The Secret Life of Prisons

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

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

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

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

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

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