Best Fern Riddell Podcasts (2024)

1
MINI SERIES - Helen Duff: WHO CARES? Update! 7:55

12M ago7:55

7:55

An update from Helen about where the podcast is going next, her mini series (and maybe more) Helen Duff: Who Cares? And her live show deets for the upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Festival. You can see Helen's WIP hour Lullabies at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at: Monkey Barrel The Tron 14th August 4.25pm Monkey Barrel Hive 2 15th August 3.25pm Monkey B…

1
Amy Kavanagh 47:22

2y ago47:22

47:22

Dr Amy Kavanagh is an award winning disability rights activist and campaigner. Amy advocates for a more accessible world through consultancy, writing, policy influencing, media and public speaking. She is engaged with a variety of disability issues including, public transport, social inclusion, video games, accessible social media, feminism and the…

1
Carmen Ali AKA April Fiasco 50:19

2y ago50:19

50:19

Carmen Ali AKA April Fiasco is a multidisciplinary performer and writer, co-artistic director of Sexquisite Events and co-organiser & dancer at Cybertease. She reveals why stand up can feel so much more exposing than sex work; how she's started bringing the funny to burlesque; creating spaces for sex workers to explore their creativity on stage; th…

1
Olga Koch 47:04

2y ago47:04

47:04

Olga Koch is a comedic force to be reckoned with - since debuting to a Best Newcomer nomination for her show "Fight" at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018, she's appeared on Mock the Week (BBC Two), QI (BBC Two), Frankie Boyle's New World Order (BBC Two), Late Night Mash (Dave), Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC Two), Guessable (Comedy Central), Questi…

1
Becky Young of Anti Diet Riot Club 36:08

2y ago36:08

36:08

Becky Young is the Founder & Co-director of Anti Diet Riot Club CIC, a rebel community fighting body shame, fat phobia and diet culture. On a mission to help people accept their bodies and find freedom from diets ADRC hosts talks, educational and creative workshops, and creates safe spaces for people to share and learn from each other. From meeting…

1
Lindsey Bliss Birth Doula 44:40

2y ago44:40

44:40

Lindsey Bliss (she/they) is a seasoned birth companion, a childbirth educator, author ofThe Doula’s Guide to Empowering Your Birth and mother of seven. Lindsey is considered to be a multiples expert after giving birth to two consecutive sets of twins. Lindsey has been practicing as a birth worker since 2009 and has supported first time parents, mul…

1
Fern Riddell 1:10:51

2y ago1:10:51

1:10:51

Dr Fern Riddell is a cultural historian specialising in sex, suffrage and culture in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. She appears regularly on TV and radio and hosts the history podcast Not What You Thought You Knew, where she explores how history has made us who we are today. She was also the Historical Consultant on the BAFTA award winning BBC d…

1
Kemah Bob 51:55

2y ago51:55

51:55

Kemah (she/they) is a comedian, presenter, writer, actor, drag artist and producer from Houston, TX now based in London. Her work centers Black cultural identity, mental health, sexuality, gender, healing and well-being using entertainment as a tool for enlightenment and empowerment. She takes huge inspiration from Oprah, Beyonce and the sun - aimi…

1
SEASON 2 BONUS CONTENT 32:31

2y ago32:31

32:31

Helen dives deep with producer Daisy Grant into where she's been for the past 1.5 years and how birth and motherhood have impacted her production of the podcast. To gain early access to episodes and extra content, join our patreon at www.patreon.com/helenduff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

1
Come As You Are Season 2 Trailer 1:49

2y ago1:49

1:49

Season 2 of Come As You Are the podcast drops in 2 weeks - with guests ranging from cracking comedians Kemah Bob and Olga Koch to sex historian Fern Riddell and birth doula Lindsey Bliss! Subscribe now and join our patreon at www.patreon.com/helenduff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

