The Secret Life of Prisons podcast

As the Sentencing Act 2026 receives royal assent, Phil and Paula take to the stage at Conway Hall in London as part of the Clinks annual conference 2026.Lord James Timpson was Chief Executive of Timpsons, where he pioneered the employment, at scale, of people who have been through the criminal justice system. He was Chair of the Prison Reform Trust before joining government in 2024 as Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending.Anne Fox is the outgoing Chief Executive of Clinks, the charity that represents voluntary sector organisations working in the criminal justice system.Presenters:Phil Maguire Paula Harriott Producer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons. His father and brother spent time behind bars and he wrote a memoir, The Life Inside, about his career in prisons which we featured in an episode back in May 2025. That book has now been adapted for a BBC1 series, Waiting For The Out, which starts in the new year.Ric Renton spent time in three prisons in the north-east of England, including HMP Durham. He is now a writer and actor and was part of the writers room for Waiting For The Out, as well as playing a character in the drama.You can catch Waiting For The Out on BBC iPlayer here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every year the radio industry gathers for the Radio Festival in London. The event, run by a wonderful organisation called the Radio Academy, brings together radio professionals from across the country to see the finest broadcasting talent talking about what's happening at the cutting edge of our industry.This year's event was entitled World Of Sound, showcasing the UK as a global leader.Phil was privileged to be asked to host a session, and as a special Christmas offering we can now bring that talk to you: Phil Maguire in conversation with none other than Louis Theroux, himself no stranger to producing award-winning media in prisons.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2006, Phil Maguire OBE left his job at the BBC to work in prisons. He joined a small group of committed, inspirational people to found a charity, the Prison Radio Association, which went on to transform how we communicate in prisons and set up the world's first national radio station for people in prison.Phil is Chief Executive of the charity. Today, Phil has some news which he wants to share with each and every listener to The Secret Life of Prisons.Phil's InstagramPresenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beatrice Auty was released from prison last year and has since become a Longford Scholar, pursuing her academic interest in criminology. Before prison, Beatrice visited death row in the US and dreamt of becoming a human rights lawyer. Beatrice's case and trial attracted a good deal of media attention, and since release Beatrice has appeared in the media to talk about her experiences in prison.Charlie Moloney is a media law commentator and trainer who has recently been named the new editor of McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists – the standard text that accredited journalists follow in their training. He is a veteran of reporting on court proceedings.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Audio Production Awards take place every year to honour the very best in radio and podcast production in the UK. They're run by Audio UK, which represents audio producers, and are competed for by the very best in the production and broadcast industries. And this year, The Secret Life of Prisons won GOLD in the Sport category for our episode about the HMP Brixton Half Marathon! So this week we wanted to give you another opportunity to hear that award-winning episode. Enjoy...!--Two days before the 2025 London Marathon, a very special half marathon took place behind the walls of HMP Brixton in aid of the Prison Reform Trust. And The Secret Life of Prisons was granted exclusive access to bring you the sounds of a momentous morning.Nine of HMP Brixton's residents undertook a 16-week training programme, supported by members of the local running community, and on Friday 25 April they ran alongside around 40 visitors in a feat of endurance and stamina. The result was a beautiful example of the power of sport to change lives.The voices you will hear in this podcast include:Tara BenedettiPia SinhaMia WheelerSean FletcherMarianne GarveyJamie LoynSarah TaylorAbbey DarlingAlan HigginsHermen DangeMartin JonesDr. Dave MaguireEleanor CarmichaelAdam HarrisAndrew WilkieFaye DunnOur thanks to the staff at HMP Brixton, particularly Governor Wheeler, Deputy Governor Merrifield their physical education team, and also the team at the Prison Reform Trust led by Pia Sinha and Tara Benedetti for making this event, and this podcast, possible.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you would like to support the Prison Radio Association, visit prison.radio/biggive and your donation will be doubled!Faye Dunn and Toni Garrigos first met each other while serving sentences in HMP Styal. Faye is now the Assistant Producer of this podcast, while Toni is employed in sales. Check out their story.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drug Recovery Wings are specialist units in prisons that work to help people dealing with addictions as part of their prison sentences.Ash is no stranger to imprisonment and has lived with addiction since he was a child. But a remarkable encounter transformed his life. He now works for Better Way Recovery, a charity based in Litchfield near Birmingham, as an Integrated Offender Manager Link Worker - and as part of his role he works with people battling addiction inside HMP Featherstone in Staffordshire.Wayne Hickman is a substance misuse officer who runs the Drug Recovery Wing in HMP Featherstone, and through his passion for change and genuine compassion for those living on the wing he runs, the unit at Featherstone has been nationally recognised as the best in the country.