Mag Hags

One for the road? This week, Franki gets some tips on how to drink responsibly… in 1979. Some, such as ‘don’t drink on an empty stomach’ were familiar enough. Others had us floored. Which, coincidentally, is also where you’d be if you stuck to the 1970s recommended drinking allowances.Welcome to Mag Hags “Sidebar” where we talk about the stuff we couldn’t fit into the main episode. Or else go off on a mad tangent about something that’s sparked our interest. Join the conversation!Got a suggestion for a topic you think we should cover? Have an insight into one of the features we discussed? Or maybe you just want to share your magazine memories with us. We'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line via our newsletter maghags.substack.comIf you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Go to ko-fi.com/maghags. —Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.This episode was mixed by Siân Williams.Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Ever had a Hollywood star flirt with you in front of 200 people? Has your wrist been slapped by Bette Davies? Do you know where Margaret Thatcher bought her underwear?This week, The Hags sit down with former Look Now and Honey editor Josephine Fairley to get all the behind the scenes gossip from the magazine world in the 70s and 80s. From secretarial school at 16, to becoming the youngest ever magazine editor at just 23, heading up iconic fashion magazine, Honey (and subsequently being fired after it lost its readers to new kid on the block, Elle!) Jo has seen it all.But it’s not all hard graft and dinners at Spud-U-Like, there’s also the time she hung out with Brain Ferry and got flown to France for the worldwide launch of the Sony Walkman. Jealous? No, neither are we! *cries in millennial*Want more of these mags?Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter to see all the pictures, features, and adverts in full! Find us at maghags.substack.comIf you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Go to ko-fi.com/maghags. Mag Hags is created entirely by us – Lucy and Franki. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Thank you so much!CHAPTERS02:23 - In at the deep end: From run-ins with movie stars to becoming the UK’s youngest ever magazine editor17:44 - Rising to the challenge as editor of Honey magazine20:56 - Pop stars, fashion, and the free market30:43 - “We couldn’t talk about poo in the 80s”42:48 - What’s hot and what’s not about being a magazine editor in the 80s?--Mag Hags is written and hosted by Franki Cookney and Lucy Douglas.Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Are you a dirty dreamer or a brazen babe? Do you prefer to wear your gems in your hair or in your belly button? Have you heard Denise van Outen’s playing the next Bond girl? It’s the one you’ve been waiting for… it’s More! Magazine. The year is 1999 and it’s Valentine’s Day which can mean only one thing: We’re spicing up our sex lives. But before we get to that, we’ve got to wade through a sea of hair mascara to hear from six women about why being beautiful is actually a terrible burden. Yes, this timeless women’s magazine debate is back, subtly remastered for 1999.The Hags take a rollercoaster ride through the drugs and booze-fuelled life of a young Robbie Williams, get some frankly insane beauty tips, and we round off with everyone’s favourite piece of 90s magazine nostalgia, the iconic Position of the Fortnight.Want more of these mags?Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter to see all the pictures, features, and adverts in full! Find us at maghags.substack.comIf you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Go to ko-fi.com/maghags. Mag Hags is created entirely by us – Lucy and Franki. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Thank you so much!LINKSREAD: The millennium bug was realCHAPTERS05:01 - Introducing More, February 199917:52 - “I hope I’m old before I die” : We check in on 25-year-old Robbie Williams27:36 - *An ad break from 1999*30:14 - “Everyone hates me because I’m beautiful” : A timeless classic remixed for 199940:46 - Fashion and beauty tips from 199944:13 - “Unleash your true sexual self” : The Mag Hags meet their inner sex goddesses59:23 - Position of The Fortnight1:01:30 - What's hot and what’s not in February 1999--Mag Hags is written and hosted by Franki Cookney and Lucy Douglas.Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Have you got a light? We’re going back in time to when smoking was standard, cigarette  brands (and indeed medical journals) still thought “middle tar” was a good thing, and ad agencies competed to see who could communicate the most about with the least.Welcome to Mag Hags “Sidebar” where we talk about the stuff we couldn’t fit into the main episode. Or else go off on a mad tangent about something that’s sparked our interest. Join the conversation!Got a suggestion for a topic you think we should cover? Have an insight into one of the features we discussed? Or maybe you just want to share your magazine memories with us. We'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line via our newsletter maghags.substack.comIf you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Go to ko-fi.com/maghags. —Mag Hags is written and hosted by Franki Cookney and Lucy Douglas.This episode was mixed by Siân Williams.Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Can men cook dinner? Would you consider doing a job-share? Have you been overthinking picnics?This week we return to our new favourite magazine, Company! We last hung out in 1979 and now we’re back for 1981. And she does not disappoint. It’s a vibrant issue for a less-than-vibrant period in British history. Calling itself “the livelier magazine,” (livelier than whom, we wonder) Company offers a diligently reported feature on part-time work. We’ve got a gorgeous feature on how to make the most of the summer. And, an absolute women’s mag staple, we go deep inside the workings of the male mind. Want more of these mags?Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter to see all the pictures, features, and adverts in full! Find us at maghags.substack.comIf you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Go to ko-fi.com/maghags. Mag Hags is created entirely by us – Lucy and Franki. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Thank you so much!CHAPTERS04:18 - Introducing Company, August 198112:08 - “What men want from women now” : Diving deep inside the 80s male psyche25:14 - *An ad break from 1981*26:28 - “Part-time prejudice” : What workers rights looked like for women in 198142:43 - Fashion and beauty tips from 198147:05 - “Come outside” : Unpacking the British relationship with summertime58:32 - What's hot and what’s not in 1981?--Mag Hags is written and hosted by Franki Cookney and Lucy Douglas.Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Are you betraying the sisterhood if you dress like a 50s housewife? No, this isn't a discussion of the latest Tik Tok trend. This is a debate from 1974, when Over 21 interviewed three trans women in order to dig into "what it means to be a woman." We had to cut large chunks of this chat from the main episode for time reasons but we're sharing it in full now.Welcome to Mag Hags “Sidebar” where we talk about the stuff we couldn’t fit into the main episode. Or else go off on a mad tangent about something that’s sparked our interest. Join the conversation!Got a suggestion for a topic you think we should cover? Have an insight into one of the features we discussed? Or maybe you just want to share your magazine memories with us. We'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line via our newsletter maghags.substack.comIf you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Go to ko-fi.com/maghags. —Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.This episode was mixed by Siân Williams.Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Somewhere around the mid-50s, car manufacturers cottoned on to the idea that women drive cars. Not only that, but women *have opinions* about the sort of car they drive. This ushered in a whole new creative challenge for the second half of the 20th century: How to sell cars to girls. And where better to reach them than in the magazines they were reading?Welcome to Mag Hags “Sidebar” where we talk about the stuff we couldn’t fit into the main episode. Or else go off on a mad tangent about something that’s sparked our interest. Join the conversation!Got a suggestion for a topic you think we should cover? Have an insight into one of the features we discussed? Or maybe you just want to share your magazine memories with us. We'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line via our newsletter maghags.substack.comIf you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Go to ko-fi.com/maghags. —Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.This episode was mixed by Siân Williams.Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.

Something a little different this week… Franki and Lucy aren’t doing a magazine deep dive. Instead, they’re turning the spotlight on a woman with far more expertise in women’s mags: Fiona Gibson. Fiona is the former editor of Just 17 and more! magazines – not to mention the writer behind a Mag Hags’ favourite – “How to throw a disaster-free dinner party (New Woman, Sept 97) – and author of more than a dozen novels. In a Mag Hags first, Franki and Lucy sit down with her to find out about how she fell in love with magazines in the first place, editorial life in the 80s and 90s, and writing about sex when you’re not allowed to write about sex. And, of course, we’ll be finding out ALL about how she came up with that most iconic of magazine regulars – the one that has come to represent a shorthand for the Millennial adolescent unofficial sex education – Position of the Fortnight. Want more of these mags?Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter to see all the pictures, features, and adverts in full! Find us at maghags.substack.comIf you are enjoying the show, why not buy us a coffee?Ko-fi is a super easy way to support the podcast with a one off donation - you can think of it like buying us a drink, or leaving a tip. Go to ko-fi.com/maghags. Mag Hags is created entirely by us – Lucy and Franki. So your support means the world to us and it’s what will allow us to keep doing it. Thank you so much!LINKS You can read more from Fiona – including memories from her magazine days – at her Substack: https://fionagibson.substack.com/ Or check out her novels here https://uk.bookshop.org/contributors/fiona-gibson CHAPTERS02:24 – Jackie magazine, DIY beauty hacks, and kissing practice15:17 - Becoming editor of More! magazine21:19 – Whose idea was Position of the Fortnight anyway?28:48 – Celebs, fashion, and features - writing for the 90s woman40:49: – “Our reader is everything”53:36 - What do we lose when we lose women’s mags?1:00:16 – What’s hot and what’s not about being a magazine editor in the 90s? --Mag Hags is written and hosted by Lucy Douglas and Franki Cookney.Editing and audio production by Franki Cookney.Our theme music is Look Where That Got You, Mattie Maguire. Additional music: Leotard Haul, Dez Moran. Both courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com.