A British explorer who transformed travel and travel writing and a Nigerian novelist and travel blogger talk to Ella Al-Shamahi about their adventures around the world. Hilary Bradt co-founded the world's largest independently owned guidebook publisher fifty years ago. She’s been inspiring travellers to go off the beaten track ever since, publishing guides to destinations where no guidebook previously existed, like Uganda, Yugoslavia, North Korea, Eritrea and Madagascar. Lola Akinmade...

Ella Al-Shamahi talks to two women from Wales and Goa rescuing people in trouble on the coast. Vivienne Grey was one of the first women to become a crewmember at Little and Broad Haven RNLI in Wales when she started as a volunteer in 1990. She's been involved in more than 120 ‘shouts’ on the lifeboat and is credited directly for saving the lives of eight people. She’s now training coordinator at the lifeboat station and works part-time as a teacher. Vivienne also volunteers with the local...

Ella Al-Shamahi meets two women tackling negative or ageist attitudes towards older people around the world. Alana Officer is leading the World Health Organization Decade of Ageing Well. With a background in podiatric medicine, exercise and public health she's worked on health, disability, rehabilitation and development in West and Central Africa, Europe, South Asia, the Middle East and the Western Pacific. Lina Walker is Senior Vice President of Global Thought Leadership for AARP. (AARP...

What's it like to compete for life-changing amounts of money on national television while cut off from the outside world? Ella Al-Shamahi meets two women who’ve taken part in TV show competitions to find out what happens on and off the camera. Alex Duggan was the winner of the first season on The Traitors Australia - a show all about lying and deception. She ended up in one of the most dramatic finals ever seen on the show. After winning Alex experienced trolling on social media due to her...

What’s women’s experience of homelessness across Europe? In Finland it's on the decrease, but in Portugal it's rising. Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women who are fighting to eradicate homelessness. Saija Turunen is the head of research at Y‐Foundation, the largest nationwide non-profit landlord in Finland. The organisation promotes social justice by providing affordable rental housing - they currently own over 19000 homes in nearly 60 locations. Luísa Gomes moved to Portugal as a...

The infamous Dakar race (formerly known as Paris-Dakar) is a gruelling off-road endurance rally. Since its inception in 1978, there has only been one overall female winner. Ella Al-Shamahi meets two women who took part in this year’s event. Aliyyah Koloc is the youngest driver to take part in the race. She’s a 19-year-old professional race driver born in Dubai, raised by a Czech father and a mother from the Seychelles. She grew up with motorsports as her father, Martin Koloc, was a well-known...

Beatriz de La Pava Hucke talks to two women committed to reducing the stigma and harm caused by drug addiction and tackling the damage done by the illegal drug trade in Europe and the United States. Angela Kennecke is a journalist in the United States who lost her 21 year old daughter to fentanyl poisoning. Emily was three days away from being checked into a treatment centre and died after taking what she thought was heroin. Angela has since founded Emily’s Hope – a non-profit organisation to...

Datshiane Navanayagam speaks to two women about the magic of storytelling through puppetry. From the moment she played the part of a clock in a school play, Heather Lai from Hong Kong knew she wanted to go to drama school. It was there she fell in love with puppetry. After completing her training at The Curious School of Puppetry, she's performed on both the stage and in the television studio. Heather's currently starring in the award-winning My Neighbor Totoro at the Barbican Theatre. ...

Datshiane Navanayagam meets two engineers who want more women to become inventors. Roma Agrawal is best known for her work on The Shard, the UK’s tallest building. She’s also the author of Nuts & Bolts, a book which explores the history of seven tiny but fundamental inventions that changed the world, and the role that women play in scientific innovation. Nzambi Matee is a Kenyan inventor who produces sustainable low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic. Her company is...

Datshiane Navanayagam meets two women who use what they learnt from their own divorce to help others heal. Sara Davison, also known as The Divorce Coach, is the best-selling author of The Split: From breakup to break-through, and Uncoupling: How to survive and thrive after breakup and divorce. Sara also hosts her own podcast, Heartbreak To Happiness. Chautè Thompson is a mental health counsellor, a family mediator and the founder of Brand New Me, a consulting practice helping women...

Datshiane Navanayagam meets two Oscars nominated directors who put women at the centre of their movies. Nazrin Choudhury is a British filmmaker of Bangladeshi descent. Her directorial debut, Red, White and Blue, follows the story of an American single mother, living paycheck to paycheck, who crosses state lines to try and get an abortion. Nisha Pahuja is an Indian-Canadian filmmaker. Her movie, To Kill A Tiger, is a poignant documentary about an Indian family seeking justice for their...

Beatriz De La Pava Hucke talks to two women telling the stories of communities threatened by the environmental impact of rising seas, flood damage and increasing temperatures. They're using photography, poetry and literature to express the realities of climate change in communities around the world. Arati Kumar-Rao is a National Geographic Explorer, environmental photographer, writer and artist. She chronicles the changes in landscape caused by climate change, and she’s currently reporting on...