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Longford Lecture is a centrepiece event of the criminal justice sector's year. Run by the Longford Trust, a charity that provides opportunities for study and mentoring for people in prison and detention, it takes place at Church House in Westminster.This year's lecture was a call for the abolition of the imprisonment of children, given by the Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel De Souza, who talked about the shocking links between children who have spent time in care and the justice system.Also on the podcast, Angus Stobie, who plays George Grundy in The Archers, and Jeremy Howe, the series Editor. The BBC Radio 4 drama has been running for 75 years and this year received the Kevin Packenham Prize to acknowledge its portrayal of George's brush with the law and his imprisonment.You can find out more information about the Longford Trust here.And you can listen to The Archers here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Aitchison has been photographing prisons for more than 20 years. He selects five of his favourite photographs of prisons and talks to us about what we can learn from prisons by keeping our eyes open.Andy's new book is called Incarcerated and will be released soon.You can follow Andy on Instagram here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the summer of 2023, 17 year-old Charlie Cosser went to an organised house party in a small village in West Sussex and never came home. A fight broke out on the dance floor and Charlie was stabbed. He died later in hospital.As he was lying on his hospital bed, Charlie's father Martin Cosser made a promise to Charlie that he would spend the rest of his life educating young people about the dangers and immeasurable impacts of knife crime. He founded the charity Charlie's Promise, and his work in the last two years has led him to talk to more than 50,000 people in a variety of settings, including prisons.This episode ideals with the grief and pain of a family who have experienced an unimaginable loss. It is a difficult and emotional listen. If you are unsure about whether this programme is for you, you may wish to skip this episode and go back into the archive to listen to some of our other programmes.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah was released from prison after spending 16 years behind bars as part of a life sentence. She was released to an approved premises two hours away from her friends and family. She had no ID, no bank account, no job, and the world had completely changed in those 16 years. She received support from Paula and her charity Unlock before and after release.This is Sarah's story.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian Watkins, the disgraced former front man of the rock band Lostprophets, died in HMP Wakefield on Saturday 11 October. Two men have been charged with his murder. Watkins was serving a 29-year sentence for crimes that were so shocking, the judge in his trial said the case 'broke new ground' and 'plunged into new depths of depravity'.HMP Wakefield is a category A prison that holds people convicted of some of the most serious offences and serving extremely long sentences, including people whose infamy. So how do we deal with people imprisoned for these sorts of incomprehensible offences that, some believe, should attract the death penalty? What's it like to manage such an institution? And how does it feel to be working or serving a sentence in a prison when someone dies in these circumstances?Tom Wheatley was Governor of HMP Wakefield from 2018 until last year, having been running maximum-security prisons for almost 20 years. He is now the President of the Prison Governors Association. He joins Phil and Paula to answer these questions and to help us understand what sort of a community exists behind the walls of our maximum security prisons.There were 7 homicides in prisons in the 12 months to June 2025, an increase from no homicides in the previous 12 months. Deaths in custody have increased to 401 in the 12 months to June 2025, from 208 in the previous 12 months. You can dig into the data here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Laura found herself in HMP Eastwood Park serving the latest of a string of prison terms, something magical happened when she met Isie Potter, a music teacher who had recently become Musician Residence at the prison.In this emotional episode, they tell the extraordinary story of how Laura's life was transformed thanks to Isie's approach to her role for the charity Changing Tunes.You can donate to Changing Tunes here.And you can read the latest report from HM Inspector of Prisons about HMP Eastwood Park here, and the previous report here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shahid Amin was serving a long sentence in HMP Grendon when he began studying criminology. This came after teenage years in which being engaged with the police and the criminal justice system overshadowed any early experiences with education. He has continued his further education and become an academic researcher after he was released from prison. Dr. Ruth Armstrong is a Postdoctorate Research Associate in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool. She has worked in criminal justice both in the UK and globally for over 20 years, and founded the Learning Together programme in which students from inside prison and outside prison studied in equal partnership.Our thanks to Dr. Ed Schreeche-Powell at the rest of the team at the University of Greenwich for making this recording possible.You can find out more about studying criminology at the University of Greenwich here.You can read about We Are All Criminals here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One month into Frank Stedman's prison sentence, he lost his brother to suicide. Unable to attend the funeral, the prison put Frank into segregation because he was considered to be an escape risk. He spent 10 days on the block before being moved to a category A prison, HMP Belmarsh.Fast forward several years, Frank has completed his sentence and runs his own business. But he retains a desire to help others who are in prison to get through what can be the most difficult of times. He also loves National Prison Radio. And so when Frank contacted us out of the blue to ask if he'd be able to walk 200 miles in 10 days to raise money for the Prison Radio Association, we were delighted to support his incredible efforts.This is the story of Frank's walk, and of a man who retains an astonishingly positive outlook in spite of everything. It's an uplifting story of joy and optimism.To donate to Frank's Walk, visit Frank's Just Giving page.