The Secret Life of Prisons podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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

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

Simon Madu was released from prison in 2021 after serving twelve years in prison. He remains 'on licence' and must report to his probation officer regularly as part of his continuing sentence.

However, Simon is also a member of staff at His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, as the Engagement Lead for a pioneering project called Engaging People on Probation (EPOP). As such, his probation officer is also a colleague in the probation service.

Simon's role is to support 'peer mentors' – people who have experience of the justice system who volunteer to offer support and guidance to others who are coming out of prison.

Danielle Bond is the Peer Mentor Coordinator for EPOP.

Simon and Danielle explain the positive role peer mentors can play in the life of people released from prison. Peer mentors are all people who have been to prison or been subject to probation supervision. They are on the front line of efforts to help people avoid committing further offences after release from prison.

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

In 2004, Paula was imprisoned for eight years for a drugs offence. 

Twenty years later, she is the trailblazing Chief Executive of a prominent national charity, being cited multiple times for her pioneering work in the criminal justice sector by none other than the Minister of State for Justice, and noted by The Times of London as an 'intutitive broadcaster'.

In today's emotional episode, Paula fills in the space over those two decades to describe the enormous challenges that come with being released from prison, and what she's learnt from the events that have led to her becoming a leading light in the campaign for a better 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

The Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool was built in 1846 and was the first structure in Britain to be constructed from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood. As a result, it was the first non-combustible warehouse system in the world.

It was also the venue for the 2024 Labour Party Conference, and Phil and Paula took the opportunity to return to Liverpool to listen to James Timpson, a newly-appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Justice, for the first time since his appointment.

Journalist and conference veteran Paul Mason explains what the Labour Party Conference is all about, while our fantastic Assistant Producer Faye Dunn gives her view on her very first conference, coming just two months after her release from prison.

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

In 2021 Tony was told by a nurse in HMP Ford that she suspected he had cancer.

Over the following years, Tony has experienced frustration and fear but also received heart-warming empathy and kindness from the staff at the Fernhurst Centre at St. Richards Hospital, Chichester, and in particular from Marion Misselbrook, a Macmillan Information and Support Worker who was invited by the Governor of HMP Ford to offer support to prisoners undergoing cancer treatment.

In this very special edition of The Secret Life of Prisons, we reunite Tony and Marion to hear their emotional and at times shocking account of cancer care in prison.

What can we learn from Tony and Marion’s remarkable relationship and trust that can improve outcomes for people in prison?

We also hear from Professor Jo Armes, a researcher from the University of Surrey who contributed to a study entitled Improving Cancer Care in Prisons which was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

You can download the report Improving Cancer Care in Prisons here.

The research findings have also been adapted by the Synergy Theatre Project into a film, Cancer Cells, which you can watch here.

If you are caring for someone who is receiving cancer treatment, you can find out about support you may be entitled to, as well as lots of other resources here.

To make a donation to Macmillan Cancer Support visit donation.macmillan.org.uk.

Our thanks to the staff and volunteers of The Fernhurst Centre at St. Richards Hospital, Chichester for hosting our recording.

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

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