The School for Dumb Women

It's an International Women's Day (aka Alex's birthday) special! The birthday girl gets all tied up in mummies, and Hannah scratches her heads over nits. Finally Caroline shares her first-hand experience of having a hangover in your 30s. Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline explores Norway this week with an ancient tale and some political truths, and Hannah investigates sunsets, genetics and reindeers in a segment on optimism. Finally Alex thinks about how to have a famous child in the Smart Lesson.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 76, we invited stand-up comedian and animal expert Roddy Shaw to the studio to answer every stupid question we ever had about lizards. In this fully extended bonus episode, Roddy tells us about 'sneaky fucker' lizards, and we have some bat chat for good measure. Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex gets vertigo learning about urban climbers this week, before inviting bubble buddy (and animal expert) Roddy Shaw to answer every question Caroline has ever had about lizards. Lastly Hannah reports back from taking up knitting, and evaluates whether starting a new hobby is the salve that we want it to be.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline examines the life-changing* magic** of self-help books in this episode, looking at where the genre came from and what on earth is happening as it evolves. Meanwhile Hannah gets on her high horse about the 1994 film Black Beauty, its creator Anna Sewell and how Alan Cumming became obsessed with delicious oats. Finally Alex leads a Smart Lesson on how we can all pretend we're having a fun, sitcom Christmas with our pals when we're actually stuck at home avoiding boring family members and playing questionable YouTube videos. * ** no promises, guysContact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah uncovers the real pandemic silently infecting our homes - The Rug that everybody has and nobody can get rid of. Elsewhere in the house, Caroline examines the rise of conservatories in the late '90s and what it told us about the sex lives of the O'Callaghans down the road. Lastly Alex presents a Smart Lesson on skincare and how to ensure the clearness of your pores remains your healthcare priority right now.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex goes retro this week to investigate the wild successes of teletext (aka Ceefax), the text information service that haunted her youth. Meanwhile Caroline goes to space (again!) to think about how much she doesn't like it, and why many Americans were actually not that interested in it either. Finally Hannah leads a Smart Lesson session on how to have a new feminist icon, when the old one is not dead or cancelled yet. Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex enters the bull ring this week to investigate the whys and wherefores of professional bull riding, while Caroline takes her beaver to visit its namesakes and find out what they're actually doing in those dams. Finally Hannah stokes up some generational divides with a smart lesson on why millennials have it hard and why Gen Z will probably show us all up.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saddle up your mule, folks, because this week we're going to North-West Canada to look at the Klondike gold rush of the late 1800s, and Hannah's sickly ancestors are coming with us. Meanwhile Alex is transported to a small metal box in Mumbai to go undercover with the dabbawalas and their lunch delivery system, and Caroline delivers a Smart Lesson on how to shop now that some stores are open again. In other news, Caroline's new novel Scenes of a Graphic Nature is out now on e-book and audiobook! Get it on the link below, or pre-order the hardback (out in August) from your local independent book shop. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WN4QNYN/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded remotely by Soho Radio Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline gets down and dirty with 'Typhoid Mary' this week, looking at how and why she became a disease super-spreader. Hannah takes a trip to the Swiss mountains to find out the origin story of hotelier César Ritz, and Alex leads a Smart Lesson on how to best spend your time in the park during lockdown.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded remotely by Soho Radio Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah gets Mr Plow's phone number this week and goes deep into 555- numbers in American films and TV shows, discovering some bizarre connections to a Canadian gold rush and Gilmore Girls. Meanwhile Alex's TV nostalgia is more garden-based, focusing on Ground Force, our new hero Charlie Dimmock's brilliant norks, and the water features she couldn't live without. Finally Caroline has two pints of Guinness and crowns herself Birthday Queen, declaring what the dos and don'ts of lockdown birthdays should be.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded remotely by Soho Radio Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

World’s longest toothbrush Alex Haddow finds out about the birdy past of the Guinness book of world records this week, and invites special guest Gavin Day to tell us about his world record experience at Kilburn swimming pool. Meanwhile world’s prettiest pony Caroline O’Donoghue becomes a crooner to regale us with the complex history of fake flowers, and world’s most haunted worm Hannah Varrall does her civic duty by advising the government on how to come out of lockdown. Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded remotely by Soho Radio Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hannah gets fully waxed this week with a visit to Madame Tussaud, while Caroline goes full Bush by looking into former First Lady Laura Bush. Meanwhile Alex gives us all tips on how to be horny during pandemic lockdown.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded remotely by Soho Radio Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was your childhood hamster part of the great lineage of Syrian hamsters abducted on the great hamster expedition of 1930? This week, Caroline goes deep on what goes in Richard Gere’s bum hole, Hannah withers on about fade outs in songs and Alex gives us tips on staying useless during a pandemic.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comProduced by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded remotely by Soho Radio Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

