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Fathers Together podcast

Fathers Together podcast

By: Dr. Anita Mehay & Professor Richard Watt with the Race Equality Foundation
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About this listen

Fathers Together is a podcast about young dads, imprisonment, and what it means to hold onto love, identity, and hope in the toughest of places.


Hosted by Roifield Brown, this deeply human series shares the real stories of five fathers from racially minoritised communities who became dads young and served time behind bars. Through interviews, reflection, and expert insights, the podcast explores how they stayed connected to their children, what they lost, and what they’re fighting to rebuild.


From bedtime stories told over the phone to the emotional cost of silence and stigma, Fathers Together shines a light on voices too often left out of the conversation on prisons, parenting, and masculinity.


Developed in collaboration with the Race Equality Foundation and based on research led by Dr. Anita Mehay and Professor Richard Watt, this podcast is part of a wider NIHR-funded study working to co-design parenting support with fathers inside five English prisons.


The Fathers Together is hosted by Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.



These are stories of rupture and repair. Of accountability and love. Of fatherhood behind bars — and what comes after.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright 2025 The Race Equality Foundation, St George’s, University of London
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Episodes
  • EP – 3: Kevin, Breaking the Silence of Being a Man
    Aug 15 2025

    In this third episode of Fathers Together, we meet Kevin who shares his deeply personal journey of growing up without a father figure, navigating fractured relationships, and facing the long shadow cast by prison.

    Kevin reflects on the emotional toll of incarceration, including the loneliness that followed his release and the stigma that still lingers—from strained family ties to barriers in employment and even opening a bank account. He speaks openly about the impact of childhood trauma, his efforts to rebuild family connections, and how he’s learned to find self-worth and healing from within.

    While Kevin’s relationships with his children and mother remain complex and distant, he shares how the Fathers Together group has become a rare space of emotional safety and kinship—offering him something he never had: a space to talk, reflect, and feel understood.

    Joining host Roifield Brown is Dr Anita Mehay, who leads the Fathers Together study. They discuss the lack of emotional spaces—especially in prison—for men to explore their emotions, the long-lasting effects of paternal absence, and why stereotypes around masculinity often prevent men from becoming the fathers they want to be. They also unpack how cycles of harm don’t follow a simple path but are deeply linked to broader adversities in children’s lives.

    Learn more and follow the study:

    Website: www.fatherstogether.co.uk

    YouTube: @TogetherFathers

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    40 mins
  • EP – 2: Honor, Fatherhood Frozen in Time
    Jul 15 2025

    In this second episode of Fathers Together, we meet Honor, a father and DJ whose son was born just days before he was sentenced to prison. He reflects on growing up with a hardworking but emotionally distant father, and how he’s tried to break that cycle by being more present and emotionally available for his own children.

    Separated from his newborn, Honor and his partner built a deeper connection through handwritten letter that helped them stay close despite the distance. He speaks candidly about preparing for release, taking parenting courses, and learning how to be a father from behind bars.


    But just as he began to rebuild life on the outside, things didn’t unfold the way he had hoped with his son. Honor shares how he navigated the challenges that followed—leaning into community, holding on to love, and embracing the responsibility and lessons of fatherhood that continue to shape him today.


    Joining host Roifield Brown are Dr Anita Mehay, who leads the Fathers Together study, and Leandra Box from the Race Equality Foundation. They discuss how parenting programmes can meaningfully engage fathers, and why creating spaces for men to reflect on fatherhood is so vital.

    Learn more and follow the study:


    Website: www.fatherstogether.co.uk

    YouTube: @TogetherFathers

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
  • EP - 1: Julian, Becoming a Father Behind Bars
    Jun 15 2025

    In this first episode of Fathers Together, we meet Julian, who became a young dad while serving a prison sentence. He reflects on growing up without a present father, battling addiction, and how prison shaped the man and father he is today. His partner Davinia shares how she held their family together during his time inside, raising three children and finding creative ways to stay connected like playing hide-and-seek over a smuggled phone.


    Joining host Roifield Brown are Dr Anita Mehay, who leads the Fathers Together study, and Leandra Box, Deputy CEO of the Race Equality Foundation. They unpack how the justice system disproportionately affects racially minoritised communities and share insights from their groundbreaking work supporting young fathers in prison.

    Subscribe and listen to this powerful series exploring fatherhood, forgiveness, and the fight for change.


    Learn more and follow the study:

    Website: www.fatherstogether.co.uk

    YouTube: @TogetherFathers

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
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