Podcast appearances and mentions of sukey lewis

When Valentino Rodriguez started his job at a high-security prison in Sacramento, California, informally known as New Folsom, he thought he was entering a brotherhood of correctional officers who hold each other to a high standard of conduct.Five years later, Rodriguez would be found dead in his home. His unexpected passing  would raise questions from his family and the FBI. Before he died, Rodriguez was promoted to an elite unit investigating crimes in the prison. His parents and his widow say he had been hoping for the position for a long time. But once inside the unit, the job consumed him. From day one, his fellow officers began to undermine and harass him. Stressed and fed up with how he was being treated, Rodriguez reached a breaking point. He left the prison, but his experiences there still haunted him—so he went in for a meeting with the warden. He didn't know it would be his last.This week on Reveal, we partner with KQED reporters Sukey Lewis and Julie Small and the On Our Watch podcast to explore what this correctional officer's story shows about how the second-largest prison system in the country is failing to protect the people who live and work inside it.This is an update of an episode that originally aired in March 2024. Listen to the whole On Our Watch series here. Support Reveal's journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/weekly Instagram

The warden at a troubled prison in northern California is retiring this month, and the governor has just given the former chief deputy warden there a big promotion. KQED reporters Julie Small and Sukey Lewis investigated this prison for their podcast On Our Watch, and they have an article out this week that tells the emotional story of a pair of whistleblowers who work there and the challenges they faced. Guest: Julie Small, KQED The co-founders of failed Fresno startup Bitwise Industries have been sentenced to prison for wire fraud.  Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent years, high profile cases of police brutality across the U.S. have brought increased attention and scrutiny to police misconduct and use of force incidents. When something happens, the police often say "we're investigating." But what's really being done to ensure police are held accountable for their actions?Sukey Lewis is a criminal justice reporter at KQED. As part of the multi-newsroom California Reporting Project, she has spent years obtaining previously-sealed police internal affairs records, to find out what happens when law enforcement agencies investigate themselves.In this episode of The Sunday Story, host Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Lewis about the new season of her podcast, On Our Watch, which focuses on correctional officers. Lewis talks about her reporting on New Folsom, one of the most dangerous prisons in California. And she shares the stories of two whistleblowers who worked as correctional officers within the prison and ultimately died while fighting to expose its secrets.You can listen to all eight episodes of season 2 of On Our Watch at kqed.org/onourwatch.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

When Valentino Rodriguez graduated from the academy to become a correctional officer for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, he was promised a brotherhood. At his graduation, the new officers took an oath to protect the innocent, be honest and hold each other accountable. But when he started his job at the high-security prison in Sacramento, informally known as New Folsom, he found the opposite. He told his wife and father about misconduct in the prison and harassment, threats and mistreatment of incarcerated people. KQED reporters Sukey Lewis and Julie Small learned of Rodriguez's experience after he was found dead, just six days after reporting the misconduct he witnessed. Their series, On Our Watch, follows Rodriguez's case and his father's investigation into his son's death.  This episode opens with Lewis and her reporting team meeting the Rodriguez family at their home and Rodriguez's wife, Mimy. They tell the reporters about who Rodriguez was and his journey through New Folsom. In the prison, Rodriguez earned a spot as a member of an elite unit investigating crimes committed in the prison. But his colleagues made it clear they didn't think he deserved the promotion and demeaned his work. As the job weighed on Rodriguez and his mental health, his father, Val Sr., started to see him change.    After his son's death, Val Sr. collects all the evidence he can on his son's experience in the prison and shares it with Lewis and Small. This includes a copy of Rodriguez's cellphone that he used for work, with proof of the misconduct he reported from members of his unit. Through this personal record of Rodriguez's life, along with disciplinary records obtained through a recent transparency law passed in California, Lewis and Small find a pattern of misconduct that goes deeper than Rodriguez's experience.  In our last segment, Reveal host Al Letson sits down with Lewis and Small to discuss any accountability taken by prison officials. Only two of the men who harassed Rodriguez were disciplined, but none of the supervisors with knowledge of the harassment seem to have faced consequences. The reporters talk about other cases of misconduct they uncovered from public documents from the state corrections department, and they share how Rodriguez's father and wife have been since their reporting became public.  Support Reveal's journalism at Revealnews.org/donatenow Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the scoop on new episodes at Revealnews.org/newsletter Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

When Valentino Rodriguez Jr. died at home, his family believed it had something to do with his time in an elite investigative unit inside New Folsom Prison. He'd been driven out of the job by other corrections officers Valentino believed were behind the abuse of prisoners. KQED reporters Sukey Lewis and Julie Small began to dig through reams of newly-released documents and interview tapes, hoping to shed light on what was happening in California's most violent prison. Meanwhile, with guidance from Valentino's mentor, Val Senior launched his own investigation into his son's final days with the help of an insider.Season two of KQED's “On Our Watch: New Folsom” tells the tale of two corrections officers struggling with the pattern of violence and a culture of silence within the high-security facility. The hosts investigate the challenges they faced and follow in their footsteps to uncover the secrets hidden inside the most dangerous prison in the Golden State.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ON OUR WATCH: NEW FOLSOM" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com

