Shows
Just HumansA Sentence with No End? The Order for Lifelong RestrictionIn this episode I talk to Nicola Ceesay and Dr Marguerite Schinkel about Order for Lifelong Restrictions (OLR) in Scotland and the realities of living with a sentence that feels like it has no end. Nicola, who has spent the last few years researching the Order for Lifelong Restriction as part of her PhD thesis, explains why these sentences exist, and she tell us about the impact they’ve had on the people who are serving them. Joining Nicola is Dr Marguerite Schinkel, a senior lecturer in Criminology at the University of Glasgow, who talks abo...2025-07-0828 min
The Ferret headlinesCampaigners call for mental health ward deaths to be investigatedOnly 11 of more than 1,000 deaths in Scottish mental health wards over the last decade have been investigated by Scotland's public body overseeing the welfare of patients, according to a new report by Glasgow University.
The study - Nothing to see here - is the fourth annual monitoring report on deaths in state care by the university's Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR).
Published this week, it examines deaths in prison, police custody, migration detention and asylum accommodation and of those sectioned under a compulsory order by the Mental Health Act. It also highlights the deaths of...2025-05-0205 min
Just HumansThe Barlinnie Special Unit: Art, Punishment and InnovationIn this episode our host Rachelle Cobain talks to Dr Kirstin Anderson about a new book she’s edited called 'The Barlinnie Special Unit: Art, Punishment and Innovation'. Kirstin is a Lecturer in Criminology at Edinburgh Napier University and has spent a large part of her career teaching music in schools, universities and in prisons. She’s now turned her attention to the history and legacy of the Barlinnie Special Unit, which was a small therapeutic unit that opened in 1973 as a way of managing long term prisoners and violent offenders. Dubbed the world’s most ambitious penal e...2025-01-2835 min
Just HumansYoung Thug: Art as Evidence in the War on GangsGrammy-award winning rapper Young Thug is currently at the centre of one of the longest criminal trials in Georgia state history. He’s been charged alongside more than two dozen other people under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. Prosecutors are using his rap lyrics as evidence he and a gang called YSL are involved in serious criminal activity, but his defence attorneys say Thug is entirely innocent and that he’s not running a gang, he’s running a record label. Dr Gemma Flynn unpacks this extraordinary case in her latest zine called...2024-10-0140 min
Just HumansPunishment & Protection: The Paradox of Sex Work in ScotlandSince completing her PhD thesis, Dr Anastacia Elle Ryan has spent the last ten years working as a researcher, advocate and social entrepreneur promoting the rights of sex workers and criminalised women in Scotland and further afield. Anastacia founded a charity which aimed to remove the stigma often associated with sex work and provided support and services that improved the lives of hundreds of women across Scotland. In this final episode of the season, Anastacia talks to Rachelle Cobain about the social and legal position of sex work, how decriminalisation may have a positive impact o...2022-12-1352 minJust HumansTeejay & Mary: Two Tales of SupervisionFergus McNeill, who is a Professor of Criminology and Social Work at the University of Glasgow, started his career as a criminal justice social worker before entering the world of academia in the late 90’s. Since then, much of his work has focused on how we punish, rehabilitate and reintegrate people into the community after they’ve offended. In this episode we talk about how two very different encounters Fergus has had during his career – one with a man we’re calling Teejay and another with Mary – had a profound and enduring impact on his research and his percep...2022-12-0655 minJust HumansLetters from Prison: An Exploration of IsolationFormer solicitor and now PhD student Deborah Russo intended her research into segregation in Scottish prisons to begin with a series of in-person interviews, but as Covid hit in 2020 she quickly had to devise an alternative plan. Over the last year she has been working on a written correspondence project which has seen her amass more than 150 letters from people in prison, detailing personal accounts of their experiences of isolation, the physical and psychological toll it has taken on them, and the ways in which they seek to cope with life inside. Deborah found that...2022-11-2932 minJust HumansAre you Listening? Shining a Light on Domestic Abuse in ScotlandDr Emma Forbes joins us in this episode to describe her extraordinary project GlassWalls which uses the medium of stained glass to shine a light on domestic abuse in Scotland. Emma talks to Rachelle Cobain about each of the glass panels and the stories they tell us about victim/survivors and how law and society has viewed domestic abuse over the last few decades. The panels are part of a collaboration between the women at the Daisy Project in Glasgow along with Charles Provan and Brian Waugh from Wasps Studios. You can see...2022-11-2234 min
Just HumansFrom Connection to Recovery: Why an Addict Alone is in Bad CompanyGrayson Bartels is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh working on his thesis which looks at how people in prison recover from Substance Use Disorder (SUD). In this episode of Just Humans we talk about Grayson’s own struggle with addiction to narcotics, the emotional cost of this kind of research and why he thinks connection is the essential ingredient to recovery. This episode includes a clip taken from Johann Hari’s Ted Talk, ‘Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong’ which is available on YouTube https://youtu.be/PY9DcIMGxMs If...2022-11-1531 min
Bad Acts: A True Crime PodcastEp. 112 - A Problem in New Orleans: The Murder of Hasahn Shawl & The Short Life of Jaquin ThomasSend us a textIn July 2016, 15-year-old Jaquin Thomas went with his uncle to an apartment for a confrontation. Jaquin, whom everyone knew as a helpful, kind teen, carried a gun that day. According to his uncle and witnesses, Jaquin shot 24-year-old Hasahn Shawl to death that day. Not long after the crime, Jaquin himself was lost while awaiting trial in adult prison. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/badactspodPodMoth: https://podmoth.network/Ad: https://anchor.fm/doe-identify?fbclid=IwAR1iSGfqQlIVsmRyA7s2oDHA-EbKSP9LZ8BkK595cQBDAtYjEB_IxQPUdj8 Programs:...2022-11-1051 min
