Operation PUSH

97 | Summer of Kites

This week’s episode is packed with news of struggles and repression. We start with coverage of Indiana prisons and two prisoners who need outside support right now. Then we get updates and two statements from prisoners in Florida continuing to organize within the framework of Operation PUSH. These reflections are particularly vital as both prisoners…

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90 | Carceral Capitalism Continued and Operation Push Updates

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…

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83 | Reflections in Defiance: Kites From Florida, Indiana, and Greece

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…

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81 | The Long History of Black Radicalism on the Inside, Part Two

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…

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80 | The Long History of Black Radicalism on the Inside, Part One

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…

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79 | The Past Isn’t Passed: Cycles of Violence and Exploitation

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,…

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78 | More Insights from the Local Jail

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…

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77 | Inside the Local Jail

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…

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76 | Shine A Light: Tensions Spreading in the Prisons

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…

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75 | Operation PUSH

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…

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