Sophia Smith Galer and Scaachi Koul launch new podcast with BBC for International Women’s Day

The BBC World Service and BBC Sounds have today announced two podcast series launching in March, to coincide with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (8 March).

Where to Be A Woman is an ambitious new title which will interrogate what it really means for women to live their best lives around the world. While the hit podcast Dear Daughter, which won Podcast of the Year at the British Podcast Awards in 2022, will return for a third series and will feature celebrity chef Nadiya Hussain, amongst others.

Where to Be A Woman, starting 4 March, sets out to ask the question of where women thrive most in the world and why. It is hosted by journalist, author, and TikTok creator Sophia Smith Galer and journalist, author and podcast host Scaachi Koul.

Together, they’re seeking answers by pushing past the latest wellness fads to investigate what true wellbeing looks like from a global perspective. Each episode will hear from two countries about something they’re excelling at; from there, Scaachi and Sophia will decide if they want to adopt one, both or neither for their fantasy place to be a woman.

Where To Be A Woman co-host Scaachi Koul says: “If we want to build a world in which women really thrive, we first have to be able to imagine it. Where To Be A Woman will investigate how we might be able to find solutions to our endless gender quandaries."

Fellow co-host Sophia Smith Galer says: “Stories focusing on women’s wellbeing like this often get siloed by news media, but in this podcast we will be shining a spotlight on these stories and putting them centre stage. This space deserves scrutiny and investigation - but we’re also here to have a good time. With every problem we explore, we’ll deploy solutions that you’ve possibly never even thought of. We can’t wait to share them.”

Episode topics will discuss where women are most likely to have the best body image, finish school, or get the best parental leave. Topics will also include where women do the most equal share of the housework, have the strongest friendship networks, or even where they’re most likely to be commemorated with a statue.

Also in March, the award-winning Dear Daughter will return for season three, with 15 new inspirational and thought-provoking episodes, hosted by Namulanta Kombo and featuring letters of advice for daughters everywhere.

Namulanta was inspired by her own young daughter, Koko, to start writing letters and to create a “handbook for life”. Her idea won the BBC World Service’s International Podcast Competition in 2021 and since then she has hosted the first two seasons of Dear Daughter, which was crowned both Best Family Podcast and Podcast of the Year at the British Podcast Awards in 2022.

Dear Daughter season three highlights will include:

• Celebrity chef and former Great British Bake Off champion Nadiya Hussain, who talks about the challenges of parenting a teenager, compares notes with Namulanta about how winning their respective competitions changed their lives – and reveals who does the washing up in her house
• Namulanta’s father, who talks about how he missed parts of his children’s childhoods because he was too busy with his work as an anti-corruption campaigner in Kenya – but now he’s making up for lost time with his grandchildren
• Lebanese-American comedian Janine Harouni, on performing stand-up while 40 weeks pregnant, what nobody tells you about pregnancy and childbirth – and the family secret which changed her perspective on motherhood

Each of the 15 new episodes are based on a letter. Some contributors write to their own daughters, some to other people’s, and some to daughters who haven’t been born yet – and at the heart of each letter is usually a deeply personal story.

Namulanta Kombo says: “I am delighted to be back for a third season of Dear Daughter on the BBC World Service - I am so proud of the podcast and the community we have built, sharing advice from people from all over the word of all ages - to all ages - for the sake of all our daughters. This season, letter writers tell me how they found the humour in difficult moments, reflect on the importance of sharing, and about creating a connection across generations. I’m also looking forward to talking to someone I’ve known all my life and a personal hero who I feel like I’ve known all my life.”

Dear Daughter will launch on 1 March on BBC Sounds and wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Where To Be A Woman will launch on 4 March on BBC Sounds and wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Dear Daughter is a BBC Long Form Audio production. Where to Be a Woman is produced for the BBC World Service and BBC Sounds by Listen.