Gray Area

Gilbert realizes he has a lot to learn when he meets a man who changes his outlook on the world. As he struggles to stay close to his young daughter in prison visiting rooms, he also discovers he has a gift for working with “at-risk” kids. Soon he and a handful of incarcerated men are starting to change not only themselves but the entire California prison system.

Produced by Julie Reynolds Martinez, Mara J. Reynolds and Gilbert Bao. For detailed show notes, visit grayarepodcast.com.

It’s the late 1990s. Although no one was injured in the shoot-out he took part in, Gilbert is sentenced to 24 years to life in prison under California’s strict gang sentencing laws. While he technically has a shot at parole, almost no one with “life” in their sentence goes home, and he expects to die behind the walls. As he starts his term, Gilbert has to decide if he’ll play along with prison gang “politics” or find a way to stay —somehow, some way — in his 3-year-old daughter’s life.

Produced by Julie Reynolds Martinez, Mara J. Reynolds and Gilbert Bao. For detailed show notes, visit grayarepodcast.com.

AFTER LIFE: The untold story of how a group of incarcerated men reshaped rehabilitation in California 

Meet Gilbert Bao, who was sentenced to life in prison but found a new life after life. In our first episode, Gilbert takes us through his old neighborhoods as we explore the many factors and reasons why a frightened 8-year old from East Los Angeles grows up to become a man facing a life sentence.

Produced by Julie Reynolds Martinez, Mara Reynolds and Gilbert Bao. For detailed show notes, visit grayarepodcast.com.

Four years in the making, our 10-part audio documentary launches November 21, 2022. This entire season focuses on the story of Gilbert Bao. While serving a life sentence, Gilbert helped lead a group of incarcerated men who have revolutionized the way we approach rehabilitation in California prisons.

You may remember him from Season One, Episode Five: A Gray Winter’s Tale, where he shared his recipe for making his grandmother’s tamales while still in prison.  And his story about it for Voices of Monterey Bay.

Now on the other side of his life sentence—and so much more—Gilbert joins us as co-producer for this groundbreaking project. He recorded tape, conducted interviews, and helped shape our entire production—creating a truly unique, first-hand audio documentary series.

Through the lens of Gilbert’s experiences, After Life explores how our criminal justice system reshapes communities, and how formerly incarcerated people like Gilbert are taking it upon themselves to step up where the system has failed to help people on the road to a new life, After Life.

You can listen to all the episodes and read show notes at Voices of Monterey Bay and at grayareapodcast.com.

Or subscribe (it’s free) wherever you listen to podcasts (we’re on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube as well as iTunes, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and more.)

And please help us connect to new listeners! Re-listen to Season One and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

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More details plus all our previous episodes, show notes and newsletter signup are on our website: GrayAreaPodcast.com.

In this episode, we explore how the law intersects with what can be the most intimate and difficult decision a person ever makes — if they get the chance: choosing how to die.

Death is likely the most difficult thing we all face sooner or later. But mourning the death of a loved one can be harder still when they’ve decided to die.  And then… there’s coming to terms with the fact that you supported this choice.

Produced by Julie Reynolds Martinez and Mara Reynolds. For detailed show notes, visit grayarepodcast.com.

As the days reach their shortest and coldest extremes here in the northern hemisphere, humans of every culture find reasons to come together and celebrate holidays, traditions, and community. We reached out to three people who’ve been separated from their communities, whether by their own actions, by force or by happenstance. We asked what they do to reclaim and redefine the spirit of community in the face of imprisonment, disaster, racism or displacement.

Listen as they share their ideas for making your ‘white Christmas’ just a little more gray.

Produced by Julie Reynolds Martinez and Mara Reynolds. For detailed show notes, visit grayarepodcast.com.

Lou Hammonds started out like lots of kids — playing Little League with neighbors and classmates, getting good grades and attending summer school just because he wanted to.

But by the time he was a teenager, Lou was pursuing a career as a criminal. His goal was to keep up with other young men who had committed multiple homicides.

That’s not the end of Lou’s story, though. Something unexpected happened inside a remote supermax prison’s walls that changed Lou for good.

Produced by Julie Reynolds Martinez and Mara Reynolds. For detailed show notes, visit grayarepodcast.com.

How can two brothers turn out so utterly different? Born 15 years apart to different fathers, Roy and Reynaldo found very different paths as they grew up. By the time he reached adulthood, Reynaldo decided he’d had enough of his brother’s criminal antics. After Roy died in prison, it took Reynaldo years before he was ready to try to make sense of the life his brother led — in fact, it took a dream.

What we learned on this journey was more than just the shocking truth about Roy —  we would uncover a connection to legendary criminals and folk heroes.  We’d also dig deeply into the indigenous struggles of North America.

Like many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, Reynaldo assumed his family’s ties to their indigenous roots were severed centuries ago. But as we discovered, that rupture was not so far in the past. The trauma and scars remain alive in the present — from massacres and enslavement to lynchings, extermination and displacement.

For Reynaldo what started as a search for insight about his brother turned into a journey that spanned cultures, nations and centuries — a journey of discovery about the ongoing struggle for a sense of place and self in the American West.

Produced by Julie Reynolds Martinez and Mara Reynolds. For detailed show notes, visit grayarepodcast.com.

How do you forgive the unforgivable? Cheryl Ward-Kaiser leads us down a path of shocking twists and turns. Her story contains detailed descriptions of violence, so it may not be appropriate for everyone. But by the end, we know you’ll understand why Cheryl’s story inspires us and needs to be heard.

Produced by Julie Reynolds Martinez and Mara Reynolds. For detailed show notes, visit grayarepodcast.com.

What makes a man decide to switch sides and buck everything he’s always stood for?

Episode One is the surprisingly tender story of an ace prosecutor who goes from putting murderers and child abusers behind bars to — yikes — defending them. With some Gray Area twists and turns along the way, of course.

Produced by Julie Reynolds Martinez and Mara Reynolds. For detailed show notes, visit grayarepodcast.com.