PODCAST · society
Mag Hags
by Franki Cookney & Lucy Douglas
The culture and history podcast that every modern woman should know. Join Franki and Lucy as they dive into the glossy archives of women’s magazines to find out what's still hot, and what's definitely not. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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Mag Hags Unwrapped
It’s the final episode of Mag Hags and what better way to bid you farewell than with a behind-the-scenes tour of the show! Find out how we make it, how much it all costs, and what (if any) money we make from it. We also dig into what’s hot and what’s not about making a show like Mag Hags, and…
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Marie Claire, October 1990
Got a crush on your married colleague? Has masturbation become mundane? Looking for ways to make your beauty routine more efficient? It’s October 1990. Mr Bean is in, Margaret Thatcher is out, and Germaine Greer is shaking it all about in a long and highly convoluted essay on masturbation. Is it...
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Sidebar: French women do it better
Ooh la la! This week we’re donning our berets and nibbling disinterestedly on our croissants as we attempt to unpick the British cultural obsession with French women. From their revolutionary spirit, to their ability to combine women’s liberation with flawless lipstick, we ponder whether French...
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Eve, November 1973
Curious about the latest form of contraception? Is your friend’s husband mansplaining ironing to you? Wondering how on earth you can look sexy in just sixty minutes? This week the Hags are going back to 1973 to explore a very mysterious magazine called Eve. Not to be confused with Eve magazine…
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Sidebar: What body positivity looked like in the 70s
Do you have a “big personality”? This week we’re talking all things body image and size, helped by 70s body positivity icon, Janet Webb. Janet was a plus-size actor and TV star who appeared in The Morecambe & Wise Show from the late 60s onwards. We’ve encountered her twice now in the pages of the...
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Diva, May 1998
Have you faced discrimination at work? Knocking back one too many bacardi and cokes? Are you looking for the perfect hi vis jacket? It’s 1998 and we’re looking back in anger at 10 years of Section 28. It’s still legal to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation and equal marriage is yet a...
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Sidebar: Decoding men
Why are men? It’s a question that has perplexed women for decades and, honestly, the jury’s still out. This week, we glance over the culture and history of the “what men really think” feature, which was such a mainstay of women’s magazines through the 80s and 90s, and find out what – if anything…
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Cosmopolitan, December 1983
Do you consider laziness a crime? Struggling to ask for what you want in bed? Is your anxiety actually a form of narcissism? This week, the Hags leaf through the pages of a magazine from a time when Thatcher was in Number 10, Michael Jackson was at Number 1, and Cosmo readers were spending their...
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Sidebar: Everything that's wrong with you
Fix up, look sharp! One of the biggest accusations levelled at women’s mags is that they promote unrealistic standards. But what if media is actually just part of… culture? This week, we examine everything magazines have suggested *might* be wrong with us and decide whether it’s really the...
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Anarchy, lycra, and the lesbian moment - with DIVA founder Frances Williams
Have you recently joined the Labour party? Are you searching for the perfect cycling shorts? Did you just accidentally stub out your cigarette on a priceless artwork? It’s probably time to launch a new magazine. This week, Franki catches up with founder of DIVA magazine, and self-confessed...
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Sidebar: Infidelity - hot or not?
Affairs, adultery, love rats, being unfaithful, infidelity, fuckboys, two-timing… however you look at it, cheating is a topic we don’t ever seem to get tired of talking and writing about. On this week’s Sidebar we look at how the narratives around sexual and romantic infidelity have shifted over...
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Good Housekeeping, August 1977
Gone and put your Crimplene on a hot wash? Worried about your kids getting mixed up in organised vandalism? Thinking of switching to powder eyeshadow? It’s August 1977, the Sex Pistols have been banned from the BBC, Donna Summer is pumping put from every nightclub and the Hags are wondering……
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Sidebar: Hack your wardrobe
Nothing to wear? This week we’re going back at a time when clothes were well-made and fashion advice was geared around helping you find your personal style, rather than be a slave to trends. While fashion editorials certainly showcased the new and shiny, a good deal of copy was also dedicated to...
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Honey, December 1985 - with Jo Fairley
Left your filofax on the train? Fancy yourself as the next Jerry Hall? Had a holiday fling with Italian waiter? This week we’re going back to the power ballad era and coming with us is a very special guest host. Former Honey editor Jo Fairley is back in the studio and together we’re going to be...
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Sidebar: Seven(ties) drinking tips
One for the road? This week, Franki gets some tips on how to drink responsibly… in 1979. Some, such as ‘don’t drink on an empty stomach’ were familiar enough. Others had us floored. Which, coincidentally, is also where you’d be if you stuck to the 1970s recommended drinking allowances. Welcome to...