1
S3 Ep8: Tony Gill: Fashion lecturer and PR 31:45

2+ y ago31:45

31:45

For our last episode of season three, we meet another Friend of Dorothy: fashion lecturer and PR Tony Gill. Tony’s British Asian upbringing gave him a whole different set of gay icons to the ones host Alice grew up with - and the conversation may give you an appetite to work back through decades of Bollywood classics… Creator & host: Alice Beverton…

1
S3 Ep7: Paula Akpan: Historian and journalist 43:32

2+ y ago43:32

43:32

Any history nerd will be excited to hear about Paula Akpan’s research into Black queer women in - and beyond - the British Women’s Lib movement. Paula is also currently working on her first book, When We Ruled: The Rise and Fall of Twelve Queens. Billed as “a book that will give voice to the women warriors and regents across the African continent o…

1
S3 Ep6: Rita: Club Kali co-founder 30:56

2+ y ago30:56

30:56

Today’s interviewee, Rita, has proven the power of nightlife for the queer community better than maybe anyone else I’ve met. In the combination of her own life experiences, her career as a psychologist and in LGBTQ domestic abuse services, and with the groundbreaking queer Asian night Club Kali, Rita has created something very special indeed. That’…

1
S3 Ep5: Queer Women in Fiction 23:50

2+ y ago23:50

23:50

This one's a little bit different... In summer 2021 we brought together a panel of debut authors, all female, all writing about queer topics or characters, along with the broadcaster and literary judge Simon Savidge. We talked representation, what's changed, and what's next in queer fiction. Prepare to go away with a long 'to be read' list. This pa…

1
S3 Ep4: Dr Fern Riddell: Historian of sex 32:48

2+ y ago32:48

32:48

Dr Fern Riddell is a historian, podcaster, and the author of - among others - the brilliant book Sex: Lessons from History. If you haven’t read it yet, its fairly revolutionary perspective is that not only have people always been obsessed with sex, but that British people in the past weren’t necessarily as narrow minded about sex, sexuality, and ge…

1
S3 Ep3: Judge Rinder: Barrister and TV personality 26:09

2+ y ago26:09

26:09

This week’s interviewee made his name as the UK’s answer to Judge Judy, and on Strictly Come Dancing, but there’s much more to him than that. From his upbringing in North London (in a future celebrity enclave, not far from Rachel Stevens and Amy Winehouse) to his crowd of adoring female fans, the Rinderettes, Rob Rinder had so much to say. A rare m…

1
S3 Ep2: Lisa-Jayne Lewis: Sexuality and Christianity 37:01

2+ y ago37:01

37:01

Meet Lisa-Jayne Lewis. A well-known figure in the queer Christian world, she is on the leadership team of Two:23 and The Gathering Space, both safe spaces for queer people to be themselves within their faith. Lisa-Jayne is also a trustee of OneBodyOneFaith, the oldest LGBT Christian organisation in the UK and formerly known as the Lesbian and Gay C…

1
S3 Ep1: Bishi: Musician 44:12

2+ y ago44:12

44:12

The Dorothy Project is BACK. Every Thursday, we’ll be introducing you to another iconic woman and her impact on queer culture. First up, it’s Bishi - the mononymic and multi-talented musician, artist, performer, composer and curator. A true Renaissance woman, Bishi found herself on the London queer scene at a very young age, and became part of the …

1
Victoria Scone: Drag Race UK queen 21:33

3y ago21:33

21:33

Drag Race UK is back, and it’s making herstory thanks to Victoria Scone. Yes - The Dorothy Project is back for a special one-off episode, meeting the first ever cis female drag queen to star on RuPaul’s Drag Race worldwide. Cardiff queen Victoria is the drag daughter of season two’s Tia Kofi. Inspired by pantomime dames and gay icons, her drag is a…

1
Sophie Duker 46:51

3+ y ago46:51

46:51

The Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee and bombastic black sheep who enjoys telling jokes, breaking hearts and taking names, Sophie Duker is a shooting star on the UK comedy scene. As seen on BBC2 (Mock The Week, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order), Channel 4 (8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Riot Girls), E4 (8 Out of 10 Cats), BBC Three, Channel 5 and Co…

