Helen Pidd

Manchester

Northern England Editor at The Guardian

Presenter of Today in Focus, the Guardian's award winning daily podcast (covering for @nosheeniqbal). Contact me in confidence via [email protected]

Articles

How a phone footage exposed a massacre of Gaza paramedics - podcast

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Helen Pidd |Bethan Mckernan |Tom Glasser |Elizabeth Cassin |Courtney Yusuf

Israeli forces shot dead 15 Palestinian paramedics and civil defence workers on 23 March and buried them in a mass grave in the Tel al-Sultan district of Rafah. The Israeli military claimed their vehicles had been “advancing suspiciously” and without headlights or flashing emergency lights. When the UN and Palestinian Red Crescent exhumed the bodies, however, they found a phone that belonged to Rifat Radwan, one of the paramedics killed. He had recorded the last minutes of his life.
How the Beatles helped my autistic son find his voice - podcast

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Helen Pidd |John Harris |Eleanor Biggs |Elizabeth Cassin

When James was a child, he loved playing songs over and over. I Am the Walrus, by the Beatles. Autobahn, by Kraftwerk. “He hears emotion in music. I know that for a fact,” James’s father the Guardian journalist John Harris tells Helen Pidd. After James’s autism diagnosis, John found that music was a great way for them to connect, which he explores in his new book, Maybe I’m Amazed: A Story of Love and Connection in Ten Songs.
‘Boys feel increasingly isolated’: teenagers on Netflix’s Adolescence | Adolescence | The Guardian

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Helen Pidd

Sixth-formers discuss the hit show and what it is really like to be a young male in Britain today
Adolescence: what teen boys really think of girls, influencers and porn - podcast

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Helen Pidd |Ruth Abrahams |Hannah Moore |Tom Glasser |Homa Khaleeli |Elizabeth Cassin

The release of the hit Netflix drama Adolescence this month has unleashed a wave of panic around teenage boys. Keir Starmer said the UK “may have a problem with boys and young men”, while parents began worried conversations about their children’s online lives. But how true to life is it? Michael Conroy, who has been going into schools to train teachers and professionals about boys’ personal development for years, says he has seen a shift in what he hears about.
Somewhere Boy actor launches drama school in Bradford

4 weeks ago | msn.com | Helen Pidd

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‘I want to help’: Somewhere Boy actor launches drama school in Bradford

4 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Helen Pidd

A Bafta-nominated actor from Bradford has launched his own drama school to help working-class northern English talent access the TV and film industry. The West Yorkshire Workshop in Bradford was opened this week by 23-year-old Samuel Bottomley, who received a Bafta nod for his role in Channel 4’s Somewhere Boy in 2023. He made his acting debut at nine, when he was plucked from a local church drama club to star in Paddy Considine’s domestic violence drama Tyrannosaur.
Weapons vs welfare: Rachel Reeves spring statement

4 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Helen Pidd |Peter Walker |Lucy Hough |Hannah Moore |Joel Cox |Homa Khaleeli

Rachel Reeves had said that her government was all about growth. But as she stood up to give her spring statement it was clear that green shoots could not yet be seen. The UK’s growth forecast for this year had been halved, leaving the chancellor with a problem. It was a new world of global insecurity, she said, but her response was not to raise taxes or break her fiscal rules. Instead, she would make big cuts – including to welfare.
Having a baby with your best mate - podcast

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Helen Pidd |Nicola Slawson |Eli Block |Tom Glasser |Elizabeth Cassin

Nicola Slawson, a journalist and author of Single: Living a Complete Life on Your Own Terms, has been single for 10 years. She didn’t think it was going to be possible for her to have a baby. She had looked into solo parenthood, but didn’t think she wouldd be able to afford it. Then, she became friends with Tom Hayes. He worked at the Hive, an arts centre in Shrewsbury where Nicola was a trustee.
Labour’s controversial benefit cuts - podcast

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Homa Khaleeli |Helen Pidd |Patrick Butler |Lucy Hough |Hannah Moore |Joel Cox

On Tuesday the welfare secretary, Liz Kendall, set out her plans to save £5bn from the government’s welfare bill. The current situation is unsustainable, the government says. With the numbers of people claiming disability benefits soaring, it was time for a fairer system, she said. For many disabled people, who have felt the effects of successive governments’ attempts to reform the welfare system, it was a stressful moment.
Finding a cannabis farm in your house - podcast

1 month ago | theguardian.com | Lucy Hough |Helen Pidd |Sirin Kale |Homa Khaleeli

Hajaj Hajaj was 79 when he rented out his house in south London, so his daughter, Kinda Jackson, urged him to use a reputable lettings agent for peace of mind. He hired a company called Imperial after being impressed by the professionalism of the agent, Shan Miah. But, Kinda tells Helen Pidd, her father became seriously ill with Covid and almost died, and when he came out of hospital it was to find his wife had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, meaning he suddenly needed to pay for her care.