* This episode contains a huge spoiler for the show Mad Men at around 22 minutes in! *The team goes back in time this week to a period when staying in hotels, creating a rebel army and eating sweets from drawers were all socially acceptable pastimes. Caroline looks at how the US Senate keeps its sugar levels up with a ‘trough’ of candy kept in a desk, Hannah digs into how Pantone managed to put a branded mug in every wannabe-designer’s kitchen, and Alex wonders how William Wallace aka ‘Braveheart’ turned Mel Gibson into a bad man.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comMusic by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded remotely by Soho Radio Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back from the dead and not only alive but also LIVE this week on Soho Radio as part of their International Women's Day programme. Alex charms the socks off a suspiciously quiet Daniel Craig, Hannah wonders where Free Willy got to after he jumped that harbour wall and Caroline talks about her big hole (in her mouth) and why she went on a training montage with some tooth floss. We also learn about how to turn your company into a tech start up, and how to become an international woman.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comMusic by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded at Soho Radio Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before we get back to new episodes, we'd love it if you could take our survey about the podcast and tell us what you think of it! Here's the link: https://goo.gl/forms/kgVbNVq5rJ26g6FI2Thanks pals. Anyway, this week we've got another goodie!Alex places the future of the podcast in peril by delving into the murky history of the richest family on the planet, while Caroline examines two things that have been on her chest lately - the fact that we used to have boobs in films, and fact that a man called Hays invented censorship to take them away. Meanwhile Hannah provokes controversy by getting into a pickle over, yes, pickles, and our classically wine-heavy Women Who Code mixer investigates whether 3D printers could one day print us a glass of warm chardonnay. Finally our Smart Lesson provides some tips on how to seem cultured, in case you need to feel smug at parties.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comMusic by Harry Harris, logo design by Gavin Day. Recorded at Soho Radio Studios, produced by Hannah Varrall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline has thrush again (of course!) and there's a new royal baby on the way, so now's a good time to revisit this episode!What’s that itchy feeling, and why has it nested in Caroline’s underwear? This week she investigates the yeasty world of thrush, while Hannah ventures out for some fresh air and asks some silly questions to Emily Read, co-founder of Eve Women’s Pro Wrestling, and Rhia O’Reilly, wrestling champ and head trainer at Eve Academy. Meanwhile Alex examines how rollercoasters make us sick with excitement, and a strange man called Richard Danyou makes an appearance in a new segment aiming to get us all out of our overdrafts. Finally in our Smart Lesson we learn about how to have the right opinions about the royal family, before it all kicks off later this year.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comMusic by Harry Harris, logo design by Gavin Day. Recorded at Soho Radio Studios and produced by Hannah Varrall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've all got a year older since this one first aired (all of us apart from Helen Mirren, of course) so now's a good time to peel the Werther's Original off it and use it upside down by mistake.Hold onto your Ordnance Survey, listeners, because this week we're delving into your dad's glove box with lessons on buttons, maps and umbrellas! Caroline says the word button so much it loses all meaning, Hannah teams up with some sea monsters to get lost in the confusing world of map copyrighting, and Alex does shag all by outsourcing her section to author Marion Rankine, who inducts us into the mystic rites of umbrellas. We also time travel to investigate QR codes in our Women Who Code mixer, and then to make a pact with Father Time so that we never have to compete with Helen Mirren.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.comMusic by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded at Soho Radio Studios and produced by Hannah Varrall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A true classic from the vaults this week, with Caroline's now famous exposé on goop.This week, Alex learns that our hair is just lots of whiskers, Hannah finds out that prosecco fizz is a bit like Schrödinger's cat, and Caroline lifts the veil on Gwyneth Paltrow. We also discuss how coding can help us pull in our Women Who Code mixer, and finally, practice how to be good mentors in our smart lesson. If you can understand it all, well done! We’ll send you a gold star in the post.Contact: dumbwomenpod@gmail.com Music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Recorded at Soho Radio Studios and produced by Hannah Varrall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.