Agatha Christie, Premature babies, Drugs at festivals, Women in prison

Agatha Christie is one of the most widely read writers in the world, apparently outsold only by the bible and William Shakespeare. Known as the Queen of Crime, she was most prolific in the period between the two world wars dubbed the ‘Golden Age of Crime’. So how is she so popular, yet not celebrated like some of our more literary writers? Jenni talks to author Kate Mosse, and CEO of Agatha Christie Ltd, Hilary Strong to find out why. 

New research shows that children who were born very prematurely, before 32 weeks or weighing less than 1.5kg,  are at risk of developing withdrawn personalities meaning that in later life they may become  risk adverse, less socially engaged and anxious. Jenni speaks to Professor Dieter Wolke lead author of the research from the University of Warwick and to Caroline Davey Chief Executive of Bliss the special care baby charity. 

Prime Study

 

Women make up only 5% of the UK prison population and yet they account for 26% of all the self harm incidents recorded inside prison. Women serving custodial sentences are twice as likely as men to have no previous convictions, and more than half of women prisoners experienced abuse as children, as opposed to 27% of men. These statistics are taken from a briefing from the Prison Reform Trust released today which marks the start of the new drive to reduce the number of women serving custodial sentences. Jenni is joined by Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust to investigate whether this new initiative, backed by a £1.2 million lottery grant, will make a difference to the lives of women offenders and their families.

Criminologist, Professor Fiona Measham of the University of Durham, has been researching alcohol and drug use for the past twenty -five years and wants to reduce drug related harm. She started the charity The Loop to provide information and a safe place on site for festival-goers, Fiona also forensically tests any confiscated drugs on site and issues warnings on social media. Jo Morris joined Fiona and her team of eighty volunteers at Parklife 2015 festival in Manchester.