A new twist on some old standards
Nick Beard cooks and bakes her way through 2015 Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain’s first cookbook Nadiya’s Kitchen and finds herself asking some thought-provoking questions along the way
Nick Beard
The secret lives of white middle class America
Nick Beard is impressed with the nuanced way in which Big Little Lies deals with domestic violence and the emotional aftermath of rape
A case of clashing intersections
Nick Beard watches The People v OJ Simpson and finds a nuanced portrayal with an appreciation of the deep societal prejudices informing and impacting on the case
Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes
Nick Beard reviews Year of Yes by TV producer Shonda Rhimes and finds her thoughts on motherhood and weight loss brave and thought-provoking
A shadow of progress?
Nick Beard welcomes Shadowhunters’ diverse casting when wider representation has often failed to reach television shows aimed at teenagers and young adults
Making jokes about ‘women things’
Nick Beard experiences a click of recognition with the comedy of Kerry Godliman
The log in your own eye
Nick Beard praises Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight for putting the notorious case of child sexual abuse by the Boston clergy into a wider context of community’s complicity
Pop culture, feminism and laughs
Nick Beard finds Katherine Ryan manages to introduce a lot of feminist ideas through jokes about pop culture in her new tour Kathbum
The heinous vengeance of women
Nick Beard finds the latest Sherlock special attempting to lampoon the boys-club nature of Sherlock Holmes stories, with mixed success
Superhero and survivor
Nick Beard praises the TV adaption of Jessica Jones for its refreshing feminist credentials and bold survivor perspective
A fair perspective
Nick Beard watches the second series of The Affair and finds a sophisticated examination of the gap between who we perceive ourselves to be and the reality of how we behave
Can love conquer all – even the genre snobs?
If there are clichés and poorly-written books in every genre, Nick Beard asks, why is romance always singled out for derision?
Women unlocking change
Recently released on DVD, 2003 BBC drama The Key follows three generations of female activists in Glasgow. Nick Beard takes a look, finding it as relevant as ever in the current political climate
A lesson in reality
Nick Beard watches UnREAL, a drama that takes a wry look at the construction of reality TV and its effects on both the contestants and those behind the scenes
A Book For Her: ridiculing the sacred
Nick Beard finds sharp humour, brutal honesty and a fine introduction to the power of feminist comedy in award-winning stand-up Bridget Christie's first book