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We love receiving your questions, thoughts and comments. Email us at [email protected] this final episode before we take a summer break, we answer questions from listeners inside prison and listeners on the outside.David Breakspear is a peer mentor, advocate and ambassador for people who have been to prison. He spent time behind bars between 1985 and 2017, and uses his lived experience to support organisations including ADHD Liberty, 5asideCHESS and the National Suicide Prevention Alliance. Dr. Ruth Armstrong is a criminologist at the University of Liverpool and a consultant working to support change in government departments and third sector organisations. She’s worked in criminal justice both in the UK and globally for over 20 years, including playing a leading role in Prison Radio International, supporting the development of prison radio projects around the world. Organisations, books and links referred to in this programme include:UnlockHoward League for Penal ReformPrison Reform TrustPhilip Pettit on trustTrusting the UntrustworthyPACTPSI 75/2011 (Residential Services)Purposeful PrisonsWe Are All CriminalsFuck ItPresenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2014, probation services in England and Wales underwent the most radical shake-up for generations in a part-privatisation process known as Transforming Rehabilitation. Seven years later, in 2021, these reforms were reversed as the public and private arms of probation were brought back together under a newly-constituted public Probation Service. In June 2024 a group of people with a wealth of experience of probation gathered for a one-day workshop at Liverpool John Moores University as part of the Rehabilitating Probation project. The workshop aimed to envision what probation services might look like in the future.  Phil and Paula spoke to several workshop participants, including people who had worked in, studied and been supervised by probation. We released this episode on 15 July 2024. This was followed up by a second episode on 5 August 2024 with Professor Nicola Carr, then of the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham, and Dr. Matthew Millings from the School of Justice Studies at Liverpool John Moores University. They have played a leading role in the project and reflected on the workshops. In this final episode, we catch up with Nicola and Matthew, along with Martin Jones CBE, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation, to hear about the outcome of the Rehabilitating Probation project and to reflect on where we are one year after the election of a new government. Rehabilitating ProbationThis is the final of three episodes looking at the future of probation. Rehabilitating Probation was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Batchelor is an educator, musician, film-maker and producer. He spent a time behind bars where he became a presenter for National Prison Radio. Jimmy has continued to work with the Prison Radio Association in the many years since his release, and he’s been leading a series of workshops in prisons over the past few weeks as part of National Prison Radio’s contribution to Windrush Day. Colin McFarlane is an actor, voice artist and campaigner. He's the star of films including Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, as well as countless animations and TV series. Together with the singer Annie Lennox, he founded the Justice4Windrush campaign which aims to inform the British public about the on-going Windrush scandal and provide free legal support to people who have a legitimate claim for compensation.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tamar spent a short period of time in HMP Holloway, a women's prison in North London, in 2016. Months later, the prison was closed for good. The buildings became derelict. Several years later, Tamar was one of a group of six women who had all spent time in Holloway to go back into the prison with film-makers to take part in a remarkable documentary called Holloway, Daisy-May Hudson is one of the co-directors of Holloway. She began her film-making career when she decided to start filming her family's experience of homelessness. She is also the writer and director of the acclaimed film Lollipop, which premiered at last year's Edinburgh International Film Festival.Find screenings of Holloway and buy tickets here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer (and deputy presenter!): Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zak Addae-Kodua is one half of Zak and Jules, the presenting team behind the award-winning Life After Prison podcast. He has experienced several stints out on licence and explains why it's not always as straightforward to keep to your licence conditions as you might imagine.Cecilia Goodwin is the founder and Managing Director of Goodwin and Rose Solicitors. She has extensive experience of representing and working with people who are on probation having been released from prison.