When 17-year-old Fanta Kaba was growing up, her family moved around a lot — until they finally found stability in public housing. But now, a controversial plan is changing the way the New York City Housing Authority operates. NYCHA, the largest public housing program in the country, is bringing private companies in to to manage public housing units.
Five years after Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a police officer galvanized criminal justice reform activists in St. Louis, they’re gaining serious momentum to shut down the city’s notorious Workhouse jail. This episode received a 2020 Third Coast International Audio Festival Award.
A look into the St. Louis Circuit Court’s relationship with EMASS — a private, for-profit monitoring company that collects fees from people awaiting trial and threatens to have them sent back to jail if they can’t pay.
What does it feel like when your neighborhood is just starting to gentrify? Can “home” be a place you’ve never even visited? And why are private developers getting involved in New York City’s public housing projects? In this series, NYC teens explore these questions and more.
Through a series of open and honest audio diaries, Folashade Olatunde shares a story about trauma and self-discovery as she invites listeners on her journey to rebuild her relationship with her dad, who’s been in prison since she was two years old. This segment received a 2022 Gracie Award.
In the past, immigration agents gave Alex Garcia temporary permission to stay in the United States with his family. Now, they were ordering him to report for deportation. He could do as immigration officials had ordered and report to ICE to be jailed and sent back to the Honduran countryside he left nearly two decades ago. Or he could seek sanctuary in a church.
The NYPD “gang database” is a secretive list of thousands of people the NYPD has labeled as gang members. Police officials say the list helps them stop violence. Critics say it’s another way to surveil and harass Black and Latino communities. Radio Rookie Rainier Harris first learned about the database three years ago — and he says he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. This story received a Media for a Just Society Award.
As St. Louis takes steps to reform its bail system, court reform advocates are concerned about a growing alternative to jailing people before trial: ordering them to wear electronic ankle monitors. Nationally, the use of ankle monitors is on the rise as cities and counties look for ways to reduce the number of people in their jails.
Fifteen-year-old Christina Adja loves her South Bronx neighborhood — but lately, she’s seen chain restaurants replacing small businesses and shiny apartment buildings going up. And it’s made her wonder: How do changing neighborhoods affect teenagers’ sense of stability and belonging?