When Angela Cacace moved into her new house, she decided to teach herself how to renovate it. Angela is now running her own company, A.Marie Design Build, and has launched Move Over Bob, an online resource for women in the skilled trades. Clémentine Mollier is a French marine carpenter who specialises in restoring and building classic wooden boats. She has just joined the restoration team working on the HMS Victory, the oldest commissioned warship in the world. Beatriz De La Pava Hucke...

Beatriz De La Pava Hucke meets two writers and chefs who explore their culture, history and identity through food. Dina Macki is a recipe developer and writer who basis her work around Omani cuisine. She works with international brands, restaurants and hotels in the UK and in the Gulf region. She’s just published her debut cookbook, Bahari: Recipes from an Omani Kitchen and Beyond. Keshia Sakarah is a chef and owner of Caribe’ - Caribbean Eating and the Baruru Supper-club. She travelled...

Datshiane Navanayagam meets two award-winning nature documentary makers. Always struggling to choose between science and art, Brazilian Angela Prochilo found her way into nature documentary making after completing a zoology degree at university. Her most recent projects showcase the endeavours of women in wildlife conservation and research. Andrea Florence is an Emmy-award winning nature documentary maker from England. She studied natural sciences and lived for three years on a boat in the...

Ella Al-Shamahi meets two women on the frontline in the fight against malaria. Dr Ify Aniebo is from Nigeria, the country worst hit by malaria. She is an Associate professor with the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, where she works to improve the country's response to drug resistance and malarial transmission. Dr Mehreen Datoo is a clinical lecturer in Infectious Diseases at the University of Oxford and she’s on the team that developed the R21/Matrix-M, the...

This programme contains discussion of suicide and suicide attempts. If you feel affected by this topic, you could speak to a health professional or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at: www.befrienders.org Datshiane Navanayagam meets two women who use their own personal experience of love and loss to help others heal. Raashi Thakran is a mental health advocate from India. After losing her 18-year-old brother Raghav to suicide,...

Sana Safi meets two parenting experts who help women navigate their relationship with their teenage sons. Rosalind Wiseman is the best-selling author of 9 books, including Queen Bees & Wannabes, which became the inspiration for the movie Mean Girls, and Masterminds & Wingmen, in which she discusses the joys and challenges of raising young men. Rosalind also co-founded Cultures of Dignity, an organisation that partners with communities to bring social and emotional learning to...

Nelufar Hedayat meets two criminal defence lawyers who fight for people's lives on death row. Sarah Belal is a barrister and the founder of Justice Project Pakistan. She represents the most vulnerable people on death row in Pakistan and abroad. Andrea Lyon is a lawyer, professor and former law school dean. She was the first woman to serve as lead attorney in a death penalty case, and she holds 19 wins in 19 capital cases. Her book is called Angel of Death Row. Produced by Alice...

Kim Chakanetsa meets two women who are revolutionising the dairy industry. Mausam Narang is the founder and Head Cheesemaker at Eleftheria cheese. She has made history by becoming the first Indian person to win big at the World Cheese Awards in 2021. Before working in the dairy industry, Mausam studied language in Germany and worked in the corporate world for 8 years. It’s during her travels in Europe that Mausam caught the cheese-making bug, and in 2014 she decided to start her own artisan...

Kim Chakanetsa meets two cybersecurity experts who help women stay safe online. Vandana Verma Sehgal is a Security Solutions leader at Snyk and the Chair of the Board of Directors for OWASP, the Open Web Application Security Project Foundation. She is also the founder of InfosecKids and InfosecGirls. Sophina Kio-Lawson is an information security engineer from Nigeria and the co-founder for SheSecures, an initiative that promotes cyber literacy and inspires and empowers young African women...

Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women from Kenya and India who have established their own schools about the life-changing impact an education can have for their communities. For Dr Kakenya Ntaiya, the dream of an education turned into a lifelong mission to empower girls in rural Kenya. She founded the Kakenya Center for Excellence, a primary boarding school for girls in southwest Kenya. The school has grown into a successful nonprofit organization called Kakenya’s Dream with a focus on...

Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two paramedics from Norway and Australia to learn about the demands and rewards of working as part of the emergency response. Randi Simensen was awarded Ambulance Worker of the Year in 2023 and has 20 years' experience working as a paramedic at Oslo University Hospital, Norway. She was the first Norwegian woman ever to operate a single paramedic unit in 2009. Randi also works as a PhD candidate affiliated with Innlandet Hospital Trust and the Norwegian Air...

Kim Chakanetsa meets two climate change pioneers who are are on this year's BBC 100 Women list. Basima Abdulrahman is the founder and CEO of KESK, the first company in Iraq that offers green services and products. Jennifer Uchendu is the founder of SustyVibes, a youth-led sustainability organisation, and The Eco Anxiety Project, an initiative promoting awareness and research into climate change and its impact on young Africans’ mental health. Produced by Alice Gioia