Podcast appearances and mentions of erwin james

Doctor Gwen Adshead is a forensic psychiatrist working with the UK's most violent offenders, many of them serving life sentences at Broadmoor Prison for murder. Gwen believes that empathy starts with a recognition that there is a capacity for evil in all of us. She believes that for her patients, “no matter what their history”, therapeutic treatment works. She speaks to the writer and convicted murderer Erwin James. Together they reflect on Erwin's life story and how he came to commit the crime he did. Erwin asks Gwen about her relationship with Christianity and how it has supported her in her work.

Last week we very sadly lost Erwin James, who was a champion of prison reform through his journalism - a career he started while still serving a life sentence in prison. In 2021, we were honoured to welcome Erwin as a guest on the Forensic Psychology Podcast, and we wanted to repost that interview to remind ourselves of his thoughts on the role forensic psychologists played in his time in prison. Erwin James was a Guardian columnist and contributor - a career he started in 1998 while still serving in prison. He then became Editor in Chief of Inside Time, the national newspaper for people in prison. He became a writer in prison where he served 20 years of a mandatory life sentence. He was a Commissioner on the panel of the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice. Erwin was the author of three books: A Life Inside: A Prisoners Notebook, The Home Stretch: From Prison to Parole, and Redeemable: a Memoir of Darkness and Hope. Further reading: Levering Lewis. D. (1994, first published 1973). Prisoners of Honor: The Dreyfus Affair (1994).   Henry Holt & Company Solzhenitsyn, A. (2003, first published 1966). Cancer Ward. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Tolstoy, L. (1998, first published 1869). War and Peace.  Oxford University Press  www.thereader.org.uk 

In today's show we've been banged up! We hear the real life story about a prisoner of war escaping jail and execution as his cell was destroyed in the Dresden bombings, Rachel Kushner tells Robert Kirkwood about her jail novel, The Mars Room, and real life prisoner Erwin James talks about learning Braille in jail. We'll also find four new gems in the Talking Books Library.

Erwin James has been a Guardian columnist and contributor since 1998. Currently he is Editor in Chief of Inside Time, the national newspaper for people in prison. He became a writer in prison where he served 20 years of a mandatory life sentence. He has been a consultant for Iain Duncan Smith MP on prisoner rehabilitation and a Commissioner on the panel of the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice. Erwin is the author of three books: A Life Inside: A Prisoners Notebook, The Home Stretch: From Prison to Parole, and Redeemable: a Memoir of Darkness and Hope. Further reading: Levering Lewis. D. (1994, first published 1973). Prisoners of Honor: The Dreyfus Affair (1994).   Henry Holt & Company Solzhenitsyn, A. (2003, first published 1966). Cancer Ward. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Tolstoy, L. (1998,  first published 1869). War and Peace.  Oxford University Press  www.thereader.org.uk 

When someone commits a crime, we want them punished. If wrongdoers go to prison more often and for longer, everyone seems happy. But we live in a system where people do eventually come out of prison and rejoin the community. And this is where what has happened to them in prison really starts to matter. If prisons are a rank breeding ground for recidivism, where drug use is unchecked and non-violent offenders are initiated into the criminal world, do you want someone who has spent time there living near you? Or would you rather see them going straight back to jail? As incarceration rates grow, if we want anyone who has been to jail to have a chance in life, maybe we need to look at a different approach – the kind of prison model that could make a killer a good neighbour. Erwin James is a convicted murderer and Guardian journalist. James was released in August 2004 having served 20 years of a life sentence. Chaired by journalist Hamish Macdonald.

CarneyShow 07.01.21 Vivki Berger Erwin, James Erwin, Robert Hopkins, Marshall Brain, Martin Kilcoyne by

