Clementine Ford's Big Sister Hotline

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, Clem talks about what happens when someone you love tells you the truth about the abuse they’ve lived through, and that the family around them refuses to see it. Our listener has learned the full story of her sister-in-law’s marriage, and now she’s sitting with anger, guilt, and the pressure to keep the peace. Clem unpacks why these situations feel so heavy, how our own history can shape our reactions, and what it looks like to stand with survivors even when it’s uncomfortable. Content note: This episode contains discussions of coercive control, emotional and verbal abuse, childhood trauma, and the impact of witnessing abuse within families. If you or anyone you know needs help, please contact 1800RESPECT or call 000 in an emergency. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, a quick message recorded from a Sherpa village on the Everest Base Camp trail (yak bells and all). Clem sends a love note about choosing aliveness in small ways, invites you to think about the things you’ve told yourself you’re “too old” or “not capable” of - and to pick one to say yes to today. A gentle reminder that this is your one wild, rich life. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, Clem unpacks what it means to love across borders. Our listener is stretched between two countries, two cultures, and two futures - one dreaming of marriage and family, the other unsure where home is. Clem explores how inequality and expectation shape our choices, and why sometimes love doesn’t fail; it teaches us how to grow, let go, and begin again. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Sources mentioned in this episode: Polysecure by Jessica Fern The Ethical Slut by Janet W. Hardy & Dossie Easton Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, Clem explores the tender chaos of desire and identity. Our listener writes from the crossroads of marriage and a queer awakening - torn between devotion to her husband and the magnetic pull of a woman who stirs something long-buried. Clem unpacks what it means to honour your truth inside systems that were never built for it, the grief of boundaries that clash with longing, and why self-discovery isn’t betrayal... it’s liberation. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, Clem takes on the impossible weight of fighting patriarchy from within its walls. Our listener writes about a workplace battle that left her burned out, betrayed, and questioning everything she thought feminism promised. Clem explores the moral injury of doing everything “right” in a system built to protect men, the grief of being punished for resistance, and the fire that keeps us rising even when we’re tired of burning. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, Clem unpacks the painful tension between love and self-protection when someone you care for is trapped in addiction. Our listener writes about her ex-partner’s struggle with alcoholism and bipolar disorder, and the guilt of stepping back. Clem explores how compassion and boundaries can coexist, and why saving yourself is sometimes the truest form of love. Content Warning: This episode includes conversations about alcohol addiction. If you or anyone you know is struggling, you can reach out to the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015 for free, confidential support. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, Clem introduces a different kind of episode; a guided meditation. A gentle practice to help you sit with loneliness, reconnect with your breath, and meet your inner child with tenderness and love. Born out of a listener’s question about friendship and isolation, this meditation invites you to soften, to play, and to remember that you are never truly alone. Let this be a moment of stillness, grounding, and care - a gift from your Big Sister to you. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, we’re diving into the tender, complicated terrain of neurodivergence - from the anxiety of seeking an ADHD or autism diagnosis, to the lifelong stories we tell ourselves about being “lazy,” “disorganized,” or “too much.” Clem reflects on her own experience of diagnosis, the grief and relief that can accompany it, and why the medical system so often fails to see women clearly. More than a label, a diagnosis can offer language, tools, and compassion - but as Clem reminds us, your worth was never contingent on external validation. Whether or not you choose that path, you already have permission to love yourself exactly as you are. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, we’re talking about family conflict: what happens when the people we’re meant to love unconditionally wound us the most. Our listener has had a painful falling out with her sister after a string of cruel remarks, leaving her torn between setting boundaries and missing the niece she adores. Clem explores the grief of sibling estrangement, the shadow work buried inside cruelty, and why projection often hides unspoken unhappiness. Family ties can bind us in complicated ways; but love, boundaries, and self-respect must coexist if we’re to truly heal. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, we’re talking about protest; why it matters, what it achieves, and how it keeps us human in fractured times. From Gaza to the streets of Melbourne, protest is both a moral stand and a collective lifeline, reminding us that people power has always shaped history. Clem dives into the difference between war and genocide, unpacks the double standards in how resistance is framed, and explores why both nonviolent and violent protest have been essential to liberation struggles. Protest isn’t just about policy - it’s about solidarity, hope and refusing to give up our humanity. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com. Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Big Sister Hotline, we’re talking about the heartbreak of friendship; when someone you trusted goes silent, when a workplace turns toxic, when connection crumbles and you’re left wondering what went wrong. Friendship breakups can hurt just as much as romantic ones, but we don’t always give ourselves permission to grieve them. In this episode, Clem explores how we cope, what pop culture can teach us about rupture and repair, and why letting go can sometimes be the most loving thing we do for ourselves. