Audio Stories by The Spill

I used to think I have complete control over my body. Every anxious feeling, every desire, every shrapnel of shame that clogs up my oesophagus and holds me hostage – it all passes through me with consent. Only because I allow myself to feel a certain way, even the terrible stuff, do I have to withstand it? Author: Ami Venrar Category: SELF Listen to the full story, or read it online - also availab...

The last ten years have seen social media evolve beyond recognition. From the days of MySpace to the reign of Instagram, trends and subcultures have changed at lightning speed, but one thing has remained consistent: our use of social networks to paint an alluring, enticing image of ourselves for potential love interests and followers alike. So much, in fact, that terminology has emerged to label t...

Environmental racism isn’t new, but it has never been worse. In the UK specifically, marginalised and ethnically diverse communities are thrice as likely as others to be exposed to pollution daily, and live in areas close to waste incinerators (Source: Guardian). Author: Aishwarya Jagani Category: ENVIRONMENT Listen to the full story, or read it online - also available in Easy Read . For more Envi...

An arresting debut collection from a young poet, Monika Radojevic’s Teeth in the Back of My Neck was the inaugural winner of the #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize, launched by Stormzy and Penguin Random House UK in 2018. Author: The Spill Category: ARTS Listen to the full story, or read it online - also available in Easy Read . For more Arts-related stories, head to https://www.thespillmag.com/arts

If you’re anything like us, you may have cultivated a love/hate relationship with fashion over the last few years. Between the industry’s lack of inclusivity and its catastrophic contribution to climate change, there are good reasons to give up on fashion brands altogether. But all is not lost, and there are still incredible labels out there making sure everyone is feeling included and represented...

I got my first period when I was ten and still in primary school - before all my friends. I felt too young to feel my body changing so rapidly. I have Spastic Triplegic Cerebral Palsy, a neurological disorder caused by brain damage. In my case, the brain damage was caused by a lack of oxygen during labour and after birth, although it can also occur in other ways.  Author: Francesca Hughes Cat...

In Mixed/Other: Explorations of Multiraciality in Modern Britain (out now), Mancunian writer and Metro columnist Natalie Morris explores the multifaceted experience of mixed-race people in the UK. Examining identity, dating, family life, beauty, culture, and more through a plethora of people across the UK, Mixed/Other shines a light on what it means to be mixed race today. Author: The Spill Catego...

This is the fourth instalment of My Coming Out, a monthly interview series sharing the unique stories of people all over the world, who came out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, or questioning. This month we chat with Jo Maenzanise (they/them), a trans non-binary lover of coffee, comedy, and pitbulls' smiles. They are “their ancestors' wildly queer kid”. Author: Th...

"No tyres screeching, no blaring of sirens and no panicked shoppers scattering across aisles," said News24 South Africa of the Mall of Africa silent heist in 2019 - one that saw its prime suspect vanish into thin air. When I hear of bank robberies and heists, my thoughts immediately shift to armed bandits, masked and ready to shoot any person between them and the money they are after. But a few pe...

Art galleries and museums around the world may have seen sporadic opening hours and all too many cancellations in the past year, but behind the scenes and away from white gallery interiors, the world of arts has been working hard to adapt. From inherent issues of neoliberal capitalism laid bare by the pandemic, to the movements addressing the Global North’s systemic racism that has permeated popul...

On many mornings in my new home in upstate New York, my partner and I wrestle over a bowl of semolina pudding, which my family in India would call ravo. We eat the sweet, milky concoction for breakfast, even though it tastes very much like dessert. Back home, it’s more birthday breakfast than a morning meal, but my partner is new to ravo and wants it as often as he wants nankhatai biscuits - the m...

It’s an issue that’s come to the fore in the face of the coronavirus crisis: almost 700,000 more people* in the UK have been driven into poverty over the last year, including 120,000 children. Images of tuna in moneybags, quartered peppers and a thumb’s length of wizened carrot took social media by force just months ago, exposing the government’s failure to adequately provide free school meals for...

