Join Mike Trace, CEO of The Forward Trust, as he dives deep into the issues that shape our work — from addiction recovery and criminal justice reform to the future of UK drug policy.
With over 40 years’ experience supporting some of the most marginalised people in the UK, Mike brings rare insight into the challenges of prison overcrowding, reoffending, and the systems that drive them.
A former UK Deputy Anti-Drug Coordinator under Tony Blair and architect of the UK’s first National Drug Strategy, Mike shares expert analysis and practical ideas for real change.
Listen and share below — also available on SoundCloud and Spotify.
🚨 Latest release
July 2026
In this episode, The Forward Trust's CEO, Mike Trace, discusses the compelling findings from our new landmark report, 'Addiction in the UK'. On behalf of Taking Action on Addiction - a Forward Trust campaign - this comprehensive new report (co-authored by Crest Advisory) explores the myriad reasons behind rising alcohol and drug-related deaths across the UK. With addiction now seemingly a public health crisis, deaths of despair due to drugs and alcohol have a devastating impact on families, communities and public services. In this special edition of the podcast, Mike's analysis draws on robust evidence-based data to explain how the challenges have occurred, but also makes sound recommendations for improvements based on his 40+ years of working in the sector. You can read Mike's Executive Summary from 'Addiction in the UK', which includes a direct link to the full report.
June 2026
In the latest edition of the Forward thinking Podcast, Forward Trust CEO Mike Trace discusses all things ISFL - or Incentivised Substance Free Living Units. These are currently the main method by which the Prison Service aims to tackle drug demand in prisons. Mike charts the history of similar initiatives, and calls on HMPPS to be much more ambitious in offering treatment and recovery to prisoners.
April 2026
In this episode of the Leading Forward podcast, Mike Trace looks at the continuing rising trends in drug and alcohol related deaths, and tries to understand why the responses still seem inadequate to the challenge.
March 2026
We recently published our 2025 Impact Report, which showed another year of expansion and diversification of our services. This podcast describes how our criminal justice, substance misuse, mental health and employment services are helping thousands of people make transformational changes to their lives.
Listen to all previous episodes of Leading Forward Podcast below.