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Glamour, grit, and Joan Collins’ knickers - with former Honey editor Jo Fairley
Ever had a Hollywood star flirt with you in front of 200 people? Has your wrist been slapped by Bette Davies? Do you know where Margaret Thatcher bought her underwear? This week, The Hags sit down with former Look Now and Honey editor Josephine Fairley to get all the behind the scenes gossip from...
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More, February 1999
Are you a dirty dreamer or a brazen babe? Do you prefer to wear your gems in your hair or in your belly button? Have you heard Denise van Outen’s playing the next Bond girl? It’s the one you’ve been waiting for… it’s More! Magazine. The year is 1999 and it’s Valentine’s Day which can mean only…
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Sidebar: Smoking culture
Have you got a light? We’re going back in time to when smoking was standard, cigarette brands (and indeed medical journals) still thought “middle tar” was a good thing, and ad agencies competed to see who could communicate the most about with the least. Welcome to Mag Hags “Sidebar” where we talk...
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Company, August 1981
Can men cook dinner? Would you consider doing a job-share? Have you been overthinking picnics? This week we return to our new favourite magazine, Company! We last hung out in 1979 and now we’re back for 1981. And she does not disappoint. It’s a vibrant issue for a less-than-vibrant period in...
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Sidebar: What do women look like?
Are you betraying the sisterhood if you dress like a 50s housewife? No, this isn't a discussion of the latest Tik Tok trend. This is a debate from 1974, when Over 21 interviewed three trans women in order to dig into "what it means to be a woman." We had to cut large chunks of this chat from the...
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Nova, October 1970
Four shillings and how much? The Hags are pre-decimalisation this week as they head back in time to October 1970 to meet the mother of British women’s magazines: Nova. Demonstrating that smart and sexy are not mutually exclusive, Nova has it all: premium art direction, radical reporting at the...
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Sidebar: Cars for girls
Somewhere around the mid-50s, car manufacturers cottoned on to the idea that women drive cars. Not only that, but women *have opinions* about the sort of car they drive. This ushered in a whole new creative challenge for the second half of the 20th century: How to sell cars to girls. And where...
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Former more! editor Fiona Gibson on girl power, and Position of the Fortnight
Something a little different this week… Franki and Lucy aren’t doing a magazine deep dive. Instead, they’re turning the spotlight on a woman with far more expertise in women’s mags: Fiona Gibson. Fiona is the former editor of Just 17 and more! magazines – not to mention the writer behind a Mag...
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Sidebar: Unpacking the Vogue wine and eggs diet
In 1977 Vogue published a crash diet that advocated three days consuming nothing but white wine and boiled eggs. In 2018 this diet was unearthed and went viral as people shared it, horrified (but also somehow smugly vindicated) to learn that this was the advice women were being given in the 70s....
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Riva, September 1988
Remember RIVA magazine? Nope, didn't think so. It lasted just seven issues!. And Lucy's got an inkling as to why. This week she’s taking us back to 1988 on a tour of a short-lived mag attempting to bring the gloss of a monthly in a fast-moving, weekly format. There’s plenty for our duo to rake...
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Sidebar: Hot tips to blow his mind
Cling film, coital alignment, and reverse cowgirl: 90s and 00s magazines promised to help us "drive him wild." But does anyone actually *want* to be surprised during sex? If you've ever alternated an ice cube with a sip of tea while going down on a partner, this one's for you. Welcome to Mag Hags...
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Minx, November 1996
Are you MAD FOR IT?? This week, the Mag Hags are in 1996, scaling Peak Britpop and working their way through a magazine determined to prove that women can objectify men too. Sex by the inch! Tastiest man in the world stripped bare!! In entirely coincidental timing, the Mag Hags meet some real…
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Sidebar: Tough love
Embarrassed to go to the doctor? Cheating on your boyfriend with another man? Worried you might be a nympho? Put your Big Girl pants on, we’re diving into the world of magazine problem pages. Welcome to Mag Hags “Sidebar” where we talk about the stuff we couldn’t fit into the main episode. Or…
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Over 21, March 1974
It’s March 1974 aka the last moment in history before anyone had heard of ABBA! Striking coal miners have brought down a Conservative government and the UK is gripped by its first post-war recession… but the Mag Hags are boldly wading in, armed with a copy of Over 21 magazine. This week, we come…
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Sidebar: Magazine lingo cheat sheet
Do you know your masthead from your standfirst? Could you make a pull quote out of a vox pop? And what, oh what, is a slug? Welcome to Mag Hags “Sidebar” where we talk about the stuff we couldn’t fit into the main episode. Or else go off on a mad tangent about something that’s sparked our…
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Elle, July 1987
The Mag Hags are back! It’s July 1987 - aka Lucy’s birth month - and to kick off the new season she’s leading a voyage of “style with content” to Elle magazine! The contradictions of the late 80s are writ large: we’ve got innovation and progress (portable CD players!! Iced coffee!!!) alongside...
