Snap Judgment

An Israeli soldier’s decision to speak out against his own violent actions comes back to haunt him. And a little girl in Brooklyn devotes herself to becoming a nun… or does she?

STORIES

Crimes, Lies, and Videotape

When Dean Issacharoff was a commander in the Israeli Defense Forces, he patrolled the Palestinian city of Hebron, and later fought in Gaza. Then, after he got home from the army, Dean’s decision to speak out about his own violent actions came back to haunt him.

This story contains images of war and violence, sensitive listeners please be advised.

Thank you, Dean, for sharing your story with us.

A special thanks to the University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, the John Templeton Foundation and Templeton Religion Trust, and KALW’s Spiritual Edge podcast – this story would not have been possible without their support. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations.

Produced by Shaina Shealy, original score by Pat Mesiti-Miller.

The Flying Nun

A little girl in Brooklyn can help her whole community if she just devotes herself to becoming a nun but what if she doesn’t want to?

A big thanks to Eileen for sharing your story with us. Read more of Eileen O’Toole’s story in her book, At Sister Anna’s Feet.

Produced by Anna Sussman

Season 12 - Episode 22 - Snap Classic

It's been almost a year since friends and family have been able to visit their loved ones in prison, due to the pandemic. Letters to the inside are always a lifeline. This year, more than ever.

Today, from Uncuffed, we hear from Adamu Chan, who was recently released from San Quentin State Prison, while his friend Edmond Richardson, is still on the inside.

Uncuffed is a storytelling project made by people behind bars, from inside California prisons, in collaboration with KALW. To hear the full version of this story, visit Uncuffed and make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

Produced by Adamu Chan, Ninna Gaensler-Debs, Angela Johnston, Pat Mesiti-Miller & Eli Wirtschafter

Season 12  - Episode 21

Andy Marra’s job has just offered her the chance of a lifetime: she’s going to Korea. But she’s got a secret plan for the trip that has nothing to do with work.

Thank you, Andy, for sharing your story with Snap! Find out more about her advocacy work here.

Produced by Regina Bediako, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 12 - Episode 20

Snap Judgment presents, “Hot Trash,” a special spotlight on the Ear Hustle podcast, from PRX’s Radiotopia.

Visiting a loved one in prison is both emotionally intense and constrained by countless rules — from how much PDA is too much PDA, to what kind of candy you can eat inside. One year after California prison authorities suspended in-person visits due to COVID-19, hear stories from and about visiting rooms… and how families are adjusting to video “visits.

This episode contains explicit language, sensitive listeners please be advised.

Heard on this episode: Nicola Christopher Bucci and Frank Jernigan, Sgt. Cuevas, Helen Theresa Guion, Michael Hatch, Vesta, and Ruben. Inside San Quentin: Hamisi Spears, Lacedrick Johnson, Elton Spencer, Michael Marler, Kim Puckett, Anthony Ammons, Bashar Aremu, Floyd Collins, Brandon Browner, and Nephew.

Thanks also to Alesha Monteiro, Michelle Garcia, Michelle Tran, and all the women who shared stories about their video visits.

This episode was scored with music by Antwan Williams, David Jassy, Gregg Sayers, and Rhashiyd Zinnamon.

As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Acting Warden Ron Broomfield for their support of the show.

Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX. This incredible team is in their 7th Season of the show and it is packed with incredible stories. Go on over to their website to subscribe, see pictures, and learn more about all things Ear Hustle!

Artwork by Antwan Williams

Snap Spotlight - Season 12 - Episode 19

When the two greatest auction houses in the world - Christie’s and Sotheby’s - vied for the privilege of auctioning off $20 million worth of art in 2004, little did they know that they would be forced to engage in an ancient form of ritualized combat known as... rock paper scissors.

Be sure to check out Carol Vogel’s original New York Times article.

Produced by Joe Rosenberg, artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 12 - Episode 18 - Snap Classic

After years of fighting battles as a child soldier, a Sudanese man finds himself a refugee in Australia. As he struggles to overcome his past, he comes face-to-face with his childhood tormentor on a TV show.

This episode recounts real events that happened to a child soldier, including graphic scenes inside a prison camp, listener discretion is advised.

Thank you, Ayik, for sharing your incredible story with us! To learn more about Ayik’s life, check out his memoir, The Lost Boy. You can also catch Ayik on Harrow, a crime drama now airing on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Produced by Ruby Schwartz, edited by Nancy López. Special thanks to Wendy Love.

Original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot

This week’s music spotlight features the song “Rocketeer” from our very own Renzo Gorrio! Renzo scores so many stories on Snap (just like this one!) and he produces under the name Hydroplane. Listen to “Rocketeer” from his new album Rockets out NOW! Cassette, vinyl, and digital versions are available on Bandcamp.

Season 12 - Episode 17

When a four-seater plane violently crashes onto the top of an 8,000-foot mountain, an 11-year-old fights to survive. A white boy discovers he's black. And history calls on an Oglala Lakota Headsman in South Dakota to stand up for his people. Snap Judgment presents, “Mettle.”

STORIES

Electric Fence

As a country boy, Glynn puts his family pride on the line when his neighbor challenges him to the ultimate test of manhood.

