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Jeanette Winterson’s 1985 novel, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, is a semi-autobiographical account of coming of age as a lesbian and a writer, interwoven with elements of the mythical and the fantastic.  It tells the story of a young girl discovering her sexuality, and the beginning of her search to be herself.  talks to Jenni Murray about her ground breaking novel and its place in women’s writing almost thirty years after its publication.  

A growing number of British Muslim women are travelling to Syria to join Islamic State (IS).  Some are known to have married Jihadist fighters, who are targeting and radicalising women on the internet. But what is motivating these young women to travel to Syria and how can the UK stop young people being recruited by the extremists?   ,  Founding Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Strategic dialogue joins Jenni to discuss the issues.

Police drama Craven returns to Woman’s Hour next week. DCI Sue Craven, played by Maxine Peake, is called to a house in Manchester where three children have been found dead in their beds. She shortly discovers that their father, who was meant to be looking after them, has been found nearby trying to commit suicide. Family Man is the sixth series of Craven and was written by Amelia Bullmore. She joins Jenni along with Dr Elizabeth Yardley, Reader in Criminology at Birmingham City University, to discuss the phenomenon of Family Annihilation – when men kill their children.

Tackling the  crossword in the paper is a much loved, daily ritual for as many women as men  but when it comes to compiling a crossword,  men consistently outnumber  women setters and by a huge margin. Now David Steinberg, a seventeen-year-old  puzzle  wunderkind whose  first crossword was published in the New York Times when he was just fourteen,  has spoken out against the gender bias. He argues the gender disparity in crosswords has steadily worsened over the past two decades and continues to  widen.  Why are fewer women than ever making it as crossword compilers ? Setters, John Halpern and Margaret Irvine,  mull over  the possible answers  with Jenni and share their enthusiasm for the  unique appeal of the cryptic.