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years ago, David Kendall decided to put on an entire festival of arts and literature inside HMP Lewes. This was the birth of Penned Up, a unique annual event which is now in its tenth year, and which has found a home in HMP Erlestoke in Wiltshire.Today we learn about how on Earth you go about organising a festival in a prison, and some of the guests who have taken part over the years, including Nick Cave, Tony Adams, Billy Bragg, Garry Younge, Courttia Newland, Max Porter, Dr Rache Clarke, John Niven, and even National Prison Radio's Lady Unchained.Alongside David is Jailhouse Moose, a blogger who first met David while serving a sentence in HMP Liverpool. He went on to be on the organising committee after he'd been transferred to HMP Erlestoke. He now writes about prison.Find out more about Penned Up here.You can read Jailhouse Moose here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the day David Gauke, the former Justice Secretary, publishes his long-awaited Independent Sentencing Review, we get analysis from the journalist David Shipley who served a sentence for fraud in 2020-2021 and now broadcasts for several publications, including The Spectator.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nigel Bromage was a prominent member of several far-right groups, including British Movement and Combat 18, for 20 years. During that time, he was close to events that could easily have led him to prison. He became disillusioned with the life in the late 1990s and began a long and dangerous process of moving away from the far-right. He now runs an organisation called Exit Hate, which aims to support people who want to leave the far-right.Find out more about Exit Hate here.Graham Finochio spent almost 20 years in prison in California, having joined a white supremacist group at the age of 14. While in prison he encountered a rehabilitation programme called Success Stories which is based on feminism. Graham is now a Transformational Coach for Success Stories, having renounced his former allegiances. Find out more about Success Stories here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cherie Blair KC became a barrister in 1976 and went on to be a county court and crown court judge. In 2024 she was appointed to the Leadership Board of the charity Women in Prison, where she has stressed the importance of supporting women and girls before they come into contact with the criminal justice system.Kate Morrissey is on the Women’s Justice Partnership Delivery Group which supports the Women’s Justice Board. She’s Head of Health and Justice for the East of England region for NHS England, and at the weekends she serves on the frontline with an ambulance service. Kate was remanded to prison as a young adult where she began to address drug problems that she'd experienced since she was a teenager and embarked on volunteering work which eventually led her to the positions she holds today.You can read about the role of the Women's Justice Board here.You can watch Kate Morrissey's extraordinary TEDx Talk here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy West is the author of The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Learning to be Free, which is currently being adapted into a BBC television drama. Andy has been teaching philosophy in prisons since 2016. You can buy Andy's book while supporting local independent bookshops here.Ray Smith writes for Inside Time, the monthly newspaper for people in prison, and was a member of Andy's philosophy group during a six-month spell he spent in HMP Pentonville. You can read Ray's thoughts about being invited on this podcast in the latest edition of Inside Time.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two days before the 2025 London Marathon, a very special half marathon took place behind the walls of HMP Brixton in aid of the Prison Reform Trust. And The Secret Life of Prisons was granted exclusive access to bring you the sounds of a momentous morning.Nine of HMP Brixton's residents undertook a 16-week training programme, supported by members of the local running community, and on Friday 25 April they ran alongside around 40 visitors in a feat of endurance and stamina. The result was a beautiful example of the power of sport to change lives.The voices you will hear in this podcast include:Tara BenedettiPia SinhaMia WheelerSean FletcherMarianne GarveyJamie LoynSarah TaylorAbbey DarlingAlan HigginsHermen DangeMartin JonesDr. Dave MaguireEleanor CarmichaelAdam HarrisAndrew WilkieFaye DunnOur thanks to the staff at HMP Brixton, particularly Governor Wheeler, Deputy Governor Merrifield their physical education team, and also the team at the Prison Reform Trust led by Pia Sinha and Tara Benedetti for making this event, and this podcast, possible.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We love to hear your thoughts, your views and your questions. To contact the show, please email [email protected] this week's episode we answer questions from listeners inside and outside prison.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we've got two guests who, for very different reasons, have spent time in a lot of different prisons. We asked them to compare notes and tell us their best stories.Duewaine Marshalleck-Baker was released from prison for the final time in 2016, having spent more than eighteen years in prison on and off. He now works for National Prison Radio as one of the presenters of our Takeover Days - visiting prisons across the country for a very different reason. Find out what happened when he visited his old cell in HMP The Mount.Arthur Hagues is Head of Content Innovation for the Prison Radio Association, and the lead producer of National Prison Radio's Takeover Days. He's visited dozens of prisons in his career with the Prison Radio Association.