Kite Line

This week, we share the first part of a conversation we had with “Joe”. After doing ten years in prison for a sex offense conviction, Joe is now outside and navigating the difficult tightrope that many people convicted of such crimes must walk. A difficult topic to even discuss, Joe expresses the way being on... The post 94 | The Sex Offender Stigma first appeared on Kite Line Radio .

This week, we share a moving keynote speech recently given at the University of Michigan by Michelle Jones. Jones has been featured on multiple episodes of Kite Line, who shared some of her experiences at the Indiana Women’s Prison, particularly issues of mental and physical health on the inside. Now, she speaks of the extensive... The post 93 | Michelle Jones on the Collateral Consequences of Inc...

Last week, we began hearing the voices of prisoners on the topic of Angela Davis’s book, Are Prisons Obsolete? Up first, we have Anastazia Schmid’s response to the book, followed by Angaza Iman Bahar reading his response to us from Miami Correctional Facility. The post 92 | Are Prisons Obsolete? Part Two first appeared on Kite Line Radio .

This week, we start in on the topic of Are Prisons Obsolete Over the next couple of Kite Line episodes, we will be sharing the words and writings of prisoners- many of whom have been featured on previous episodes- and their responses to Angela Davis’s book, “Are Prisons Obsolete” For context, the Abolition Study Sessions are a... The post 91 | Are Prisons Obsolete? Part One first appeare...

This week, we start by finishing the discussion between Micol Seigel and Jackie Wang. You can hear more of their conversation on carceral capitalism in last week’s episode. After that segment, we share a series of letters and updates from Operation PUSH, which is still ongoing in some parts of the Florida prison system, and... The post 90 | Carceral Capitalism Continued and Operation Push Updates...

For this week’s episode we share the first part of a conversation between Micol Seigel and Jackie Wang. Wang is the author of the recent book, Carceral Capitalism. Today, she shares what led her to carceral studies, and the themes in her new book. She speaks about how having an incarcerated sibling shaped the trajectory... The post 89 | Carceral Capitalism, Part One first appeared on Kite Line Rad...

We begin this week with a letter from a prisoner at Pendleton Correctional Facility. He writes about the educational programs available in the prison. He works through some of the problems prisoners encounter when trying to get a meaningful vocational training or degree on the inside. And then, we hear more from Abu Faheem Shabaz,... The post 88 | Speaking From Experience first appeared on Kite Li...

This week we share the first of two episodes on Jay Smith’s story, also known as Abu Faheem Shabaz, who was recently released from the Indiana Department of Corrections after spending years inside. As he states, Shabaz was part of the carceral system since childhood, and he describes coming of age within the walls of... The post 87 | Coming of Age While Inside first appeared on Kite Line Radio .

This week, we speak with Victoria Law- a freelance journalist, mother of a New York City high school student, author of the book Resistance Behind Bars, the co-author of the forthcoming book Your Home Is Your Prison, as well as the editor of Tenacious, a journal of art and writing by incarcerated women. She starts... The post 86 | Women’s Resistance Behind Bars first appeared on Kite Line Radio .

This week, we are airing selections from a panel discussion that took place earlier this month here in Bloomington. Andrea Ritchie and Victoria Law, both of whom were featured on Kite Line earlier this month, sit alongside Andrea Sterling at a panel called “Building Community Resilience”. In it, these women discuss the myriad ways that... The post 85 | Carceral Repression Vs. Community Resilience...

This week, we share a conversation we had with Andrea Ritchie, an attorney and activist whose work focuses on police violence against the queer community and women of color. She speaks about current political conditions, and the concepts in her most recent book, Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color.... The post 84 | State Violence Against Women of Color first a...

This week is focused on words from prisoners sent or smuggled from inside. From the jail in Evansville, Indiana, to letters from participants in Operation PUSH- the still-ongoing prison strike across the Florida department of corrections- to a collection of poems from our local jail, prisoners are finding ways to share their individual experiences and... The post 83 | Reflections in Defiance: Kite...

In this episode, we share a phone call and three short essays from Timothy Smith. Smith spoke to us from inside Cook County Jail, the most recent place he has been held over ten years in custody. Timothy has been at a several institutions around Illinois, and describes entering prison and specifically Menard Correctional Center.... The post 82 | Conscious in Confinement first appeared on Kite Line...

This week, we return to the history of black radicalism within the prison system. You can hear more from Dr. Micol Seigel and Dr. Garrett Felber about this in last week’s episode. Early in this episode, the prisoner reporting on Operation PUSH, the sit-down strike in Florida’s prisons, mentions being transferred to a different area... The post 81 | The Long History of Black Radicalism on the Insid...

This week, we are changing our format slightly.  After hearing a letter from a prisoner involved in Operation PUSH, we are broadcasting an interview between Dr. Micol Seigel and Dr. Garrett Felber on the role of the Nation of Islam in prison life and prisoners’ struggle. Beginning in the middle of the last century, the... The post 80 | The Long History of Black Radicalism on the Inside, Part...

This episode, we start out with a statement from Anastazia Schmid, a prisoner in the Indiana Women’s Prison. She walks us through a brief history of how prisons, and specifically the modern practice of prison slave labor, came about. She also talks through some basics of how prison serves to isolate those on the inside,... The post 79 | The Past Isn’t Passed: Cycles of Violence and Exploitation fi...

In this episode, we start with updates from Operation PUSH. After that, we continue hearing from Craig, who spent significant time in the Monroe County jail. You can hear the first part of Craig’s interview in last week’s episode. He spoke about his experiences in the various parts of Monroe County Jail, and also his... The post 78 | More Insights from the Local Jail first appeared on Kite Line Ra...

First off, we include an update from outside supporters of Operation PUSH, the strike in Florida prisons that is now in its fifth day. We will continue to give updates on the situation in Florida’s prisons as they arrive. After the news, we share the first part of Craig’s story, who was recently released from... The post 77 | Inside the Local Jail first appeared on Kite Line Radio .

This week, we feature two snapshots from fast-developing situations inside the prison system. First, we share an anonymized statement from a prisoner participating in final preparations for Operation: PUSH, the statewide strike inside Florida prisons next week. Second, we broadcast an analysis by a Michigan prisoner of the recently instated mail ban there, which is... The post 76 | Shine A Light:...

In this week’s episode, we speak with Karen Smith in Florida, who gives us insights into Operation PUSH. Kicking off in just 10 days, Operation PUSH is a prisoner-organized work stoppage inside Florida’s sprawling Prison System. In their own words, Operation PUSH is “asking all prisoners within the Department of Corrections to take a stand... The post 75 | Operation PUSH first appeared on Kite Lin...

In this week’s episode, we hear from Valerie Buford, the sister of Leon Benson, a prisoner here in Indiana. Valerie talks about the circumstances that lead to Leon being imprisoned on a murder charge since 1998. Through her story, you can hear how difficult it is to navigate the legal system, especially with few financial... The post 74 | You Can’t Force the State to Abide by the Law first appeare...