Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women

Olympic Athlete and World Champion javelin thrower, Fatima Whitbread, was left for dead as a baby. It was only after a neighbour heard her crying for 3 days that she called the police who saved her life. She then spent the next 14 years of her life in a broken care sector that subjected her to physical and mental abuse. At 14 years old, Fatima picked up a javelin for the first time and found the sport that would save her life. The rest, is history...

From the age of 3, Rosena Alin-Khan knew she was going to be a doctor and no number of setbacks were going to stop her. From her humble beginnings in Tooting to graduating from an Ivy League university, Rosena is no stranger to standing up for herself or what she believes in. Now, Rosena champions mental health policy from within Parliament as well as continuing to work her 12 hour A&E shifts! 

Legendary foreign correspondent, Alex Crawford, joins me this week to discuss her extensive career spanning continents and decades. From being bombarded in Lybia to her recent exploration of violence in Mexico, this episode has it all! 

Retweeting a picture of Masih Alinejad can land you 10 years in prison. This "Enemy of State" has survived kidnapping attempts, assassination attempts, and campaigns of disinformation at the hands of the Iranian government. Her crime? Standing up for women's rights. Women's freedom fighter Masih Alinejad has been exiled from her home land since 2009 for criticising the Iranian government's stance on women's rights. In the 14 years since her exile, Masih has not lost her voice...

Sometimes a woman is SO difficult that her story simply cannot be contained in one episode! Listen in as the queen of hot takes gives her verdict on vegetarians, stonewall, and barbie!

In 2020 Stephen Bear posted online an intimate video of himself and Georgia Harrison that had been filmed without her consent. What followed was a difficult legal battle which left her at the mercy of public opinion. Georgia's decision to waive her right to anonymity wasn't easy but the brave choice she made has allowed her to advocate for real legislative change that grants greater protection for victims of revenge porn. 

Witty and outspoken, Shazia Mirza was the first British female Muslim stand-up comedian. Proudly cancelled on multiple counts she isn't afraid to say the unspoken! Listen to one of Rachels most outrageous guests yet...

Conservative MP and Queen of the Hard Brexit, Andrea Jenkyns is our guest on this week's podcast. Growing up destitute, her father taught Andrea the importance of being 'difficult' from a young age. This determination led Andrea to Andrew Lloyd Webber's living room, the final of Miss UK, and the top of Iain Dales "Most Influential Conservatives" list!

The outspoken and dare I say infamous wife of Johnny Mercer MP joins me on the podcast this week. Felicity Mercer works alongside her husband, helping to manage the day to day running of his office. When she's not in the office she can be found on twitter decrying Liz Truss as an 'Imbecile' or slating the honours system. Strap in for this one, Felicity doesn't hold back. 

Kate Mosse is a literary titan having sold over 10 million books, translated into 38 languages. She also founded the women's prize for fiction and her new book "Warrior Queens and Quiet Revolutionaries" champions the forgotten women of history who have shaped the world we live in today. A fascinating chat, delving into not only her life but the lives of countless women history has chosen to forget. 

At 7 years old, Suzanne moved onto a seventy-foot yacht with her parents. It was a turbulent childhood with deadly waves, fifty thousand miles of ocean, and endless cups of tea! Homeschooled her whole life, Suzanne escaped the boat after ten years and worked her way to Oxford University. And then there was the time the government tried to frame her late husband! Essential listening filled with hardship, perseverance, and a very difficult woman...

When the Taliban returned to power, Soomaya Javadi’s future as a dentistry student and a woman in Afghanistan was in peril. Her Hazara ethnicity further jeopardized her fate, belonging to one of the most targeted ethnic groups in the country and one historically persecuted by the Taliban during their initial rule in 1996. Facing looming oppression, Javadi made the difficult decision to depart her homeland, one that carried immense danger and uncertainty. Listen about her nail-biting race to Pakistan, which forced her to pass through various Taliban checkpoints.

This week's difficult women is Gogglebox's own Mary Killen! 

Every few seconds, a child's genitals are cut in Africa. Leyla Hussein was one of them... A psychotherapist who now specialises in supporting survivors of sexual abuse, Leyla has dedicated her life to raising awareness of FGM and supporting her fellow survivors. She is a self-proclaimed difficult woman with an incredibly powerful story to tell. 