Glynn unearths paradise. A geoscientist journeys deep into the Amazon Rainforest in search of a mythical river. And a revolutionary living in exile does the unexpected. Snap presents a classic, “Shangri-La.” STORIES “The Perfect Spot” Backpackers are scouring Southeast Asia looking for the magical spot, but Glynn has the inside tip. Produced by Pat Mesiti-Miller “Boiling River” Andres Ruzo tried to track down a legend he's heard his grandfather talk about in stories when he was a little boy. He found the stuff of legends, and then was faced with the choices, and burdens of knowing a valuable secret. Find out more in Andres Ruzo's book, The Boiling River. Check out the Boiling River Project, the TED talk, and the TED book. Produced by Anna Sussman, sound design by Leon Morimoto “For Love and Revolution” In the 1970s Truman Capote interviewed Watani Stiner, a young revolutionary serving time in San Quentin for the death of two Black Panthers. Then… things got interesting. Produced by Sukey Lewis & Mark Ristich, sound design by Leon Morimoto Season 13 - Episode 2 - Snap Classic

Less than six weeks after our KQED colleagues from On Our Watch published an episode that revealed new information about the police killing of Oscar Grant, California's Attorney General Rob Bonta announced he was opening an external investigation into the 12-year old case, which he says remains unsolved.  KQED's Sukey Lewis spoke with Bonta to discuss systemic issues in California policing, and how he wants them to be addressed. She also covers some upcoming police reforms that could lead to more accountability and transparency. Listen and subscribe to On Our Watch.

Less than six weeks after On Our Watch published an episode examining the shooting and death of Oscar Grant, California's Attorney General Rob Bonta opened an external investigation into the 12-year-old case. In a wide-ranging interview with On Our Watch's Sukey Lewis, Bonta talks about California's systemic issues in policing, his efforts at addressing them and says the Oscar Grant case remains unresolved. We also look at new police reforms promising that cops who commit serious misconduct can be stripped of their badges.

In the world of police reform, accountability for misconduct depends on transparency – and that kind of transparency exists in very few places. So when a state finally does open its files on police discipline, what do we learn? We talk to Sukey Lewis and Sandhya Dirks, two reporters at KQED in San Francisco; their new podcast, On Our Watch, is a deep dive into the inner workings of the police disciplinary process. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

One officer in Los Angeles used car inspections to hit on women. Three hundred miles away in the San Francisco Bay Area, another woman says an officer used police resources to harass and stalk her. This episode investigates these two cases of sexual misconduct by California Highway Patrol officers. While the officers were fired, the agency did not refer potential crimes to prosecutors. And the files show some women who came forward were met with suspicion, discouragement, or what one woman saw as intimidation. Snap presents, “Conduct Unbecoming,” the second episode of On Our Watch, an investigative podcast from NPR & KQED. This episode contains instances of sexual misconduct but it does not contain sexual assault. Sensitive listeners, please be advised. Thank you, Sukey Lewis, Sandhya Dirks, Alex Emslie, and the entire On Our Watch team! On Our Watch is an amazing seven-part podcast series, hosted by Sukey Lewis. It was created after a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files. NPR and KQED reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. Learn more about On Our Watch at KQED.org. Listen & subscribe now! On Our Watch is produced as part of the California Reporting Project, a coalition of news organizations in California. Artwork by Nicole Xu for NPR Season 12 - Episode 25

March 24, 2019: Carl Bernstein, Matt Rosenberg, Olivia Nuzzi, Oliver Darcy, Philip Bump, Jess McIntosh, Alexandra Rojas, Norm Pearlstine and Sukey Lewis join Brian Stelter.

What do you do when you are trying to give birth... in the middle of a wildfire? Nicole Veum is interviewed live by producer April Demobosky for "The Fire Tapes" The Fire Tapes is a collaboration between KQED's "The Bay" and Snap Judgment for the Coal + Ice Festival in San Francisco. Producers: Sukey Lewis, Mark Ristich and Jeremy Siegel