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay enters London's Brixton Prison in 2012 in an attempt to teach a group of inmates to run a successful bakery. Would he succeed or would the men return to a life of crime once the cameras stopped rolling? Resources: "Mad for It" by Lynn Barber for The Guardian, May 13, 2001. "From criminal to trainee cook: 'I owe Gordon Ramsay a lot'" by Erwin James for The Guardian, Aug 14, 2013. "Gordon Ramsay's Embarrassing Arrest Inspired Him to Set Up a Prison Bakery for London Inmates" by Sabrina Smith for Showbiz CheatSheet, Feb 19, 2021. Gordon Behind Bars: Season 1 (2012), Helen Simpson, Director, FilmRise Network. Links: Once Upon a Crime webpage: www.truecrimepodcast.com - click on the red microphone in the corner of the homepage to record your question. Podcasts We Listen to Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PodcastsWeListenTo/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay enters London's Brixton Prison in 2012 in an attempt to teach a group of inmates to run a successful bakery. Would he succeed or would the men return to a life of crime once the cameras stopped rolling?  Resources:  "Mad for It" by Lynn Barber for The Guardian, May 13, 2001. "From criminal to trainee cook: 'I owe Gordon Ramsay a lot'" by Erwin James for The Guardian, Aug 14, 2013.  "Gordon Ramsay's Embarrassing Arrest Inspired Him to Set Up a Prison Bakery for London Inmates" by Sabrina Smith for Showbiz CheatSheet, Feb 19, 2021.  Gordon Behind Bars: Season 1 (2012), Helen Simpson, Director, FilmRise Network.   Sponsors:  AcornTV - www.Acorn.TV - use promo code ONCE to get your first 30 days free. Prose - www.Prose.com/once for your free in-depth hair quiz and 15% off your first order.  Ana Luisa - www.analuisa.com/once and use promo code ONCE for 10% off your entire jewelry purchase.  Plum Deluxe Teas - www.plumdeluxe.com/once and enter code ONCE at checkout for 10% off your purchase. Or join the tea club to get a 20% off code on additional teas and accessories.  Links:  Once Upon a Crime webpage: www.truecrimepodcast.com - click on the red microphone in the corner of the homepage to record your question.  Podcasts We Listen to Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PodcastsWeListenTo/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime 

Now an erudite and widely-admired writer, the early part of Erwin James's life was very different. Aged 7, Erwin lost his mother in a car crash and his father took to drink and domestic violence in his grief. Under that tragic backdrop, he began a criminal career which led to a total of 53 convictions culminating in the murder of two men in London in 1982. Erwin fled the country and joined the French Foreign Legion until he was tracked down by Scotland Yard two years later, going on to serve twenty years of a life sentence. Initially writing from prison, he chronicled that life in an acclaimed Guardian column followed by three books including 2016's 'Redeemable', as well as in his current role as editor-in-chief of prison publication 'Inside Time'.Jason spoke to Erwin about his own story of redemption and views on prison reform, as well as the impact of COVID-19 restrictions which require prisoners to be locked in their cells for 23 hours a day - something Erwin himself experienced early on in his stay at Wandsworth Prison.For more information and to view dozens more stories, go to www.morethanmypast.org.uk See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Where do we find a sense of belonging? And once we do, how do we harness it to reinvent who we are and who we will become? In their first-ever conversation, Charlotte Fox Weber, head of psychotherapy at The School of Life, and formerly incarcerated writer and author Erwin James meet to share their wisdom about inner peace, mental resilience, and growth in adversity.

Robert Kirkwood goes through the archive to find some of the best interviews from previous Boswell Book Festivals as he looks forward to this year's event. Gordon Turnbull tells Red Szell about the history of James Boswell. (Starts at 1.20) Victor Gregg tells Robert the story behind his book Rifleman (Starts at 6.50) Dame Judi Dench talks to Red about narrating books and her macular degeneration. (Starts at 18.10) Guardian columnist and convicted murderer Erwin James talks about his book Redeemable (Starts at 22.30) Bomber pilot George Dunn talks to Robert Kirkwood about his remarkable military service (Starts at 33.35)  Nigel Havers talks about his autobiography 'Playing With Fire' (Starts at 38.45) And never heard before, Alexander McCall Smith gives Red Szell the books of his life (Starts at 49.00)

Erwin James is editor-in-chief of Inside Time, the UK’s only newspaper for prisoners. Convicted in 1982 for two murders and sentenced to life, he went on the run to the French Foreign Legion for two years before handing himself in. In his two decades behind bars, he studied English and discovered a love of writing. This led to ‘A Life Inside’, the first ever national newspaper column written by a serving prisoner, which appeared in the Guardian until his release in 2004. A vocal campaigner for penal reform, he took the reins as editor of Inside Time in 2015. With a circulation of 60,000, he receives 500 letters a week from inmates across the UK. In this in-depth interview, he describes his “relief” at the sentence which allowed him to leave behind a life of crime, talks about how he “owes it to his victims” to do the best he can to prevent young offenders from making the same mistakes – and reveals the truth about life inside some of the UK’s most notorious prisons.

On this Christmas Eve special, Prison philanthropist and founder of One Small Thing, Edwina Grosvenor, speaks to author, Guardian contributor and ex-prison resident, Erwin James about Christmas behind bars.Created by thelondonpodcast.company See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today's show Robert Kirkwood talks to Erwin James learning Braille whilst serving a life sentence, we hear how Give A Book are helping people in custody, Emma Donoghue talks about 'Room' and Red Szell visits Shawshank.

