The Cambridge Student Podcasts

In this episode, “Iran : Roots of Resistance”, Asha Metcalfe and Astrid Healy Carrasco are joined by Iranian activist Zolal Habibi to discuss the current state of Iranian resistance politics and its generational heritage.Given current military and political developments, the episode starts with much-needed context from Zolal, but also with insights into the current Iranian resistance movement. She details exactly how it differs from previous waves of opposition. She develops her insights on the Iranian culture of resistance, with particular attention given to the women that give life to popular opposition. Looking to the future, Zolal argues against Western interventionism, including in potential support for a return to monarchy. Instead, she highlights the resistance’s 10 point roadmap for a democratic Iran. The Iranian revolution must be fashioned by and for Iranians and their freedom. For any comments or suggestions, please get in touch via thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com or on Instagram : @the_feminist_files_ CreditsHosted by Asha Metcalfe and Astrid Healy CarrascoJoined by Zolal HabibiEdited by Rowan BerkleyCover design by Madeleine BaberMusic by Jacob Carey

In this episode, we discuss the socialist origins of International Women’s Day, how it has developed over time, and how it has been co-opted for corporate gain today. Exploring examples of pink washing and virtue signalling, we interrogate what ‘International Women’s Day’ really means for us today. Acknowledging the ongoing institutional inequality experienced by women, we reflect upon how we can feel hope for the future in our own lives. We explore how feminist inspiration is found through art, friendships and everyday conversations. https://substack.com/home/post/p-189983269 “Why IWD needs a complete rethink”https://shapetalent.com/glass-ceilings-and-sticky-floors-why-women-are-overworked-and-undervalued/ “Glass ceilings and sticky floors - why women are overworked and undervalued”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/womens-protest-sparked-russian-revolution-international-womens-day Socialist History of IWD

In this episode, Asha Metcalfe and Rosie Hillary are joined by Eilis Boden and Jess Martins to discuss what it is like to be a woman in the creative industries. We investigate stereotypes imposed upon women, such as ‘women aren’t funny’ and ‘women can’t take a joke’, and unpack the harm caused when those generalisations are internalised. By looking at the comedy scene in and beyond Cambridge, we explore the way in which the male experience being regarded as universal impacts how and when women are ‘allowed’ to be funny. We also turn to the music industry, thinking about how songwriting can act as a form of emotional processing, and discuss why female ‘pop icons’ often face stigma for displaying vulnerability. Interrogating the concept of the ‘internalised male gaze’, we ask how societal perception shapes the way these women view their work and their place in the creative industries?Go watch Eilis in her upcoming shows!11th-13th March - Four Sketches and a Funeral https://www.adctheatre.com/whats-on/comedy/four-sketches-and-a-funeral/ 19th-21st March - Rushed Hour https://www.adctheatre.com/whats-on/comedy/rushed-hour/ Listen to Jess Martins on Spotify here… https://open.spotify.com/artist/4AqSqzn0lwECIcgbXSKyyJ … and keep up with her new releases on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/jesssmartinsss Follow the Feminist Files on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_ Follow the Feminist Files on Substack: https://substack.com/@thefeministfiles Episode edited by Rowan Berkley

In this episode, Helena Kondak is joined by Professor Shazia Choudhry (University of Oxford) to discuss her two-year comparative European research project on how justice systems and family law deal with domestic abuse cases. Drawing on extensive work with women’s rights organisations and key stakeholders across England & Wales, France, Spain, Italy, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, the research exposes how survivors often face secondary traumatisation within legally sanctioned processes.We unpack how narrow legal understandings of violence, procedural barriers, and the growing reliance on concepts like “parental alienation” systematically discredit mothers and silence survivors, even where abuse is well-documented. Placing family law in conversation with human rights obligations under the ECHR and the Istanbul Convention, this episode asks what states are required to do to truly protect women and children, and why current systems can fail to do so.*Get in touch with us : For any responses, comments, or suggestions, please get in touch via thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com, or on Instagram @the_feminist_files_ *CreditsHosted by Helena KondakJoined by Professor Shazia ChoudhryEdited by Rowan BerkleyCover design by Madeleine BaberMusic by Jacob Carey

In this episode, Helena Kondak, Astrid Carrasco and Isobelle Oppon interview Dr Daisy Dixon, philosophy professor at the University of Cardiff, for insights on her embodied experience of AI assault.  What does the Grok sexual image generation scandal say of emerging digital violence, its impact on vulnerable bodies, and necessary legislation? Analysing the onset of Grok AI image-generation in recent weeks, Dr Dixon grounds her interpretation of new tech, sexist and sexual violence in the philosophical concept of “aesthetic injustice”. Dr Dixon insists on understanding the physical impacts produced by images, inducing new forms of digital age dysphoria. From concepts to law, this episode dissects how new digital laws are debated, from accusations of restricting free speech to concerns about weak law implementation.  References:Klein and D’Ignazio, Data feminism, 2024Bates, Laura, The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny, 2025. Dalaqua, Gustavo H. “Aesthetic injustice.” Journal of Aesthetics & Culture 12.1 (2020). Dixon, Daisy, and Tom Roberts. “Review of Dominic McIver Lopes: Aesthetic Injustice.” Ethics (2026).*Get in touch with us : For any responses, comments, or suggestions, please get in touch via thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com, or on Instagram @the_feminist_files_ *CreditsHosted by Helena Kondak, Astrid Carrasco & Isobelle OpponJoined by Dr Daisy DixonEdited by Rowan BerkleyCover design by Madeleine BaberMusic by Jacob Carey