Rabbi The Baroness Neuberger DBE was the second woman to be ordained as a Rabbi in the UK, and is a British member of the House of Lords. She has been busy and active across public life for decades in the fields of public health, refugees, education, she is the personification of the expression the great and the good.

Katie Hickman has lived an enviable life to say the least. A prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction, Katie was the daughter of diplomats, she spent her youth travelling the world, before ran away to join the circus in her 20's. Later she turned her hand to writing, her new book 'bravehearted' tells the untold stories of the women in the wild west. 

Being expelled from school for drugs hasn't stopped Emily Sheffield from having a prolific and impressive career in journalism, she was columnist at the guardian, the deputy editor of vogue, and of course she took over as editor of the evening standard in June 2020. 

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions of anorexia and self-harm. Author and Journalist Hadley Freeman is no stranger to being difficult, having left the Guardian after 22 years in the midst of a gender critical row. She has, in the past, spoken openly about her drug addiction and has now written a courageous and unflinching memoir of anorexia, candidly talking about the honest truth of this destructive disorder.

Mary Watkins, Baroness Watkins, is a veritable legend in the world of nursing and there is no more qualified voice to address the current state of our NHS and the difficulties that come with being a nurse, than she. 

Maggie Oliver is a former Detective Constable with the Greater Manchester police who made waves as the whistle-blower in the Rochdale grooming scandal. Exposing the flaws within her own team that lead to the mishandling of the case. 

Television presenter, crafter, and national treasure Kirsty Allsopp is this week's difficult woman. Kirsty has never seen a row that she hasn't wanted to wade into, from Vaping to Homework she isn't afraid to have her opinion heard. 

Two days after she informed her employer that she was pregnant with her first child, Joeli Brearley was sacked from her job by voicemail. Off the back of this she founded Pregnant then Screwed, a charity dedicated to ending the motherhood penalty.

On Halloween in 2010, Joanna Simpson was beaten to death by her estranged husband, Robert Brown. Prior to her death, the mum-of-two had filed for divorce after enduring years of abuse. In a first for the podcast, we are joined by not one but two difficult women; Her mother, Diana Parkes, and her best friend, Hetti Barkworth-Nanton. Together they have campaigned tirelessly for stricter prosecution for domestic violence. 

This week's difficult woman is the Sunday Times' Chief Foreign Correspondent, Cristina Lamb, freshly back from investigating the stolen children of Ukraine. Having reported from Brazil, Washington, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to name but four. All of this goes without mentioning her Ghost-writing of "I am Malala".

Dr Emma Runswick is the BMA's Deputy Chair of Council. In the thick of it during this winter of discontent, not least as her union announced 3 days of strike action in a weeks' time. An activist and campaigner from a young age, Emma has never chosen the path of least resistance.

This weeks difficult woman is political journalist and ghostwriter Isabel Oakeshott. Though you may be more familiar with her recent involvement in the Lockdown Files. Isabel made the difficult decision to leak 100'000 private whatsapp messages between Matt Hancock and various members of government, a decision which has come with much controversy.

Abi Austen shot into the public eye after announcing her desire to transition from male to female whilst being an officer in the army. After being forced to resign her position in the army, she had to endure a lengthy and public legal battle to fight for her rights.

Rosie Duffield is the Labour MP for Canterbury since 2017 - the first Labour MP to hold that seat, the only Labour seat in Kent - and won on the slimmest of margins. Instead of being a poster girl for the party - she ticks so many boxes on backstory - she is treated like the black sheep.

Jennifer Robinson, the Australian human rights and media freedom barrister who graces Doughty Street chambers, is probably best known for her work representing Julian Assange “I did not expect it was going to become so big,” says Robinson. “And I certainly never expected I’d spend so much time visiting him in the Ecuadorean embassy in London.” Her new book, co-written with Keina Yoshida, could not be timelier as we record this the day after the sentencing of an armed officer, David Carrick, for 48 rapes against a dozen woman, and a headteacher, and her seven-year-old daughter have died in what police are calling a murder suicide. It seemingly never ends. One every three days a woman is killed but many more are silenced and let down by the system, this is exactly where Jennifer's specialties lie.

Even though Anne Glenconner has been royal adjacent all her life she is far more than a pawn on the chessboard moving nimbly between the Queen, Princess Margaret, the new King, and scions of the ancient British aristocracy. She endured an abusive marriage, the loss of two children, and plenty of tears to go along with the titles.

