The Girlfriends: Spotlight

Chelsea Jovanovic never thought she would get to have children. A teenage diagnosis of MRKH syndrome left her without a womb. But she had reckoned without the advances in medical science which would lead to pioneering womb transplants becoming possible, and without the incredible generosity of a complete stranger: Cheryl Chichonski-Urban.
When Cheryl gave Chelsea her womb, via two operations totalling 24 hours, the two women not only created two children, they built a brand new family.

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When Tamuna Museridze opened a box in her mother's house in the summer of 2016, she didn't just uncover a family secret.
She set in motion a chain of events that would lead her to something even bigger: a scandal that affected tens of thousands of people across Georgia, and tore families apart.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.