If I Speak

Novara Media

Ash Sarkar and Moya Lothian-McLean sort the personal from the political, tackle listener dilemmas and air their opinions on the frustrations of modern life.

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128 episodes
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Episodes128

Newest first

May 27, 2025 · 58 min
66: I’m right, you’re wrong, end of!
Moya has an intrusive thought about our need for certainty and Ash responds with an idea about how the internet has polarised our thinking. Plus, advice for a singleton with avoidant tendencies. Send your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
May 20, 2025 · 54 min
65: Has your smartphone broken your brain?
Ash and Moya face up to all the ways their smartphone has warped their minds. Plus, advice for a trans woman struggling to interact with the world in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling. Come and see If I Speak in London on 21st May! Final tickets are available now from Dice. Send your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
May 13, 2025 · 57 min
64: What is the female gaze?
What do straight women find attractive? Too many men think the answer is ‘big muscles’ says Ash, who has a big theory about sensuality. Plus: what to do when your boss is a bigot. Come and see If I Speak LIVE in London on 21st May! Join Ash, Moya and special guest Monica Heisey – comedian and author of Really, Good Actually – at EartH in East London, followed by a social. Tickets are available from Dice. Send your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
May 6, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
63: Do people just want to be told what to do?
Moya has a big theory and you’re not going to like it: most of us would rather be told how to live our lives by someone else than work it out ourselves. Could it be? Plus, advice for a broken-hearted student. Seats for our live show in London are going fast! Join Ash, Moya and special guest Monica Heisey – comedian and author of Really, Good Actually – at EartH in East London on 21st May. Get tickets on Dice. Send your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Apr 29, 2025 · 56 min
62: I’m not sure I want to call myself a feminist anymore…
Ash and Moya confront their feelings after a bad fortnight for feminism, from Katy Perry in space to the Supreme Court’s anti-trans ruling. Plus: advice on divorcing parents and compulsive exercising. PSA: We’re going live at EartH in London on 21st May! Special guest TBA! Tickets are available from Dice. Send your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Apr 22, 2025 · 56 min
61: Can friendships cross class lines? w/ Natasha Brown
Ash speaks to author Natasha Brown about the big questions raised by her acclaimed second novel Universality, a ‘whydunnit’ mystery about identity, class and how we (re)invent ourselves. Plus: a dilemma about selling your soul. PSA: We’re going live at EartH in London on 21st May! Tickets are available from Dice. Send your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Apr 15, 2025 · 51 min
60: Are we too addicted to convenience?
Ash and Moya answer a mystery question and wonder if our quest for a life of convenience was a mistake. Plus: advice for a listener dating a much, much older man. PSA: We’re going live at EartH in London on 21st May! Stay tuned for tickets next week. Music by Matt Huxley.
Apr 8, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
59: Does my ex owe me money for the house we renovated?
Moya and Ash offer advice to a special one who’s lost everything after renovating a house with their ex. Plus: what if some of us are ‘relationship people’ while the rest are better off alone? We’re now yapping on TikTok! Follow us @ifispeakpod. Send your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Apr 1, 2025 · 57 min
58: I want to be fun again. Help!
Ash has an intrusive thought that she thinks Moya can help with: make me fun again! Plus advice for a listener navigating the identity politics of the student council. We’re now yapping on TikTok! Follow us @ifispeakpod Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Mar 25, 2025 · 1 hr 9 min
57: Do you really want to know about your partner’s past mistakes?
Nicola Dinan returns to the show to talk about her second novel, Disappoint Me, and respond to Moya’s question about how to deal with a partner’s past mistakes. Plus, dilemmas about lip filler and bottom surgery. CW: Contains discussion of sexual assault. We’re now yapping on TikTok! Follow us @ifispeakpod Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Mar 18, 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
56: The one where Moya grills Ash on her new book
[Updated audio! Please refresh, redownload and/or clear your cookies for fixed version] Moya has a bone to pick with Ash about Minority Rule and the conversations sparked by her book tour, while posing the big question: why is it so hard to form your own opinions? Plus: what to do when a newly sober friend starts drifting away. We’re now yapping on TikTok! Follow us @ifispeakpod Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Mar 11, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
55: Joy is an act of resistance… right?
Moya and Ash discuss the uses and abuses of self-care culture and its roots in Black feminism. Plus: how to get over homesickness. Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Mar 4, 2025 · 53 min
54: Forget the boycott, gimme that brand deal
Why did Stormzy delete his pro-Palestine posts just before unveiling a Happy Meal tie-in with McDonald’s? Ash asks Moya if big artists are all just businesses in the end. Plus: how to deal with a delusional friend. Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Feb 25, 2025 · 47 min
53: Getting ‘the ick’
When did we all start ‘getting the ick’? And why does it mainly seem to be women who get it? Ash and Moya unpack the gender politics behind the ‘ick-course’. Plus: when is the right time to have the big money chat with your partner? Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Feb 18, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min
52: Happy birthday IIS! Now ask us anything…
One whole year of If I Speak! Moya and Ash celebrate with an #AMA, tackling your questions on career growth, love songs, role models, Irish politics and whether they’re friends in real life. Plus: listener feedback on last week’s “return of the slur”. Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Feb 11, 2025 · 1 hr
51: Am I feminine enough for you?
Ash and Moya respond to a mystery question about femininity with a conversation about desire, agency and sexual politics. Plus: advice for a listener tangled up in their in-laws’ finances. Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Feb 4, 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
50: The return of the slur
After hearing the R-word on a comedy podcast, Moya offers an intrusive thought about the limits of language policing. Plus: what to do about a horrible housemate. Send in your questions for If I Speak’s birthday AMA episode on 18th February! ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Jan 28, 2025 · 1 hr
49: We need to see more wrinkles on screen!
Ash and Moya discuss women’s changing faces on screen and the intensifying obsession with ageing. Plus: tough love for a Special One who’s getting in their own way. Email your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Jan 21, 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
48: Is it time to cut off my lying dad?
Ash and Moya tackle a mailbag full of dilemmas, including a committed couple arguing over money, a daughter considering cutting off her dad, and a student struggling to overcome the trauma of rape. Plus: Ash blushes her way through your emails about gay porn. CW: suicide, rape. Resources: https://thesurvivorstrust.org/support-in-your-area Email your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.
Jan 14, 2025 · 1 hr 22 min
47: Is the era of public shaming over? w/ Yomi Adegoke at London Podcast Festival
Recorded live at London Podcast Festival last September, Ash and Moya are joined by Yomi Adegoke – author of The List and Slay In Your Lane – to talk about public shaming. Is the era of the online pile-on over? Plus, our audience of special ones help to solve some listener dilemmas. Email your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.