Helena Blackstone

The Guardian • 3rd March 2020

Sex education: ‘We can’t let teachers perpetuate a homophobic or transphobic narrative’

Meet the young sex educators who want lessons to take lessons beyond putting condoms on cucumbers

the-face • 21st July 2020

Psychedelic Suburbia: why people are taking magic mushrooms during…

You’d be hard-pressed to find an aspect of life which is not disrupted by Covid-19, and the way we take drugs is no exception. ​“I’ve been hanging with a small group, which is my perfect setting for mushrooms,” says Eddie whose pre-lockdown drugs of choice were cocaine, ketamine and MDMA. ​“That freedom and liberation in time has been really important,” he says, speaking about the spontaneity in planning the two mushroom trips for which he has been able to travel into the countryside in recent w

Chemist+Druggist • 29th November 2019

‘Pharmacy teams need better protection from violent patients’

As soon as I said: “We haven’t got the prescription,” he went berserk. He said: “You’ve got to give it to me, I’m gonna slash myself.”

Dazed • 30th September 2019

Exploring the changing relationship between sex and drugs

Annie Sprinkle, the sex worker and pornstar turned sex educator and artist, once described a beautiful summer day with a lover, when both found that their “psychedelic door flew open” without having taken any drugs

The Guardian • 19th August 2019

MDMA treatment for alcoholism could reduce relapse, study suggests

The first study looking into the use of MDMA to treat alcohol addiction has shown the treatment is safe and early results show encouraging outcomes from the approach

Strike! • 21st July 2017

A History of Contraception

From the Ancient Egyptians crocodile dung pessaries to Aristotle's recommendation of a vaginal ointment of lead and olive oil, the history of contraception is a painful one

Stamp the Wax • 28th June 2017

Is it that hard for festivals to book gender-balanced lineups?

Silence condones. Words have not done enough. At this point, we need action

Dazed • 15th June 2017

Meeting Cassandro: Mexico's most iconic gay wrestler

Lucha Libre is not just a sport. It’s also theatre. And it’s a kind of ritual violence, acting for its audience like a communal catharsis. Wrestling characters destroy each other in the name of good and evil

Dazed • 9th May 2017

Tracing the spiritual history of psychedelics with a shaman

Once upon a time, Britain was a vast forest. Spirits emanated from the soil, rocks and trees had souls, and magic mushrooms carpeted our green and pleasant land

Huffington Post • 13th February 2017

Chloe Rosser's Nudes Evoke Revolt and Fascination, Like Decapitated Chickens

Each body's connection with humanity is severed. They become abject lumps of flesh, like plucked and decapitated chickens

Dazed • 9th December 2016

Thomas Turgoose on This Is England and being a teen tearaway

Before Brexit came This is England. For the last decade, it has been with us, amplifying the voices of the Thatcherite era’s malcontents

Culture Whisper • 3rd December 2016

Review: Testosterone, a True Story of Life After Gender Transition, New Diorama Theatre

Kit Redstone is in a doctor’s examination room, waiting for the doctor to finish nattering about his supper. Then Kit pulls down his trousers, revealing the top half of his rear end

Vice • 31st May 2016

When IUDs Go Terribly Wrong

There comes a time in many a woman's life when she waves goodbye to slimy condoms and welcomes the easy intimacy that comes with other forms of birth control

Evening Standard Magazine • 26th May 2016

My London: Joanna Lumley

The actress on Elvis and Shakespeare, drinking in traditional pubs in south London and seeking out speciality cheeses and curries

Culture Whisper • 22nd May 2016

The End, Print Room at The Coronet

Cast out of a mental institution, the deadbeat protagonist hints at having had a lobotomy, which he hides behind one of Beckett’s signature hats. We bear witness to a putrid descent at the end of his life. As with all of Beckett’s down-and-outs, he is struggling to survive and yet waiting to die.

Culture Whisper • 13th April 2016

Review: Unreachable, Royal Court Theatre

Anthony Nielson is known for his surreal, experimental theatre, so the broad, ribald humour of his latest,, is completely unexpected....

Sunday Times • 27th December 2015

UK cosmetics ‘linked to animal tests in China’

Some of the most popular beauty products sold on the British high street by international cosmetic companies such as Estée Lauder and Revlon are being tested on animals in China, an investigation has revealed.

Women in the World • 7th October 2015

Woman rivets audience with heartbreaking story of being sexually abused by a teacher

“Why would anyone believe someone like me?” thought an 11-year old girl. “And why would anyone believe that he would pick me?” Silent for so long after being sexually abused by her teacher, Helena Fraser has decided to speak out, to use her voice to help all those who are not yet able to use their own.