Produced by Pat Mesiti-Miller

Wonderboy

In 1979, a four-seater Cessna plane carrying Norman Ollestad, his dad, and his dad’s girlfriend violently crashed onto the top of an 8,000-foot mountain. He was just 11 years old.

This story does contain graphic elements. Sensitive listeners, please be advised.

To learn more about Norman’s story, check out his book, Crazy for the Storm. Be sure to also check out his thriller, French Girl With Mother.

Produced & scored by Davey Kim

One Drop

For 10-year-old Greg Williams, life was good...until the day his mom left.

To learn more about Greg’s story, check out his book Life on the Color Line.

Produced by Adizah Eghan, original score & sound design by Pat Mesiti-Miller

What happens when history calls on you to step up? We go to Standing Rock to find out.

Lance King is an Oglala Lakota Headsman from Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. For more information on his grandfather, Matthew H. King, check out “Noble Red Man: Lakota Wisdomkeeper Matthew King.”

Produced by Liz Mak, original score & sound design by Leon Morimoto

Artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 12 - Episode 16

We follow four hairstylists who compete in the 2019 Bronner Brothers Salon vs. Salon Hair Battle - the only hair competition of its kind. As one contestant puts it, "It's a platform that every stylist that I know would absolutely love and kill for." Come for the big personalities and stay for the ultimate hair show. Find out who wears it best...

BIG thanks & love to all the stylists who shared their stories with us!

Ashley Payne, the bob queen, moved her salon to a new location, a private, appointment-only, suite. She is observing COVID safety protocols but has unfortunately suffered some health blows. Ashley has started a gofundme to help pay for a liver transplant.

Check out Tammie B’s work! Que Barnes is still at the helm of her salon in Atlanta. Terrence Davidson, the king of hair, started selling hair products online called Kingz N Queenz.

Produced by Chris Hambrick & Nancy Lopez, with assistance from Shaina Shealy

Original score by Marco Prestige, sound design by Pat Mesiti-Miller

Artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 12 - Episode 15

When Adreanna Rodriguez was a kid, she was given a choice about whether or not she wanted to stay in her home state of California. It was a choice she’s reckoned with for her entire life. Today, over a decade after she made that choice -  Adreanna takes us with her to North Dakota to find out… what could have been.

STORIES

Mulatto

Glynn’s brother wants him to take a DNA test but Glynn already knows he’s one part Luna and one part Midnight.

Produced by Pat Mesiti-Miller, original score by Cheflee

Bloodlines

When Adreanna Rodriguez was a kid, she was given a choice about whether or not she wanted to stay in her home state of California. It was a choice she’s reckoned with for her entire life. Today, over a decade after she made that choice -  Adreanna takes us with her to North Dakota to find out… what could have been.

This story was supported by the USC Center for Health Journalism, which helps journalists investigate health challenges and solutions in their communities – reporting that serves as a catalyst for change.

BIG love to Adreanna’s mom, Sylvia, and her kid sister, Maudy.

Produced by Adreanna Rodriquez and Shaina Shealy

Original score by Renzo Gorrio

You can also hear this story on a new podcast from VICE Audio called Strongman. It’s a six-part series of intimate stories about power and control at every level... all over the world. It’s out now… subscribe & listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Special thanks to the incredible VICE squad: Adizah Eghan, Annie Aviles, Stephanie Kariuki, Joaqlin Estus, Karen Brown, Ivan MacDonald, and Catherine Stifter.

Full Episode

This episode features music from Cheflee, check out more of Cheflees’s music at cheflee.bandcamp.com!

Sound design by Pat Mesiti-Miller

Artwork by Teo Ducot

Season 12 - Episode 14

A scientist studying the minds of psychopaths gets dangerously close. A father’s inability to recognize faces tests his relationships. And a brother is reunited with his North Korean sister for the first time in over five decades.

You can look human and you can sound human... but what happens when you take a good hard look inside and realize... you're missing something?

STORIES

If I Only Had a Heart

Glynn knows… sometimes the sum of the parts does not equal the hole.

Produced by Pat Mesiti-Miller

The Scientist and the Psychopath

Neuroanatomist James Fallon, Ph.D. studies the most dangerous kind of person: the psychopath. His job is to get up close and personal with the mind of the psychopath so that we can better understand what makes them tick. He treats their brains with the cold calculation of a scientist at work. But in the process, things get mighty personal.

James Fallon, Ph.D. is a neuroanatomist and geneticist at UC-Irvine. For more about his work and his own life, check out his book: The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain.

Produced by Julia DeWitt

About Face

You’ve heard the saying, right? You can’t see the forest for the trees. Well, imagine if your whole life all you could do, all you knew how to do, was see the trees, the details, the minutiae of the world. What would you miss out on? Let’s take a walk in Tom Conces’ shoes and find out.

Produced by Nancy López, original score by Renzo Gorrio

Across the DMZ

What happens when you are reunited with your North Korean sister for the first time in over five decades?

Thank you to our voice actors, Yongnam and Mikyung Kim!

Produced and scored by Davey Kim

Artwork by Teo Ducot

Sound design by Pat Mesiti-Miller

Season 12 - Episode 13