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‘Medium tells me deeply personal things no one knows - and I am left feeling at peace’

09 April 2025
‘Medium tells me deeply personal things no one knows - and I am left feeling at peace’

This week, an encounter with a medium moves columnist Melissa Todd to tears, and leaves her feeling at peace.

11

‘I fear that where America leads, Britain will dutifully follow - to the bottom of the abyss’

26 March 2025
‘I fear that where America leads, Britain will dutifully follow - to the bottom of the abyss’

Columnist Melissa Todd considers the end of inclusion and equality in Trump’s America - and if this anger and hatred could soon reach our shores…

20

'AI is reshaping our world unchecked - but it can't replace our humanity'

12 March 2025
'AI is reshaping our world unchecked - but it can't replace our humanity'

This week, columnist Melissa Todd considers the impact of AI on our lives - and why it can never replicate our creativity, empathy or innate humanity.

‘Where are you supposed to sit and breastfeed in a world of hostile architecture?’

26 February 2025
‘Where are you supposed to sit and breastfeed in a world of hostile architecture?’

This week, Melissa Todd considers how few places there are for people to sit in public nowadays, thanks to the rise of “hostile architecture”.

1

‘Casual shoplifting and fare evasion rife as people feel excluded from society’

07 February 2025
‘Casual shoplifting and fare evasion rife as people feel excluded from society’

Are people getting naughtier? Is it any wonder we’ve less interest in the rules when fewer of us feel we have a stake in society, asks Melissa Todd.

9

‘As our winters get wetter, we need to stop concreting over our countryside’

24 January 2025
‘As our winters get wetter, we need to stop concreting over our countryside’

As our summers get hotter and winters get wetter, Melissa Todd says no one is building smartly, planning wisely or putting enough money aside.

42

'Will new year health kick hold same significance when everyone's on weight loss drugs?'

10 January 2025
'Will new year health kick hold same significance when everyone's on weight loss drugs?'

After the excesses of Christmas, Melissa Todd wonders if “new year, new me” resolutions will be as meaningful with the rise of weight-loss meds.

5

‘Cruel scammers robbed Stuart of his life savings - but not his dreams’

03 January 2025
‘Cruel scammers robbed Stuart of his life savings - but not his dreams’

This week, KentOnline columnist Melissa Todd meets fellow writer Stuart Harvey, who remains resilient despite falling victim to a cruel scam…

2

‘Can the privileged ever truly understand the struggles of oppressed groups?’

13 December 2024
‘Can the privileged ever truly understand the struggles of oppressed groups?’

We’re often told to ‘check our privilege’ but surely striving to understand is better than blind deference to marginalised groups, says Melissa Todd.

10

‘Could the octopus take over the planet when we die?’

29 November 2024
‘Could the octopus take over the planet when we die?’

We could learn a lot from the octopus, says columnist Melissa Todd, who believes the clever, curious and creative creature could outlive us all.

7

‘Increasingly it seems acceptable, almost cool, to hold right-wing views’

15 November 2024
‘Increasingly it seems acceptable, almost cool, to hold right-wing views’

The mood was sombre as Melissa Todd arrived in the US on the day Trump won the election. Here, she speaks to voters about their fears for the future.

74

‘Calls for prostitution to be criminalised are based on lazy and outdated stereotypes’

18 October 2024
‘Calls for prostitution to be criminalised are based on lazy and outdated stereotypes’

Prostitutes are often depicted as drug-addicted streetwalkers, but writer and sex worker Melissa Todd argues these stereotypes are outdated and lazy.

3

'Conditions are better now than our grandparents' day - so why is mental health so much worse?'

04 October 2024
'Conditions are better now than our grandparents' day - so why is mental health so much worse?'

Have we lost our collective sense of purpose? After struggling to comfort a suicidal friend, Melissa Todd explores the modern mental health crisis.

22

'Why are we paying £50k a year to imprison criminals? Bring back corporal punishment'

20 September 2024
'Why are we paying £50k a year to imprison criminals? Bring back corporal punishment'

As prison overcrowding reaches crisis point, Melissa Todd explores the alternatives - including the “short, sharp shock” of a corporal punishment.

21

'Every child deserves a decent education - yes, even the poor ones'

06 September 2024
'Every child deserves a decent education - yes, even the poor ones'

If it were up to columnist Melissa Todd, private schools would be abolished and children - both rich and poor - allocated places by a lottery system.

41

‘Issuing fines for swearing is class war - our words root us to our communities’

23 August 2024
‘Issuing fines for swearing is class war - our words root us to our communities’

KentOnline columnist and swearing fan Melissa Todd says a council’s plan to issue fines for foul language will unfairly penalise the working class.

11

‘Why rioters are as much deserving of pity as their cowering targets - perhaps more’

09 August 2024
‘Why rioters are as much deserving of pity as their cowering targets - perhaps more’

After violence on the streets, Melissa Todd calls for empathy from all sides, arguing we’re all immigrants, we’re all frightened and we’re all flawed.

46

‘What next for decimated Tories? The party has ridden out worse crises than this’

26 July 2024
‘What next for decimated Tories? The party has ridden out worse crises than this’

With the Conservative Party now a shadow of its former self, Melissa Todd explores its previous peaks and troughs - and what the future could hold…

41

‘With the Conservatives decimated, the far-right are ready to rush into the void’

12 July 2024
‘With the Conservatives decimated, the far-right are ready to rush into the void’

After the Conservatives’ bruising defeat, Melissa Todd outlines her hopes for the new government - and what the rise of Reform could mean in future.

67

'If I were elected, I'd decriminalise drugs and sex work, banish borders and scrap school'

14 June 2024
'If I were elected, I'd decriminalise drugs and sex work, banish borders and scrap school'

After toying with the idea of standing for election, columnist Melissa Todd has revealed her hypothetical manifesto pledges…

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