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com. Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Big Sister Hotline, Clem responds to a listener who has just left an emotionally abusive relationship and is navigating the challenges of co-parenting a young child. Clem talks about the courage it takes to leave, why emotional abuse and coercive control are real and damaging, and how survivors can begin to rebuild their sense of self-worth. She shares strategies for resisting old dynamics, setting boundaries through tools like grey rocking, and finding strength in the knowledge that leaving is an act of protection and love for both yourself and your child. Clem also reflects on the bigger picture; how society teaches women to absorb blame, and why we must reject the idea that our worth lies in cushioning men’s chaos. It’s messy, it’s complicated, and it’s exactly the kind of real talk you come here for. Content note: This episode contains discussions of emotional abuse, alcohol abuse, and co-parenting in the aftermath of both. If you or anyone you know needs help, please contact 1800RESPECT or call 000 in an emergency. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com. Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Big Sister Hotline, Clem responds to a listener in her fifties who writes about feeling lonely and unsure how to make new friends. Clem talks about the importance of friendship at every age, how capitalism and ageism shape our connections, and why it’s normal for relationships to drift as we change. Clem shares some practical ideas for meeting people later in life, the role of solidarity across generations, and ways to soften loneliness while building new bonds. It’s messy, it’s complicated, and it’s exactly the kind of real talk you come here for. Aja Barber’s book Consumed She Shapes History If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com. Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The Big Sister Hotline, we hear from a listener who is nearly 40, co-parenting with her ex, and longing for another baby. They still orbit each other - fighting, sleeping together, even going to kink workshops - but she knows how much the arrival of their first child strained their relationship. Should she risk diving in again, or is she courting disaster? In classic Clem style, we unpack the myths of the nuclear family and its role in upholding capitalism, why babies don’t “fix” relationships, and the importance of building a village around motherhood regardless of the model your family takes. We also talk about grieving the children we may never have, the pressure of the ticking clock, and remembering that a woman’s worth isn’t defined by her fertility. It’s messy, it’s complicated, and it’s exactly the kind of real talk you come here for. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com. Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first episode of the newly relaunched Clementine Ford's Big Sister Hotline, Clem dives deep into a listener's struggle with intimacy, trust, and the emotional and physical scars we carry with us. Today's caller shares her painful experience of body-shaming, sexual humiliation, and abuse from a man, leaving her torn between wanting to explore sexual connections and feeling hesitant to trust anyone with her body and emotional well-being. In this unapologetically honest, yet heart-led session, Clem delivers no-nonsense truths about the toxic dynamics of hookup culture, misogyny, and how some men exploit women’s vulnerabilities to impress other men. From sharp rebukes of damaging behaviour to practical advice on rebuilding sexual trust, Clem reminds us fiercely that your body is your own, and you deserve every intimate encounter to leave you feeling empowered, not diminished. Content note: This episode contains discussions of body shaming and image-based abuse. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com. Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Big Sister Hotline: the no-nonsense feminist advice line that doesn’t mince its words but always leads with love. Best-selling author, writer, and fearless feminist trailblazer Clementine Ford returns with her newly relaunched award-winning podcast, here to guide you through life's most tangled, uncomfortable moments with the kind of wisdom you may not want to hear but absolutely need to. Each week, Clem answers your calls, cutting through the noise with unapologetic clarity, raw honesty, and a resolute refusal to indulge in patriarchal bullshit. Whether it’s love, boundaries, breakups, body image, politics, sex, career, or finding your voice in a world that constantly tries to silence you, no topic is too taboo, no feeling too big, and no question too difficult. She’s the big sister you always deserved, the mum you never had, the aunty who listens without judgement, and the friend who won’t let you settle for anything less than the best. So, plug in, speak your truth, and let Clem help you navigate the chaos and claim your power. If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack Join her Patreon This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more. Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special crossover episode between Big Sister Hotline and Cherchez La Femme, lifelong friends Clementine Ford and Karen Pickering have a gasbag in Clem's kitchen. Topics covered: middle age and why it's powerful to embrace it; the first two episodes of And Just Like That and why revisiting cultural icons from times past can be so deeply cringeworthy; and their respective Best Of lists for 2021. Hey, let us know if you like this episode and would like to see more of Karen and Clem in this format! Karen's details: Instagram/FB: @karenpickering Podcast: Cherchez La Femme Clementine's details: Instagram: @clementine_ford Facebook: @clementineford Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford Email: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I talk to filmmaker, podcaster and story doula, LAURA NAGY. Laura's most recent work is a podcast series on Audible. When Laura experienced a bad break up, she turned to the world of ASMR and 'partner experiences' to find comfort. What she didn't expect to encounter was her own healing from past sexual experiences. This week's episode focuses on: SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: Portugal has recently