- Long read
- Long read
Acts of love and resistance in Sudan
Growing up in Sudan, Jumana Eltgani knew the highs of water flowing and the lows of dry days. Her family’s clay zeer kept water cool and easy to share. Now, amid war, that spirit of generosity is keeping her neighbourhood alive.
- Article
- Article
The vilest of all beverages
Drinking water was risky in the Middle Ages. But that didn’t stop people from drinking it – warily, enthusiastically, and sometimes with disgusting consequences.
- Article
- Article
The price of pure water
Like millions of people across West Africa, Tracy Egbele’s family has no access to safe tap water, and buys plastic-packaged water instead. She highlights the serious problems facing this fragile system, and the daily health risks people are forced to take as a result.
- Article
- Article
Island of thirst
Surrounded by saltwater but starved of the fresh kind, Aegina’s residents rely on tankers and plastic bottles to get by. Mirela Dialeti explores how life on this Greek island balances on a hope that a new underwater pipeline will finally bring change.
- Article
- Article
Signing my skin colour
When Sabrina Tirvengadum tried to sign her skin colour as ‘Brown’ in BSL, her tutor insisted she use ‘Black’ instead. The experience led Sabrina to question why sign language couldn’t reflect her identity.
- Article
- Article
Travelling for your health
A growing number of Victorians travelled to Europe for their health, but their experiences were not always what the doctor promised.
- Book extract
- Book extract
In search of Black Mary
From the depths of a vanished well rises the story of Black Mary – a 17th-century Black healer. In this extract from the anthology 'Thirst', Gaylene Gould pieces together the fragments of Mary’s life in search of her long-lost well.
- Article
- Article
Medieval deaf communication
Communicating with hand signs has a long history. Researcher Jude Seal examines the evidence for signing in Medieval Europe among both deaf and hearing communities.
- In pictures
- In pictures
Patient power
Needle, a small London-based group, led the early fight for patient rights. Leona Letts reveals how they championed giving patients a louder voice in their own care.
- Photo story
- Photo story
The surgical toolmaker's craft
When it comes to precision surgical tools, only the hand and eye of a skilled toolmaker will do.
- In pictures
- In pictures
Zines as 'crip doulas'
Find out how 'crip doula' zines offer support, advice, resources, and share the complex feelings and experiences around disability.
- Photo story
- Photo story
NHS night cleaners
NHS night cleaners are often not seen and not heard by the public they serve. Through Lewis Khan’s photographs and interviews, they reveal the vital role they play in keeping our hospitals safe.
- Book extract
- Book extract
Waking up in a new body
Grace Spence Green was a fourth-year medical student when a man jumped off a balcony in a shopping centre and landed on her. She recalls her first moments in the hospital as a newly disabled patient.
- Book extract
- Book extract
Waking the dead
Historian Molly Conisbee reflects on how we’ve paid our respects to the dead over the centuries – from lively gatherings around open coffins to sympathetic text messages – asking how mourning rituals can create communities.
- Article
- Article
How the slave trade’s medical legacies persist
Micha Frazer-Carroll, uncovers the historical links between enslavement and disability to better understand her family’s complex attitudes towards healthcare.
- Long read
- Long read
Letting go of IVF
Fertility treatment is physically and emotionally arduous, with no guarantees. Jessa Fairbrother describes her decision not to have IVF and the complexity of living with that choice.
- Article
- Article
Pregnancy, parenting, and embracing blindness
Amy Kavanagh, who is blind, shares the delight she feels in her young, sighted son, and her growing acceptance of the ways his experiences will differ from hers.
- Article
- Article
Disability, desire, and pleasure unlocked
Roxy Murray dives into the raw, intimate truths of sex and pleasure as a disabled person, sharing an unapologetic and explicit journey through her frustrations and desires.
- Short film
- Short film
Exploring Deaf space at London College of Fashion
In this British Sign Language (BSL) film, activist and architectural designer Christopher Laing outlines the five principles of Deaf space and shares his thoughts on identity and inclusive design.
- Article
- Article
Fashion, identity, and the need for community
Sinéad Burke’s love of fashion has driven her to campaign for change and, ultimately, establish a consultancy that aims to transform the way the industry includes and represents Disabled people.
- Article
- Article
Ballet, beauty, and the joy of wheelchair dance
Since childhood, Kate Stanforth has danced whenever and wherever she could. The only difference now is her wheelchair.
- Article
- Article
What are zines doing in a museum
On the face of it, zines and museums are not a good fit, but Lea Cooper argues, they have a lot to offer each other.
- Article
- Article
Left behind by workplace wellbeing
Having experienced bouts of serious mental illness, Caroline Butterwick discovers that the new world of workplace wellbeing schemes fails to mitigate discrimination against people like her.
- In pictures
- In pictures
Cola’s complicated roots
How one of the most famous soda drinks in the world got its name from a traditional West African delicacy.
- Photo story
- Photo story
Nothing without kola
Yaw Afrim Gyebi travels through Ghana to meet the people who grow and use kola nut for its many practical and symbolic purposes.