Episodes

  • Crooked Coffee: Let Us Shine

    Crooked Coffee: Let Us Shine
    Oct 2 2024
    Ms. Livvy’s heroic efforts to protect voting rights have come at a cost. Her health has suffered, and she’s tired. But she knows there’s more work to do, especially with the November election on the very near horizon. In our final episode from Georgia, we’re diving into why your vote matters, why it’s a fundamental right, and the key ingredient to sustaining the fight for voting rights: joy. Learn more at benjerry.com/vote and get involved with Black Voters Matter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • Crooked Coffee: The Fight Against Voter Suppression

    Crooked Coffee: The Fight Against Voter Suppression
    Sep 25 2024
    Ms. Livvy has watched as Georgia has become ground zero for voter suppression efforts. Laws that wipe people from the polls are popping up left and right, all claiming to curb so-called voter fraud… even though studies have shown over and over again that rates of voter fraud are between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent. Here’s what is a real issue: voter suppression. And as we get ready to cast our votes in November, the best way to make sure our election is representative of the country is to ensure that everyone who’s eligible can vote. Here’s how you can help. Learn more at benjerry.com/vote and get involved with Black Voters Matter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • Crooked Coffee: Ms. Livvy Against The Machine

    Crooked Coffee: Ms. Livvy Against The Machine
    Sep 18 2024
    Voters in Coffee County, Georgia have another name for this place: Crooked Coffee, where elections officials have waged war on voters of color for decades. So residents weren't shocked when their tiny community made national headlines following the January 6th attack on the Capitol, after members of the GOP there allegedly allowed Trump associates to copy software and other sensitive digital elections materials in the days following the 2020 election. It was the latest chapter in the long story of so-called voter fraud in this small, majority-Black county – and Olivia Coley Pearson is tired. Ms. Livvy, as she’s known in the community, is the descendant of a local voting rights hero, and she’s committed her life to furthering her mother’s legacy of fighting back against intimidation and suppression of voters of color, even as those attacks grow more personal. We’re headed to Georgia to meet Ms. Livvy in action, and to learn how she fought back against bogus voter fraud charges. Learn more at benjerry.com/vote and get involved with Black Voters Matter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    38 mins
  • Cancer Alley: Victory is Mine

    Cancer Alley: Victory is Mine
    Aug 28 2024
    Ms. Sharon never thought she’d be the one to take down the industry harming her community. But as her fight gains momentum, she’s scoring wins that are making big impact. And Jo Banner never thought she’d own a plantation. But it’s a powerful way to protect the past, while defending her neighbors from the petrochemical industry. In the final episode of our series from the River Parishes, what happens when you dare to re-imagine a better future for your community, your family, and your home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    44 mins
  • Cancer Alley: This is OUR Briar Patch

    Cancer Alley: This is OUR Briar Patch
    Aug 21 2024
    The violent history of Cancer Alley began long before the petrochemical industry arrived in the 1960s. Prior to being dominated by plastics plants, this land was home to plantations. To understand how this stretch of the Louisiana River Parishes became a “sacrifice zone” – a place where plastic is more important than people – we’re taking a look back at the violent legacy of this land. Here’s how Ms. Sharon and Jo Banner, a neighbor from nearby St. John the Baptist Parish, are working to honor the past as they fight for their future. Learn more about the Descendants Project here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    43 mins
  • Cancer Alley: Plan A is the Only Plan

    Cancer Alley: Plan A is the Only Plan
    Aug 14 2024
    The beautiful stretch of Louisiana where Ms. Sharon Lavigne lives goes by many names: the River Parishes, The Great River Road, The Mississippi River Industrial Corridor, and, worst of all... Cancer Alley. This 85 mile stretch of riverbank houses over 150 petrochemical plants. The majority of these plants neighbor predominantly Black communities, many of which are historical free towns created by formerly enslaved people in the wake of abolition. And now, Ms. Sharon’s schedule is filled with funerals for their descendants, who are falling dangerously ill as the industry chokes out the community. In this three-part series, the evolving harm of environmental racism, and how Ms. Sharon and her neighbors are rising up against it. Learn more about Rise St. James here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • The Workhouse: How to Close a Jail

    The Workhouse: How to Close a Jail
    Jul 24 2024
    How do you close a jail that’s as old as your city? Step one: gather your people. In the final episode of this series from St. Louis, we’re talking to the politicians, disruptors, and rabble-rousers who joined Inez’s fight to close the Workhouse. Here’s how they did it, and how you can do it, too. Want to close the jail or pre-trial detention center in your town? Learn more HERE. And check out the Bail Project’s resources on bail reform HERE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • The Workhouse: The Court's ATM

    The Workhouse: The Court's ATM
    Jul 17 2024
    More than half a million Americans are sitting in jail awaiting trial. And 60% of them are there because they can’t afford not to be. That’s why the Workhouse jail in St. Louis stayed so full for so long. Some people jailed there were pulled over for speeding, others learned they had outstanding warrants for probation violations. All of them owed something to the courts. In the second episode of this series, we’re taking the courts to court, to understand how the system kept The Workhouse jail full for over a century, and how Inez and the community of activists around her emptied it for good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    25 mins