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Tchaikovsky was a founder of the charity Women in Prison, the charity that campaigns on behalf of women in the criminal justice system. She died in 2002, having lived an extraordinary life. Today's episode marks the end of Women's History Month and is dedicated to her life and her legacy.Kate Fraser spent 17 years in heroin addiction, engaged in street sex work, and spending spells on remand in prison. She went on to work for the charity NACRO, and then applied for a job with Women in Prison, where she first came across the name Chris Tchaikovsky. She is now Head of Practice for Women in Prison.Deborah Coles is the Executive Director of Inquest, the only charity providing expertise on state-related deaths and their investigations. Deborah knew Chris, having met her during her days at the University of Essex.You can read Women in Prison's new strategy document, Together in Power 2025-2030, here.You can buy Criminal Women, the book written by Chris Tchaikovsky with Pat Carlen and others, here.You can find out more information about the work of Inquest here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected] Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Lewis served a prison sentence for receiving a corrupt payment. Shortly after his release, during the pandemic, he applied for a voluntary role directing cars at a Covid vaccination centre and his application was rejected, apparently because of his criminal record. He is now an ambassador for the FairChecks campaign.Penelope Gibbs is the Director of Transform Justice, a charity that aims to create a fair, open, compassionate justice system. They are one of the leaders of the FairChecks campaign.You can find more information about the FairChecks campaign and sign up as a supporter here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. To contact the show, please email [email protected]. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Mo went to prison hundreds of miles from home, his older sister would visit him but he didn't see his mum in person until he was more than two years into his sentence, and his youngest sister didn't come to visit him at all. He went five years without seeing her. How did he and his family come to these decisions, and what was it like reconnecting after all this time?Faye Dunn went to prison as the mum of two young children, and she had a difficult decision to make about whether to expose them to the prison environment. How did she approach parenting from behind bars, and what are things like now?Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alice Dawnay founded the charity Switchback in 2008, which supports young Londoners to find a way out of the justice system. She's now part of the team that's just launched the Common Ground Justice Project, which is an initiative to find the common ground in the sometimes polarised debate around crime and justice.Kam was helped by Switchback when he was being released from prison. He had committed an offence, but he had also been the victim of a very serious offence, losing a loved-one to knife crime. He is now part of the advisory panel for the Common Ground Justice Project.You can find out more about the Common Ground Justice Project here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2013, Khamran Uddin wrote a letter to the man he had violently assaulted in a random attack on a deserted railway platform. The victim was coming home from work as he did every day when Khamran seriously injured him with a baseball bat. What followed was an extraordinary meeting which changed both their lives.Keeva Baxter is the Campaigns and Communications Manager for Why me? They're a charity that aim to advocate for the greater availability of Restorative Justice to victims and those who have committed crimes, and to improve public understanding of this radical approach to addressing harm.You can find out more about the work of Why me? here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Gauke is the former Conservative Member of Parliament for South West Hertfordshire, the former Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, and the Chair of the Labour government's Independent Sentencing Review.Phil and Paula ask him about the progress of the report, delve into the politics of crime and justice, and finish with challenge around the use of the terms 'offender' and 'ex-offender' which elicits a fascinating response.You can read part one of the report here.You can read David's New Statesman article from October 2024 here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richie Makepeace was just trying to keep his head down and get through his prison sentence in HMP Brixton when he was offered a job in the prison's radio production training workshop. Like many people in prison, he was really worried about whether he would be able to find employment. But after release he got offered a job helping to deliver National Prison Radio's Outside In traineeship, and is now part of the Prison Radio Association's staff team working to train others who have recently been released from prison themselves.Nancy Prentice is the Prison Radio Association's Head of Talent Development. Her job is to spot people inside prison who might benefit from continued training in radio production after release. She oversees the Outside In traineeship and the podcast that showcases the work of the trainees.You can listen and subscribe to the Outside In podcast here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spice, a name for a group of synthetic drugs that have gripped prisons over the past decade, are said by researchers at Middlesex University's Drug and Alcohol Research Centre to have played a role in almost half of all non-natural deaths in prisons over a five year period.Michael Kennedy had already used spice on one occasion before he went to prison. For him it was a way of self-medicating for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). But in prison he was fully in its grip. During a music technology class in HMP Stoke Heath he wrote a song imploring people to avoid spice. He's now clean, and is a volunteer for the Forward Trust, who support people to break the cycles of addiction and crime.You can listen to Michael's track Mamba Attack here.Ian Vandersluys is Head of Safety at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, having worked for almost three decades in prisons. He describes some of the shocking scenes that have accompanied the rise of synthetic drugs, the impact it has on staff and prisoners, and some of the ways prisons tackle the epidemic.