The Girlfriends: Spotlight

When Nadya Tolokonnikova saw her country Russia change under President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime, she knew she had to do something. 

She started the iconic ski-mask-wearing art protest collective Pussy Riot. On February 21st, 2012, they performed their anti-Putin protest song, Punk Prayer, in a Moscow church, launching Nadya into overnight activist fame… and a prison labour camp.

We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.

Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a trans woman, Eilís Ní Fhlannagáin didn’t have much faith in mainstream health care. So when she wanted gender affirming surgery to remove her testicles, she turned to her best friend and trainee doctor Willow, and asked her to perform the operation in her living room…

From this humble beginning, Eilís and Willow built a whole clinic dedicated to trans women - in a tractor barn in the rural Pacific North West.

Related Resources

Sylvia Rivera Law Project 

Big Door Brigade - Mutual Aid Toolbox

Transgender Law Centre

Trans Rescue

The Gender Reveal Podcast

Jesse Lou Lawson - Media consultancy

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is not affiliated to any of these organizations and we are not in a position to endorse them.

We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.

Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Madison Conradis had her life turned upside down when someone began posting naked photos of her online. Soon, the abuse intensified with anonymous messages and calls to her family, friends and even her boss…

The police didn’t seem to care, so Madison turned to her twin sister Christine for help. Together, they transformed into online sleuths, tracking the harasser across the country to get justice for Madison and other victims too.

We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.

Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rose Brady’s job running Baltimore County’s SVU was a frustrating one. The sexual violence crimes she and her team were investigating were just the tip of the iceberg. Her department was sitting on thousands of unsolved rape cases, dating back decades - with little hope of ever finding the perpetrators.

That was until Rose made an incredible discovery: At a local hospital, a diligent forensic pathologist had kept in storage all the biological evidence from every rape exam he had ever performed. This could be the key to getting justice for hundreds of desperate women.

This is a story of hard work, dogged persistence and a series of incredible coincidences…

Rose has her own show with her daughter, Sam: Sgt. Brady's Crime Podcast (not affiliated with The Girlfriends: Spotlight): https://podfollow.com/1560081982

If you’ve been affected by sexual violence, there are organisations which can help. 

In the US: https://www.nsvrc.org/survivors

In the UK: https://survivorsnetwork.org.uk/get-help/ 

We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.

Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the moment she heard a guitar being played in an empty classroom at her convent school in the Philippines in 1961, June Millington knew what she wanted to do with her life: rock and roll. 

So when a girl called up June and her sister and asked if they wanted to start a band, the answer was hell yeah. 

They went on to become Fanny, the first all-female rock band to release an album with a major record label. June and her bandmates moved into a house in LA, toured the world and won fans like David Bowie. But they were also up against sexist stereotypes, skeptical audiences and critics who couldn’t believe that a group of women could rock just as hard as any guy. 

But June wasn’t about to let that stop her. This is the story of how she stuck it to the man and blazed a trail for generations of female musicians to come.

June is the co-founder of the Institute for the Musical Arts, which offers workshops and events for women in music: https://ima.org/

We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.

Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nellie Bly was a true trailblazer. In late 19th century America, women were expected to get married and become housewives, or go into a suitable career like teaching. 

But Nellie didn’t do any of that. Instead, she changed journalism forever, becoming one of the world’s first female investigative journalists, and paving the way for a generation of incredible ‘Girl Stunt Reporters’. 

And Nellie’s first investigation was probably her most dangerous: In 1887, she deliberately got herself committed to the most notorious insane asylum in New York, to expose the abuse of women inside its walls. She was drugged, half starved and manipulated by doctors as the screams of other patients echoed around the corridors…

Researcher and author Kim Todd tells us Nellie’s story.

Kim’s book about Nellie and the journalists she inspired is called Sensational: The Hidden History of America’s ‘Girl Stunt Reporters’.

We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.

Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2019 Tracy Otto was a college student in Tampa, and a fitness fanatic. Then a violent attack by an ex-boyfriend changed her life forever. She was left paralysed from the chest down, and lost her left eye.

But that’s only the beginning of Tracy’s story. In the aftermath of the attack, she rebuilt her life through sheer force of will, and discovered a passion for archery. That passion would take her all the way to the very top of elite sport: the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.

Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Lu Ann Cooper was just fifteen years old, she was told to drop out of school and marry her first cousin. She would be his fourth wife. 

Lu Ann grew up inside the so-called Kingston Clan, a religious sect where, Lu Ann claims, every man is expected to have many wives, and every woman is expected to have many children. All with the aim of building up the Kingdom of God.

But one day, Lu Ann couldn't take it anymore. She decided she had to escape…

The foundation Lu Ann runs to support other people who have fled polygamy is Hope After Polygamy.

We want YOUR stories for our Girlfriends hotline! Did your bestie ever bail you out of an awful date with a fake emergency phone call? Or show up on your doorstep with three weeks’ worth of lasagne when you’d just had a baby? Or sit with you in solidarity while you grieved the loss of a beloved grandparent? We want stories that are big or small, meaningful or silly.

Record yours as a voice memo (under 90 seconds) and email to thegirlfriends@novel.audio. Please don’t include your own name or anyone else’s real names.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our brand new series The Girlfriends: Spotlight launches on Monday April 7th. Here's a taste of the incredible stories you can expect to hear...

