American Dreams Podcast

Reflecting on Season 2 of American Dreams: Behind the Journey In this wrap-up episode of 'American Dreams' season 2, the team reflects on the creation and emotional journey of the podcast, featuring insights from team members Erika, Simone, and Will. They revisit significant episodes, share behind-the-scenes moments, and explore compelling stories of resilience and injustice, from Marcus Alston's...

“A Different Kind Of Pedestal”  You’re out of prison, now what?  As we wrap up our journey with Phillip Sample, Alvin Hill and Cincere Al’Talet and this season of American Dreams, we hear directly from them what prison was like and how they navigated their day to day in both state and federal lockup. How has their family and community ties affected their journey through their newest chapter as adv...

In this episode of American Dreams: Reproductive Justice we introduce you to three men whose individual stories intersect through violence, struggle and ultimately success and investment into the community that shaped them.  High unemployment rates, broken infrastructure, crack cocaine and gang violence plagued the inner city of Detroit during the 1980’s. Families struggled to piece together any r...

Is this a case of being a criminal or being gay? In this episode of American Dreams: Reproductive Justice we continue the conversation of incarceration and what can happen when women are incarcerated while pregnant. We want to introduce you to Sammy Werkheiser. A wife, mother, and former dance teacher in New York who loved working with children and lost everything after being accused of molesting...

This season we are following stories of people touched by incarceration, all pushing forward to find their way into a better space. Is it possible to live through tragedy, addiction and incarceration and become an elected official?  In this episode of American Dreams: Reproductive Justice, we’re continuing the conversation of how the carceral system affects families and communities. Today I’d like...

This season we are following stories of people touched by incarceration, all pushing forward to find their way into a better space. Episode one introduces you to Marcus, a 28 year old serving a life sentence in prison. How does an aspiring actor, who can play the piano by ear and have such a desire to help and inspire people end up serving a life sentence.  He told us his story over the course of...

This last episode of American Dreams: Reproductive Justice is about the best practices for achieving healthy pregnancies and births, and that involves working together. We spoke to Dr. Saraswathi Vedam with The Birth Place Lab, a division of the University of British Columbia. This lab conducts research and helps provide equitable access to reproductive care. As stated on their website, the lab fo...

Ashlee Hernanz Alvarez was 18 when she had her first daughter, Mimi. She was on Medicaid, and went to the only public hospital in Southern Nevada. She was not treated well. The labor and delivery nurses were understaffed, her doctor was not around, and when a fill-in doctor walked in, he treated her as if she was disturbing his night. Ashlee describes the birth as "savage." For her second birth fo...

Amy Courts Koopman wanted a natural birth, despite a family history of pregnancy complications. She was in good health, but the pregnancy was tricky. Her birthing in-hospital midwife didn't read the notes in her chart. She was at one of the premiere hospitals in the U.S. Brenda Zamora got pregnant at 18 with no insurance and working two jobs. She knew her diabetes was a complication to her pregnan...

In 2014, Tammy Loertscher got pregnant. A few years before, her thyroid had been removed. She lost her job. She lost her insurance. Her state, Wisconsin, had turned down the Medicaid expansion associated with the Affordable Care Act. So she didn't have access to meds. So she self-medicated, just to keep herself stable. When she realized she was pregnant, she went to a doctor to help her get back o...

In 1961, 44-year-old Fannie Lou Hamer went to Sunflower County Hospital in Mississippi to have a minor tumor removed. Instead, the doctor gave her a " Mississippi Appendectomy ." In other words, they sterilized her. Without her knowledge or consent. A year later, Hamer attended her first Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee meeting, launching her civil and voting rights activist career. She...

In this episode, we’re exploring medical systems in Black and Brown communities. The maternal mortality rate for Black women is THREE TIMES the rate than it is for white women. More surprisingly, the ALMOST mortality rate is higher than most of us realize. Chi Chi Okwu, who you heard in episode 1, starts us off by pointing out that the likelihood that you will have a healthy pregnancy, which inclu...

In 1994, 12 women walked into a hotel room in Chicago. They came out with a blueprint for what would become the Reproductive Justice movement. The Mothers of Reproductive Justice - as they are known now - were the only Black women at a conference on universal health care reform held by feminist groups. The meeting took place after a presentation by someone from the Clinton Administration on their...

As 2023 dawns, women in the U.S. look back on the last year and see one glaring issue: 2022 was the year their right to have an abortion was severely curtailed. But many women did not have access to abortions even before the Dobbs decision. Women on Medicaid, in the same states that are outlawing abortion now. Women who live in rural areas. Women who don’t have access to good doctors, and good adv...