In our fast moving, busy world it is hard – if not impossible – to imagine what it would be like to be incarcerated on our own. Captured in Beirut while working as an envoy for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Terry Waite spent five years as a hostage mostly held in solitary confinement. The writer Erwin James served 20 years of a life sentence in prison before his release in 2004. They discuss the experience of isolation with Dr Cleo Van Velsen, a Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychotherapy. Chaired by Free Thinking presenter Anne McElvoy.Terry Waite is a humanitarian campaigner and author. He remains actively involved with hostages and their families, as well as working with those on the margins of society. His latest books are Out of the Silence: Memories, Poems, Reflections and a 25th Anniversary Edition of his memoir Taken on Trust.Dr Cleo van Velsen is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Forensic Psychotherapy with extensive experience in the assessment, management and treatment of those suffering with personality difficulties, violence and trauma.Erwin James is a Guardian columnist and freelance writer and a trustee of the Prison Reform Trust. He is the author of A Life Inside: a Prisoner's Notebook and his new book, Redeemable: a Memoir of Darkness and Hope.Recorded as part of Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival in front of an audience at Sage Gateshead.Producer: Jacqueline Smith

Libby Purves meets writer and director Sally Wainwright; writer Erwin James; comedian Abi Roberts and author Angela Kiss. Abi Roberts is a stand-up comedian. She is performing her new show, Anglichanka - meaning Englishwoman - in Moscow. She says she's the first UK comedian to perform in Russia - in Russian. The show is based on the story of her adventures in Moscow during the 1990s when she was studying opera at the Conservatoire and became a member of the Russian Orthodox Church. Anglichanka is at the bilingual Moscow Comedy Bar and Club. Angela Kiss is a writer. Born in Hungary, she has lived and worked in London for 10 years. Her book, How to be an Alien in England, is based on the 1940s classic, How to be an Alien by fellow Hungarian George Mikes. Following Mikes's example, she takes an affectionate look at the English and scrutinises their approach to subjects ranging from love and optimism, to the weather, awkwardness and politeness. How to Be an Alien in England - A Guide to the English, is published by September Publishing. Erwin James is a writer and columnist. After a difficult childhood, he committed his first crime at 10 before being jailed for life for murder in 1984. While in prison, he met a psychologist who helped him to confront the truth about his past and to understand how it had shaped him from a young age. The sessions transformed his life and, with his psychologist's encouragement, he enrolled in education classes in prison, gained a BA in History and wrote a regular column about life inside. His memoir, Redeemable - A Memoir of Darkness and Hope is published by Bloomsbury. Sally Wainwright is a writer and director. She began writing for The Archers on BBC Radio 4, before moving into television, writing for Coronation Street and Emmerdale. She has gone on to write award-winning series including At Home with the Braithwaites, Scott and Bailey, Last Tango in Halifax and police drama Happy Valley. In 2015, she was awarded a BAFTA for Best Writer for Happy Valley. The new series of Happy Valley is on BBC One. Producer: Annette Wells.

A study published last December in the medical journal Lancet said that self-harm rates were more than ten times higher in female prisoners than in male inmates. The Women in Prison organisation says women account for a disproportionate amount of self-harm, 28%, despite making up only 5% of the prison population. VoR's Juliet Spare hosts a debate. Joining Juliet to discuss the issues of incarcerating women are:- Erwin James, journalist and former prisoner who writes for the Guardian. Robert Preece, Howard League for Penal Reform - the oldest penal reform charity in the UK Julie Bindel, author, journalist, feminist campaigner and co-founder of Justice for Women Rachel Horman, domestic violence specialist solicitor at Watson Ramsbottom Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/uk/2014_05_05/VoR-Debate-Women-in-Prisons-more-harm-than-good-6009/

When someone commits a crime, we want them punished. If wrongdoers go to prison more often and for longer, everyone seems happy. But we live in a system where people do eventually come out of prison and rejoin the community. And this is where what has happened to them in prison really starts to matter. If prisons are a rank breeding ground for recidivism, where drug use is unchecked and non-violent offenders are initiated into the criminal world, do you want someone who has spent time there living near you? Or would you rather see them going straight back to jail? As incarceration rates grow, if we want anyone who has been to jail to have a chance in life, maybe we need to look at a different approach: the kind of prison model that could make a killer a good neighbour. Erwin James is a convicted murderer and Guardian journalist. James was released in August 2004 having served 20 years of a life sentence. Chair: Hamish Macdonald is an Australian broadcaster and news presenter. He is the host and creator of the Network Ten show The Truth Is...?, for which he travelled to Afghanistan, Chernobyl, and a Norwegian jail to reveal surprising truths about issues that seemed mistakenly settled in public debate.