Cellblocks to Mountaintops

Resonate is a podcast series from Rancho La Puerta, hosted by Barry Shingle. In each episode, the show explores heart-centered thoughts on well-being and life from expert presenters whose core message aligns with the motto at Rancho La Puerta: “Siempre Mejor,”—Always Better. Cellblocks to Mountaintops director Lydia B. Smith joined Barry Shingle last month for an inspiring conversation about her j...

Take a look behind the scenes as Director Lydia B. Smith and Host Phil Stockton discuss the making of Cellblocks to Mountaintops.  They chat about how this project came together, Lydia's original vision, and Phil's experiences teaching theater in prisons. They also delve into the importance of the arts in prison and the ways in which the current criminal justice system fails both incarcerated indi...

We are happy to introduce the Making Amends podcast which was recorded at Oregon State Penitentiary around the same time, we started filming Cellblocks to Mountaintops and features some of the same people - most notably Anthony Pickens. Listen to Episode 1of Making Amends to hear even more about Anthony’s journey of redemption.  Violence was a constant in the lives of both Anthony and Theron, star...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Watch Thana Alexa and four-time Grammy award-winning musician, Antonio Sánchez perform “The Bucket” with a surprise guest of honor at the Jack Revue jazz club in Portland, Oregon. In Episode 8, A Path Forward, hear about the many twists and turns in Sterling’...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Watch Sterling receive startling news as his legal battles come to a head.  Sterling delivers a passionate performance of his poem,  “Society Imagined.” Tune into Episode 8, A Path Forward, to hear how Sterling’s fate unfolds. 

Sterling’s new circumstances bring both joy and challenges in ways he hadn’t anticipated.  Meanwhile, legal advocates, community groups, and nonprofit organizations actively work to create alternatives to incarceration by facilitating opportunities for mediation, accountability, and transformation. Correction:  At the end of the episode, we mention the East Bay Arts Alliance.  The correct name is...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com See Anthony’s life take a sharp turn that dramatically impacts his wife and family.  To hear where Anthony’s sharp turn went, listen to Episode 7, Gasping for Air.  

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Sterling finally receives his answer from the Oregon Board of Parole. His attorneys discuss the impact of this ruling and how Sterling’s juvenile  status at the time of the crime leads to shocking repercussions.  Hear how and why the parole board ruled as the...

Everything stopped in 2020 with the global Covid-19 pandemic, but in Oregon, another catastrophe was underway… unprecedented wildfires. Prisons across the state were forced to evacuate, adding even more strain to an outdated infrastructure. The twists and turns of Sterling’s legal battles finally come to a head. Watch Sterling’s attorneys and loved ones react to the results of the hearing in The D...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Hear from Sterling’s legal team about the intricacies of his case while they prepare for his prison term hearing. The team focuses on how best to present Sterling’s story of rehabilitation to the parole board. In Episode 6, Standards of Decency, hear renowned...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Sterling shares a potentially life-altering announcement with his peers.  The news evokes emotional reactions as Sterling expresses both  hope and apprehension to the news as well as his concern for the effect it may have on his victim’s families. Hear about...

Should juveniles who commit murder ever be given a second chance, or do they deserve to be locked up for life?  In 2012 that question made its way to the Supreme Court in a landmark case argued by renowned attorney and activist Bryan Stevenson. While not a slam dunk, their ruling gave Sterling hope for an eventual release.  Watch Sterling share some good news with his friends in the video Fresh Ho...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Watch an intimate “inside class” discussion on shame and personal accountability, inspired by Danielle Sered’s book, “Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration and a Road to Repair.” The men comment on how the current criminal justice system does not prom...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Join undergraduate students from Willamette University and men from Oregon State Penitentiary in the classroom. Professor Melissa Buis and Sterling Cunio co-teach “Reforming Criminal Justice,” a class about mass incarceration. Classmates discuss cycles of vio...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Sterling leads a candid discussion with fellow restorative justice facilitators on what it means to live your amends.  The men discuss taking responsibility, personal growth, and the struggle for self-esteem while incarcerated. In Episode 5, Restorative Justi...

Sterling’s intense educational pursuits led him to a class on restorative justice, where  he developed a vision for completely changing the toxic prison culture where he’d likely spend the rest of his life. What started as a path toward forgiving himself grew into a tool for brokering peace and mediating clashes between gangs inside. We hear from Danielle Sered, a foremost expert on alternatives t...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Watch excerpts of Sterling’s performance from “The Bucket,” an ensemble play about solitary confinement which won first prize from the PEN America prison writing contest. Directed by our podcast host Phil Stockton and co-written and co-starring Sterling Cunio...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com With acute self-awareness, Sterling recounts several of the key turning points in his life that enabled him to transform. Thanks to an unexpected letter and a surprising connection to a novel he randomly read, Sterling’s perspective on himself and his crime t...

Relationships with people in the outside world are essential for maintaining hope, working towards rehabilitation, and reducing recidivism. Letters, emails, and in-person visits from friends and family bring a shred of humanity to an otherwise inhumane environment. In Sterling's case, he found a pen pal that would become very dear to his heart. And in writing, he began to express himself in a way...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Join us as Anthony shares his life story with both “inside” and “outside” classmates from Professor Melissa Buis’ “Reforming Criminal Justice” class held inside Oregon State Penitentiary.  He details step by step what led to his incarceration at age 15.  Anth...

In 1994, Sterling walked into prison a scrawny, 17-year-old biracial kid. His mettle was immediately tested by a much older white supremacist cellmate. That first night would set the tone for the years to come. But eventually,  he would discover new ideas and new ways of being -  in unexpected places. Sterling adjusts to living in prison and meets a friend for life - get to know him in our mini-do...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com See attorneys Aliza Kaplan and Ryan O’Connor delve into juvenile sentencing complexities, centering on Sterling’s case and his bid for freedom. They discuss the infamous “super predator scare” of the 1990s and advancements in understanding adolescent brain de...

Sterling Cunio used to play football and ride bikes around the neighborhood with his friends.  He won The Most Mannerly Kid award.  But several tragic circumstances changed the trajectory of his life, pushing him into foster care, and later the juvenile justice system. What happened? How did he come to commit such a horrific crime? Watch Sterling’s lawyers explain the complexities of his case in o...

This episode is a video. If your podcast player does not support videos, please go to our website to watch: www.cellblockstomountaintops.com Sterling Cunio faces the Oregon Board of Parole at a prison term hearing to decide his fate. Held during the peak of the pandemic, Sterling, his attorneys, and supporters must present his case over video. Sterling has committed the past twelve years of his li...

After serving more than 25 years in prison, Sterling Cunio goes before the most important audience of his life: the Oregon Board of Parole. His supporters and attorneys argue that Sterling has rehabilitated, and deserves a second chance for a life beyond prison walls. But even if that’s true, does that mean he should be set free? Locking him up for the rest of his life won’t bring his victims back...