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Kite Line is a weekly radio program and podcast that focuses on issues in the prison system and beyond.

On the inside, a message is called a kite: whispered words, a note passed hand to hand, or a request submitted to guards for medical care. 

Illicit or not, sending a kite means trusting that other people will pass it farther along, until it reaches its destination. 

We make this show to pass along words, across the prison walls

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Episode Archive

Recent Episodes

261 | Prison by Any Other Name, Part Two

July 23, 2021 kevwei11_7wqsj7 0 Comments

This week on Kite Line, we continue our conversation with prison abolitionist journalists Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law. We share the second half of our discussion on their recent book, Prison by Any Other Name: Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms. The book is an in-depth look at the various “alternatives to prison” that are held up as substitutes for incarceration, but which, in many cases, bring surveillance into our homes and communities. The alternatives mentioned in our discussion last week – electronic monitoring, probation, court mandated psychiatric confinement or Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOTS), and

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260 | Prison By Any Other Name, Part One

July 16, 2021 kevwei11_7wqsj7 0 Comments

This week on Kite Line, we speak with prison abolitionist journalists Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law. We share the first part of our discussion on their recent book, Prison by Any Other Name: Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms. The book is an in-depth look at the various “alternatives to prison” that are held up as substitutes for incarceration, but which, in many cases, bring surveillance into our homes and communities. The alternatives mentioned in our discussion today – electronic monitoring, probation, court mandated psychiatric confinement or Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOTS), and the sex offender registry – are

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259 | On Strike

July 9, 2021 kevwei11_7wqsj7 0 Comments

This week, amid a spate of prisoners’ strikes, we share our monthly round up of prison disturbances for June 2021, compiled by Perilous Chronicle.  Prisoners are hunger striking across the continent, agitating for safer conditions, and pushing back against labor exploitation.  We share an excerpt of the story entitled Prisoners Strike Against Racism and Colonialism in Canada’s “New Residential Schools” written by Abby Stadnyk.  This agitation is particularly striking as we approach Black August and the broad calls for “Shut ‘Em Down” protests on August 21st and September 9th. Afterwards, we have

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258 | Stick-up on Rikers Island

July 2, 2021 kevwei11_7wqsj7 0 Comments

This week, we continue talking to David Campbell, former anti-fascist political prisoner who recently did a year on Rikers Island. In our last conversation with David, he discussed the circumstances of how he ended up in the Rikers facility- the short of it being that he was sentenced to his time after a fight with some Trump supporters in NYC. In our segment today, he spells out some of the ways doing a long stint in jail is different than one in prison, and also about what it was like to organize in prison during COVID-19.

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257 | Cory Cardinal, Rest In Power

June 25, 2021 kevwei11_7wqsj7 0 Comments

Our episode this week is a memorial to Cory Cardinal. Regular listeners will remember Cory as the organizer of the recent hunger strikes in Saskatoon Correctional and as a past contributor to Kite Line. An inspiration to many and a tireless advocate on behalf of incarcerated people, Cory passed away earlier this month. Written and read by Abby Stadnyk, with contributions from Cory in his own words, this episode focuses on both his life and organizing, and how the system he struggled within ultimately killed him. Thanks to Abby, Perilous Chronicle, and to

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256 | Hard-Earned Lessons

June 18, 2021 kevwei11_7wqsj7 0 Comments

This week, Kite Line shares hard-earned lessons based on experiences of struggle on both sides of the prison walls.  Perilous Chronicle’s Ryan Fatica returns with Lauren Regan from the Civil Liberties Defense Center, who has guidelines for protestors.  IDOC Watch discuss their campaign for mass clemency in Indiana. Malik Washington talks about getting off paper and self-care post-prison. You can get updates on the CLDC here. Find out about IDOC Watch’s Freedom Now campaign here. You can find out about more about Perilous

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