women entering politics, the importance of women’s voices at the decision making table and the biggest election issues facing young women today.

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In today’s episode, Chelsey Goodan aka the “teenage whisperer” joins Róisín Ingle to talk about her new book Underestimated: The Power and Wisdom of Teenage Girls. It’s an empowering guide to better understand our teen daughters, stemming from Goodan's 16 years spent mentoring young people from all different backgrounds. Goodan talks about the challenges that teenage girls face today, and discusses how mothers can deepen their relationships with their daughters by listening and giving them the tools to find their own solutions. We also hear from Ingle’s 15-year-old twin daughters, Joya and Priya, who shed light on what it’s really like to be a teenage girl in 2024 and what they think their mum is doing right and what she’s doing wrong. 

But first, Irish Times journalist Ella Sloane joins Ingle to talk about her essay which won Ireland's Sarah Cecilia Harrison Essay Prize this week.

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Yesterday, in what for many of us is an utterly depressing turn of events, the American people voted for Donald Trump to become the next President of the United States. It’s an historic development, as he becomes the first-ever convicted felon to be elected to office. He is also the first president-elect to have a civil conviction for sexual assault, and the first to have been impeached twice. The Trump campaign has been rife with misogyny, hatred, and racist rhetoric, yet despite it all, he was elected. So, how did this happen, and what does it mean for women in America and around the world? Kathy Sheridan joins Róisín Ingle for a post-election debrief.

Later in the podcast, poet Donna Ashworth joins us to talk about her upcoming trip to Dublin. The Scottish poet will be flying over to appear as a special guest at Jan Brierton’s Wild Words, an evening of poetry and spoken word at the Ambassador Theatre on November 28th. In this conversation, Ashworth also reacts to yesterday’s election result and reads a poem from her latest collection, Growing Brave: Words to Soothe Fear and Let in More Light.

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With the US election just days away, Irish Times columnist and co-presenter of The Women’s Podcast Kathy Sheridan joins Róisín Ingle to talk about how the election has become a battle of the sexes, with Donald Trump pulling strong support from male voters and Kamala Harris enjoying a comparable edge with female voters. 

Later on, broadcasters and podcasters Jenny Kelly and Mairéad Ronan join the podcast to talk about their brand new book What We Know Now: Lessons on Life, Loss, Love and Friendship. Inspired by their own life experiences, the book explores failures, successes and mess-ups and offers advice on how to navigate life's ups and downs. In this conversation, the pair share the secrets to their 20-year friendship, explain how their relationship with alcohol has evolved through the years and they go through their top ten list for living a happier life.

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Simone Gannon is a content creator, digital marketing expert and the new beauty writer at the Irish Times. Since the beginning of the new year, she’s been entertaining us with her weekly beauty column, where she experiments with the latest trends, imparts her wisdom on all things skincare and makeup and shares her favourite beauty buys. In this episode, Gannon speaks to Róisín Ingle about how to look after your skin at any age, the must have items for the ultimate skin care routine and the beauty products she purchases time and time again.

This episode was originally published in April 2024.

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This month on The Women’s Podcast Book Club, Bernice Harrison, Niamh Towey, Róisín Ingle, and Ann Ingle discuss Sally Rooney's long-awaited fourth novel, Intermezzo.

The novel centres on the lives of two brothers: Peter, a lawyer, and Ivan, a chess prodigy, as they come to terms with the recent death of their father and navigate the complex relationships in their lives.

Some of our book clubbers adored the book, devouring it in “just a couple of days,” while others found it to be a rather “unsatisfactory read.”

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