In the middle of the night on October 8th, 2017, Ed and Kathy Hamilton were woken up by banging on their front door. When they opened it, their neighbor was standing there, and behind her, the sky was glowing red. "It was just a scene from hell," Ed says. "It’s indescribable." A few hours later, their home burned down in the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Ed and Kathy became one of thousands of families deciding how—or if—to rebuild in a part of the country where wildfires are becoming mroe intense and destructive with each passing year. This week, in partnership with KQED in San Francisco, we're looking at what happens after the smoke has cleared. For Ed and Kathy, recovery means reconstructing their home to nearly the exact specifications of the house that stood there before. But that's possible for them because they had good insurance, and a big financial safety net. For many others, who were underinsured or had no insurance, that's not an option. Bart Levenson found herself stuck in limbo for years after a 2015 wildfire destroyed her home, despite her best efforts to be prepared. Earlier this year, Bart spoke to KQED reporter Sukey Lewis at the abandoned resort that was her temporary home for years after the fire. "It's just so big what happened," she said. "I didn't know this was going to be the most stuck I'd ever be in my whole life."   If you want to hear more stories about how communities and individuals in California are navigating the aftermath of wildfires, check out KQED's podcast The Bay. In particular, we recommend their recent episode featuring Sukey Lewis's interview with a young woman named Kayla Swaim, and another recent episode about the arguments for and against rebuilding in areas that continue to be vulnerable to wildfire. If you're curious to learn more about how better design can keep homes from burning, even in severe wildfires, check out Death, Sex & Money producer Stephanie Joyce's recent reporting for 99% Invisible. She explores the science behind how we could reduce our collective fire risk, and the reasons why we don't. And to read Kathy Hamilton's blog, where she's chronicled their rebuilding process (and their spending!), head on over here.

On Atlas Peak there is one way in and one way out.  When wildfire threatened their homes, the only escape route...was up. Sukey Lewis is an investigative reporter for KQED public radio out of San Francisco. The Atlas Peak fire was just one of a series of catastrophic fires that broke out that night across northern California. 44 people in all died in those fires.  Check out KQED's fire investigation. Original Score: Davey Kim Producer: Sukey Lewis Season 9 Episode 12

Delayed evacuations, communication gaps, the North Bay on fire. KQED investigated emergency alerts during the North Bay fires. Today, we trace the first eight hours of October 8. Guest: KQED News reporter Sukey Lewis. Sukey reported this story with KQED's data reporter Lisa Pickoff-White and politics reporter Marisa Lagos.

What does containment mean? How are wildfires named? What happens after your house burns? Reported by Lindsey Hoshaw, Jessica Placzek, Sukey Lewis and Olivia Allen-Price. Technical director is Paul Lancour. Theme music by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Many songs in this episode were by Petaluma artist Gio Benedetti, and proceeds from their sale will benefit wildfire survivors. Find and buy his music here: https://giobenedetti.bandcamp.com/ Ask us a question at BayCurious.org. Follow Olivia Allen-Price on Twitter @oallenprice.

Bridging the Political Divide, One Dinner at a Time Many of us are taught not to talk politics at the dinner table -- especially if your guests fall on different sides of the political spectrum. But as Bianca Taylor tells us, a new movement called ‘Make America Dinner Again’ breaks this rule, in a big way. It's the latest installment in our series "Start the Conversation.” 2 Years After Destructive Valley Fire, Lake County Rebuilds and Readjusts Between earthquakes, fires and hurricanes, a lot of us have been thinking about what's important to us, what we'd fight to keep if we faced a natural disaster. Those questions aren't theoretical to people in Lake County who survived a massive wildfire two years ago. When the smoke cleared, the fire had burned up 70,000 acres, destroyed 1,280 homes and killed four people. KQED reporter Sukey Lewis grew up in Lake County, and she went back to check in on how some of her friends are recovering. War Is Not a Game: An 'Air Force Brat' On Growing Up with the Consequences of Vietnam We've been bringing you stories of Californians whose lives have been impacted by the Vietnam War. We reached out to you, our listeners, and many of you responded with your memories. We hear from Sacramento resident Angela Shortt, whose father served in the U.S. Air Force during the war. She was eight years old when her family was sent to live on a military base in the Philippines in 1966. A Surfer Reflects on Life’s Waves So, what does an 83-year-old woman who surfs the cold waters of San Francisco's Ocean Beach have in common with a Buddhist monk hiking through the Himalayas? They're both people author Jaimal Yogis encounters as he scours the planet looking for the secrets to internal happiness, in his new book "All Our Waves Are Water." Yogis is a Bay Area surfer, journalist and meditation teacher. He joins us to talk about his book, which chronicles his quest for the perfect wave, and for an internal life that can weather storms, lulls, and thrilling rides. Meet the Heartbeat of the Oakland A’s At every home game, some of the Oakland A's most diehard baseball fans bang out beats -- different ones for each player, and each action on the field. You can find this informal drum corps in Section 149 in the bleachers of the Oakland Coliseum. They got their start nearly two decades ago, and they’re likely to remain a fixture at A’s home games. The team just announced its intention to build a downtown ballpark and remain rooted in Oakland. Tena Rubio spent a home game with some long-time drummers: Bryanne Aler-Nigas, Will MacNeil, Andy Cho, and The California Report’s own Nina Thorsen, who drums for the A’s when she’s not making radio.