Amber Rudd had one of the most meteoric rises to power in recent political history. With just over a year between her first Cabinet appointment to her first day as home secretary, she became a well-established actor within Theresa May's government. Her parliamentary career was, however, halted in its tracks after a series of revelations amid the Windrush Deportation Scandal. She talks to Rachel about her idyllic childhood, her troublesome marriage, and her legacy in the home office.

This week’s difficult woman is Jess Phillips, self-described gobby daughter of brummie socialists and Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley. Jess is the voice of domestic and sexual violence in parliament and every year, reads out the names of women who have been killed by men. Less than a month after being elected and unhappy with the lack of female representation in Corbyn’s shadow cabinet she famously told Dianne Abbott to “F*** off”... the rest of her political career has been no less confrontational.

This week's difficult woman is classicist, scholar, and broadcaster Mary Beard. Described by the new yorker as a "Celebrity Historian" her distinct charm has set her apart in a world dominated by men often characterised by their dry mundanity. She talks the struggles she faced getting into the world of classics as well as her takes on the last few months of political chaos.

This week's difficult woman is the veteran journalist, author, broadcaster and campaigner Marjorie Wallace. Marjorie began her career in television, working on The Frost Programme as a trainee producer. She later moved into investigative journalism where she covered the Thalidomide scandal for the Sunday Times. She is the founder of the mental health charity SANE and the author of ‘The Silent Twins’, a book which has since been remade for the big screen premiering at 2022 Cannes Film Festival. She talks the difficult and defining moments that came to shape her career and personal life.

This week's difficult woman is the writer and activist Catherine Mayer. Catherine started her career as a journalist before going onto write a bestselling political biography of King Charles. In 2015 she co-founded the Women's Equality Party with the broadcaster Sandi Toksvig. She talks feminism, gender self-identification, Harry and Meghan and grieving for her late husband Andy Gill during the pandemic.

This week's difficult woman is the journalist and writer Sarah Standing. Sarah's career in writing began at 14 when she won a Vogue Young Writers competition. She has since written for Tatler magazine, the Telegraph and the Spectator where she became Travel and Lifestyle editor. For much of her life, Sarah has been surrounded by the glitz and glamour of the film industry. Her parents were the famous film director Bryan Forbes and the movie star Nanette Newman. She is now happily married to the actor John Standing. In October 2020 Sarah was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. She talks cancer, the physical and emotional impact it had on her life, and the support she had along the way...including from best friend Elton John.

This week's difficult woman is the campaigner and writer Karen Ingala Smith. Karen has become a leading feminist voice, tackling male violence against women through research and her work at the East London charity nia, where she is Chief Executive. She is also Director of Woman’s Place UK, an organisation that has attracted controversy for its defence of women's only spaces. She talks male violence, the trans debate and reveals her most difficult moments as a working woman.

This week's difficult woman is the journalist and broadcaster Dame Jenni Murray. Dame Jenni has enjoyed success in both TV and Radio, presenting Newsnight, the Today programme and Woman’s Hour. She talks about what it means to be a working woman, her relationship with her mother, her decision to leave the BBC and the issue of impartiality.

This week's difficult woman is someone who has scarcely been in the public eye but who has always brought a storm of controversies when she does make the headlines. Her first taste of difficulties was when she published her bombshell account of Dianna's love affair with James Hewitt. Hounded and criticised by the mainstream press unwilling to believe the remarkable story, her vindication would come years later as the story was revealed. Her second major controversy has proven considerably more stressful, embroiled in a copyright feud that could cost her a reported £2million. Defiant to the last Anna is certainly a woman who knows how to stand her ground!

This weeks difficult woman is notorious television critic and Sunday Times Columnist Camilla Long. A woman who by her own admission has embraced being difficult in the name of success. She talks everything from Michael Fassbender's manhood to her own struggles being visible in the cutthroat world of journalism.

This weeks difficult woman is Kate Bingham. The Chair of the UK's vaccine taskforce, charged with delivering this countries world beating covid vaccine response. From her rough and tumble beginnings in Wales, to a startling career in biotech, we hear about her expansive life!

