I'm looking to chat with people who work in fashion offices in the UK about working conditions/ toxic bosses, ahead of the release of Devil Wears Prada 2. Deadline is ASAP. My email is in my bio if anyone can help! #journorequest
Isabella McRae
@isabellamcrae.bsky.social
Senior reporter at the Big Issue | Get in touch with me at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com
Harvey is a deafblind four-year-old. He suffered such distress at nursery that his mum Kimberly had to quit work to look after him at home. It took over 18 months of fighting to secure a placement at a specialist school. Kimberly fears the trauma could last forever www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
My son is deaf and blind – but it took months to get SEND support
Kimberly Hind shares her experience of navigating the SEND system – and the emotional toll it took on her son Harvey and family
bigissue.com
I've spent the last few weeks speaking with families and experts about the state of the special education system. There are children missing out on years of education because there's not enough provision to support them. Others are "traumatised" in school www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
Families face a bitter fight for SEND support: 'It nearly killed us'
Big Issue has spoken to seven families about their fights for educational support for their disabled children, as the government prepares to announce plans to overhaul the system.
bigissue.com
"Are you Heathcliffing Cornwall?" may be one of my favourite quotes ever to use in an article www.bigissue.com/culture/film...
Wuthering Heights: Heathcliff is just a really terrible landlord
The new Wuthering Heights adaptation is in cinemas. Will the new film portray Heathcliff as a hearthrob or the cruel landlord of the novel?
bigissue.com
I got a sneak peak of the new Bridgerton series... to prep for this lovely chat with its new star Yerin Ha. If you don't already know her name, you probably will do soon ✨ www.bigissue.com/culture/tv/b...
Bridgerton star Yerin Ha: 'Fame scares me. I want to stay grounded'
New Bridgerton leading lady Yerin Ha speaks to the Big Issue about her hopes and fears as the fourth season is set to drop.
bigissue.com
It was an absolute pleasure to interview Strictly star Johannes Radebe. He spoke with beautiful honesty about his life – growing up with homophobic bullying, facing homelessness as a young man, and discovering the glittering world of dance www.bigissue.com/culture/stri...
Johannes Radebe: 'As long as my body will allow, I will do Strictly'
Strictly's Johannes Radebe speaks to the Big Issue about his life – from growing up in a township in South Africa, to facing homophobic bullying, grief and homelessness, and finding joy in dance.
bigissue.com
Since it's starter pack season again, here's some reporters who report on social affairs, poverty, public services etc. Some of them post here more than others go.bsky.app/Hp9iayA
I wrote about my journey to actually, kind of, somehow, enjoying running! www.bigissue.com/life/health/...
How I finally fell in love with running after years of avoiding exercise
Big Issue reporter Isabella McRae thought running wasn't for her. After a nudge from an app, she set herself a goal which changed everything.
bigissue.com
I compiled the content for this health and fitness special and it was a total pleasure 🏃♀️ Buy it! Support our vendors in the cold and get tips from athletes, sleep experts and an 80-year-old trainer 💪 You’ll also find out how I went from hating exercise to running a 10K and kind of enjoying it?!
“These children have fled, many of them unaccompanied and separated from their families, and are moving through the desert on their own for hundreds of kilometres on foot” I spoke to Kieran King from @warchilduk.bsky.social about the "campaign of terror" in Sudan www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
Children recruited as soldiers and facing 'brutal' sexual violence in Sudan war
Keiran King, head of humanitarian at War Child, gives the Big Issue a rare on-the-ground insight amid war in Sudan.
bigissue.com
I was interviewed for and quoted in this article on #AI pets by @isabellamcrae.bsky.social and published in @bigissue.com www.bigissue.com/life/health/...
Are AI pets one more step towards a dystopian future?
Moflin is an AI pet which has erupted in popularity in Japan. It has now launched in the UK and US, but will it have the same success?
bigissue.com
Great to commission this from @lucywebster.bsky.social – an extract from her book The View From Down Here which is out in paperback today. www.bigissue.com/opinion/disa...
This is how it feels to be a disabled woman desexualised by the world
In her book The View From Down Here, Lucy Webster argues that for disabled women, there is an additional battle to be seen as women at all.
bigissue.com
Liquid drips through the walls. Black mould creeps around the windows towards my bed. I hear screaming from downstairs. Rodents sneak out of the floorboards. A strange man lets himself into my home unasked. Is this a haunted house or my first London flat? Find out: www.bigissue.com/news/housing...
Haunted houses are a classic horror trope – but are they scarier than landlords?
Haunted houses have appeared in Gothic literature and horror films for centuries. We look into how the trope has changed in the modern day.
bigissue.com
Dania, 16, is trapped in Gaza and separated from her mother – who is a UK resident through marriage. Dania has been awarded a scholarship to a British boarding school - renewing hope that they might be reunited. But UK government policy is blocking this www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
Teen scholar trapped in Gaza after being blocked from joining her mum in UK
Dania Alafranji and her mother been separated by the war in Gaza and the UK government policy is blocking them from being reunited.
bigissue.com
“Landlords can be worse than poltergeists. I would rather live in a haunted house than with a dodgy landlord.” Meet the people who live in haunted houses – and the ghost hunters who track them down 👻 www.bigissue.com/news/housing...
