A Bit of a Stretch - The Podcast

By Chris Atkins

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Image by Chris Atkins

Category: Documentary

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Subscribers: 116
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 18

Description

Chris Atkins is a documentary maker who went to prison for tax fraud in 2016. He spent nine months in HMP Wandsworth, one of the most dangerous prisons in the UK, and has written about his surreal experiences in his bestselling book A Bit of a Stretch. After his release he interviewed 20 ex-prisoners about their time in jail, and turned the recordings into season 1 of this podcast. Their stories are shocking, uplifting, heartbreaking, hilarious, and often downright weird, taking you headfirst into the biggest prison crisis in history. It reveals a collapsing system that is failing victims and wider society, and reveals how the human spirit can thrive in the darkest corners. Each episode is centred around a different theme, like Arrival, Family and Change, and was a huge hit on its release and the winner of the Criminal Justice Alliance media award in 2021.


Over the last two years Chris has discovered a lot these contributors have gone back to prison, sometimes several times, and so he's written a follow up book Time After Time, asking why so many prisoners reoffend. It follows a colourful cast of criminals who just can't go straight, including Alex who spent nine months living in luxury hotels pretending to be the Duke of Marlborough, and Ed who has been recalled to prison four times since his release, despite not being convicted of any further offences. Season 2 of the podcast will dip into some of these crazy stories, as Chris interviews a fascinating cast of convicts as they cycle through our hideously dysfunctional justice system.



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Episode Date
Cold in Your Bones
Aug 02, 2024
Sing When You're Winning
Jul 26, 2024
You're nicked
Jul 19, 2024
London Bridge
Sep 22, 2023
I Met My Brother's Killer
Sep 12, 2023
Prison Break
Aug 31, 2023
Total Recall
Aug 24, 2023
The Fake Duke
Aug 24, 2023
Loose Ends
Dec 29, 2020
Pandemic in Prisons
Dec 01, 2020
Turning the Screw
Nov 12, 2020
Rehabilitate This
Nov 02, 2020
Are You Listening?
Oct 20, 2020
Children of Prisoners
Oct 13, 2020
Prison: A Love Story
Oct 05, 2020
The Daily Grind
Sep 28, 2020
Arrival and Survival
Sep 20, 2020
A Bit of a Stretch Podcast - Trailer
Sep 17, 2020