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: [email protected] by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac

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: [email protected] by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privac

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: [email protected] by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry Harris, artwork by Gavin Day. H

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: [email protected] by Hannah Varrall, music by

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'r

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 yo

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 th

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: dumbwomen

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 store

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: [email protected] by Hannah Varrall, music by Harry