Prof Clare McGlynn, Running around Britain, Chronic pain

Prof Clare McGlynn, Running around Britain, Chronic pain

From Woman's Hour by BBC Radio 4

May 8, 2026 · 58 min

About this episode

The episode features discussions on running around Britain, the impact of violent sexual content, chronic pain, and a theatre adaptation of a novel.

Megan Boxall is a 33-year-old runner who has been running clockwise around the coast of Britain, aiming to complete the equivalent of 200 marathons in 204 days. She began at Sizewell Beach in Suffolk in October and is now just one day away from that same point, having circumvented the whole island. Megan joins Anita Rani to talk about how she is feeling so near to completion. Violent sexual content in the mainstream is reshaping society, according to Clare McGlynn, a Professor of Law at Durham University, whose first book, Exposed, was published yesterday. In Clare’s view, the problem isn’t porn per se – it’s patriarchal porn; Pornographic content that was once niche and difficult to find – including incest, racism and rape - has been normalised and is widely consumed. Clare joins Anita to discuss the harms of extreme pornography. The prevalence of chronic pain is higher among women than men, but for millions of people living with it, the hardest part can be the sense that it is taking over their life. New research from University of Warwick shows how ‘mental defeat’ drives suffering and causes people with chronic pain to withdraw from everyday activities. Anita speaks to…

People in this episode

Host: Anita Rani

Guests: Megan Boxall, Clare McGlynn, Professor Nicole Tang, Fiona, Samantha Harvey

Topics covered

  • running
  • chronic pain
  • sexual content
  • patriarchal porn
  • mental health
  • theatre adaptation

Keywords

  • running
  • chronic pain
  • sexual violence
  • mental defeat
  • theatre
  • adaptation
  • women's health
  • patriarchy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Durham University

Books & works: Exposed, Orbital, Quartet in Autumn

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