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Season Two coming soon!
Mag Hags is back! We've got smashing financial advice, explosive relationship drama, and the latest shoulder pad discourse. If you love magazines, 20th century pop culture, and questionable life advice, then join us every week to find out what’s still hot, and what’s definitely not. First episode...
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Cosmopolitan, October 1992
It’s the end of season one! And what better note to end on than right back where we started: with the OG of having it all, Cosmopolitan. It’s October 1992 and Lucy is at the helm as the Mag Hags navigate post-Thatcher pre-Loaded gender politics to explore the timeless editorial territory of: has...
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19, June 1986
Kicking off the new year with a bang, the Mag Hags are manifesting the season they want… with a June magazine issue. Franki is taking us back to the 80s to 19 magazine – a sister title to Honey that’s ticking all the women’s mag tropes. Directive diet features! Reductive psychology quizzes! The…
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Company, December 1979
Burn your bras, lads: we’re back in the 70s this week – only this time the magazine under the spotlight *has* caught up with the decade’s radical social progress. Lucy is leading the way through a tour of Cosmo’s little sister mag: the recently launched Company. There’s a report into how…
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Marie Claire, May 1998
Gather round, high-flying spinsters! The Good Friday Agreement has been signed, the US president is definitely *not* having sexual relations with that woman, and we are hitting New Labour's economic zenith : it’s 1998 and the Mag Hags are reading Marie Claire. Franki is in the driving seat as the...
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Tatler, December 1980
Grab your Barbour and don your wellies – it’s time for Tatler! Lucy is taking the Mag Hags back to Tina Brown’s formative career years and a festive issue of the high society bible. Here, Franki and Lucy learn some valuable lessons in how to *really* show off one’s status and discuss the British...
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Woman's Own, November 1972
Welcome to Guess The Meat with Lucy and Franki! ... Only joking! That would be insane. This episode, Franki is taking the Mag Hags deeper into the archives than they have gone before… to Woman’s Own, November 1972. A relic of the mid-century suburban housewife, this mag is serving up hobby…
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New Woman, September 1997
Dig out your Union Jack tea-towel dresses, girls! This time, Lucy is leading the way through a magazine that’s channeling all the Girl-Powered benign anarchy of Spice World: The Movie. It’s New Woman, September 1997. There’s a ‘how-to’ for spying on your boyfriend, bafflingly horny ads and – in...
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Good Housekeeping, March 1988
The Mag Hags are back and cooking with gas! This episode Franki and Lucy ponder on some cutting edge household appliances – cordless iron, anyone? Because, yes, Franki is guiding us on a tour through Good Housekeeping, March 1988. There’s Ovaltine innuendo, shoulder-revealing fashion, and a...
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Honey, March 1976
Lucy and Franki are back with more dispatches from vintage women’s glossies. This week, Lucy is heading to Honey magazine March 1976 – but it’s less Patti Smith and Sex! on the Kings Road, more women named Sue and unequal division of household labour. We also meet the last of debutantes,...
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Cosmopolitan, October 1982
Welcome to the very first episode of Mag Hags, the podcast that every modern woman should know. Join Franki and Lucy as they dive into the glossy archives of women’s magazines to find out what's still hot, and what's definitely not. And where else to begin than the OG of having it all:...
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Coming soon... Mag Hags
Mag Hags is a brand new podcast that celebrates and interrogates the glossy women’s magazines of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. If you love magazines, 20th century pop culture, and questionable life advice on glossy paper stock, then join us each fortnight when we’ll be diving into a vintage issue to…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The culture and history podcast that every modern woman should know.
Join Franki and Lucy as they dive into the glossy archives of women’s magazines to find out what's still hot, and what's definitely not.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HOSTED BY
Franki Cookney & Lucy Douglas
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Mag Hags have?
Mag Hags currently has 43 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Mag Hags about?
The culture and history podcast that every modern woman should know. Join Franki and Lucy as they dive into the glossy archives of women’s magazines to find out what's still hot, and what's definitely not. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How often does Mag Hags release new episodes?
Mag Hags has 43 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Mag Hags?
You can listen to Mag Hags 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 Mag Hags?
Mag Hags is created and hosted by Franki Cookney & Lucy Douglas.
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