Tag Archives: African-American

This week, we return to the history of black radicalism within the prison system. You can hear more from Dr. Micol Seigel and Dr. Garrett Felber about this in last week’s episode. Early in this episode, the prisoner reporting on Operation PUSH, the sit-down strike in Florida’s prisons, mentions being transferred to a different area in order to prematurely stifle …

The Koch brothers are reportedly spending $4 million to attack what they consider ‘vulnerable’ democratic candidates, including Joe Donnelly; Indiana Senate Republican Leader David Long announced his unexpected resignation yesterday; Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill spent yesterday evening with President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, at a reception celebrating Black History Month at the White House; The Cook Group clears another hurdle in …

This week, we are changing our format slightly.  After hearing a letter from a prisoner involved in Operation PUSH, we are broadcasting an interview between Dr. Micol Seigel and Dr. Garrett Felber on the role of the Nation of Islam in prison life and prisoners’ struggle. Beginning in the middle of the last century, the Nation of Islam built a …

This episode, we start out with a statement from Anastazia Schmid, a prisoner in the Indiana Women’s Prison. She walks us through a brief history of how prisons, and specifically the modern practice of prison slave labor, came about. She also talks through some basics of how prison serves to isolate those on the inside, and the importance of outside …

In this week’s episode, we hear from Valerie Buford, the sister of Leon Benson, a prisoner here in Indiana. Valerie talks about the circumstances that lead to Leon being imprisoned on a murder charge since 1998. Through her story, you can hear how difficult it is to navigate the legal system, especially with few financial resources. Valerie walked us through …

In this episode we give follow-up information about the hunger strike at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. Then, we finish a conversation with Salomon X, a former prisoner in southern Illinois. Two weeks ago, he shared stories of different issues he faced in a variety of facilities. Now, he continues talking about his experiences behind the walls, and about his …

Last April, the Indiana Department of Corrections banned all correspondence to it’s 25,000 prisoners, except that which is handwritten on lined white paper. The official explanation is that this is an attempt to block trafficking of synthetic marijuana which can be applied to paper. But many prisoners and advocates have pointed to a long series of earlier measures targeting correspondence …

Our news this week focuses on the prisoners who are fighting California’s wildfires for as little as a dollar an hour while actually fighting fires. In total, about thirty-eight hundred male and female inmates are fighting fires in California. They constitute around thirteen percent of the state’s firefighters. Their low salaries save taxpayers a hundred twenty-four million dollars a year. …

This week we share the first part of a lecture by Elizabeth Hinton delivered at IU on October 12.  In her talk, she traces the creation and rise of mass incarceration as a strategy of America’s ruling class.  Her historical research, which culminated in a book last year called “From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime,” demonstrates …

Hosts Leila Randle and William Hosea speak with Mayor Greg Goodnight of Kokomo. Mayor Goodnight describes changes in Kokomo, and how he benchmarks services in his town with other Indiana towns. Listen for some fascinating details! PART ONE Hosts Leila Randle and William Hosea speak with Mayor Greg Goodnight of Kokomo. Mayor Goodnight describes changes in Kokomo, and how he …