This is what it's really like living in a haunted house
Haunted houses often stay on the market for longer and sell at a cheaper price than other homes, but would you dare tread on a ghost's territory?
bigissue.com
Shocking and eye-opening @bigissue.com story from @isabellamcrae.bsky.social Whose lives - and deaths - matter? www.bigissue.com/life/health/...
People with learning disabilities are dying 20 years early
The latest LeDeR report found that nearly four in 10 deaths of people with a learning disability in 2023 were ‘avoidable’.
bigissue.com
Hi 👋 It’s @isabellamcrae.bsky.social, senior reporter at the Big Issue here. This week, we have published a series of articles about abortion rights in the UK 🪧 Abortion is one step closer to decriminalisation in England and Wales, but are rights still at risk? www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
Abortion is close to decriminalisation. But how quickly can rights be rolled back?
More than 100 women are believed to have been arrested on suspicion of abortion over the last five years in England and Wales.
bigissue.com
There are pregnancy advice centres across the UK which claim to offer ethical, impartial services. But some are actively misinforming women about abortion. Some women have been left "traumatised". I've been investigating this phenomenon. Read it here ⬇️ www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
What is the truth about crisis pregnancy centres in the UK?
Crisis pregnancy centres which have been known to “misinform” women around abortion have become increasingly “professionalised” in the UK.
bigissue.com
I've spent a few months working on a series of articles on abortion rights in the UK. The first piece is out today. Abortion is a step closer to decriminalisation in England and Wales, but with the rise of right-wing rhetoric, are rights still at risk? www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
Abortion is close to decriminalisation. But how quickly can rights be rolled back?
More than 100 women are believed to have been arrested on suspicion of abortion over the last five years in England and Wales.
bigissue.com
In honour of Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl coming out today, I've been speaking to 'showgirls' in Britain about the glamour of their world 💃 www.bigissue.com/culture/musi...
Is the life of a showgirl as glamorous as Taylor Swift makes it seem?
Ahead of the release of Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl, the Big Issue spoke to British 'showgirls' about the glamour of their world.
bigissue.com
I spent a wonderful few hours at this family's home where interior designers were transforming a three-year-old girl's bedroom. The results were pretty incredible and the reaction was even better: www.bigissue.com/news/housing...
This 'life-changing' project is transforming the bedrooms of children living in poverty
Children living in poverty in London are having their bedrooms transformed through this project run by The Childhood Trust.
bigissue.com
I adored visiting this school in East London and meeting these kids who made me feel very hopeful about the future! They're on a mission to raise £18,000 for homelessness charities, and they're learning a huge amount in the process. www.bigissue.com/news/activis...
Meet the primary school children with big ideas to end homelessness
These children are trying to raise £18,000 for homelessness charities, an amount they have calculated would help one person off the streets.
bigissue.com
"I was an asylum seeker, and when I got to university, it changed everything. I have hope for the future" I spoke with students and experts about the potential dangers of the Home Office's plans to crack down on international students claiming asylum www.bigissue.com/news/interna...
International students could be put in 'danger' by Home Office crackdown on asylum claims
The Home Office has pledged to crack down on the number of students overstaying their visa after graduating
bigissue.com
A lovely surprise to come back from annual leave to find out a story I did on cuckooing has been shortlisted for best news story at the Anti-Slavery Day Awards! Thank you to the Human Trafficking Foundation www.humantraffickingfoundation.org/antislavery-... www.bigissue.com/news/social-...
Gangs are taking over vulnerable people's homes and using them as drug dens
The Big Issue shadowed the police officers trying to tackle cuckooing in Camden and Islington, where they have brought down the numbers.
bigissue.com
Glasgow City Council confirmed to me it had known this was a dangerous building for years. But costs and the fact the building was listed led to delays. Its collapse in July left residents homeless, their lives uprooted, and feeling lucky that no one was hurt www.bigissue.com/news/housing...
Tenants left homeless with no possessions after unsafe building collapses
Glasgow council declared it a dangerous building, but delays and costs meant it was still standing in July 2025 – until its collapse.
bigissue.com
Are you a first time buyer with a Lifetime ISA (LISA) or Help to Buy ISA facing challenges? Are you struggling to find a place to live because the cap on properties hasn't gone up with house prices? I want to hear from you for a piece for the Big Issue! #journorequest
I interviewed MP @rachaelmaskell.bsky.social about her suspension from Labour, her fear's for the party's future and what needs to change to move the country in a positive direction www.bigissue.com/news/politic...
Rachael Maskell: 'If Labour doesn't change, I fear where this country is headed'
Rachael Maskell speaks to the Big Issue about losing the Labour whip, and why she stands by her decision to rebel against the welfare cuts.
bigissue.com
Thanks to @isabellamcrae.bsky.social for the opportunity of a @bigissue.com comment piece, authored by @lakenutrition.bsky.social and other Nutrition North members - you can read about why it's harder to be healthier in the North at www.bigissue.com/opinion/heal...
It's harder to be healthy if you live in the North of England
Professor Amelia Lake, dietitian and public health nutritionist at Teesside University, writes about health inequalities facing the North.
bigissue.com
Misan Harriman's career was catapulted after his photographs of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations caught widespread attention. He became the first black man to shoot the cover of British Vogue. It was powerful to speak to him about protest and resistance www.bigissue.com/news/activis...
Photographer Misan Harriman on Black Lives Matter, Gaza and finding hope in protest
Renowned photographer Misan Harriman has unveiled his first solo exhibition 'The Purpose of Light' featuring images of protest and resistance.
bigissue.com