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scout Tzofiya Bolton is a poet, activist, radio producer and the author of The Mad Art of Doing Time. She went to prison in 2023 where she received excellent care for the mental health conditions that led to her offence.You can read Scout's recent article for The Guardian here.You can listen to Scout's documentary for BBC Radio 4, entitled The Ballad of Scout and the Alcohol Tag.Scout's latest book, The Mad Art of Doing Time, is available from Broken Sleep Books.Michelle Walsh is a key worker at the Merseyside Women's Team for the Together Women project. She supports women with diagnosed and undiagnosed mental health conditions after release from prison and advocates on their behalf.You can find out more about the work of Together Women here.Presenters:Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio AssociationPaula Harriott – Chief Executive, UnlockProducer: Andrew WilkieAssistant Producer: Faye DunnThe Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Owen KC is a criminal barrister who has sat as a Deputy High Court Judge. He is a co-host of Double Jeopardy: The Law and Politics Podcast.  You can find the sentencing guidelines for all offences heard in the Magistrates and Crown Courts on the Sentencing Council website. Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mickey Dehara is a screenwriter who has frequently collaborated with the director Guy Richie, including playing a starring role in the film Snatch. He served a prison sentence in the early 2010s when he got involved with National Prison Radio and won the Sandford St. Martin and Jerusalem Awards for a dramatisation of the Good Friday story which he wrote and starred in. On release from prison he set up Films4Life which aimed to change people's lives through the medium of film-making. Max Porter is the award-winning author of several novels, including Grief Is A Thing With Feathers which is currently being adapted into a film starring Benedict Cumberbatch. He delvers storytelling workshops in palliative care settings, prisons and war zones. He has recently returned from Palestine where he worked with people caught up in the conflict, and he is the Writer in Residence at HMP Erlestoke. Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie Bennett is is the author of a new book which looks at the challenges of managing prisons. He is Prison Contracts Group Director at His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service. He has been Governor of Morton Hall, Long Lartin, Grendon and Spring Hill prisons. Andrew Morris served a sentence in HMP Spring Hill while Jamie was the Governor there. After release, he founded the New Wave Trust which aims to provide mentorships for young black men. He's a Trustee at the Howard League for Penal Reform and for the Raphael Rowe Foundation. He's also worked as an assessment officer at the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Read more: Managing Prisons: Managerialism, Austerity and Moral Blindness by Jamie Bennett Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In November 2024, Janey Starling from the charity Level Up, called out the presenter of LBC's breakfast show Nick Ferrari live on air for his apparent ignorance of the facts around the imprisonment of women. In response to that interview, we invited friend of the podcast Dr. Kimmett Edgar to the studio to help us understand what the numbers can tell us about prisons and the people who live in them. Kimmett is a former Senior Research Officer at the Oxford Centre for Criminological Research and was Head of Research at the Prison Reform Trust. After finishing this podcast, why not listen to Paula's appearance on BBC Radio 4's Feedback? Some data sources from this programme:  You can find prison population statistics from His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service here. Data on reoffending rates is published here. Data on ethnicity in the prison popuation can be found here. Details of the running costs of individual prisons is published by the Ministry of Justice here. Analysis of government spending and performance of prisons by the Institute for Government is published here. A study of the impact of short custodial sentences on reoffending was released by the Ministry of Justice here. An international comparison of prison populations from the Council of Europe is published here. The evidence review of the impact of imprisonment on families is published by the charity Clinks here. Data on the causes of death of people in prison published by the Office for National for National Statistics can be found here. Ministry of Justice data on self harm in prison is published here. A BBC News report on the links between prison and homelessness can be found here. You can find a treasure trove of data about prisons in the annual Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile, published by the Prison Reform Trust. Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greg Eskridge was released from San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in California, formerly known as San Quentin state prison, on 23 July 2024 after serving 30 years and 25 days. In prison Greg became a founding member of the Uncuffed radio program and podcast, a project run by the public radio station KALW. Greg now works full-time as Uncuffed’s first Leadership Fellow, preparing him for leadership roles in the project.  