Main content

Alex Polizzi

Alex Polizzi on how to run a family business. Is it time to tackle 'dead beat-dads'? Plus forget tulip fever embrace fern fever.

David Cameron has said that the time has come to stigmatise those fathers who are not willing to support their children, both financially and emotionally. So, is it time to tackle those 'dead beat-dads' who are not interested in shouldering their responsibilities?

Women are still under-represented in the surgical specialties despite having been in the majority qualifying from medical school for the last 15 years. We hear from two consultant surgeons, to try and find out why they believe only 7% of surgeons are female.

Forget Tulip Fever, for most of the nineteenth century, Britain was firmly in the grip of the lesser known 'Fern Fever'. And as botany was considered to be a suitable scientific pursuit for women, they were at the forefront of the craze, writing and illustrating much of the popular literature that sprang up around it. Jane Garvey went to meet Dr Sarah Whittingham, the author of a new book on the subject, at Chelsea Physic Garden.

Available now

58 minutes

Last on

Mon 13 Feb 2012 10:00
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

Weekend Woman's Hour

Next

Do we overprotect our children?

See all episodes from Woman's Hour

Chapters

  • ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Presenters' Pay

    Why are some female presenters being paid 40 times less than their male counterparts on programmes that have lower ratings? Jane talks to Lib Dem MP Tessa Munt.

    Duration: 07:07

  • Deadbeat Dads

    Why are some female presenters being paid 40 times less than their male counterparts on programmes that have lower ratings? Jane talks to Lib Dem MP Tessa Munt.

    Duration: 10:20

  • Alex Polizzi

    Alex Polizzi is granddaughter of hotelier, Lord Forte, has run hotels with her mum, & manages a bakery business with her husband. In her TV series, β€˜The Fixer’ she visits family businesses in trouble.

    Duration: 08:20

  • Fern Fever

    In the 19th century, Britain was in the grip of β€˜Fern Fever’. Jane visits Dr Sarah Whittingham, author β€˜Fern Fever - The Story of Pteridomania, A Victorian Obsession’, at Chelsea Physic Garden.

    Duration: 08:32

  • Why is surgery still male-dominated?

    Despite being in the majority qualifying from medical school, only 7% of surgeons are female. Jane talks to Consultant Neurosurgeon, Helen Fernandes, & Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Scarlett McNally.

    Duration: 07:23

Broadcast

  • Mon 13 Feb 2012 10:00
    ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

Follow us on Instagram

Get all the pictures, videos, behind the scenes and more from Woman’s Hour

Podcast

  • Woman's Hour

    Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.