This week's difficult woman is Baroness Sayeeda Warsi. Lawyer, Politician, Baroness, and former Co-Chair of the conservative party Baroness Warsi has never had a problem speaking up against her party when she feels it is not in line with her values. She talks new PM's, conservative islamophobia, and even some behind the scenes secrets about Alistair Campbell!

This week Rachel talks to Hilary McGrady, the Director General of the National Trust, founded to care for our countryside and Britain's many historic properties. McGrady is top dog at Europe's largest conservation charity -and therefore in charge of this nation’s nature, beauty, and history.

This week Rachel is joined by journalist and novelist Celia Walden. A woman who seems to have it all, Rachel dives into her imposter syndrome, her relationship with her husband Piers Morgan, and what its like being torn between two countries.

This week Rachel speaks to the longest serving Editor of British vogue, Alexandra Shulman

Rachel Johnson speaks to Journalist, broadcaster & LBC Presenter Sangita Myska about the moment a listener questioned her Britishness, and how she responded.

Rachel Johnson speaks to Patience Wheatcroft, a British journalist and life peeress, who was editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal Europe.

Baroness Beeban Kidron is the filmmaker turned internet safety activist, whose time in the silver screen boasts directorial credits on Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit. Her latest mission, described as "one middle-aged woman's campaign against Silicon Valley", has influenced tech policy on both sides of the Atlantic - and last week, California introduced its own online safety bill based on her work in the House of Lords.

There really ain't nothing like DAME MAUREEN LIPMAN CBE 1999 Dame Commander of the order of the British Empire in the 2020 birthday honours for services to charity, entertainment and the arts, Mo is a zionist, royalist, actress, writer, comedian who is never out of the headlines.

Minette Batters is president of the National Farmers Union and has repped the interests of 55,000 farmers in England and Wales through arguably the industry’s biggest upheaval in living memory. Her intray is Upheaval – and unprecedented and monumental challenges. On top of Brexit. A humanitarian food crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The worst drought for 500 years. The twin peak challenges of global warming and global feeding. It’s her daily bread as she too is a farmer. Minette runs a tenanted mixed family farm in South Wiltshire which is dry as the Sahara, where the land is baked rock hard, the grass crisped to dust and the future is just as uncertain for her farm and her crops and animals as it is for all her members.

It is almost impossible to think of a more important role in modern life than the one held by RACHEL DE SOUZA. Made a dame in 2014 for services to education last year she took up the post of Children’s commissioners. Only this morning - we are recording this on Monday 8 August Dame Rachel was denouncing the Metropolitan police’s record on child protection after new data revealed that 650 children were strip-searched over a two-year period and the majority were found to be innocent of the suspicions against them. Her report also called out ethnic disproportionality after the data showed that of children aged 10 to 17 who were strip-searched between 2018 and 2020, almost three out of five (58%) were black, as described by the officer.

One of the most overused words in modern life - curate - when we curate our scatter cushions and sandwiches this must be galling for this week’s Difficult Woman who is unquestionably this nations foremost curator First British and first female director of Tate Modern, Frances Morris is - no way of avoiding it - a curator par excellence and art world royalty. Her opening night of Tate modern - the most visited modern art museum in the world - was attended by 300 black cabbies and a huge spider.

Shelagh Fogarty’s name and voice will need no introduction to many listeners and subscribers - she left the BBC and became the host of the lunch to teatime Slot on LBC back in 2014 and her warm tones and confiding and empathetic yet always authoritative manner have won her record audiences. As devotees will know, she comes from a large Liverpudlian family of Irish extraction and her many siblings all seem to work as nurses or coppers which came in useful when something truly difficult happened to her and a chronic unwelcome intruder infested her life, which she has made the subject of her new hit podcast about the crime of stalking called The followers.

Barbara Amiel, Lady Black, started life as a journalist, producer, writer, whatever and whose midlife marriage to a Canadian press baron Conrad Black was a great glass elevator into the social and financial stratosphere - the power couple’s Icarus-like fall when Lord black was jailed was equally precipitate as she documents in her magnificent score settling eye popper of a memoir, Friends and Enemies.