announced it will make it illegal for employees to be contacted by employers outside of work hours. What does this mean for workers in creative industries, and could such a thing ever be implemented? We discuss the recent shooting death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of RUSH and the general expectation that crew members eat shit and be grateful for it. THE MEATY MIDDLE: ASMR and the world of partner experiences, plus how these pursuits can help people to navigate sexual consent and their own past experiences of trauma. THE JOYFUL BIT: Laura talks about her fondness for 90s' TV dramas. You can find Laura's website here: http://lauranagy.com/about-1 And her podcast here: https://www.audible.com/pd/Pillow-Talk-Podcast/B09GKZZ5DC Follow Laura on Instagram: @l.a.u.r.a.n.a.g.y You can buy Clementine's latest book here: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/doLP93ss Feedback/Question submission: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford Instagram: www.instragram.com/clementine_ford (And remember, if you like the show then please consider rating and reviewing it and subscribing!) Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CN: This episode contains discussion of sexual assault and rape, homicide and vigilantism. Hello there everyone! I've tinkered with the format of the show this week, quite by accident. However, it turns out I like the tinkering and I'm curious to know what you think about it. New format might look something like this: Intro, followed by a short segment called SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT in which my guest and I unpack something that's widely accepted as being standard or traditional but is probably pretty indefensible when it comes down to it, and then a much longer and meatier segment talking about a more specific issue. This might be something that's happened in the news that week or something we've read about or an idea we've had or even the particular specialty of the guest in question (for example, in Aja Barber's episode we would have devoted this segment to discussing her work around fashion and sustainability). Finally, each episode will end with a very short segment on something that's bringing joy or working positively in the world. My guest this week is hotline regular, KAREN PICKERING. She's a feminist and a community builder, and is currently writing her third book THE MOTHER OF ALL SHOCKS, a book about the industry of motherhood and all the ways we are being failed by it while encouraged to enter it. She's one of my besties! Here's how the episode looks: SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: Karen used to work at the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, and we talk here about the cultural practice of women changing their names after marriage to men. Why is this still happening? Where does it come from? And why is 'choice' such an illusion? THE MEATY MIDDLE: There's a heavy content note for this segment, because the topic is pretty full on. A tiktok popped into my feed the other night, featuring a man who spent 19 and a half years in prison. The reason he first entered the system (and stayed in it, as so often happens with the prison industrial complex)? When he was 12, he murdered another boy in his neighbourhood as an act of retaliation for the boy sexually assaulting his sister. What disturbed me about the tiktok was both in how unrepentent he still was about the crime and how enthusiastically so many of the comments supported him. It struck me as a really good example of how sexual assault and rape is only seen as real or legitimate if men take it on themselves to avenge women - because when women come forward with their own testimonies of this violence, we are so often disbelieved and further abused, with urgings to reconsider 'destroying' a man's life. Karen and I have a long discussion here about vengeance, testimony and who gets to be championed in situations like this. We touch on 'Promising Young Woman', the Brock Turner rapist trial and the documentary series, 'I'll Be Gone In The Dark'. POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME: Finally, in the joyfulness close out, Karen and I talk briefly about Ted Lasso and the immense pleasure this show is giving so many people. It's such a wonderful exploration of community and kindness, and it dissects toxic masculinity so well while demonstrating what POSITIVE masculinity looks like! Don't forget to let me know what you think of this format! Follow Karen on Instagram: @karenpickering Email: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Instagram: @clementine_ford Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford **** Support lines: LIFELINE: 13 11 14 1800RESPECT Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CN: This episode contains very fleeting references to body image, eating disorders and fatphobia. It is the recollections of a teenage girl. Welcome to a very special episode of the hotline! This week's episode features just me, reading an excerpt from my SO SOON TO BE RELEASED book, How We Love: Notes On A Life! Remember the insecurity of adolescence? The pain of unrequited love? The school dance, where you hope for it to all come together only to have it spectacularly crash? It's all right here in this chapter, 'The Queen Of Cool'. Come with me as I take you back to 1996 and a little country town just outside of Adelaide, where a caftan-wearing, bargain jazz CD listening Clementine is about to learn some formative lessons about who she is and what she's worth. If you enjoy audiobooks, you might be pleased to know that the audio version of HOW WE LOVE is being released by Audible Australia. I've read the whole thing (and worked with sound producers who can create a much higher quality than today's podcast, to be fair) and I can't wait for you to listen to it! I don't think it's available for pre-order yet, but as soon as it is I will post the link in these notes. In the meantime, you can pre-order the print version of HOW WE LOVE from Booktopia! Normal programming of the hotline will resume next week, but I hope you've enjoyed this excerpt. Thanks as always to my wonderful supporters at Patreon, and also to my podcast hosts Acast. Feedback/Question submission: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford Instagram: www.instragram.com/clementine_ford Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.