Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight:

When Nadya Tolokonnikova saw her country Russia change under President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime, she knew she had to do something.

She started the iconic ski-mask-wearing art protest collective Pussy Riot. On February 21st, 2012, they performed their anti-Putin protest song, Punk Prayer, in a Moscow church, launching Nadya into overnight activist fame… and a prison labour camp.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

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Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight:

Germany. Spring 1945. The writing is on the wall for the Nazis. And thousands of women are marching along dirt roads. If they stop walking, they’ll be shot. Their route is lined with piles of corpses. It’s a death march.

Among these women are The Nine. Nine young women, all members of the French resistance, who have formed an extraordinary bond of friendship and support in the concentration camp in which they’ve been held. Their unofficial leader is 25-year-old Hélène Podliasky. And she’s about to suggest something incredible: The Nine are going to escape.

Hélène’s story is told by her great niece, the writer Gwen Strauss.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

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Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight:

When Lu Ann Cooper was just fifteen years old, she was told to drop out of school and marry her first cousin. She would be his fourth wife.

Lu Ann grew up inside the so-called Kingston Clan, a religious sect where, Lu Ann claims, every man is expected to have many wives, and every woman is expected to have many children. All with the aim of building up the Kingdom of God.

But one day, Lu Ann couldn't take it anymore. She decided she had to escape…

The foundation Lu Ann runs to support other people who have fled polygamy is Hope After Polygamy.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Re-listen to the best of The Girlfriends: Spotlight:

Rose Brady’s job running Baltimore County’s SVU was a frustrating one. The sexual violence crimes she and her team were investigating were just the tip of the iceberg. Her department was sitting on thousands of unsolved rape cases, dating back decades - with little hope of ever finding the perpetrators.

That was until Rose made an incredible discovery: At a local hospital, a diligent forensic pathologist had kept in storage all the biological evidence from every rape exam he had ever performed. This could be the key to getting justice for hundreds of desperate women.

This is a story of hard work, dogged persistence and a series of incredible coincidences…

Rose has her own show with her daughter, Sam: Sgt. Brady's Crime Podcast (not affiliated with The Girlfriends: Spotlight): https://podfollow.com/1560081982

If you’ve been affected by sexual violence, there are organisations which can help.

In the US: https://www.nsvrc.org/survivors

In the UK: https://survivorsnetwork.org.uk/get-help/

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

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In 1992, the Bombay Stock Exchange in India was skyrocketing. And at the centre of this chaotic, testosterone fuelled world was Harshad Meta: a man with aviator shades, a Lexus, and a reputation as a financial wizard. To millions, he was "The Big Bull," a self-made hero who promised wealth to anyone who followed his lead.

But Sucheta Dalal, one of the only female journalists covering the financial markets, wasn’t buying the hype. When she started digging into Harshad Meta, she uncovered something explosive. She had 24 hours to get to the bottom of it - with her career, and the fate of the Indian economy on the line.

This is the story of how one dogged journalist exposed a scam so big it sparked a financial revolution.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit novel.audio

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Anna Rowe thought she’d found the perfect man: attentive, caring and totally devoted to his children. But Anna gradually started to suspect that things weren’t quite what they seemed… Her doubts led her to some late night dating app sleuthing.

What Anna discovers will unravel everything she thought she knew about love, trust, and the man she was madly in love with. And it will set her on a path to save thousands of women from romance fraud.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

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On Valentine's Day 2000, Carolyn Moor's life changed forever when a hit-and-run accident killed her husband Chad. She was left a widow in her 30s - and with two young daughters to raise alone. And she discovered that when you’re a young widow, there’s not very much support - especially not the sort of support you need to get through the long years of grief-stricken child rearing. So, Carolyn founded The Modern Widows Club - dedicated to enabling women of all ages and backgrounds to embrace life after widowhood. She calls it ‘a wisterhood’.

Plus we hear from the nurse who witnessed Carolyn’s darkest moment, and used it to fight for positive change.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit novel.audio

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When Morrell Andrews’s attacker was convicted of her sexual assault, she thought her fight was over. But it was just beginning. Because in Canada, where Morrell lives, ‘Publication Bans’ were enshrined in law. These bans meant that no one, including the survivor themselves, is allowed to publicly name the victim of a sexual offense. Effectively, if Morrell talked about her story in the press, or on her own social media - or even if she texted her friends or emailed her therapist about it - she could face a criminal conviction and a fine.

Morrell wasn’t going to stand for that. With the support of a group of other survivors, she began an extraordinary legal and media battle to change the Canadian criminal code forever…

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit novel.audio

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.