Ben Jones and Steve Girling are the hosts of Hold or Fold, a brand-new podcast from the Prison Radio Association that supports people who suffer from gambling addiction.

Ben and Steve both went to prison for offences linked to their gambling. After release, both men realised that there were gaps in screening for gambling addiction in prison and in the provision of services for recovery. They worked with the Prison Radio Association to start Hold or Fold as a programme on National Prison Radio. Thanks to funding from GambleAware, that programme continues to broadcast on the radio into prison cells and it's now available to listeners on the outside as a brand-new podcast.

Steve co-founded and runs Reframe Coaching, which offers support and guidance for those affected by problem gambling.

Ben has started a recovery service in Nottingham called TimeOut, which is part of the charity Double Impact.

If you're affected by gambling harms, there are a number of organisations who can help. Here are links to just a few:

• Gordon Moody
• Reframe Coaching
• Gamlearn
• Gamfam
• Gamcare
• Bet Know More
• Breakeven
• Gambler’s Anonymous

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

What role does food play in the daily lives of women in prison?

Libby is the Head Chef at The Edge at Joey Orr’s, an award-winning restaurant in Liverpool. She spent time in Styal and New Hall prisons, where she had contrasting experiences of the culture around food behind bars.

You can visit The Edge at Joey Orr’s by booking a table here.

Dr. Erin Power is a Lecturer in Criminology at Liverpool John Moores University. Previously, she was a Research Fellow at the University of Surrey on a 2-year research project entitled Doing Porridge: Understanding women’s experiences of food in prison.

You can read more about Doing Porridge here.

You can order the Beyond Porridge recipe book mentioned in the podcast here.

An animation has been produced from project’s findings Here

An art exhibition from the project in partnership with Koestler Arts is entitled ‘On my Plate’

The research project was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and this episode was funded by the ESRC Impact Acceleration fund at the University of Surrey.

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

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

Phil and Paula are outside HMP Liverpool, aka Walton Jail, to talk to passers-by about what they think of prisons and the people inside them.

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Chief Executive, Unlock

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

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

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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On Wednesday 22 November 2023, Rory Stewart delivered the annual Longford Lecture at Church House in Westminster.

Rory's lecture was entitled, Rhetoric vs Reality: My Journey as Prisons Minister. It addressed why politics is ill-equipped to deal with the crisis in prisons, and what we might be able to do to change this.

For more information about the Longford Trust, visit www.longfordtrust.org

This episode was originally released on this feed in December 2023

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

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

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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How to survive a life sentence

We're back in the studio with two people who have been to prison and are now outside living with a 'life licence', to talk about 'hooks for change' and the what happens as the reality of being a 'lifer' dawns on you.

They join Phil and Paula in the studio, along with criminologists Serena Wright and Ben Crewe.

Serena is a researcher and Lecturer in Criminology in the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Her research on prisons and penology has focused on short-term sentences and post-release ‘frustrated desistance’ among women, and the experience of long-term incarceration among life-sentenced prisoners.

Ben is Deputy Director of the Prisons Research Centre at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. He is interested in all aspects of prison life, including prison management, staff-prisoner relationships, public and private sector imprisonment, penal power and prisoner social life.

Further reading:

Experiencing long-term imprisonment from young adulthood (Wright, Crewe, Hulley): Ministry of Justice

Life Imprisonment from Young Adulthood (Wright, Crewe, Hulley): Palgrave Macmillan

This episode was originally released on this feed in November 2021

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

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

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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What is it like to receive a life sentence?

We're joined by two people who have had this experience - both have been to prison and are now outside living with a 'life licence'.

They join Phil and Paula in the studio, along with criminologists Serena Wright and Susie Hulley.

Serena is a researcher and Lecturer in Criminology in the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Her research on prisons and penology has focused on short-term sentences and post-release ‘frustrated desistance’ among women, and the experience of long-term incarceration among life-sentenced prisoners.

Susie is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. She is interested in how young people are affected by the criminal justice system, particularly their experiences of criminalisation and imprisonment. Her recent work focuses on the application of ‘joint enterprise’ by criminal justice practitioners (including lawyers and the police) and the impact of this legal doctrine on young people.

Further reading:

Experiencing long-term imprisonment from young adulthood (Wright, Crewe, Hulley): Ministry of Justice

Life Imprisonment from Young Adulthood (Wright, Crewe, Hulley): Palgrave Macmillan

This episode was originally released on this feed in November 2021

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

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

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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In June 2024 a group of people with a wealth of experience of probation gathered for a one-day workshop at Liverpool John Moore's 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.

In this week's episode we hear those conversations, followed by reflections from two academics who have played a leading role in the project: Dr. Matthew Millings from the School of Justice Studies at Liverpool John Moores University; and Professor Nicola Carr from the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham

Rehabilitating Probation

This is the second of three episodes looking at the future of probation. A third will be released later in the year.

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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What can we make of the most recent announcements on prison policy? And what are we likely to see from a Starmer government over the longer term?

Lord Ken Macdonald KC was Director of Public Prosecutions immedately before Sir Keir Starmer took up that position. Since then he's been a practicing criminal defence barrister and been involved in the development of criminal justice policy, especially in relation to terrorism and national security. He is currently Chair of the Orwell Foundation and President of the Howard League for Penal Reform.

He is also a co-host of Double Jeopardy - the law and politics podcast.

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

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