1
Alice Devlin 35:40

3+ y ago35:40

35:40

Alice is an actor, director, writer and workshop facilitator. She is an artistic director of Bric a Brac Theatre, an all female Lecoq trained collective, and co-produces alternative comedy cabaret Piñata. She often writes under the (not so mysterious) pen name ADB. In this episode we discuss BDSM, role-play, submission as a power position, clowning…

1
Ariane Barnes 36:16

3+ y ago36:16

36:16

Ariane Barnes is a performer, teacher and embodied diversity and inclusion strategist. In this episode we talk trusting your instincts, setting up support networks to empower marginalised women facing prejudice in the performance industries, healing the body and brain connection, the importance of cultivating safe spaces when it comes to enjoying s…

1
Tom Rasmussen 41:18

3+ y ago41:18

41:18

Tom has been performing and singing in drag since 2010. Their first solo show ‘Crystal Rasmussen presents the Bible 2’ was among the 20 best reviewed shows across the whole 2019 Fringe. Tom is also a writer, and after they spent five years dining out on stories of the drag and queer scenes in publications like the Guardian, Gay Times, Dazed & Confu…

1
Jess Burgess 40:44

3+ y ago40:44

40:44

Jess Burgess is a librarian and Virginia Woolf fangirl living in Hove. After a traumatic three years at The Oxford School of Drama, they worked as an actor and playwright in London until running away to the sea in 2019 in search of inner peace. Writing credits include Fucking Outside the Box (VAULT Festival 2014), NAKED (VAULT Festival 2015), Feed …

1
Samantha Holdsworth 42:49

3+ y ago42:49

42:49

Samantha Holdsworth is the Founder and CEO of Clowns Without Borders UK, an international humanitarian charity that delivers joy and play to children living in refugee and displacement camps. As a Facilitator, Clown and Producer, Sam has devised and delivered countless community-based and arts-led projects around the world. She is passionate about …

1
Karen Hobbs 42:40

3+ y ago42:40

42:40

Karen Hobbs is a comedian, writer, actress and ambassador for the cervical cancer charity Eve Appeal, raising awareness of a potentially terminal disease that she was diagnosed with at 24 and from which she has subsequently made a full recovery. In this episode, we talk Class-A c*nt ex-boyfriends, rediscovering sex after major surgery, shredding th…

1
Jodie Mitchell 39:55

3+ y ago39:55

39:55

Jodie Mitchell is a comedian, podcaster and drag king, performing as John Travulva with Pecs Drag Kings, founding member of the omni-hilarious queer comedy collective LOL Word Comedy, and one half of the podcast Secret Dinosaur Cult with Sofie Hagen. In this episode, we talk masc shame, internalised butchphobia, homophobia, fatphobia and - on the f…

1
Desiree Burch 46:49

3+ y ago46:49

46:49

Desiree Burch is a comedian, writer, solo performer, actor and NY-to-London transplant. She exploded onto the UK comedy scene in 2015, winning the Funny Women Award, and since then, she has appeared on, ‘Live at the Apollo’ (BBC), 'The Mash Report', 'Mock the Week, ‘Frankie Boyle’s New World Order' (BBC2), 'Live from the BBC' (BBC3), ‘Have I Got Ne…

1
Come As You Are Trailer 1:11

3+ y ago1:11

1:11

A teaser trailer for podcast Come As You Are, the new podcast all about orgasms with comedian Helen Duff. First episode drops January 12th 2021. Can you guess who our mystery guests (for now) might be? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1
The Sacred Band of Thebes 56:48

3+ y ago56:48

56:48

An army of lovers seems like something from ancient myth but the story of the Sacred Band of Thebes is based on reality. This elite fighting force of the Theban army played a crucial role in ending Spartan hegemony in the 4th century BC. To find out more Dr Fern Riddell speaks to Professor of Ancient History at the University of Warwick James David…

