PODCAST · society
Dear Daughter
by BBC World Service
Extraordinary letters written from parents to their children with Namulanta Kombo. Sharing amazing real-life experiences, parenting advice, family stories and life lessons. Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world. Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on. Expect unbelievable true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising children. Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether you are a
Episodes
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Bonus: Lives Less Ordinary - Love Stories
Throughout August, the Lives Less Ordinary podcast is sharing extraordinary love stories from around the world. To listen to the season, search ‘Lives Less Ordinary’ wherever you get your BBC podcasts. In this episode: in the 1970s, Mark arrived in the UK from the Bahamas and fell in love with a...
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The importance of education
What shapes a father’s determination to educate his daughters? In South Sudan, Marco tells Namulanta Kombo why making sure his four daughters go to school matters so deeply to him, carrying forward a value passed down by his own mother, who even sold precious family cows to keep him in school. To...
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Adoption day
Fleur lives in Singapore. She tells Namulanta Kombo about adopting her daughter after years of fertility treatment, and the moment her life changed with just 24 hours’ notice. Now, the family celebrate her adoption day each year. To find out more about Dear Daughter, to take part, or read our...
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The world you’ll inherit
From Jakarta, Indonesia, Yasmina writes a ‘Dear Son’ letter to her teenage son about growing up in a changing world. Yasmina set up a grassroots climate project for families after becoming increasingly worried about the impact of environmental change on her children. She tells Namulanta Kombo…
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Mother and son champions
Skiers Sarah and Lasse made history as the first mother and son duo to compete at the same Winter Olympic Games, representing the Mexican team together. For Sarah, it was never just about medals. In this ‘Dear Son’ episode, she tells Namulanta Kombo about everything that went into getting there:...
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Lessons from childhood
As a child, Yeiwah was forced to leave Sierra Leone, growing up far from the country she has always called home. Years later, after becoming a mother, she returns with her young daughter, determined to give her what she never had: confidence and a strong sense of self. Yeiwah tells Namulanta…
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Donor conceived
Emma, who is from Denmark, grew up with openness about her donor conception from the very start. When she was a baby, her parents wrote her a letter explaining how she came into the world, putting it inside a children’s book they made especially for her. Emma and her mother Ida tell Namulanta…
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A tractor load of love
How far would you go to help your child achieve their dreams? Corne drove the family tractor across South Africa to raise money so her daughter, Marconette, could represent her country at the World Tug of War Championships in Switzerland. She and Marconette tell Namulanta Kombo how the...
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A different birth day
Lejla was born as a result of sexual violence during the Bosnian war. Adopted as a baby, she grew up in the UK. In this episode, she shares her difficult origin story with Namulanta Kombo. It’s a powerful journey marked by resilience, but also moments of deep pain. This isn’t a typical Dear...
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A mother of many
Anita from Singapore is a mother whose first fostering experience didn’t go to plan, but she was encouraged to try again. Twenty-three years on, she has opened her heart and home to 28 foster children. She tells Namulanta Kombo about the difficult moments, and the joy and purpose she’s found in...
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Reaching milestones
Bella is originally from the UK but now lives in Dubai, where she is raising her daughter who was born with global developmental delay. She tells Namulanta Kombo that her journey into parenthood has looked very different from what she once imagined, and she’s had to reshape her expectations…
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What makes a man?
Did you ever look at your life and think you’d never end up here, raising children you once couldn’t imagine having? Namulanta Kombo catches up with her old Kenyan school friend, Fiona. When they were teenagers, having children felt like something far off in the future. But life moves on, and now...
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Keeping traditions
Tamaki talks about her daughter’s Seijin no Hi, Japan’s Coming of Age Day, the annual January celebration for young adults in the country who have turned 20 years old in the past year. In a letter to her daughter, she looks back on the day and everything it brought with it: the excitement, the...
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Surviving my daughter’s killing
When 19-year-old Ann from Florida, USA was shot by her boyfriend in 2010, her family were thrust into a nightmare, one that meant taking the agonising decision to withdraw her life support. In this intensely moving account of violence and loss, Ann’s mother, Kate, tells Namulanta that instead of...
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Being a girl dad
Ajit, a dad from India, tells Namulanta about realising just how tough the world can be for his daughters as they grow up in a male dominated society. He’s funny, honest and totally unfiltered as he talks about being on a huge learning curve as a ‘girl dad’, and admits that parenting is far…
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The gift of life
Brenda, a Canadian mother living with chronic kidney disease, was facing a long and uncertain wait for a transplant, until 2013 when her daughter Kielah stepped forward with an extraordinary act of love. Kielah volunteered to donate a kidney, but when tests revealed she wasn’t a match, she…
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Dear Daughter is back!
Namulanta Kombo is collecting letters of advice from around the world, to create a handbook for life for her daughter Koko – and daughters everywhere. This season, Namulanta speaks to Brenda and Kielah from Canada, who tell her about the extraordinary and life-saving decision Kielah made for her...
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Leaving for college
Shelley’s daughter leaves for college – it’s a thrilling moment for everyone, but at the same time there’s a sense of loss. What will happen to their family when one piece of it is missing? So Shelley writes her daughter a letter with all the advice and memories she wants her to take as she heads...
