Talking with human rights campaigner Zita Holbourne from BARAC (Black Activists Rising Against Cuts) about the UK summer of deportations which has seen chartered flights to to Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Vietnam Jamaica and Zimbabwe. We talked about what deportation and detention is, and questioned what the political intention with these actions are. Zita told me stories about people who have been let down by the system as deportation rips families apart and ends life chances. She talks through the impact of deportation on different groups of people from those overstaying visas, the Windrush generation and Commonwealth soldiers. 

Zita Holbourne is the chair of BARAC (Black Activists Rising Against Cuts) a UK campaign group that fight against racism, injustice, austerity & for migrant rights. She is also the co-chair of Artists Union England and a multidisciplinary artist. 

I talked with Katy Sadler and Sarah Taylor Silverwood from Feminist Work for Change about women’s safety in public space. We touched upon the public response to the murders of Sarah Everard , Blessing Olusegun, Nicole Smallman, and Biba Henry and how women are sharing their safety precautions when entering public space, especially at night. We also talked around abuse and harassment in schools and the need for education to be more encompassing and start by breaking down gender stereotypes. 

Katy Sadler and Sarah Taylor Silverwood work in the arts in Birmingham. They are both members of Feminists Work for Change a working group for the West Midlands that aims to address issues affecting the lives of women and girls, and to create positive change in the immediate and longer term, locally and nationally.

The episode sound is composed by Zach Dawson. Presented by artist and activist Amelia Hawk.

Talking about mental health and motherhood with other mothers working with maternal support, birth education and art. We each talked about our professional and lived experiences of what the reality of early motherhood is for many vs the magical portrayal of a blissful experience. We touch upon subjects ranging from postnatal depression, the cost of child care, the need for support and structural inequalities to name a few.

Joanne Masding is an artist based in Birmingham primarily working with sculpture. Katie MacLeod Peters is a wellbeing coach and works for Acacia pre and postnatal depression services. Rachel Nolan is a hypnobirthing and antenatal instructor, she also runs a parent support group. 

This episode is kindly supported by a-n, artists newsletter and the sound is composed by Zach Dawson. Presented by artist and activist Amelia Hawk.