Baroness Faulkner on Women’s Hour now

[Cantunseeit]

Plopping and running as out and about. Started about 10.20 or so

She certainly made her opinion of Philipson crystal clear!
Phenomenal.

Thanks for that, OP, I’ve just listened to it. She’s fantastic isn’t she? Her last point was so good: when (of course) WH asked her “But what about the poor trans people?” she put the responsibility firmly back on the government’s failure to clarify the situation.

What a pro. She was clear, reasonable and reality-based while remaining totally calm and humane. Good interviewing too I thought, genuinely balanced. (For WH anyway!)

I have a difficult work meeting coming up and I will be channeling KF!

I noticed she used the phrase ' women's privacy , dignity and safety '. Very succinctly put and of course often used by GC commentators. She came across really well.

Excellent interview, and what a hero she is!
Typical final question from wh though.

I think the interviewer was quite sympathetic. It made a nice change from Nuala's hostility. Baroness Falkner's integrity shone through. And she is right, it is outrageous that people have tried to change policy direction by falsely smearing people and trying to get them fired.

Still not available on Sounds to listen again - they are often very slow to make WH available when there’s been a challenge to gender ideology on….

I listened to it on Sounds! Just went into the schedule, selected it and slid the cursor to the interview. That was before the live programme had ended though so maybe you can’t do that once it’s over 🤷‍♀️

Nuala annoys me for the (probably unreasonable of me) reason that she introduces herself as Nuala McGovREN, when her name is McGovERN) ! I’m Irish and know people called McGovern and none of them call themselves McGovREN.

I haven't listened to it yet, but apparently the presenter was new.

Not one of either of the usual presenters.

I have had a quick look of her twitter, where she is

"Award-winning investigative journalist, broadcaster & presenter. 5 News, ITV, BBC One, Radio 4, World Service, Channel 4
@BJTC_UK
J&A Board RTs not endorsements"

Wow do you think maybe they've decided to <gasp> broaden the presentership (and/or maybe even the editorial/production, who knows) to include people who don't relentlessly push an unevidenced, anti-woman agenda? Revolutionary, WH!

Yeah that annoys me too - it’s so weird isn’t it?
I always assumed it was one of those D4 affectations like ORR-tee-ee but maybe it’s just her.
Though TBH her craven handmaidening is a more serious criticism.

Yes she was not as noticeably hostile as Nuala McGovern is but the final question was still the “How will the poor trans people feel?” Perhaps that was obligatory and she had no choice but to ask it.

Not sure. Some Irish people seem to dislike that ERN sound. My nan used to say ' ModRen' for modern. She was from Roscommon , plenty of McGoverns up that way.

https://x.com/i/status/2045085344526188741

I'm with you there - 'r' has a tendency to wander a bit, it's called metathesis, 'bird' in modern English was 'brid in Old English.
My elders used to say 'modren' too, and I automatically say McGovren. It's probably regional.

All of which is very secondary to how awful Nuala McGovern is [allegedly, I'm not a WH listener, but she gets a pretty bad press here!] and how admirable Baroness Falkner is

It maybe sounds like 'ren' rather than 'ern' if there is a short vowel sound for 'e' and a strong rhotic 'r'.

I’m back to see auto correct stepped in to mis spell Falkner in the thread title - sorry I was rushing off to a meeting and heard the interview in the car.

As you were

Autocorrect can be a bit of an uphill battle, at times. While I am busy fire fighting over one unwarranted correction, it is busy rearranging letters elsewhere. 🙄

Autocorrect was the first thing I switched off after they introduced it ca. 2001, or whenever 🖥️ . Arrgh!

Haha I'm Irish too, and I've never noticed that about how she pronounces her name. I didn't mind her when she was on World Service, but I've found her really disappointing on Women's Hour.

I think there is an expectation that they will always shoehorn that question in. Baroness Falkner's response was great though.

I've heard that usage in Ulster border dialects too.

The interview with the Baroness was a definite improvement on the past style of interview on Women's Hour. The final question seems to be de rigeur for all media interviews these days - talk about women's issues a bit if you must but always bring it back to trans and how things affect them.

I find Baroness Falkner to be a very impressive woman - she's a battler from her earliest girlhood onwards. She has an impressive CV and personal history. I'd love to be even half as determined and motivated as she is.

Yes you’re right about “modren” for “modern” though I couldn’t have said which regions use that. So now I’m wondering whether it’s related to the addition of that extra vowel in words like “film” - or as I grew up saying, “Fillim”.
It could have been “moderen” with the first e gradually disappearing couldn’t it?
Maybe I owe Ms McGoveren my apologies!

(And apologies too to people looking for a discussion of the wonderful Baroness Kishwer Falkner - back on topic now!)

🤔 Hiberno-English dialects have a tendency to add post-vocalic 'R' in words that, to us, sound like the speakers are using a non-voiced 'R' in British-English dialects e.g. 'DaRleks' instead of "Daleks'. It could have something to do with that plus your theory of the pronunciation shortening...

When I hear Baroness Falkner discussing her time at EHRC, I am always surprised at how charitable she is in discussing the activist employees who tried to ruin her reputation and get her fired. She's a damn sight more understanding than I would be.