Natasha Explains It All

In California, slavery is still legal — as long as you're incarcerated. Incarcerated people are forced to labor for little-to-no-pay under threat of punishment. In November, California voters have the opportunity to change that by voting YES on Prop 6 (formerly ACA 8), the End Slavery in California Act.

I mentioned the Foresty & Fire Recruitment Program, which was founded by formerly incarcerated firefighters and which helps formerly incarcerated firefighers obtain careers in firefighting upon release from prison. For more info, check out https://www.forestryfirerp.org/.

For more about Prop 6 and the broader movement to #EndTheException, check out:

voteyesprop6.com

https://endtheexception.com/

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/27/californians-slavery-ban-ballot-initiative-00165466

https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/california-voters-to-weigh-in-on-ending-forced-labor-in-prison

You may have heard recently about #flaggate - the scandals related to Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito flying flags at his homes in support of the Jan. 6th insurrection and Christian nationalism.

More news has also come out about Justice Thomas' corruption, specifically around his receipt of millions of dollars worth of gifts from GOP donors.

All of these developments are more reason to put pressure on Congressional Dems to put pressure on the Supreme Court, especially in light of this fall's presidential election. An ethics bill is not enough.

Did you know you can call your elected officials and share your thoughts on what matters to you? In this episode, I explain how to do that, why it matters, and how to stay informed on what your elected officials are up to.

To be connected to the offices of your federal elected officials, you can dial the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.

A couple of options of newsletters to sign up for to stay up to date on what Congress is doing: https://www.govtrack.us/; https://idueprocess.org/

I also mentioned that the Justice Reinvestment Coalition is hosting a training on May 23rd on how to provide public comment at public hearings. 1-4pm at the Cal Endowment in Oakland, CA. For more, check out the Justice Reinvestment Coalition on Instagram @jrcofac

I'm back with another book report and this one is all about family, love, activism, identity, politics, and American and Puerto Rican culture.

Other resources mentioned in the episode:

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein

Independent reporter Bianca Graulau @biancagraulau

Author and poet Elisabet Velasquez @elisabetvelasquezpoetry

It's an election year and the deluge of negative news can make it easy to feel disillusioned and want to check out. I offer some tips and tools to help you feel informed, engaged, and yes, even hopeful.

Tldr: pick a handful of journalists and/or a podcast or two to follow and one cause or campaign to support. And set a daily timer on your news apps! Quality over quantity is the key here.

Folks I mentioned as suggestions on who to follow on social media/subscribe to their newsletters/read their stuff:

The podcasts I mentioned:

On March 5th, residents of District 4 of Alameda County will be voting for their supervisor, who will represent them on the county's Board of Supervisors. The candidates are 24-year incumbent Nate Miley and his challenger, Jennifer Esteen. Esteen joins me to talk about her campaign and why voters should support her. We talk about public safety, mental health, housing and homelessness, the Coliseum, and more. 

To learn more about Jennifer Esteen, visit jenniferesteen.com.

Two upcoming candidate forums:

Feb. 25th, Skyline Church in Oakland, 5-6:30pm, in-person and virtual. More info here: https://skylineucc.org/forum/

Feb. 29th, virtual forum, 7-8:30pm, hosted by Restore Oakland and Oakland Rising

Last week, there were major developments in the insurrection cases against both former Brazilian president Bolsonaro and former US president Trump. Let's explore.

Early in the episode, I mention another podcast called "Alexandre," which is focused on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. You can listen here.

I also recommend checking out this interview with Elie Mystal on Political Roots to get more in depth on what's at stake in the US.

I want to share a fun collaborative podcast project I did with Singing for Survival host Mike Pinto to discuss the abolitionist movement in Brazil. We focus on one key person in that struggle, Dragão do Mar, and explore the ties to capoeira and the ongoing struggle for a better world. I hope you'll take a listen: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4FjaP2hpSj81aRNT7xfkEO?si=5gwxVIdvTryeVLKm4ljWNQ

What's the difference between civil and criminal courts? A recent conversation with friends led me to this topic. I dive in and also talk about how the public can access court records online.

Another example of civil cases I didn't touch on in this episode: product liability/consumer protection. A product is defective, dangerous, and/or there was false advertising and the company gets sued over it - that suit will be in civil court.