This week’s Difficult Woman Lynn Barber is a journalism legend and grand dame. Winner of the Interview of the Year press Oscars a record six times, pen name the Demon Barber and when she asked to interview me this year I only agreed on condition that she would do this podcast. She is a widow who says some her jolliest conversations are now about not sex but dying but enjoyed a teenagerhood so fascinating a movie has been made of her memoir of that time, called An Education, which is not about going to Oxford, but what being romanced by a conman taught her about life: “I learned not to trust people; I learned not to believe what they say but to watch what they do; I learned to suspect that anyone and everyone is capable of ‘living a lie’. I came to believe that other people – even when you think you know them well – are ultimately unknowable. Learning all this was a good basis for my subsequent career as an interviewer.”

Hey Difficult Women listeners, here’s a brand new podcast we think you’d like, called The Followers. Shelagh Fogarty began her LBC career as a guest presenter in 2014, and her balanced and calm presenting style soon earned her a permanent role. Heartbreakingly, it was this calm approach which led to the most harrowing ordeal of Shelagh's life, when a man stalked her for nearly 2 years. In 2017, Shelagh began to notice the same face appearing in crowds, on the tube, outside her work. She dismissed it at first, but then the appearances became more and more frequent and noticeable - he was there when she met friends, when she travelled across London, at her local train station, and even when he followed her home.??The Followers is a 5-part LBC podcast series where Shelagh talks about the disturbing stages she went through during her stalking: dismissing it, fearing it, and feeling powerless as she was forced to live a limited life. The podcast also included conversations with experts and victims, looking at how societal views, misogyny and popular media tropes may be enabling stalkers to commit crimes without intervention.? Shelagh wanted to tell her story and to speak with various experts to understand more about obsessive and controlling behaviour, to deal with what happened to her on a personal level and to help others identify the behaviour that can lead to stalking. All 5 episodes will be available from July 4th exclusively on Global Player. Download it now from the App store or go to https://www.globalplayer.com If you think you or someone you know is being stalked, please call the police or the National stalking helpline on 0808 802 0300

It’s hard to sum up Julia Hobsbawm. When I asked my husband he said “human dynamo” and “tireless promoter” She was the first ever professor of Public Relations who started her career as the publicist for Maya Angelou. She describes her career as “atypical.” She’s fund raised for the Labour party, she’s introduced Sarah to Gordon Brown and ran a company with her, Hobsbawm Macaulay, she’s experienced bankruptcy and corporate cancellation –and is a content provider and convenor par excellence, whose latest book The Nowhere Office is the business book of the moment

I only invite women I admire to guest and I have admired Rosie Boycott, the co-founder of both the feminist magazine Spare Rib and the feminist publishing house Virago, then ground-breaking national newspaper editor, from afar and near for several decades now. As difficult women ie women celebrate the 50th birthday of Spare Rib, Rosie - now Baroness Boycott, as she entered the Lords as a people’s peer four years ago - joins me to talk about her extraordinary life and career.

Luciana Berger was a Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree for nine years and bears the scars on her back – in her words, it wasn’t easy being “young female and Jewish” especially when Jeremy Corbyn was leader. She has been the target of industrial and criminal abuse and threats (several men have been fined or gone to jail). Shadow minister for Mental Health under Corbyn she resigned after Brexit, joined the breakaway independent group of MPs in 2019 that became the doomed Change UK, then joined the Lib Dems – it’s hard to keep up, but now she is in public relations and has two small children, and the party is more united under a new leader. And she’s still young female and Jewish - does that rule out a return to Parliament?

If anyone ever asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would answer Tina Brown, the magazine editor’s magazine editor, she has helmed with pizzazz chutzpah and consummate professionalism many magazines and authored several huge bestsellers over the course of her singularly successful career- born in Britain she was editor of Tatler aged just 25 and was talentspotted to take Manhattan, where inter alia she led Vanity Fair and the New Yorker. Author of the Palace Papers, inside the house of Windsor, the truth and the turmoil, a top bestseller both sides of the Atlantic, her new book is a state banquet set before greedy readers like me, I can’t think of a better and more honoured guest as we celebrate the Queens jubilee, and she joins me from New York where she lives now.

