Pussy Riot protest; Fertility and media headlines; Colourism

Pussy Riot protestor Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has announced that she is going on hunger strike to protest about conditions in Prison Colony Number 14, where she is serving her two year sentence. Tolokonnikova claims that she is being forced to work for up to 17 hours a day and that inmates are being treated like cattle – allegations the Russian authorities deny. She has now been placed in isolation in the prison colony in the remote region of Mordovia. Professor Judith Pallot of Oxford University is a specialist in the Russian penal system and has visited Penal Colony 14. She joins Jenni to talk about conditions in women’s prisons in Russia.

Judith Pallot

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova hunger strike announcement

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Southampton Dr Simon Fischel from CARE Fertility and Connie St Louis the Director MA Science Journalism course at City University discuss how fertility stories are reported and whether they offer people false hope or vital information that could help them have a baby.

More on Hype, Hope and Headlines

The American documentary film “Dark Girls” looks at the way women with darker skin suffer discrimination from women with lighter skin. It has sparked a debate about ‘colourism’ – discrimination based on skin shade and how this should be tackled. Dr Jude Smith Rachele organised the premiere of "Dark Girls" and journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge is a journalist who specialises in covering gender and race relations and has experienced 'colourism'.