In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Jason Williams, Professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Jason is committed to connecting his scholarship in critical criminology with work in local communities, particularly in Passaic County. His projects include promoting harm reduction as an essential part of drug policy, supporting various efforts to reduce violence and working with individuals preparing for re-entry. Jason is also co-chair of the Restorative Justice Hub in Paterson. Our conversation examines the genesis of the hub, the relationship between restorative and transformative justice, and how these concepts are helpful in the struggle to stop the damage caused by carceral spaces, including schools. Selected Publications by Jason WilliamsWilliams, J.M., & Kniffley, S. (Eds.) (2019). Black Males and the Criminal Justice System. RoutledgeSaleh-Hanna, V., Williams ,J. & Coyle ,M.J. (Eds.) (2023) . Abolish Criminology. RoutledgeCook, K., & Williams, J. (Eds.) (2022). Survivor Criminology. Rowman and Littlefield

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with the University of Orange's Doug Farrand about his recent trip to Cuba as part of the Solidarity Forever delegation lead by the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization. This annual action brings food and medical supplies as a response to the damaging decades long US embargo, and given the current increased pressure applied by the Trump administration, is more important than ever. Doug explains the logistics of the trip, what he saw in Cuba, what he learned and what questions he was left with. Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizationhttps://ifconews.org/who-we-are University of Orangehttps://universityoforange.org

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Kaija Bergen, Patsy Egan and Ann Trochlil. They are all adult educators in Minneapolis and Minnesota working in various capacities. During the conversation, they relate their experiences on the ground, describe adult education's response to ICE's deadly Operation Metro Surge and share important lessons they have learned. We also discuss a document produced by the Literacy Action Network and ATLAS entitled "Advice From Minnesota Adult Education Providers." The document itself is free to download, and I encourage you to check it out. 

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with David I. Backer, author of As Public As Possible: Radical Finance for America's Public Schools. During our conversation, we explore the connection between public schools and the private bond market, the function of debt in education policy making at both the systemic and individual levels, and how a series of manufactured crises has helped the right reshape public education to meet their broader ideological goals. David also makes the case for using the framework of solidarity to counter these corrosive narratives about public education and public financing. There is work to be done regarding public schools, but it might not be what we have been led to believe.  In addition to his book, you can follow David's work via his Substack called Schooling in Socialist America, and you can find him on social media on - @schooldaves. 

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Garrett Felber, author of A Continuous Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Martin Sostre. We begin with Garrett giving a brief overview of Sostre's revolutionary work and thinking, and then explore the nature of Sostre's political education inside and outside of carceral spaces. This includes a discussion of who Sostre himself learned from and his commitment to workingwith youth in the local communities he was a part of. Sostre demonstrates that nobody learns by themselves, even when in solitary. We end by thinking about the implications of Sostre's praxis for teaching and learning during these fraught times. You can find more information about Sostre's case and updates about advocacy efforts to clear his name at martinsostre.com. For information about the Mississippi Five case, please go to https://www.studyandstruggle.com/ms5. To donate books or funds to the Free Society People's Library, you can check it out on Instagram and other social media platforms.

In this episode, I speak with Michaela Boren, from the Green Building Training Program of 32 BJ (a union for building services workers). We start by talking about her own experiences withsustainability in her home country of the Philippines and what changed when she moved to the United States. She then discusses strategies for helping adult learners develop an understanding of sustainability, particularly within theconstruction and maintenance trades. This includes making the case along economic lines. Part of our conversation explores finding language that encourages people to think more deeply about the issues involved. You can find more information about the training programs at the 32 BJ Training Fund website - https://training2.32bjfunds.org/

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Stephanie Spitz, an educator and activist involved in the struggle to eliminate anti-fat bias in society, including in school settings. Stephanie addresses a number of issues during our discussion, such as the connection between white supremacy and anti-fat bias, the harmful effects of a health care system that stigmatizes weight instead of taking a more holistic approach to understanding the body, and how classrooms can be redesigned to be more welcoming and supportive of all body types. We also discuss the language that is used to discuss this issue, and Stephanie provides suggestions for preferred terminology.  

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Talib Charriez, senior program coordinator for New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons program (also known as NJ-STEP). He is also teaching faculty in the Department of Urban Education at Rutgers-Newark. The conversation touches on a number of topics, including the carceral logic that informs schooling and creates the school-to-prison pipeline. A key aspect of this problem is the way that adolescent development is criminalized and racialized. We also discuss the nature of education in prison, where human contact and access to reading material are both limited as a means of punishment. As a justice-impacted scholar himself, Talib provides his perspective on the centrality of autoethnography as both a research method and a means of personal exploration and expression.

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with three colleagues who share their experiences with teaching about Palestine in this moment in time. Andy is a middle school social studies teacher, Terry is a high school social studies teacher and Hanan is a student advisor at a college. Although we address the events of October 7th and subsequent developments, we engage in a much broader and long-term analysis of the struggle for Palestinian freedom and the ways in which education in the United States works against that goal. As a group, we also make a point to move from critique to concrete suggestions for ways to change the way Palestine is discussed and taught, both in classrooms and in informal settings.

In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Ellen Lindner, a comic artist whose work has been seen in places like World War 3 Illustrated, The Strumpet and The Washington Post. She is creator of The Cranklet's Chronicle, self-described as a zine about women, baseball and social change. Ellen is also the author of a comic book series titled Lost Diamonds: A History of Gender Rebellion in American Baseball. The third issue is out now and is available on her Etsy site, among other places. During the conversation we talk about the history of radical comics, particular feminist ones, why baseball history matters, and comics as a teaching and learning resource for critical inquiry. Lost Diamonds #3 is available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1700124475/lost-diamonds-3-more-untold-baseball More of Ellen's work available here: http://littlewhitebird.com/