Kite Line

In the second episode of our series on the mass escape from the Woomera refugee detention center in Australia, Aren Aizura parses out the stakes of the protest camp, its participants, and the escalation to the breakout.  From there, Aren moves to the escape itself, the emotional meeting between refugees and outside supporters, and the complicated choices they each faced …

In 2002, imprisoned refugees inside Australia’s Woomera immigration prison coordinated with 2500 outside supporters who had pitched camp outside the facility.  Their coordination allowed them to stage a mass breakout.  This is the first of three episodes dedicated to telling this story, from an interview with a participant in the solidarity camp. It’s a vital reminder than in an age …

This episode, we focus on two individuals who are working to organize support systems for communities that are directly affected or targeted by law enforcement and incarceration. First, we continue our conversation with Akili Shakur, wife of prisoner Shaka Shakur, who works to organize support groups for family members of prisoners. Then, we hear from local student organizer Willy Palomo, …

Our focus for this episode returns to the impact of incarceration on families. First we have a discussion between our friend Lucy and one of her fellow classmates at Indiana University, Rafael Green, III. Rafael describes having multiple family members in prison during his childhood, and the way that affected both his childhood, and the lives of other family members …

We return to the topic of education within the prison system. After some prison news, we hear a statement written by someone who taught in prisons in the Midwest. Then we return to Micol Seigel’s discussion with Jarrod Wall, who tells us about getting a degree while incarcerated, and the effects/benefits of education while incarcerated, based on his personal experience- …

In this episode, we introduce a new topic, going “off-paper.” When prisoners finish their time and re-enter the free world, they confront a whole host of barriers and questions that extend the hold that institutions have on them well past their “on-paper” sentences. To begin, we hear a recently released anarchist prisoner who reflects on his time outside prison and …

We go to the neighboring state of Ohio this week in order to dig into the history of Midwestern prison resistance. We share more of the story of Siddique Hasan – one of 5 prisoners on death row for their role in the 1994 Lucasville Uprising – as well as his organizing and his case. We also spoke with Dan, …

This week’s episode focuses on the importance of education in prison. We speak with Dr. Scarlett Brooks, who has taught English and writing in several inmate education programs . We also hear some reflections from Maureen, who has experience teaching art in Indiana Prisons. Later, we share a letter written by Zolo, a long-time inmate in an Indiana prison.

Our topic this week is creativity behind bars. We showcase poetry from prisoners working with the Indiana Prisoners’ Writing Project, a piece by Shaka Shakur, entitled “Black Pain”, and a song by local musician Billy Young. Shakur is currently serving time in the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility here in Indiana. Billy Young will speak with us in a future episode …

This week, we hear some prison-related news and then return to the topic of pregnancy in prison. We continue our discussion with Dr. Alicia Suarez, a sociologist who researches pregnancy and childbirth as it relates to incarcerated women. She continues the discussion from our Pregnancy in Prison episode, and walks us through the process of giving birth as a prisoner. …