As the Bill Cosby trial finishes and the world watches to see which other big names will face court there seems to be confusion about how we talk about the people on the other side of the courtroom. Victims? Or survivors?

The whataboutery being directed towards the #MeToo movement is nothing new – feminists have experienced backlashes before.

Jokes may have more power to make people think than facts – but is mainstream comedy doing enough to open people’s minds?

Isn't it time the Vatican admitted that people are going to keep having sex whatever they say?

Little could be more predictable or nauseating than the sight of Donald Trump, flanked by his super-rich, all-male team, signing the global gag rule back into force on one of his first days in office

Reflecting on a dismal year for women, Kate Smurthwaite proposes a New Year's resolution.

Being a feminist comedian and activist, I can say with absolute certainty that a lot of people hate me.

Pride in trivialising sexual violence needs to stop, now.

Tony Blair's campaign theme tune ran with the chorus line ‘Things can only get better’. It might be the most dangerous sentiment politics has ever known.

The Monday after the Paris attacks my aerobics class was interrupted for a minute’s silence. ‘I’ve been told,’ the instructor said, ‘we’ve got to do a minute’s silence. I’m not sure what for... maybe France.’ 

The notion of romantic, monogamous, heterosexual love as the solution to life, the universe and everything is marketed to us, especially us women, from birth in the most aggressive way.

The Pope has declared this to be a Holy Year of Mercy. Bad move, Francis: everyone knows you’d get more enthusiasm for Talk Like A Pirate Year.

When I was a teenager I was anorexic. It seemed to be a thing in the 1990s, like Global Hypercolour shirts and Monica Lewinsky.

Capitalism is supposed to encourage competition, which is supposed to encourage quality and innovation. Let’s check in with how it’s going.

On 1 September Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi lost his final appeal. Convicted of insulting Islam, he will serve 10 years in prison and receive 1,000 lashes.

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I’m guessing I do 10 things a day that insult Islam. Bacon sandwiches, vodka shots, shouting ‘Islam isn’t true’. Then I have breakfast.

David Cameron has announced he is considering plans to take passports away from UK nationals suspected of being involved in ‘terror acts’ or, as the tabloids would have it, ‘jihad’.
Now, if you’ll forgive my blistering ignorance, I think those suspected of violent acts of terror belong in a courtroom in front of a judge, not being forced to ‘Carry On Jihading’.

Comedian Kate Smurthwaite tells Jo Lateu how she would shake up the political system, and reveals a perfect new job for Jeremy Clarkson.

Where have all the women gone? I’m not talking about kidnappings, forced veiling or domestic violence. I’m talking about women. Grown-up women.

Today in Britain, the seventh largest economy in the world, one in three of the population is living in poverty and more than half a million are reliant on foodbanks. The wealth of the rich keeps growing – a trend that will continue as the state sector is dismantled and sold off to private companies.  

Outside the cafe where I’m writing this, there’s a woman in a fleece top that says: ‘I’m a Happy Tosser’. And if you’re worried I’m about to launch into a piece on the perils of crap t-shirt slogans, think again. It’s her work uniform. 

Good news from the BBC: a generation raised on the Muppets can look forward to a wave of nostalgia on 2 April as Britain’s leading Statler and Waldorf impersonators are brought to our screens to spend a whole hour talking absolute nonsense.