Abi had early ambitions to be an actress and asked her mother to judge her prospects, her mother said no darling, which lead her to an incredibly successful writing career. We owe Abi Morgan a huge corpus of hits from the hour to the split and now she has written an account of her husband's near death experience and her own breast cancer candidly called this is 'Not A Pity Memoir'

Apart from perhaps Sue Gray, I can’t think of a woman more guaranteed to send chills through the corridors of power than Pippa Crerar. The incoming new political editor of the Guardian, Crerar was born in Edinburgh in the long hot summer of 76 and attended Glasgow Academy. Her career as a political journalist is garlanded with too many prizes and awards to mention here - she picked up a handful for breaking the story of Dominic Cummings day trip to Barnard Castle during lockdown and she has been like a dog with a bone when it comes to Partygate in all its various forms.

The artist Alison Jackson, 61, grew up in the shires among the landed gentry but its been rock n roll and upsetting the establishment applecart since she studied sculpture at the Chelsea College of Art and then photography at the Royal College of In 1999 her photographs of a lookalike Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed with a mixed-race child caused a storm and in 2003 she made Doubletake, a BBC2 series that won a Bafta . In November 2016 she staged a rally featuring a Donald Trump doppelganger and women bearing slogans such as “Don’t snatch my pussy”. I’ve been to her show Double Fake, she has six photography exhibitions touring and her work is celebrated for exploring the power of imagery and illusion - she creates photographs that seem to seem to show our favourite celebrities (Diana, The Queen, Camlla, Kim K or Brad Pitt) doing what we really, secretly, want to see them doing.

The Spectator magazine has anointed this week’s Difficult Woman as not only a possible saviour of the Tory party but also a future PM. “ The current equalities and levelling-up minister Kemi Badenoch is made of the right stuff and is creating a buzz in the Tory grassroots with her fearless fightback against the leftist onslaught,” it purred. Kemi Badenoch was re-elected in 2019 as the MP for the Saffron Walden constituency. She’s held several government jobs but is currently Minister of State at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister of State for Equalities. She is carving out a fearsome reputation as a woman of colour who takes a machete to the narrative of victimhood from people who say they cant succeed because of who they are and some identity characteristic - be in gender, colour, or class - is held against them by malevolent forces of white or heteronormative privilege. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Gabrielle Louise Bertin, Baroness Bertin is a British Conservative member of the House of Lords and political aide best known for her association with David Cameron during his term as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Carole Cadwalladr is a British author, investigative journalist and features writer. She is a features writer for The Observer and formerly worked at The Daily Telegraph. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Solo percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie is a double GRAMMY winner, BAFTA nominee, recipient of the Polar Music Prize and the Companion of Honour. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Professor Lucy Easthope is the country’s leading authority on recovering from disaster. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Rachel Johnson speaks to Sarah Sands, a British journalist and author and former editor of the London Evening Standard, she was editor of Today on BBC Radio 4 from 2017 to 2020. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Emily Anne Thornberry is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales since 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2014. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week Rachel speaks to Claire Fox who is a British writer, journalist, lecturer and politician who sits in the House of Lords as a non-affiliated life peer. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is Baroness Lancaster of Kimbolton, DBE and MP Caroline Dineage. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is celebratory chef, television presenter and Norwich City F. C. shareholder - Delia Smith CH CBE. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is partner at Portland Communications, Broadcaster, Political Commentator and School Governor - Salma Shah In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is film maker and author - Laura Dodsworth In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is Cheshire Government Official and internet sensation - Jackie Weaver. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is Editor in chief of MoneyWeek, writer for the Financial Times and commentator on financial matters - Merryn Somerset Webb. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is MP for Chatham and Aylesford - Tracey Crouch. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is MP for Batley and Spen - Kim Leadbeater. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is journalist and writer - Natalie Livingstone. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is Editor of the Sunday Times, - Emma Tucker In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi Rachel Johnson listener. We’ve got a new podcast we think you’ll enjoy! Last year LBC’s Hunting Ghislaine podcast was listened to over 4 million times. Now, John Sweeney is back with a weekly podcast updating you on all the latest news and commentary from Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial in New York. This podcast is exclusive to Global Player so if you don’t have it, download it now from your app store or visit globalplayer.com. Once you have Global Player, search for Hunting Ghislaine: The Trial.