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Grieving you
Paola’s daughter Camilla was beautiful, with curly hair and big eyes like her mother. She loved bath time and eating mangoes. But she also had a severe mental and physical disability, and died aged 15 after nearly two years of palliative care. Paola listened to Dear Daughter while she was in the...
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Don’t fear menopause
Annice Mukherjee is a hormone expert – she’s spent her career helping women deal with menopause. But when she develops breast cancer at 41, she becomes a patient rather than a doctor. Annice writes a letter to her daughter about how her professional experience helped her deal with her personal...
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The nappy braai
Azola’s friends welcomed him to fatherhood with a surprise baby shower, called a nappy braai. Instead of the chilled Saturday barbecue he was expecting, they handed him a beer and an adult nappy and told him to suit up. Azola thinks it’s important to mark milestones. When he was born in South...
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Walk away the first time
Listener Julia writes a letter to her future daughter with some advice from her own life: if a man ever hits you, walk away the first time. When her ex-boyfriend slapped her in the face, he said he was sorry and he would never do it again. But then things started getting worse. She tells…
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The sexy novel at Christmas brunch
Malaka’s written her first book – it’s a romance novel with a lot of sex scenes. How will her family react? Malaka Grant published her first romance novel in 2013 – she’d been writing about sex and romance under a pseudonym for years, but she’d decided to come out of the shadows. She writes a...
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Bombs overhead
Firyal and her daughter were asleep when the Yemeni civil war reached their town in 2014. They woke up to the sound of bombs overhead – Firyal was terrified, but her daughter was looking at her for reassurance. What should she say? Together, they fled their home. It was the start of a long…
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Advice for partying
Every year Norwegian high school graduates paint the town red for “russefeiring”. It’s a month long period of intense partying to celebrate the end of high school – students buy party buses, wear matching overalls and dare each other to stay up all night or kiss a policeman. And it all happens...
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Divorce is not a dirty word
When Vandana’s marriage ended in divorce, she felt stigmatised and outcast. After a long and turbulent legal process, she ended up retraining as a divorce lawyer and setting up a group for others who felt unable to talk about the breakdown of their marriages. In the process, she found out what…
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Prison and parenthood
Rahab went to prison when her children were little. She’d been taking part in carjackings and armed robberies. Once she got caught, she spent six years at Langata women’s prison in Nairobi, Kenya. While she was in prison, she managed to turn her life around – but how can she rebuild her...
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The bra fashion show
When Mahynour’s daughter gets her first bra, it’s Mahynour who is the most excited – her little girl is a young lady now. But it also brings Mahynour’s memories of her own teenage years flooding back. She remembers not wanting to wear a bra – she felt ashamed of the changes in her body, and she...
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Coming soon: Season 5
Hot on the heels of our Stars season, stand by for Dear Daughter season 5, starting Friday April 25th. Namulanta Kombo is collecting letters of advice from around the world to create a handbook to life for her daughter Koko – and daughters everywhere. This season Namulanta’s been speaking to...
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Encore: The dating to-do list
Wen was raised believing sex is taboo but she knows she must change for her daughter’s sake. Her grandmother was ashamed to talk about it. Her mum and dad had to visit the biology section of the library to find out how to do it. Wen wants to raise her daughter differently. In her letter, she says...
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Encore: Without mum
A bereaved father on parenting after grief. When Ani’s daughter was just two years old, his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Her illness dominated their daughter’s early years, and she died when the child was six. Ani explains how he’s trying to teach his daughter what her mother was like before…
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Mama Seebz: Social media fame and dealing with haters
TikTokker Mama Seebz on how she reacted when her daughter Aya (@notjustaya) told her she wanted to be a famous content creator. Seba got frustrated with her daughter Aya during lockdown – she was always scrolling on her phone. But then Aya and her brother suggested she join them, and she realised...
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Kalki Koechlin: Bollywood and beauty standards
What should you do when your daughter tells you she doesn’t feel pretty? Kalki Koechlin has acted in blockbuster Bollywood films, written and produced for stage, and penned a book about pregnancy and motherhood called The Elephant In The Womb. She is also the host of the BBC World Service podcast...
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Audrey Akande: The Receipts and becoming a ‘girl mum’
Audrey Akande is best known for being one half of The Receipts podcast. She joins Namulanta in the studio to share the letter she’s written for her daughter. Audrey talks about the balance as a parent between protecting your child’s innocence but also helping them learn to face the world. How can...
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Dr Rae Wynn-Grant: Surviving bears, jaguars, and motherhood
Wildlife ecologist and nature presenter Dr Rae Wynn-Grant joins Namulanta to share the letter she’s written for her daughters about how to overcome self-doubt. Rae was the first Black woman to host a wildlife show on US network television and she talks about the importance of diverse…
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Adjoa Andoh: Bridgerton, bodies, and bizarre pregnancy cravings
Bridgerton actor Adjoa Andoh joins Namulanta in the studio to share the letter she’s written to her three children. She tells them the importance of trusting their bodies and following their instincts - a life philosophy which has sometimes led her into some unexpected situations, especially…
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Dear Daughter: Stars is coming soon!
