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Michael Baggs on Muck Rack

Michael Baggs

(He/Him)
London
As seen in: G1 Globo, Revista Época, BBC, BBC Mundo, BBC News, Terra, La Nación (Argentina), El Tiempo, PinkNews, El Imparcial and
Covers:  Youth issues, LGBTQ+, mental health, entertainment, identity, news, music.
Digital journalist @thenewsagents Prev: News editor @PinkNews, Senior journalist @BBCNewsbeat He/him 🏳️‍🌈 Email: michaelbaggs@gmail.com
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Doctor Who: 'I wanted The Doctor to whisk me away from everything awful'

Doctor Who: 'I wanted The Doctor to whisk me away from everything awful'

BBC — A new Doctor Who podcast spin-off series is making the show more female and LGBTQ+ than ever before. Doctor Who: Redacted, written by a transgender woman and with a transgender star, premieres on BBC Sounds this week. It's the story of three young women who make a conspiracy theory podcast about a mysterious blue box that crops up throughout history.
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Mental health in Runcorn: 'We're just two lads who want to help'

Mental health in Runcorn: 'We're just two lads who want to help'

BBC — Keelan Densmore's friend Curtis Enamu died on 7 March 2018. They both lived in Runcorn, a town of just over 60,000 people, 11 miles outside of Liverpool. Keelan - who's had his own struggles - decided he wanted to do something to support men in his local area, despite having no formal mental health training.
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Gay and Muslim: Family wanted to 'make me better'

Gay and Muslim: Family wanted to 'make me better'

BBC — When Asad came out as gay in 2020, some family members discussed taking him to see an imam to make him "better". In the months that followed, his mental health declined and he had suicidal thoughts. This story is all too familiar to Matt, whose partner Naz took his own life in 2014 when his family rejected him after he came out.
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Escape from a serial killer

Escape from a serial killer

BBC — In 2002, 15-year-old Kara Chamberlain was kidnapped at gunpoint, held for 18 hours, drugged and assaulted. After her escape, police discovered her kidnapper had been involved in the murder of at least three other people in Virginia, US.
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'Lockdown isolation helped me come out as LGBT'

'Lockdown isolation helped me come out as LGBT'

BBC — "I'll be coming out of this pandemic as a completely different person," says 19-year-old Nathan. "If I was to look at who I was a year ago, just over a year ago, I wouldn't recognise who I am now." The coronavirus pandemic has changed everyone's lives over the past 12 months.
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Online bullying: 'I've blocked nearly 10,000 abusive accounts'

Online bullying: 'I've blocked nearly 10,000 abusive accounts'

BBC — "I'd say at worst I was receiving 100 death threats a day online," Phoebe Jameson tells Radio 1 Newsbeat. "I have nearly 10,000 accounts blocked." We've all struggled over the past year, going in and out of lockdown, but for 19-year-old Phoebe there's been no escape online.
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Viola Davis: 'In my world, there are a lot of Ma Raineys'

Viola Davis: 'In my world, there are a lot of Ma Raineys'

BBC — "We're so used to seeing black characters defined by white people," Viola Davis tells Radio 1 Newsbeat. "And when they're defined by white people, their voice gets taken away, their sexuality gets taken away.
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Trans Day of Remembrance: 'When one of us is hurt, we all feel it'

Trans Day of Remembrance: 'When one of us is hurt, we all feel it'

BBC — Among the banners carried by thousands of trans people and their supporters at London Trans Pride in 2020, it was hard to miss the image of Elie Che. The photo of a black transgender woman in a red dress, holding a sign that reads 'trans inclusivity', had been shared widely on social media in the weeks leading up to the event, and it was carried through central London during the September march.
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'My stammer has made 2020 more difficult'

'My stammer has made 2020 more difficult'

BBC — Zoom quizzes, online lectures and working from home has been a challenge for all of us in 2020, but it's been even tougher for people with a stammer. They've struggled with the isolation, which meant less interaction and less chance to speak to others, and having to wear a mask, which meant they've had problems communicating when they've been in shops or out and about.
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The New Mutants: Director's X-Men dream 'cut in half by Hollywood reality'

The New Mutants: Director's X-Men dream 'cut in half by Hollywood reality'

BBC — Before we go any further I want to say there's no Captain America in this article, no Spider-Man, and only the slightest hint of Wolverine. And for me, a Marvel comics geek, that's perfect. Reading the X-Men comics I was always more interested in the background characters: the oddballs stood behind the big names, the new recruits - the ones with B-list potential.
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Mr Gay England: The trans man competing 'against an idea of male beauty'

Mr Gay England: The trans man competing 'against an idea of male beauty'

BBC — By Michael Baggs Newsbeat reporter Being judged on his masculinity is something Chiyo feels every time he steps outside the front door. Chiyo is transgender and, in April next year, he'll be standing on stage with a group of other men - who aren't trans - to be judged in what is ultimately a male beauty contest.
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Naya Rivera: Why Glee's Santana was so important to young LGBT women

Naya Rivera: Why Glee's Santana was so important to young LGBT women

BBC — "Watching Naya Rivera in Glee was like: That's me, that's a little bit of me up there." Millions of people watched Glee for the drama, the cover versions, the comedy - and the positive representation of a relationship between two LGBT women.
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STIs: Lockdown 'once in a lifetime opportunity' for sexual health

STIs: Lockdown 'once in a lifetime opportunity' for sexual health

BBC — No parties. No pulling. No new sexual partners. Self-isolation has meant a huge change in a lot of people's sex lives but experts believe the fact we're not hooking up is a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to drive down sexually transmitted infections permanently. They say taking STI tests at home while in lockdown could be "a game changer".
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Marvel Comics at 80: From bankruptcy threat to billions at the box office

Marvel Comics at 80: From bankruptcy threat to billions at the box office

BBC — For an 80-year-old, this one's still going strong: shooting lasers out of its eyes, adventuring through space, saving the world in a metal suit. But this pensioner is Marvel Comics, which is celebrating its anniversary this week, and much like Captain America - who fought in World War Two - it doesn't age like the rest of us.
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Pokemon: 'Ash Ketchum failing for 22 years taught me being a loser is OK'

Pokemon: 'Ash Ketchum failing for 22 years taught me being a loser is OK'

BBC — By Michael Baggs Newsbeat reporter We're told to never give up on our dreams - but grafting for 22 years? That might be pushing things for most of us. Not for Ash Ketchum though, who this weekend became a Pokemon Master in a new episode of the Pokemon anime.
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Fyre Festival: Inside the world's biggest festival flop

Fyre Festival: Inside the world's biggest festival flop

BBC — Fyre Festival was the most talked about festival experience of 2017, but not because anyone had any fun there. Advertised by famous faces including Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin, it was billed as a glamorous party on a deserted island.
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Scott Johnson death: It's 'inconceivable' my brother killed himself

Scott Johnson death: It's 'inconceivable' my brother killed himself

BBC — By Michael Baggs Newsbeat reporter Australian police have offered a $1m (£570,000) reward for information leading to a conviction for the murder of Scott Johnson. Other than the size of the reward, what makes the case stand out is that the 27-year-old University of Cambridge student was killed 30 years ago.
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Black Pride: Why we need an event to celebrate being black and gay

Black Pride: Why we need an event to celebrate being black and gay

BBC — Hundreds of thousands of people will line the streets on Saturday to celebrate the LGBT community at Pride in London. But many LGBT black people say they feel excluded at mainstream Pride events and experience racism on the gay scene. And that's why, the day after Pride in London, UK Black Pride takes place a few miles down the road.
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