Last updated September 19, 2024 – 12:28 PM
Mag Hags is a new podcast from award-winning journalists Frankie Cookney and Lucy Douglas that explores the peaks and troughs of women's magazines over the past 50 years.
In each episode, our hosts flip through the pages of classic women's luxury magazines, from Cosmopolitan to Honey, Company to Marie Claire, and the publications that inspired them to become journalists.
We'll also select a few articles and dig deeper to see what's still getting attention and what's completely out of the spotlight.
This podcast will be a celebration of these often groundbreaking publications, but also explore how far the conversation has actually gone when it comes to topics like sexual freedom and equal pay.
Frankie Cookney is an award-winning journalist and podcaster who has written for the Guardian, Mirror, Independent, Sun, Cosmopolitan, Red, Stylist and the Sunday Times.
Lucy Douglas is an award-winning editor. Before moving into branded content, he wrote for the likes of The Guardian and The Telegraph and edited independent magazines like Positive News. Like many millennial women, Lucy's love of magazines goes back to poring over the issue pages of Sugar and Just17 in the mid-'90s.
The two are real-life friends and want to pay homage to the golden age of magazines in this 10-episode series.
Frankie Cookney said: “As I flipped through the pages of these vintage magazines, I felt the same excitement I felt as a teenager walking home from the corner store with a new copy of Cosmo or Marie Claire in hand.
“Women's lives have changed in so many ways over the past 50 years, and it's interesting to dig deep into pop culture and history. There are some windfalls as well. I can't imagine how much I'll learn about evolving eyebrow trends. I didn’t.”
Lucy Douglas added: “We expected these magazines to feel really old-fashioned, but what struck us most was that many of the stories felt very familiar.
“Many of the issues we were tackling back then still pervade women today, and it was fun to discuss them, analyze them, and rediscover their appeal.
“This podcast is a love letter to the titles that got us hooked on magazines when we were young.”
Mag Hags launches today, October 2nd, with episodes released every Wednesday on all major streaming platforms.
You can also sign up for Mag Hags Substack here for exclusive access to all of the magazine content that Frankie and Lucy discuss in each episode. You can also follow the podcast on Instagram.
