Radio 4 inside science today 13 Jul Dr Emma Hilton speaking

[catsnoozing]

"This week the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of middle-distance runner and Olympic champion Caster Semenya in a case related to testosterone levels in female athletes. Marnie speaks to developmental biologist Dr Emma Hilton about what causes differences in sexual development and the impact they can have. "

Listed on sounds, after the phages.

She was wonderful.

Such a breath of fresh air to hear Dr Hilton explain the situation so clearly.

I switched on a couple of minutes before 5pm and thought 'Who am I listening to? This seems balanced and sensible' and then she finished and the presenter gave the name, and all was clear. What a blessed relief. Must catch up with the whole thing.

Inside Science repeated tonight on Radio 4 at 9pm. Well worth listening to. Last 10 minutes so call it twenty past 9.

Finally the BBC seem to be creeping towards reporting facts & science about women & sport instead of gender woowoo. A positive change.

OMG science people talking actual science! (Heads towards catch-up radio)

Oh well done dr Hilton! I remember when she first "came out" and what a huge gamble it was for her.

Will listen later

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001np6v

She was excellent! Respectful and polite, and adamant in her explanation that CS has a condition only suffered by males, that they have a significant unfair advantage as do the others with the same condition over represented in women's athletics.
She explained why puberty matters.

I could hear a little tension on her voice, unsurprisingly. I felt pretty tense waiting for someone to interrupt and tell her she was wrong or unkind.

Well done Dr Hilton

Listening now.

Thank you Dr Hilton :)

A good sensible factual piece.

I could hear a little tension on her voice, unsurprisingly. I felt pretty tense waiting for someone to interrupt and tell her she was wrong or unkind.

I imagined BBC execs in an adjacent room with Emma's loved ones tied to their chairs and their mouths taped shut, but that's me

How ironic that "how social media can affect the life of teenagers" is the prog title....

God she was brilliant, how refreshing is it to listen to someone speaking in plain, understandable language on this subject.

A Twitter palate cleanser!

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001np6v?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

I'm inclined to send a comment to the BBC for once instead of a complaint.

www.bbc.co.uk/contact/questions/getting-in-touch/comment-appreciation

I'm glad to see this - I'm assuming Adam Rutherford is away and it was therefore presented by Marnie Chesterton? Rutherford is sympathetic to TRA arguments, I think.

Just listened. Clear and obvious that CS is biologically male as the DSD involved only affects males. Also very clear explanation why male puberty matters and how testosterone suppression does not remove the advantages of going through male puberty (ref was TiMs). Amazing she was not interrupted and she did sound a little tense. Good job well done by her.

I very much appreciated how Emma didn't get drawn into the legal & social arguments, insisting on staying within her area of expertise.

Yes, please everyone feedback that we want more proper science-based explanations and less gender woo!