When we think of commitment issues, a lot of us picture a hot young bachelor who’s busy breaking hearts and having one night stands — not someone like myself, who’s in a committed relationship and looking to buy a house. But it’s time for me to come clean: the idea of spending “forever” with another person often freaks me out, and when I have finally committed to someone enough to enter into a rel...

Being born and raised in London, I have always been in a multicultural environment. However, being surrounded by people of different ethnicities and backgrounds doesn’t always bring the feeling of familiarity and acceptance we often think it does, when there is a deeply unsettling racism beneath the surface. I have seen first-hand people from different ethnicities, especially immigrants, be pretty...

[TW: Drugs, suicide, depression] On March 7, 2018, I walked into a psychiatric clinic a couple miles east of Downtown Los Angeles. I sat in a black cushioned leather chair across a young doctor with dirty blonde hair, beady brown eyes, and a warm smile. I couldn’t tell whether she was a year or two older than me, but I knew she recently completed med school. Her name tag was labelled “residency.”...

In February 2021, right in the middle of our third national lockdown, we sat down for a virtual chat with Saiqa Pandor, family liaison manager at Home-Start Camden & Islington , for an honest chat about the vulnerability of so many families in the UK, and what their reality looks like. Home-Start is a local community charity of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young...

The most common reaction I tend to get when talking about Islamophobia with people is: ‘it’s not really racism though, is it?’ Even after everything Muslim people have been through in the last couple of decades, from overt discrimination and harmful stereotypes to physical and terrorist attacks, Islamophobia still is a widely misunderstood form of prejudice and racism. And this misunderstood belie...

For those who have gone through the slightly painful task of filling in their likes and dislikes, choosing photos with the perfect lighting, and getting ready to be scrutinised with one flick of the thumb, creating a dating profile is a memorable process. But one particular aspect that has sparked sustained controversy is the ‘ethnicity filter’, where people can both place their ethnicity on their...

The last few months have been a flurry of binge-worthy TV dropping on streaming services, and surprisingly, two of the biggest hits included South Asian shows. While shows like Indian Matchmaking and Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives got all of us talking, a few other comparatively quieter ones have added complexity to the mix. The truth is, people around me within the South Asian community practi...

In case you haven’t noticed, attacks on people of Chinese heritage - or even appearance - have escalated to new heights over the last year. And it’s absolutely no coincidence that the violence against East and South East Asian (ESEA) communities has increased over the course of the pandemic, given the racist rhetoric peddled by world leaders and right-wing groups about the origins of Covid-19. Aft...

We all know this: women have long stood and fought for the rights and freedom of others. Perhaps because they didn’t have the choice, too. And this is exactly how many countries have established women’s rights to vote, their rights in healthcare, and their right to work. Women’s political activism is something most of us probably take for granted today, especially in the West. But there are women...

Very much akin to Cressida Cowper, 2021 seems to be on a mission not to be outdone. From bringing in its first week with sedition and white hypocrisy to stripping its narcissist leader all the way back to the good ole days of pen and paper, it seems that anyone who is not a fascist has a front-row seat to the best scandal since… well, Scandal. For those of us who haven’t been glued to the new...

Every year, as I feel the end approaching, a specific kind of panic sets in. The faint remnants of the year gone come to me in a flash  -  the good, the bad, and the ugly. The things I wanted to do but couldn't, and the things I shouldn't have done but did. And each December, I promise myself: “The next year will be different.  I will do better this time around.”  Author: Sakshi Udavant Categ...

Fashion may be part of our everyday lives, but not everyone realises the impact it will have on the world we leave behind. With current trends evolving at the pace they are today, the fashion industry will make up for a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050. But despite conversations around sustainability and hard-hitting statistics like these, it still seems almost impossible to infiltrate...

I had my first date with my current partner just weeks before the lockdown started. As is the case with many queer couples in India, we met on a dating app. We had both just moved to the city we are now in, unaware we would be told to stay home soon after. Before we knew it, the pandemic would make this city our default home. Oblivious to what the future had in store for us when we first met, we s...