Sentence(s) Podcast

Meet George! He's an incredible storyteller with a big body of work and an even bigger heart! Listen as he tells Jose how writing literally saved his life, and how 2Pac helped him find his writer's voice.

Lizette is back for another minisode! Even-though this is a shorter episode, it is filled with a great discussion about language, voice, and the role langauge plays in forming other people's perception of us. We also read poems chosen by Alfred and Lizette. sit back, relax, and let the poems take you away.

Guess who's back?! Lizette returns on this episode to catch us up on what she's been up to since her last time on the show over a year ago. Alfredo and Lizette spend this episode catching up and talking about some of the challenges (and rewards) that come with working in the non-profit world of prison reform and abolition. Check us out on Instagram @sentencespodcast, and don't forget to check out Words Uncaged @wordsuncaged as well

Meet Candace and Raven: two amazing people doing some amazing work in the name of re-entry and rehabilitation, as well as grassroots work around prison abolition and advocacy for recently-released men and women. Candace and Raven now join the ever-growing Sentences family. I hope you enjoy getting to know them as much as we did!

In this episode, Tobias has a deep conversation with his buddy Anthony McDuffy who, at the time of this recording, had just been out of prison for a couple weeks. The conversation is semi-brief (by our standards), but definitely meaningful! I had a great time getting to know Anthony and am sure he will be back on the podcast soon!

On this special minisode of Sentence(s), we get some very special Valentine's Day shout outs from some of the men at Lancaster State Prison! These heart-warming and heartfelt messages will have you feeling all warm and fuzzy, and I'm happy to share them with you. Please share this minisode with your loved ones and on your social media to help their message reach their loved ones.

In the last episode of 2018, men from Lancaster State Prison call in to wish their loved ones happy holidays. Tobias, who was recently released after serving 28 plus years, also has some fun surprising the callers. This episode may get a little heavy at times, but Tobias does a great job of balancing out all the heavy-ness with his light spirit and energy. We also talk about holiday traditions behind bars, the meaning of radical kinship, and coping with the various barriers the state and federal government place on families of incarcerated folks. Thank you all for supporting and listening in 2018. Thank you for sharing and for commenting on our episodes because without your help, these voices would not get beyond the bars.

Join us as Travielle shares his journey with restorative justice inside and outside prison, his story about how me made it through some of the toughest times in jail, and how writing helped him discover some very important lessons. We also get a chance to meet Hope! She shares how she made a lifelong friend in Travielle, and how both their lives have changed since his release.

David Diaz was just 19 years old when he was taken from his mother's home and wrongfully convicted of attempted murder. Almost 20 years later he is still serving a life sentence for something he did not do. The victim of the crime has always declared David's innocence, and so has the victim's family. So why is David still in prison? His mother and his wife join Alfred and Lily (From CSUN's Revolutionary Scholars) to share his story, their story, and ask for your help to #FreeDavidDiaz.

In this episode, José and Alfred catch up and talk about the Words Uncaged/Unlock Tomorrow event and literary journal, as well as discuss a poem by currently incarcerated Jeff Stein. We invite you to listen in on this discussion and reflect on your own feelings about Stein's poem, the role of prison, and even your own comfort level with social norms.

In this episode, we get the chance to sit down with Tin and Billy: two friends who each served separate life-sentences, and were eventually paroled only to end up in a detention center together. Their story is one that touches on some of the inhumane real-life consequences of our money-driven immigration and incarceration system. Despite the traumatic events in their lives, Tin and Billy continue to dedicate their time to sharing their story and helping others in similar situations navigate the enigmatic immigration and incarceration system. Here are some of the organizations that Tin and Billy mentioned in this episode. These organizations provide ways for you to get involved: Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), Asian Pacific Islander - Reentry & Inclusion through Support & Empowerment (API RISE), 2nd Call, Defy Ventures, Korean Resource Center (KRC), Gift of Compassion- (GoCompassion)- zazen meditation, The Francisco Home (transitional housing), and PREP (Partnership for Re-Entry program). LA Federation Union, ARC, and LATTC also join forces to provide a Pre-Apprenticeship Programs for the formerly incarcerated who aspire to get into the constructional career field.

This is our first recording out of Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights. Here we just do a quick rundown of what our podcast is about and what we have in store for the next few episodes. We're excited to be recording live out of Espacio 1839 every first and third Thursdays of the month. Thanks again for listening.

In this very special episode, we get the chance to talk with Lily, Rosa, Denny, and Diego from Cal State University, Northridge! Aside from being amazing human beings, these four MA students helped establish a resource campus center for formerly incarcerated CSUN students called "Revolutionary Scholars." Our discussion felt less like an interview and more like a therapy session we just so happened to record. We encourage you to sit in as we discuss the some of the challenges and successes that they have experienced. We share some of our fears and worries, as well as some of our hopes and dreams. We want to personally thank Lily, Denny, Rosa, and Diego for sharing their time and their stories with us. We felt nothing but gratitude after the recording, and we are happy to be able to share this experience with you, our listeners. Be sure to follow Revolutionary Scholars @Revolutionaryscholars .

In this very special episode, we read our first of many pieces from our incarcerated friends from Lancaster. This first piece is called "To Imagine Angels" written by John Purugganan. Join us as we try to unpack some of the complexities of this piece. This episode is also special because we get into topics that are very personal. We hope you enjoy the episode! And remember to visit WordsUncaged.com, follow us on soundcloud and iTunes, and send all your comments and questions to sentencespodcast@gmail.com

In episode 2, we share the rest of our interview with our friends Saliha and Dug. Our discussion moves away from the Words Uncaged project, and branches out into how our individual experiences with education shaped our interactions with the justice system. We also share a little more about ourselves as grad students trying to navigate academia. Enjoy!

Welcome to our first episode, where we talk about how and why we choose to work with incarcerated men and women, as well as discuss our goals for this podcast. Enjoy!