Not for Want of Trying
A podcast exploring the landmark cases, campaigns and legislation that have shaped women's rights in the UK and Ireland.
Episodes
In this episode, we explore the feminist and legal legacy of the women’s peace camp at Greenham common. We speak to Elizabeth Woodcraft – a feminist lawyer who represented many of the women at the Greenham peace camp during the 1980s – about the impact of Greenham and its ongoing importance for feminist campaigning and protests today.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland ...
The Well of Loneliness tells the story of Stephen Gordon – her upbringing as a boy, her travels to Paris and relationships with women. While it was a book beloved by many, it was banned shortly after its publication for being criminally obscene.
In this episode, we speak to Professor Caroline Derry about what this says about attitudes towards lesbianism in the 1920s, and what The Well of Loneliness and its author, Radclyffe H...
In this episode, we speak to Professor Fiona de Londras about the 'Repeal the 8th' campaign in Ireland, which led to the abolition of the constitutional ban on abortion. We’ll be asking what happened next, and its ongoing impact on reproductive autonomy and other social justice campaigns today.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
In this episode, we speak to Professor Jonathan Herring about how a case decided at the turn of the 21st century sent a powerful message about fairness, equality, and gender discrimination when assets are divided on divorce.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
In this episode, we speak to Anne Morris (Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Law School at the University of Liverpool) about the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and what can be achieved when campaigners and law-makers are united in the desire to produce social change.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
In this episode, we speak to Professor Rosemary Auchmuty about why conveyancing and home ownership is such a critical part of women’s liberation, and how these issues were confronted in the courtroom.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
In this episode, we speak to Professor Katharine Cockin about how theatre - and especially one suffrage play - served both as a powerful tool of feminist activism and as a lasting record of feminist history.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
In this episode, we speak to Andy Hayward - Professor of Law at Durham University about the importance of the Married Women’s Property Act 1882, and the ways in which marriage constrained women legally, socially and civilly.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/
In this episode, we speak to Professor Joanne Conaghan about the power of information, and of how an 18-page pamphlet written by a 27 year old from the small village of Robertsbridge in Sussex led to a revolution in women’s legal rights.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-9781782259794/...
In this episode, we speak to Alison Diduck – Professor of Law at University College London – about the founding of the first rape crisis centre and how the commitment of the original London Rape Crisis Collective continues to inspire today.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK and Ireland in the Women’s Legal Landmarks books
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/womens-legal-landmarks-97817...
Women and the Law – published in 1984 – was the first book in the UK to examine comprehensively the law’s treatment of women. In this episode, we speak to the book's authors – Dr Susan Atkins and Lady Hale – about structural inequalities based on sex and whether a feminist focus on law and its reform remains as necessary today.
You can find out more about women’s legal landmarks in the UK a...
Welcome to series 2 of Not for Want of Trying, a podcast exploring the landmark cases, campaigns and legislation that have shaped women's rights in the UK and Ireland.
In this episode, we speak to Pragna Patel (founding member and former chair and director of Southall Black Sisters) about how campaigners pushed for the recognition of forced marriage as a specific form of violence against women.
You can find out more about wom...
In this final episode, we speak to Professor Rosemary Auchmuty about how Elsy Borders’ remarkable case against her building society in the 1930s not only led to changes in law, but was also part of a bigger story about women, property, and justice.
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0
Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own is a foundation stone of 20th century literary feminism, but its relevance to feminist law reform is often overlooked. In this episode, we speak to Dr Madeleine Davies about the contemporary impact of Virginia Woolf’s work and the ongoing power of her succinct plea for a room of one’s own and five hundred a year.
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletre...
In this episode, we speak to Lady Hale – former President of the UK Supreme Court – about the Guardianship of Infants Act 1925. We discuss how the issue of equal guardianship over children was of substantial importance to feminist campaigners of the 1920s, and why we should still be talking about this today.
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0
In the interwar period and beyond, many women were fired from their jobs as teachers, civil servants, and clerical and post office workers, simply because they were married. In this episode, we speak to Dr Harriet Samuels about the marriage bar, and how the history of married women's unemployment is an often overlooked, yet vital part of the story of women's fight for equality.
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletre...
By 1928, equal franchise had been won. But for feminists of the day, this was only the beginning. In this episode, Professor Sharon Thompson discusses why the women's movement in the 1920s and 30s laid the foundations for later feminist fights, and why so much of this activity has been overlooked.
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0
In 1929, both India and England and Wales enacted provisions seeking to protect young girls from underage marriage. How was it that both jurisdictions came to be talking about the age of consent at this time? In this episode, we talk to Dr Laura Lammasniemi and Dr Kanika Sharma about these important interwar reforms, and the role of British and Indian feminists in bringing them about.
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, ...
Until the 1930s, when a married woman committed a civil wrong or tort, she would not be liable in the eyes of the law. Instead, her husband would be sued for her wrongdoing. In this episode, we speak to Professor Joanne Conaghan about the role of tort law in regulating relationships between husbands and wives, and its ability to promote economic and political equality.
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free M...
Before women could formally practise as lawyers, let alone sit as magistrates or judges, two women were appointed as judges in the Industrial Court. In this episode, Professor Erika Rackley discusses how this happened, as well as women’s representation on our courts and what - if anything - this has to do with Hans Christian Andersen’s 'Little Mermaid'.
Music credit: Goldfinch: Flight to the North, Axletree, Free Music...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.