Listener Week: Leaving a legacy, Periods through history, Belly dancing

Woman's Hour

Listener Week is when all the topics, interviews and discussions are chosen by YOU!

What is it like to parent a neurodivergent child when you are neurodivergent yourself? Anita Rani speaks to listener Rachel, who discovered she had ADHD after her daughter was diagnosed, and Jo, whose children have dyslexia.

How one moment or person can change your life’s trajectory. Listener Bettie tells Anita how a childhood invite to a friend's house introduced her to a new way of life—one she says saved her.

The menstrual cycle, periods, time of the month. One listener, Tracey, wanted to know what things were like for women dealing with this in centuries past. Anita finds out more from Dr Sara Read, who is a Senior Lecturer in English at Loughborough University, with a specific focus on women’s reproductive health and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

A listener asked us on social media: How can childless people leave a legacy? Statistics from the Office for National Statistics found that more than half (50.1%) of women in England and Wales born in 1990 were without a child when they turned 30. Whether it’s by choice or circumstance, many women don’t have children – what legacy do you leave without them? Anita discusses the idea with author Marianne Power and Nicola Brant who is Head of the Estates, Tax & Succession at the firm Thomson Snell & Passmore.

As part of Listener Week, we discussed tummies and feeling confident about your midriff. One listener got in touch to say she’d started belly dancing to help with this. Belly dance instructor Leilah Isaac tells Anita why she finds it so empowering.

Presented by Anita Rani Producer: Louise Corley