Eli Wirtschafter is the Program Director for Uncuffed and got to know Greg through his work behind the walls of San Quentin. He trains people in California prisons how to produce radio and podcasts, developing professional broadcasting skills and creating shows. Listen to the Uncuffed podcast. The Secret Life of Prisons wishes you a very happy Christmas. We'll be back in the new year with weekly shows dropping every Monday. Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In November the Sentencing Academy, a charity that aims to improve public understanding of sentencing in England and Wales, released a piece of research entitled 'Who is in prison and what is the purpose of imprisonment?'. It concluded that most people know very little about prisons. To test these findings, Phil and Paula went to stand outside the Central Criminal Court in London, better known as the Old Bailey, to ask Londoners about their views on crime, prisons and the people who live in them. Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah Moore was exposed to the most dangerous situations imaginable during a seven-year period in which she disappeared from her family's life. She wanted to protect them from the effects of her chaotic lifestyle and mental ill-health, both of which she struggled to manage.  She is now a criminal justice practitioner working at Anawim, a Women's Centre in Birmingham. Sonya Ruparel is the Chief Executive of Women in Prison, a charity that supports women affected by the criminal justice system and campaigns to end the harms associated with the imprisonment of women. You can submit evidence to the Independent Sentencing Reivew here. Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. This week we are participating in The Big Give, a national fundraising campaign.  So in this week's show, we wanted to introduce you to five people who went to prison and now all have careers in broadcasting, thanks to their work with the Prison Radio Association. Ali Ali is National Prison Radio's breakfast show host and the winner of a silver award at the 2024 ARIAS in the Best New Voice category. Jules Rowan is one of the multi award-winning hosts of Life After Prison, our podcast for people who have been released from prison. Nico Constantinou was in prison this time last year, where he learned about radio production. After he was released he took part in our Outside In traineeship and is now working at BBC Radio 1Xtra. Garth St Clair is the founder of Rise Maximum Radio, which broadcasts from Arouca Maximum Security Prison near Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobage. The Fantastic Faye Dunn was in Styal prison near Manchester in November 2022 when she was approached by the National Prison Radio team to take part in a programme. Since then she's worked incredibly hard to develop her skills and has impressed the team so much that she now works full-time for the charity on a range of shows, including being the Assistant Producer of this podcast! If you donate to us before Tuesday 10 December, your donation will be doubled! To make a donation, go to prison.radio/biggive. Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sean Henry received multiple prison terms through his early adult life. But receiving a long sentence for a serious offence when his son was just two months old, Sean discovered a different perspective on his own life and the way he had been acting. With precious support from key people in his life, including his son's mother and their extended family, Sean gradually but decisively made the changes that have transformed his future. His son is now an adult and Sean is able to reflect on why things turned out for him the way they did.  Sean now works for Sussex Prisoners Families, as well as working with young people who are at risk of following the path Sean followed. Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday 11 November 2024, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe delivered the annual Longford Lecture at Church House in Westminster.  Nazanin was imprisoned in 2016 at the end of a family visit to Iran, accused of plotting to overthrow the government by running courses in journalism that the Iranian regime said aimed to train people to spread propaganda against Iran. She vehemently denied these charges but remained in prison until 2022. In this year's emotional Longford Lecture, she tells us what she learnt from the experience and explains her passion for penal reform. For more information about the Longford Trust, visit www.longfordtrust.org  Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tyler Voase was released from prison in the summer of 2024.  He first went into jail in 2022 weighing over 40 stone, and with the support of a well-thought-through and timely intervention from gym staff he reinvented himself, losing 18 stone while in HMP Feltham. Samy Ali is a Physical Education Instructor (PEI) at HMP Feltham, and he was the member of staff who knocked on Tyler's cell door one day to offer him a job working in the gym.  Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matthew Torbitt is a writer and broadcaster. A period of homelessness as a young man led to involvement in crime, for which he received a sentence. These experiences fed a political awakening and a career working with the Labour Party. Matthew now writes and tours television studios commentating on politics. He joins us down the line from Washington DC. Ben Zaranko is a Senior Research Economist for the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He is about to start work on a major research project using new data from the Ministry of Justice to assess the economic impacts of the justice system.  Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock Producer: Andrew Wilkie Assistant Producer: Faye Dunn The Prison Radio Association is a charity that runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.  Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.