Just HumansJust Talk: Is there life after state punishment?In this special podcast episode we got four amazing criminologists together to discuss the question, 'is there life after state punishment?' Professor Fergus McNeill and Dr Marguerite Schinkel from the University of Glasgow are joined by Dr Reuben Jonathan Miller, University of Chicago and Professor Shadd Maruna, Queen's University Belfast. This episode was also filmed so if you'd prefer to watch the conversation head over to the SCCJR YouTube channel. A special thank you to Sean H and Donna Maciocia for supplying their song 'Rewind' taken from the EP 'Looking at Colours...2022-04-201h 04
Just HumansNetworks: Dr Ben CollierNetworks: Dr Ben Collier, University of Edinburgh We used to say look at the stars to feel how small you are, today we need just look at our phones. As we type into them the network pulses and our secrets are hoarded by the algorithm. We must ask, are we human or are we data? Dr Ben Collier, Lecturer in Digital Methods at the University of Edinburgh, has spent the last couple of years looking intently at how our governments and police are using online tactics to nudge and influence us as we surf the i...2021-12-1538 min
Just HumansWork: Dr Hannah GrahamWork: Dr Hannah Graham Some of us have started to return to the office and in doing so we are relearning how to connect with our colleagues and professional networks. The art of the office and how to share our work with the outside world is always a challenge and nevermore so than in these strange Covid times. To help guide us we have gathered round the watercooler with our long-time friend and colleague, Dr Hannah Graham, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Stirling. Hannah has established herself as a pr...2021-12-0834 min
Just HumansFriends: Dr Lisa Bradley and Dr Nughmana MirzaFriends: Dr Lisa Bradley and Dr Nughmana Mirza SCCJR besties Lisa and Nughmana first met when doing their PhD's at the University of Glasgow and soon found they had a lot in common; their research interests, having busy home lives with young kids, wanting to do academia differently and a shared love of chatting over cake and coffee. Soon their conversation sparked deep connection and collaboration. In this episode of Just Humans we look at how friendship can be viewed as a radical act within the academy and examine the ways in which i...2021-11-3028 min
Just HumansFamily: Dr Cara JardineFamily: Dr Cara Jardine Our colleague, or should that be 'sister' of SCCJR, Dr Cara Jardine, Senior Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde, joins our host Ali Fraser to help kick off Season 2 of the Just Humans podcast. Cara's research focuses on the impact of imprisonment on family and relationships and recently published her book, 'Families, Imprisonment and Legitimacy: The Cost of Custodial Penalties'. Cara and Ali talk about family as a verb, what prisons can do to help families connect and we hear Sophie's story who is a young mum trying to keep...2021-11-2430 minJust HumansExceptionalism: Dr Louise BranganExceptionalism: Dr Louise Brangan Our colleague Dr Louise Brangan from the University of Stirling was recently awarded the prestigious British Society of Criminology’s Brian Williams prize for her article, ‘Civilizing Imprisonment: The Limits of Scottish Penal Exceptionalism.’ It got us thinking about exceptions and exceptionalism – what makes one place that bit more special than somewhere else? In Scotland we often define ourselves to our big neighbour down south or look to Scandinavian nations to aspire to, often ignoring the complexities that can bring. To help us make sense of these issues, Louise tells us a...2020-12-1839 minJust HumansConnection: Professor Laura PiacentiniConnection: Professor Laura Piacentini Seldom has there been a time in history where human connection has meant more, but can we stay connected with one another and our work under these conditions? To help us answer these questions Alistair Fraser is joined by our guest, Laura Piacentini, who is a Professor of Criminology at the University of Strathclyde. Laura has dedicated her professional life to forming connections in difficult circumstances from Russian prisons to former Soviet gulags and more recently has been using online forums to make connections. Listen to Laura and Ali...2020-12-0233 minJust HumansTranslation: Dr Phil Crockett ThomasTranslation: Dr Phil Crockett Thomas When we think about translation we usually think of translating from one language to another but research is an act of translation too. Often you are translating an experience, a conversation or observation into quotes and tables. Maybe there’s a better way of doing this? Our guest, Dr Phil Crockett Thomas, a visual sociologist based at the University of Glasgow and research associate on the Distant Voices project, has found poetry to communicate her research and talks to Dr Alistair Fraser about her latest collection ‘Stir’. “The poems re...2020-11-1829 minJust HumansDarkness with Dr Anna SouhamiJust Humans: Darkness with Dr Anna Souhami Our first episode is about darkness with Dr Anna Souhami, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Edinburgh. Anna takes us on an audio trip to Shetland, around 200 miles north of the Scottish mainland, where she researched policing on the periphery and discovered how the dark skies loomed large in people's daily lives. "It struck me even on that first day; the sea and the weather and the light and the darkness was so fundamental and central to life in Shetland, and how could they no...2020-11-0544 min
Just HumansJust Humans TrailerHello, Friends! I’m Ali Fraser, Director of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research - a community critical, curious and creative researchers based in Scotland. Dedicated to rethinking crime and justice. In this podcast series, I’ll be introducing you to the people that make the Centre, their lives and work, what inspires them and makes them tick. To pique your interest, perk up your ears, and probe your thinking. In each episode we’ll look at a different topic, turning it over and holding it up to the light. We’ll hear stories of...2020-10-3100 min