This week’s guest is political journalist - Julie Langdon In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is novelist and columnist - Julie Burchill In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is journalist and television presenter - Anne Robinson. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is author and journalist - Lionel Shriver. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts

This week’s guest is MP for Romsey and Southampton North - Caroline Nokes In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This special episode is a live podcast recording and features model, television personality, entrepreneur and former wife of The Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood - Jo Wood. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is Political Editor for Sky News - Beth Rigby In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is MP for Suffolk Coastal - Therese Coffey In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts

This week’s guest is MP for Wealden in East Sussex - Nus Ghani MP In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is British education reformer and Headteacher - Katharine Birbalsingh In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is journalist and presenter - Esther Rantzen In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is writer and podcast host - Molly Jong Fast In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is a politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham - Harriet Herman In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is feminist, activist and author - Julie Bindel. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is actress, writer, comedian, lecturer and mental health campaigner - Ruby Wax. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is Labour Party member - Dame Margaret Beckett. In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is author, journalist, radio presenter and former assistant editor of The Times - Mary Ann Sieghart. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is MP for Barking and Minister in both the Blair and Brown Governments - Dame Margaret Hodge In this LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction - Lady Antonia Fraser. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

**Waring - This episode contains discussion of sexual violence which some listeners might find disturbing** This week's guest has been called "The Brexit B****" and the most hated woman in Britain. She has faced racism, sexual assault and online abuse. In 2017 she was recognized as the UK's most influential black person - Gina Miller. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, Rachel Johnson listener, We’ve got another brand new podcast we think you’ll enjoy. ‘I’ve Been Thinking’ is a new weekly show hosted by Peter Frankopan. As well as being a best-selling author (Silk Roads), Professor of Global History and Oxford and voted as one of the World’s Top 50 Thinkers, Peter uses this podcast to speak with some incredible guests looking at topics from around the world that help understand and explain the past, present and future. Guests include former Director of the FBI James Comey and Chinese artist & activist Ai Weiwei. This is a taster of what you can expect from the show. If you like what you hear please search for I’ve Been Thinking with Peter Frankopan on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is writer, broadcaster and former politician - Edwina Currie. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is the self described Methuselah of television who's railed against class and sexism in the media - Dorothy Byrne. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is MP for Normanton, Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley - Yvette Cooper. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi Rachel Johnson fans – we have a new True Crime podcast we think you’ll enjoy called ‘If It Bleeds It Leads’   Could you be a criminal? What separates the way you think, from the criminal mind? Join the world’s leading professor of criminology, Prof. David Wilson and star of Silent Witness Emilia Fox as they discover what’s really going on behind some of the most notorious crimes.   What do you do with have-a-go heroes who try to stop you robbing a bank? What's it like inside an escalating prison riot? And how do you deal with Britain’s most infamous hitman telling you he's been ordered to kill you? In this podcast series you’ll hear from offenders, the police, crime experts and investigators as we delve into the workings of the criminal mind.   Here’s a sneaky peak and the first Episode drops on Monday 14th June. If you like what you hear search for ‘If It Bleeds It Leads’ on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week’s guest is Associate Editor of the Daily Telegraph, Camilla Tominey. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the seventh episode of Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel is joined by OBE British-South African restaurateur, chef, caterer, television presenter/broadcaster, businesswoman, journalist, cookery writer and novelist, Prue Leith. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the sixth episode of Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel is joined by British politician and Minister for Mental Health, Suicide Prevention and Patient Safety, Nadine Dorries. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the fifth episode of Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel is joined by television presenter, journalist and Labour Party peer, Baroness Joan Bakewell BDE. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Rachel on Twitter: @RachelSJohnson

In the 4th episode of Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel is joined by former French diplomat, Sylvie Bermann. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Rachel on Twitter: @RachelSJohnson

In the 3rd episode of Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel is joined by Daily Mail columnist, Sarah Vine. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Rachel on Twitter: @RachelSJohnson

In episode 2 of Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel is joined by wife of former Conservative party minister, author and journalist, Sasha Swire. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Rachel on Twitter: @RachelSJohnson

In the first episode of Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel is joined by Baroness Hale of Richmond, Lady Hale. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel speaks with women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Rachel on Twitter: @RachelSJohnson

Well-behaved women rarely make history – as someone once said – difficult women do. In this new LBC podcast, Rachel Johnson's Difficult Women, Rachel will be talking to women who had to be a pain in the backside to get where they are today. Women who take the word difficult as a compliment not an insult. And women who had to fight, resist, insist, or otherwise be badly behaved in order to get things done. First episode available April 19th. Listen and subscribe now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Rachel on Twitter: @RachelSJohnson