In this episode, Asha Metcalfe and Rosie Hillary sit down with Lauren Sayers and Rosie Freeman after the debate: This House Would Abolish Prisons, held by Gender Agenda, the University of Cambridge’s largest feminist collective. In our first episode out in the field (breaking free from the recording studio), we are joined by two fellow Human, Social, and Political Science students to discuss abolitionism, crime, and systems of power and oppression. We move beyond the prison system to discuss theorists like Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and Max Weber to explore the ways power and surveillance can be theorised in society. We apply these theories to our lives to examine how relationships and institutions are impacted by systems of power and control. What do we gain from understanding these topics? What is the benefit of social critique? If you are interested in our discussion, consider reading:The Right to Sex by Amia SrinivasanExperiments in Imagining Otherwise by Lola OlufemiThe New Spirit of Capitalism by Luc Boltanski and Ève ChiapelloDecolonial Feminism in Anya Yala: Caribbean, Meso, and Southern American Contributions and Challenges by Espinosa, Lugones and Maldonado Torres - particularly the chapter by Iris Hernandez MoralesIf you enjoyed this episode, please follow us on Instagram and Substack!https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/https://substack.com/@thefeministfiles 

We have been nominated for the Political Podcast Awards' People’s Choice Award, please vote for us here: https://politicalpodcastawards.co.uk/the-peoples-choice-award/ In this episode, we explore commercial sexual exploitation: its specificities, how it can be combated, and its evolving technological manifestations. In an era of rapid digital expansion, how can feminist organising and policy-making respond to this growing form of misogynistic violence?Drawing on eighteen years of experience across research institutions, frontline child protection services, and policy-making, Gemma Kelly unpacks the perverse dynamics of commercial sexual exploitation and its increasingly digital nature. Her work highlights the centrality of structural change, particularly through legislative and regulatory interventions, in addressing exploitation at its roots.This conversation probes the contradictions at the heart of feminist debates: how can we reconcile individual choice with structural misogynistic violence? Can the former ever truly be disentangled from the latter?We also discuss attempts to regulate the online space, often perceived as opaque and impenetrable, where regulatory efforts frequently fall short despite mounting harms.About the GuestGemma Kelly is a Policy Consultant at the SERP Institute (Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy Institute), Ireland’s only independent research body dedicated to the study of sexual exploitation.Throughout her career, she has worked on combatting human trafficking and addressing sexual exploitation in both online and offline contexts, with a particular focus on women’s rights, gender-based violence, and child rights.She holds an MA in Human Trafficking, Migration and Organised Crime from St Mary’s University, an MA in Equality Studies from University College Dublin, and a BA in Social Care from Dublin Institute of Technology.Get in TouchIf you’d like to respond to something discussed in this episode or propose an episode of your own, get in touch via email at thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com or on Instagram @the_feminist_files.CreditsHosted by Helena Kondak and Astrid Healy CarrascoJoined by Gemma KellyEdited by Rowan BerkleyCover design by Madeleine BaberMusic by Jacob Carey

In this episode, hosts Asha Metcalfe and Rosie Hillary are joined by Reese Marley Robinson, a recent Cambridge graduate, to discuss her sociology dissertation exploring the lived experiences of Black girls in Britain’s private schools. Drawing on interviews and her own experiences, Reese explains the “affective cost of inclusion” and the emotional labour of navigating elite, predominantly white institutions which marginalise the experiences of racial minorities. We discuss topics like misogynoir, structural racism, code-switching, hair politics, and the racialised politics of visibility. We explore how Black peer networks can be sites of resistance and care, and talk about what meaningful institutional change could look like for Britain’s education system. Here are some readings that are related to our discussion!  Anti-Community: The Kitchen & Our Cooked Community https://radicalblackbrits.substack.com/p/anti-community-the-kitchen-and-ourThe Brixton Balck Women’s Group https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2024/07/30/book-review-speak-out-the-brixton-black-womens-group-milo-miller/Farleigh’s Place: Wealth, Privilege and Whiteness by Reese Marley Robinson https://www.thecambridgestudent.co.uk/culture/farleighs-place-wealth-privilege-and-whitenessLewis, Amanda E., 1970-. Race in the Schoolyard : Negotiating the Color Line in Classrooms and Communities. New Brunswick, N.J. :Rutgers University Press, 2003.Nash, J.C. (2019). Black Feminism Reimagined: After Intersectionality. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv111jhd0Carby, Hazel V. (1982) ‘White woman listen!: Black feminism and the boundaries of sisterhood’ in Centre for Contemporary Cultural StudiesDavis, Angela (2016) Freedom is a Constant Struggle Chicago: Haymarket Books.Episode Edited by Rowan BerkleyVote for us in People’s Choice Awards 2026:https://politicalpodcastawards.co.uk/the-peoples-choice-award/Follow The Feminist Files on instagram:https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/Follow The Feminist Files Substack:https://substack.com/@thefeministfiles