You’re a bimbo. A nag. Too mumsy. Too bossy. Ever had any of those labels put on you? Far from harmless words, Ashley James is clear they all work to shrink women and girls.

In this chat with Fearne, Ashley recalls her first experiences of street harassment, and the way she victim blamed herself.

They also explore the shame that keeps women silent about their altered bodies after giving birth; Ashley talks about her own post-partum body, including the reality of piles, prolapse, and vaginismus.

Wondering if marriage is right for you? Ashley runs through her pros and cons. Plus, are we still allowed to watch and enjoy wildly problematic films like Grease...?

Ashley’s book, Bimbo, is out on February 12th.

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You might have recently seen Hamnet at the cinema, but did you read the book along with the Happy Place Book Club in January?

In this chat, Fearne and author Maggie O’Farrell talk about how Jessie Buckley’s award-winning performance brought Agnes to life in the film, why it’s vital to remember women’s place in history, and why Maggie chose not to name Shakespeare in the book.

Maggie uses her intuition when she’s writing, and talks about why she doesn’t really plan what voice or tense to style she’s going to write in.

Plus, Maggie reveals some of the Elizabethan pursuits she took up during her research phase, including flying Kestrels and making herbal cold remedies... And Fearne reads out what she reckons is "the sexiest paragraph ever written"!

Thank you to Tinder Press for use of the Hamnet audiobook, narrated by Jessie Buckley.

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Do you find it hard to look in the mirror? Have you found yourself controlling what you eat or exercise you do? Actor Sam Claflin has struggled with his body image since he was a child.

In this chat with Fearne, Sam explains what having body dysmorphia means to him, and reflects on how it continues to affect everything from the food he eats to his willingness to watch his own films back.

Fearne and Sam are both chronic people pleasers, and share how they’re working to stop putting everyone else’s comfort before their own. Sam also thinks about how he was brought up to think about what masculinity is, and what he’s doing to make sure his own son grows up with gentler male role models.

Plus, who remembers the days of MSN and webcam chatrooms? They reminisce about the random people they ended up talking to online back in the day...

You can watch Sam in Vanished on Amazon Prime from February 27th.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.