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Season 1, The Girlfriends told the story of how a group of incredible women came together to bring down one bad ex-boyfriend and seek justice for the murder of Gail Katz. In Season 2, we found the truth about a torso washed up on Staten Island, and gave Heidi Balch the memorial she deserved.

Now, we want to introduce you to a global gang of girlfriends in our new show, Girlfriends: Spotlight. Each week, Anna Sinfield is bringing you stories of women winning. 

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the third instalment of the Girlfriend’s Guide we turn our attention to the over 600 thousand people who go missing every year in the United States. With the help of a citizen sleuth and former Missing Persons Detective, Producer Anna Sinfield lays out what to do if someone you know goes missing. 

Relevant links: 

Raul’s Map

https://dnadoeproject.org/

The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio.

For more from Novel visit novel.audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second episode of The Girlfriends’ Guide, we learn how to tackle domestic violence in our own lives from the people who fight it every single day. 

If you are affected by this episode please reach out to NO MORE at https://nomore.org/girlfriends, a domestic violence charity we’ve partnered with.  

Other useful links: 

https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/the-survivors-handbook/

The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio.

For more from Novel visit novel.audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Girlfriends’ Guide, hosted by Producer Anna Sinfield, is a three part mini series where we lay out how you can solve crimes and keep your girlfriends safe.    

We dive back into our archive of never heard before interviews, break down real life case studies and give tangible tips on how you can do it yourself.

In this episode we uncover how to identify an unidentified person. Together,  Anna and The Girlfriends’ Assistant Producer, Madeleine Parr, reveal the methods they used to solve a 35 year old cold case. 

Relevant links:

https://dnadoeproject.org/

The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio.

For more from Novel visit novel.audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To find an end to the story, the Girlfriends go back to the beginning. 

If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show please reach out to DNA Doe Project, an organisation we’ve partnered with. 

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. 

For more from Novel visit novel.audio 

Listen to our soundtrack and buy the album from Bandcamp. All proceeds go to our charity partner DNA Doe Project.

You can also donate to DNA Doe Project here. 

Follow Carole on social media here:

Linkedin: Carole Fisher

Facebook: Carole Fisher

X (Twitter): @CaroleAFisher 

Instagram: @CaroleAFisher

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Detective Mindy gets to talk to a (real life) cop about the case of our Lost Sister, the rest of the gang gets a breakthrough.

If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show please reach out to DNA Doe Project, an organisation we’ve partnered with. 

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. 

For more from Novel visit novel.audio 

Listen to our soundtrack and buy the album from Bandcamp. All proceeds go to our charity partner DNA Doe Project. 

You can also donate to DNA Doe Project here. 

Follow Carole on social media here:

Linkedin: Carole Fisher

Facebook: Carole Fisher

X (Twitter): @CaroleAFisher 

Instagram: @CaroleAFisher

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Producer Anna is joined by Alayne Katz for a pilgrimage to New York City’s biggest public cemetery…could our girl be there? 

If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show please reach out to DNA Doe Project, an organisation we’ve partnered with. 

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. 

For more from Novel visit novel.audio 

Listen to our soundtrack and buy the album from Bandcamp. All proceeds go to our charity partner DNA Doe Project. 

You can also donate to DNA Doe Project here. 

See Raul’s map of missing, murdered and unidentified people here. 

To find the Hart Island Project go here.

Follow Carole on social media here:

Linkedin: Carole Fisher

Facebook: Carole Fisher

X (Twitter): @CaroleAFisher 

Instagram: @CaroleAFisher

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Looking for clues to our Lost Sister’s identity, our Chief Investigator Mindy Shapiro visits her old New York City stomping grounds. 

If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show please reach out to DNA Doe Project, an organisation we’ve partnered with. 

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. 

For more from Novel visit novel.audio 

Listen to our soundtrack and buy the album from Bandcamp. All proceeds go to our charity partner DNA Doe Project. 

Follow Carole on social media here:

Linkedin: Carole Fisher
Facebook: Carole Fisher
X (Twitter): @CaroleAFisher 

Instagram: @CaroleAFisher

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The club returns! Carole, Mindy, Alayne and Anna are back together again to eat food, drink wine… and solve a 35 year old cold case. 

If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show please reach out to DNA Doe Project, an organisation we’ve partnered with. 

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. 

For more from Novel visit novel.audio 

Listen to our soundtrack and buy the album from Bandcamp. All proceeds go to our charity partner DNA Doe Project. 

You can also donate to DNA Doe Project here. 

Follow Carole on social media here:

Linkedin: Carole Fisher
Facebook: Carole Fisher
X (Twitter): @CaroleAFisher 

Instagram: @CaroleAFisher

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Season 1, The Girlfriends told the story of how a group of incredible women came together to bring down one bad ex-boyfriend and seek justice for the murder of Gail Katz. But there’s one part of that story that’s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. Now, the amateur ladies detective club are back with a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. Listen to the The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister, starting May 6th

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Season 1, The Girlfriends told the story of how a group of incredible women came together to bring down one bad ex-boyfriend and seek justice for the murder of Gail Katz. 

But there’s one part of that story that’s still a mystery. 

During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. 

In Season 2, the amateur ladies detective club are back with a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister.

The Girlfriends: Our Lost Sister is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.