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Ideas at the House
Medical Misogyny | All About Women 2026
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Women’s pain isn’t “mysterious”. Medicine is failing us.
For centuries, women’s symptoms have been misunderstood, minimised or dismissed, from wandering wombs and so-called “hysteria” to modern-day misdiagnosis, mistreatment and delayed care.
Medical science made extraordinary advances in the 20th and 21st centuries, but gender bias remains stubbornly embedded in healthcare, from a body of scientific research based largely on male experience, to a medical culture that can still see women dismissed or even belittled.
An increasing body of testimony shows how dangerous this is for women — particularly First Nations women, women of colour and gender-diverse people — with poorer health outcomes across cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive and autoimmune conditions.
Against this backdrop, studies like Australia’s first-ever Inquiry into Women’s Pain — drawing on the lived experiences of more than 13,000 women, girls, carers, healthcare professionals, peak bodies and researchers — point to the urgent need for reform.
Join this expert panel as they put medical misogyny under the microscope and, crucially, map out what meaningful change could finally look like.
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Seeking Sperm | All About Women 2026
59:23|For solo parents, queer couples and people experiencing fertility issues the path to parenthood often comes with extra steps. Today, finding donor sperm is harder than ever — It’s the drought Australia is not talking about!As Australian fertility clinics scramble to meet demand, the search for sperm becomes an unexpectedly intimate chapter in the story of forming a family. Some navigate year-long clinic waitlists. Others sift through overseas profiles or have delicate conversations with friends. And some, like our moderator Edwina Storie, find themselves trawling unexpected corners of Facebook.Bringing together lived experience, this panel unswaddles the messy truth of modern conception — from awkward donor conversations and legal grey zones to financial burdens, cultural complexities and what donor-conceived people wish their parents knew.Join Melanie Saward, Alisha Burns, Maeve Marsden and Edwina Storie for an eye-opening conversation about what it really takes to make a baby today.
A Wisdom of Age | All About Women 2026
57:17|What if ageing wasn’t something to avoid, but something to embrace?Right now, a revolution is gathering force. Middle-aged and older women are refusing to fade out, shrink back or apologise for taking up space.Jacinta Parsons’ new book, A Wisdom of Age, was sparked by conversations with women across the country who are rewriting the rules and living with unapologetic confidence.Jacinta is joined by some of the formidable women whose humour, tenderness and rebellious wisdom shaped the book. This uplifting talk is a celebration of ageing with agency, and we’re just getting started.
No Spin No Compromise | All About Women 2026
01:00:52|When Emily Maitlis grilled then-Prince Andrew in that now-infamous BBC interview, she ignited “the worst PR crisis for the royal family since the death of Diana”. Ending the Duke’s royal career, the encounter also inspired several television adaptations including Amazon Prime’s A Very Royal Scandal (with Ruth Wilson as Maitlis).Since then, she’s only turned up the heat – challenging political spin, dismantling “both-sides” journalism, hosting one of the UK’s most-listened-to podcasts and putting pressure on the US Department of Justice to release the “Epstein Files”.Maitlis brings her signature fearlessness to All About Women to talk politics, power, journalism’s critical role in seeking justice and holding power to account – and what it takes to expose the truth when the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Inside the Epstein Files | All About Women 2026
01:00:49|When justice is redacted, women pay the price.The Epstein Files are not just about one man’s crimes, but about the systems that protected him and failed women — and girls — for decades. American journalist and writer Amy Wallace collaborated with Epstein survivor Virginia Roberts Giuffre on her memoir Nobody’s Girl, published months after her death, while British journalist Emily Maitlis famously put Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on the record about his involvement with Epstein’s dark world. Join them for a critically important discussion that looks beyond spectacle to examine the institutions that turned a blind eye, the lawsuits now seeking redress and what justice looks like when perpetrators evade consequences but survivors live with lasting harm.
Your Body, Who's Choice? | All About Women 2025
58:33|The overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court sent shock waves around the world. And while abortion rights seemed to be settled in Australia, there have been attempts - on both sides of politics - to undermine them here. Abortion restrictions were proposed in at least two Australian states, while debate continues about whether publicly funded hospitals can refuse to perform the procedure. In this podcast, Jane Caro, Summer May Finlay and Charlotte Mortlock canvass the current state of debate in Australia and examine how seriously to take these recent threats. Could it really happen here? This event was hosted by Gina Rushton and recorded live at Sydney Opera House on 9 March 2025
The Tracy Westerman effect | All About Women 2025
54:44|An inspirational force for positive action, Nyamal woman and renowned psychologist Dr Tracy Westerman is making waves in the treatment of Indigenous women’s trauma. As the first Aboriginal person in Australia to complete a PhD in Clinical Psychology, Dr Westerman has opened the floodgates, inspiring others to follow her into a professional field truly in need of community-based Indigenous psychologists.Drawing from her decades working with clients, Dr Westerman explores the deep racial trauma affecting Aboriginal women across generations. In this powerful talk, she reveals how hope and optimism fuel the resilience of the world’s oldest living culture.This event was recorded live at Sydney Opera House on 9 March 2025.
Rachel Kushner | All About Women 2025
57:28|Rachel Kushner’s latest novel Creation Lake, a French noir eco-espionage thriller, was an instant New York Times bestseller, shortlisted for the Booker, and hailed as a blend of John le Carré’s intrigue with the wit of Kill Bill and the style of Killing Eve.It’s the latest in a career that has dazzled her fans - whether she is taking on the art and radicalism in 1970s New York (The Flamethrowers), the horrors of the US carceral system (The Mars Room) or American expatriates caught up in the Cuban revolution (Telex from Cuba).Find out how this author creates stories and characters that always feel so brilliantly and bracingly alive.This event was recorded live at Sydney Opera House on 9 March 2025.
Game Changers | All About Women 2025
58:38|From the Matilda’s Effect to the AFL commitment to close the gender pay gap, cross-code support for female athletes is at an all-time high. With record attendance, huge broadcast viewership and glass ceilings shattering, elite players are finally being taken seriously. None of this happened overnight. How far off is something that looks like parity?Join Kirby Bentley, Bec Goddard, Ann Odong, Lydia Williams and Tracey Holmes from on and off the pitch to hear first-hand experiences of the peaks and pitfalls that have come with the growing emphasis on women’s sport, and learn about the role intersectionality needs to play.This event was recorded live at Sydney Opera House on 9 March 2025.