News Beat

Consider this: Alan Newton served more than 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit before DNA analysis proved him innocent and he was exonerated. Now, had this occurred in Alabama, he would have received $50,000 for every year of wrongful imprisonment. Instead, Newton was convicted in the state of New York, where exonerees receive nothing, and are instead forced to sue the government for...

In this special bonus episode, Editors Rashed Mian and Christopher Twarowski examine the impact of bail on New Yorkers and the potential impact new reforms will have on the state. Next, experts will discuss recent revelations from the "Afghanistan Papers" -- documents that showed the U.S. public has been misled throughout the war—in other words, lied to. News Beat  is a Morey Creative Studios prod...

Just like Home Alone and Die Hard, 'tis the season to enjoy a couple of classic blasts from the News Beat past. Today, we’re bringing you our first big award-winning episode, Why We Riot . It’s a compelling examination of all the factors that exist when overly-oppressed and tormented communities have finally had enough, and, much like the incidents that lay at the foundation of our democracy, are...

If we were to ask you to name the largest mental health facilities in the country, what would you say? We'll save you the trouble. The answer: jails. America's failure to effectively treat the mentally ill amid a mass incarceration crisis has only exacerbated the struggles for thousands of people.   News Beat  is a Morey Creative Studios production:  www. MoreyCreative.com News Beat  is produced a...

From the expert voice of Naomi Klein, to the voices of teenagers taking part in the global climate strike, to incendiary lyrics from hip-hop artist Silent Knight, this powerful episode explores the ongoing climate crisis and the people who are fighting for our collective future.     Support the show: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=EYkdQRkbZ6vNTGfNSGWZjx7_15orqqDl8vkmrAg3TkxLprft1OguFwxlheC3t...

UPDATE: Chesa Boudin, the deputy public defender in San Francisco, was officially elected district attorney in a hotly contested race for the hugely important seat. Boudin is among a number of DA candidates who have run on a reform agenda and he intends on dramatically reimagining the DA position in his hometown, much like Larry Krasner in Philadelphia. If you haven’t already, make sure to listen...

This episode introduces the concept of restorative justice , in which crime victims actually have a say in the punishment handed down to their offenders . So instead of universal prison time, atonement might come in the form of community service, or in a face to face meeting, or any number of other acts of redress that those affected see as fit. This isn’t a radical, new approach, but a centuries-...

Our multiple award-winning, groundbreaking format brings together the worlds of social justice journalism, music, and original lyrical contributions from brilliant artists. If you’ve been following us from the beginning, you’ll know that we cover complex and often underreported issues. Last season, we shed light on the negative consequences of the colonization of Puerto Rico, prison rape in the #m...

In this special bonus episode, we examine whether recent criminal justice reform laws are strong enough to significantly reduce jail and prison populations in the United States. 2019 has been particularly prolific in terms of new laws passed, yet some experts warn more needs to be done to dismantle mass incarceration. Also, we address poverty in America and the battle over felony disenfranchisemen...

Since a U.S. Supreme Court-imposed mandate in 2011, the Golden State has sought to address prison overcrowding through myriad reforms, including by moving people from state prisons to county jails, reducing prison sentences for certain crimes, and creating resources to help people reenter society. Crime in California is now at historic lows. Yet some reforms have been met with resistance from law...

Tens of thousands each year, and hundreds of thousands collectively, are shackled with electronic monitors—devices that track a person’s every move. In most cases, these are attached to those on parole. In others, courts may even choose to lock them onto a person’s body as a condition of pretrial release. Critics of e-carceration are warning the increased use of this technology could be the beginn...

How is the Fourth Estate, perhaps the single-most important defender of the public, faring in the ongoing digital revolution, where the internet and smartphones provide real-time access to posts and stories authored by anyone with a mere Wi-Fi connection? This episode examines the current state of journalism, featuring insights from a wide range of writers and editors spanning the media spectrum....

