The Secret Life of Prisons podcast

Christmas Special | Rory Stewart Live at Church House, London | Longford Lecture 2023

Dec 25, 2023

Happy Christmas from The Secret Life of Prisons!

On Wednesday 22 November 2023, Rory Stewart delivered the annual Longford Lecture at Church House in Westminster. And like every year, National Prison Radio was there to broadcast the lecture into prison cells across England and Wales.

For this special edition of The...

Behind the Crime | Dr. Sally Tilt and Dr. Kerensa Hocken

Dec 21, 2023

Phil and Paula speak to the two presenters of BBC Radio 4's series Behind the Crime.

Dr. Sally Tilt and Dr. Kerensa Hocken have decades of experience working in prisons as forensic psychologists.

HM Prison and Probation Service is the biggest employer of forensic psychologists in the UK, and this episode looks at...

Making Time series 2 | Jimmy McGovern and Helen Black

Dec 11, 2023

In 2021, the legendary TV screenwriter Jimmy McGovern released a three-part drama set in a men's prison, called Time on BBC1. In 2023, he followed it up with a brand new series set in a women's prison.

Like the first series, it was widely said to be the most realistic depiction of the complexity and nuance of prison...

Down, Not Out S2 Ep3: Women and Homelessness

Dec 7, 2023

1 in 7 adults in prison were experiencing homelessness before entering custody, and fewer than half of people released from prison last year had settled accommodation on release. But what do we know about women who experience homelessness?

Phil and Paula have teamed up with the Orwell Foundation and the Centre for...

Down, Not Out S2 Ep2: Foreign Nationals and Homelessness

Nov 28, 2023

1 in 7 adults in prison were experiencing homelessness before entering custody, and fewer than half of people released from prison last year had settled accommodation on release. But what if you’re living in another country from where you were born and things start going wrong?

Phil and Paula have teamed up with...