Isabella McRae

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

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-...

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.

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-...

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?

"Are you Heathcliffing Cornwall?" may be one of my favourite quotes ever to use in an article

www.bigissue.com/culture/film...

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.

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...

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.

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...

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

That’s amazing, good on you!

Walking is great!

Wow! Five half marathons!

So glad to hear it! I wrote about long-Covid a few months ago and it’s brutal, I am so sorry you went through that but so pleased you’ve been able to get back to the running! Congrats!

It’s wild!

It’s not for everybody! I definitely don’t enjoy every run… but I have found it’s really good for me and I’ve never regretted a run (as annoying as that is, as most of the time I don’t fancy it)

8 essential tips on how to start running in 2026 Chevy Rough, head of community at The Running Charity, shares some top tips to help you start running in the new year.

I'm not one to give advice, so we asked the experts! Chevy Rough, head of community at The Running Charity, shares some top tips to help you start running in the new year

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.

I wrote about my journey to actually, kind of, somehow, enjoying running!

www.bigissue.com/life/health/...

Big Issue cover showing woman in green exercise gear and the words: ‘Let’s get physical!’

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?!

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.

“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-...

I met an AI pet! (Yes, those exist now).

Read about my experiences 👇

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?

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/...

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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-...

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?

“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...

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’.

Shocking and eye-opening @bigissue.com story from @isabellamcrae.bsky.social

Whose lives - and deaths - matter?

www.bigissue.com/life/health/...

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.

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-...

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.

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-...

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.

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-...

Taylor Swift is right to call herself an 'English teacher'. I would know, I am one Clio Doyle, a lecturer in English at Queen Mary University who teaches students about Taylor Swift's music, writes about the power of lyrics.

Also great to commission this from Clio Doyle, lecturer in English at Queen Mary University, who teaches students about Taylor Swift's music. She writes about the power of the pop icon's lyrics to connect fans together

www.bigissue.com/opinion/tayl...

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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...