Prison Break

This week we’re taking an inside look at the problem with prisons. Not only do they face chronic overcrowding, the early-release scheme designed to alleviate it threatens to push former inmates into homelessness. It’s time to look for creative ways to cut reoffending in the first place, through better rehabilitation and education on the inside, and practical support after release. One man is aiming to do that through the power of football; another is helping people set up businesses on the outside. We hear from Lee Child, Jack Reacher author and new prison laureate, on how teaching literacy is key to changing people’s perceptions of themselves, and we catch up with Big Issue’s own Frankie Stone who is helping inmates find balance through yoga. And Harriet Walter is back as Brutus in Julius Caesar. This time, the action is set inside a high-security women’s prison. We talk to the cast and director Phyllida Lloyd ahead of a school tour that aims to give a voice to those usually left unheard.

Also inside

• Lord John Bird looks back on a big day for Big Issue, and forward to the work that lies ahead
• Meteorologist Laura Tobin says that if we want to save the world we need to love it more
• The Koestler Arts Exhibition 2026 features works by prisoners, and was curated by young people with experience of having a parent in prison
• Superstar DJs Chase & Status recall how they met as young music nerds in a Letter to Their Younger Selves
• Heather Morris, bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, has some favourite reads to recommend to us
• As Ghosts and Ali G both release movie spin-offs, Graeme Virtue takes us through the time-honoured, sometimes questionable path from sitcom to silver screen
• It’s a tough gig being a nepo baby. But sometimes one comes along who’s the real musical deal
• Invisible Cities guide Mandy was long-term unemployed. Now she’s found her calling, showing off her home town of Galashiels
• And Portsmouth vendor Bridgette says that selling the magazine is “excellent therapy”

And much more

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