Namulanta is back with more letters from parents to their children. But this time there’s a celebrity guest list! We’ll hear personal stories of family, love, and parenting in the spotlight from guests who are all ‘stars’ in their field. How does Bollywood star Kalki Koechlin teach her daughter...
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Choosing to be child free
Yvonne was on a bus on a trip to Europe when she had a realisation. There’s more to life than having kids, she thought – I could travel the world. She made that decision at twenty, and now she’s 64 she’s never doubted her choice. She tells Namulanta about her relief at missing out on some of the...
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Growing up polygamous
Farida grew up with 19 siblings in a polygamous family in Kenya. She’s been married five times, and four of those times have been to men who have other wives. In a letter she writes to her daughter, Farida describes some of the pros of a polygamous relationship, such as growing up with a large...
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The little girl with trauma
Regina had a difficult childhood. Her parents both struggled with addiction, and she developed substance abuse problems of her own. She thought she’d never know how to be a mother. But now she’s using her experiences to help other children heal – trying to be the person that she needed when she…
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Diagnosed by a stranger, with Ria Lina
Comedian Ria Lina finds out she is autistic after an audience member picks up on it at one of her shows. What does being autistic mean for her? She tells Namulanta that being a woman with autism is like being a chameleon: you wear lots of different masks to suit the occasion, but sometimes all…
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My daughter, who I thought was my son
Gretchen’s daughter is transgender. When she first told her parents, it came as a shock – but Gretchen wants to tell her daughter she’ll always be on her side. But she worries that the outside world might be hostile. How can she protect her daughter, while also helping her grow? Letter writer:...
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Blending families
Rehman becomes a widower with three children after the sudden death of his wife. Over a year later, he remarries a woman with three children of her own. Now Rehman has three children from his previous marriage and three new stepchildren. Blending the two families together is Rehman’s dream. He...
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A public apology from a besotted mother
Malini has a lot of regrets about her parenting - but her daughter Raji remembers things differently. Malini raised her family in a big multigenerational household in India, with relatives coming and going and little privacy for anyone. She and her mother-in-law were both strong personalities…
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It’s just hair, with Joy Kendi
Joy Kendi doesn’t want her hair to define her – so she shaves her head. Joy is an influencer in Kenya who’s known for her personal style – sometimes she has tight curls, sometimes long braids or a perfect afro. But she wasn’t always so confident in her appearance. Growing up in the US, she wanted...
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Moving on
Mary receives a menacing message and decides to leave her home. Mary has lived in Florida ever since her university days. It’s where she fell in love, met her Taiwanese husband, and had two children. With hopes of her children growing up and going to college in Florida, Mary thinks she’ll live...
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The dating to-do list
Wen is raised believing sex is taboo but knows she must change for her daughter’s sake. Her grandmother was ashamed to talk about it. Her mum and dad had to visit the biology section of the library to find out how to do it. Wen wants to create a safe space at home to talk more openly with her...
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The people-making business with Janine Harouni
New mum Janine Harouni is anxious and lonely, so why do the other mums online look so happy? She was performing stand-up comedy while 40 weeks pregnant, but now there's a whole other set of challenges. On social media, she sees pictures of pregnant models who don’t appear to gain weight. Nobody...
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The perfect trap
Anna fights her eating disorder, knowing she needs to be healthy if she wants to be a mum. She spent half her life dealing with the condition, until she was finally diagnosed and treated. Now she is working on getting better, trying to appreciate the joys in life again, and regain the spark she...
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Making amends
Musikari risks his life fighting corruption in Kenya, but at what cost to his family? Namulanta’s father is a political, an anti-corruption campaigner and a successful businessman. He’s busy, so he’s not around much for his children. They miss him. They don’t understand. Now, he comes into the...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Extraordinary letters written from parents to their children with Namulanta Kombo. Sharing amazing real-life experiences, parenting advice, family stories and life lessons.
Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the brainchild of Namulanta Kombo, a mother on a quest to create a ‘handbook to life’ for her daughter, through the advice of parents from all over the world.
Each episode, a guest reads a letter they’ve written to their children (or their future children, or the children they never had) with the advice, life lessons, and personal stories they’d like to pass on.
Expect unbelievable true stories, inspirational advice for parents, and moving accounts of families, relationships and raising children.
Share your letter! What do you want to say to your kids? Or the next generation? Do you have thoughts on motherhood, fatherhood, or parenthood to share? Whether you are a
HOSTED BY
BBC World Service
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Dear Daughter have?
Dear Daughter currently has 87 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Dear Daughter about?
Extraordinary letters written from parents to their children with Namulanta Kombo. Sharing amazing real-life experiences, parenting advice, family stories and life lessons. Dear Daughter is an award-winning podcast from the BBC World Service about love, life, family, and raising children. It is the...
How often does Dear Daughter release new episodes?
Dear Daughter has 87 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Dear Daughter?
You can listen to Dear Daughter on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Dear Daughter?
Dear Daughter is created and hosted by BBC World Service.
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