The Perils and Power of Youth
Sounds Like Impact: A newsletter for audio and action
Welcome to Sounds Like Impact!
This edition we have a guest curation from Jason Moon, Host of The Youth Development Center and an interview with Corryn Freeman from Future Coalition.
ICYMI: Last edition we had a guest curation on queer history from But We Loved host Jordan Gonsalves, and I interviewed Nate Hegyi from Outside/In.
Big news! I was interviewed on Story For Good podcast! If you’ve been subscribed for a bit, you may recall I interviewed host June Neely for this newsletter. It was my first podcast interview, so please take a listen and let us know what you think!
🎧 #AudioForAction Guest Curation: Jason Moon
Tales of Mass Incarceration
Jails and prisons, almost by definition, create a miniature world unto themselves. They are extreme environments that can be the setting for human dramas of despair, hope, trauma, courage, friendship and so much more. We don’t always think about what happens inside jails and prisons, but quite often it’s of huge importance. Below are a few podcasts about incarcerated communities I’d recommend.
-Jason Moon, Host of Document / The Youth Development Center
Reminder: To guest curate, be interviewed, advertise and more, click here.
New Hampshire has sent its most troubled kids to the same juvenile detention center for more than a century. It had a progressive mission from the beginning: to shelter and nurture kids who break the law. But that’s now what happened. Today, more than a thousand of kids, now adults, say they were severely abused by adults in charge. In my newest series, we tell you the story of how a child abuse scandal of historic proportions unfolded – and why it’s now finally coming to light.
Stories from the inside, told by the people living there. Produced and co-hosted by incarcerated people, this show gives you a truly inside perspective on incarceration. From the day-to-day mechanics of how prison-life works, to profound questions of redemption, to moments of levity in a community behind walls.
Serial: Guantánamo (Season 4)
Maybe the strangest prison we’ve ever created as Americans – full of troubling, fascinating, and important stories that change how we look back on The War On Terror.
One perspective it is often hard to capture in reporting about jails and prisons is that of corrections officers. They’re often hesitant to talk out of mistrust for reporters and a “code” of unquestioning solidarity with their coworkers. That code is exactly what the new season of On Our Watch, which centers on the mysterious death of a correction officer, interrogates.
Motive (Season 4)
This whole season is great, but if you only listen to one episode, make it “The Prison Sweepstakes.” If you’ve ever wondered how we ended up with the prison system we have, get ready, because the answer is more bizarre and fascinating than you might think.
🚨 Calls to Action
From Ayo
Read: Apogee Journal’s issue “Inside Out,” featuring stories, poetry and more from incarcerated writers.
Related: You can donate to Freedom Reads to help get libraries into prisons and Rehabilitation Through the Arts to support art programs.
There is a film coming out this month—starring Colman Domingo— called Sing Sing, which shows RTAs programming at Sing Sing Correctional.
Vote: Did you know District Attorneys and State Attorneys are elected in most states in the U.S.? How or whether people are prosecuted depends a lot on who is in office. Learn more from the organization FAIR AND JUST PROSECUTION.
Subscribe: I’ve mentioned these two Substack’s before, but cannot stress enough how critical the work is that Chloe Cockburn at Just Impact and Radley Balko at The Watch are doing. I also recommend Prisonculture’s Newsletter.
Support: The advocacy work of Fines & Fees Justice Center and Worth Rises.
Worth Rises in particular does a lot of advocacy around prison labor and financial exploitation in the prison industry. If you haven’t read this article about how prison labor is connected to our food yet, please do.
Revisit: This curation from Sounds Like Impact about youth caught up in the juvenile “justice” system.
Watch: Justice, USA on Max, which takes a look at the criminal legal system in Nashville, Tennessee.
Have any global recommendations about the legal system where you are? Please leave a comment with resources for us to share.
📣 Spotlight
Corryn Grace Freeman is a Florida-based social activist, political operative, and an accomplished social change agent.
She serves as the Executive Director of Future Coalition, an organization whose mission is to provide young changemakers with the resources they need to propel transformational change.
Corryn is the Co-founder and Vice President of Black Violin Foundation, an arts education foundation that is dedicated to empowering youth by working with them in their communities to provide access to quality music programs that encourage creativity and innovation.
As the saying goes, “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” The discomfort that older generations feel at the hands of younger generations seeking to level the playing field is necessary for a fair and more equitable society.
Find out more about how Future Coalition is amplifying youth voices and how we can support youth leadership.
🌟 Classifieds
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Congrats on your first podcast interview - Great listen.