About the show

Bridging the gap between reporting, analysis, and fun, Mag Hags shines the spotlight on the magazines you know and love, such as Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Good Housekeeping, plus one or two you might have forgotten about (RIP Honey magazine!)

It’s equal parts silly and serious as Lucy and Franki discuss everything from agenda-setting reporting on women’s health, sexual freedom and equal pay, to making your own foot scrub out of yoghurt. They examine the significance of the stories for women at the time, how they’ve led us to where we are today, and what we can learn from that.

Mag Hags is produced, written and hosted by journalists and longtime friends, Franki Cookney and Lucy Douglas. As millennials they both grew up reading magazines and, in many cases, these are the publications that made them want to become journalists in the first place. They wanted to create a show that paid homage to the golden age of magazine publishing, while also providing something of a social history of late 20th century British womanhood.

Through their research, professional insights, and some satirical vintage “ad breaks”, they explore the qualities that made these magazines so popular and relevant and charming in their heyday, while also interrogating the elements that haven’t aged so well.