1
Olaudah Equiano and the British Abolitionist Movement 46:33

3+ y ago46:33

46:33

Olaudah Equiano's autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano was one of the very first slave narratives that spawned a popular literary genre. However, while relatively famous in the 18th century, his legacy was largely forgotten in the UK until the 1960s when there was a resurgence of interest in his life. How could suc…

1
A Tribute to Olaudah Equiano 7:35

3+ y ago7:35

7:35

While Dr Fern Riddell takes a week off before we bring the final two episodes of the series, we have a special teaser for our penultimate episode. The BBC's Calypsonian-in-Residence Alexander D Great regularly works with organisations such as the Windrush Foundation and the Equiano Society and has written an original song on Olaudah Equiano's life …

1
Allan Noel Minns the WW1 Officer and Son of Britain's First Black Mayor 47:01

3+ y ago47:01

47:01

Allan Noel Minns, son of Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns, Britain's first Black mayor when elected mayor of Thetford in 1904, served in the British Army as a medical officer during the First World War. To find out more Dr Fern Riddell speaks to former soldier and director of Recognize Black Heritage and Culture Garry Stewart and academic Dr Remi Adekoya, a…

1
The Ivory Bangle Lady and Roman Britain 38:45

4y ago38:45

38:45

What does the archaeological evidence tell us about the Ivory Bangle Lady, a wealthy woman who died in 4th Century York, and what do her grave goods tell us about material culture in the African diaspora throughout history? To find out more Dr Fern Riddell speaks to archaeologist Professor Hella Eckhardt and fashion historian Teleica Kirkland. For …

1
The First Black British Football Heroes 47:49

4y ago47:49

47:49

Uncovering the story of our pioneering Black British footballers, finding out what we can learn from their experiences, and their long history in The Beautiful Game. Dr Fern Riddell speaks to The Voice and Football Black List's Rodney Hinds, and sports broadcaster Anne-Marie Batson, assistant producer on the documentary Coming in from the Cold, whi…

1
The Night Witches and the Fighting Women of the Soviet Union 48:50

4y ago48:50

48:50

The Night Witches were the feared, all-female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment. Yet the Night Witches weren't the only Soviet women on the front-line during the Second World War. Women were pilots, doctors, partisans, snipers and anti-aircraft gunners. Dr Fern Riddell speaks to Dr Reina Pennington and Prof Kristen Ghodsee. Sky H…

1
The Chevalier d'Éon and Gender Nonconformity 45:55

4y ago45:55

45:55

Soldier, diplomat, spy and fencing champion: the Chevalier d'Éon lived an extraordinary life. But on top of that they are also an important figure for the understanding of gender diversity throughout history, Dr Fern Riddell speaks to author and historian Dr Andrew Lear and curator of the Museum of Transology EJ Scott. Sky HISTORY's Not What You Th…

1
Inghen Ruaidh, the Birka Grave and Viking Warrior Women 46:13

4y ago46:13

46:13

We touch on the mythology behind Viking shield-maidens, what we do know about Viking warrior women and how we need to address bias in archaeology. Dr Fern Riddell discusses the legend of Inghen Ruaidh with Professor Judith Jesch and the Birka female Viking warrior grave with Professor Rebecca Gowland. Sky HISTORY's Not What You Thought You Knew is …

1
S2 Ep10: Olivia Andrews: 'Dear White Gays' blogger 29:02

4y ago29:02

29:02

What does a self-described ‘outspoken black lesbian’ have to say about Prides and the UK's queer nightlife scene? The Dorothy Project meets Olivia Andrews, author of two recent viral articles about racism within the LGBTQ community. Olivia is also a Stonewall Young Campaigner alum. During her degree at the University of Leeds, she co-organised the …

1
S2 Ep9: Sharmaine Lovegrove: Publisher 26:57

4y ago26:57

26:57

Can books change the world? Sharmaine Lovegrove is the founder of the publishing imprint Dialogue Books, which she set up to promote stories by, for, and about queer, disabled, working class, black and minority communities. As a queer Black woman herself, Sharmaine believes that storytelling creates the dialogue we need to build a more inclusive wo…

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