History remembers Rosa Parks as a tired, middle-aged woman who stood up to racism and segregation in the South by literally sitting down and refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger when ordered, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Civil Rights Movement. As transformative a moment as it was, this singular act has come to define the entirety of her dynamic and multidimensi...

In this episode, we take an alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the “I Have a Dream” soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of Glen Cove, NY, Larry Hamm, of the People's Organization for Progress, hip-hop artist S...

Prison abolition may appear to be a radical conception, but it wasn't always that way. In fact, in the '60s and '70s, the idea of prison abolition in the United States was a very real issue being discussed among academics and politicians alike. This was before the passage of sweeping policies and laws targeting impoverished black and brown communities, a resurgence of the racist war on drugs, and...

In an era when women comprise the fastest-growing prison population in the U.S., those incarcerated are screaming #MeToo, too. But is anyone listening? News Beat: Social Justice Never Sounded So Good News Beat  is a Morey Creative Studios production:  www. MoreyCreative.com News Beat  is produced, engineered and hosted by Manny Faces:  www. MannyFaces.com News Beat  Executive Producer: Jed Morey E...

In the age of Trump, Democrats parade as democracy's saviors yet serve same corporate overlords as the GOP, abandoning progressive left ideals & the people. Episode features interviews with Jill Stein, Chris Hedges, Glen Ford and Richard D. Wolff, and lyrical contribution from Rebel Diaz. Distributed in partnership with Left Forum. News Beat: Social Justice Never Sounded So Good News Beat  is a Mo...

A new wave of progressive prosecutors hopes to reform the criminal 'injustice' system & dismantle mass incarceration by sweeping the midterm elections. News Beat: Social Justice Never Sounded So Good News Beat  is a Morey Creative Studios production:  www. MoreyCreative.com News Beat  is produced, engineered and hosted by Manny Faces:  www. MannyFaces.com News Beat  Executive Producer: Jed Morey E...

The U.S. government has a long and sordid history of surveilling, infiltrating, and disrupting peaceful political and social movements it deems threatening, or adverse to the status quo. Perhaps most infamous was a secret FBI-led program codenamed COINTELPRO (‘Counter Intelligence Program’), initiated in the ‘50s against such civil and human rights icons as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Muha...

The United States invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, and as colonists, Puerto Ricans— since 1917, "U.S. citizens" —have endured atrocities ranging from assassinations and bombings to covert mass sterilizations and incarcerations, and the island for decades has been used as a testing ground for experimental weapons and pharmaceuticals, while also serving as a triple-tax-free paradise for U.S. corporation...

The third season of the award-winning News Beat podcast is set to drop. Here's a quick look at some of the upcoming episodes, including topics such as the immigration crisis, prison abolition, the threat of sexual assault facing incarcerated women, and how the government spies on its citizens. News Beat: Social Justice Never Sounded So Good News Beat  is a Morey Creative Studios production:  www....

Twenty-two million people are at risk of starving to death in Yemen due to the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led bombing campaign there against Iranian-supported Houthi rebels. Amal is a 26-year-old woman who fled the destruction, only to have her once-approved visa to the United States revoked. Her and her husband's story is just one of countless tragedies created by U.S. President Donald Trump's self-profe...

More than 6 million Americans are barred from voting due to Jim Crow-era laws that strip citizens' voting rights following a felony conviction. Nearly all states have mechanisms in place amounting to civil death sentences for those who served their time and were released back into society, but remain oppressed by a system that refuses to abolish Civil War-era policies. Florida is home to a quarter...

All around the United States, peaceful protesters are being met with armed resistance from local authorities, and restrictive anti-protest laws criminalizing dissent. Across the United States, more than 60 anti-protest bills have been proposed in the last two years. While the far majority haven't been passed, there's a clear attempt by local governments to suppress dissent amid massive waves of di...

In 1968, an 11-member panel appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson was instructed to examine the causes of the multiple uprisings in African-American communities in 1967, and recommend solutions. The "Kerner Commission" did just that, in a 426-page report released in early 1968. Much of the problem, the report stated, was African-American frustration over a lack of economic opportunity, due to w...