A woman in Texas takes animal rehabilitation to new heights when she brings over a thousand bats back from the dead in her own home. And a Snap producer reveals he owes a lot to one single hairy flying mammal. 

STORIES

Batwoman

A woman in Texas takes animal rehabilitation to new heights when she brings over a thousand bats back from the dead in her own home.

Thank you, Mary Warwick, for sharing your story with us!

Big thanks also to The Houston Humane Society, The TWRC Wildlife Center, and the Batworld Sanctuary in Texas – whose staff protect and rehabilitate bats, and provide education and training on the proper treatment of bats to people all over the US.

Original score by Dirk Schwarzhoff, produced by Shaina Shealy, artwork by Teo Ducot.

Bless the Bat

Snap Producer, John Fecile, tells us how he got where is he today.

Original score by Dirk Schwarzhoff, produced by John Fecile.

Season 16 – Episode 48 - Snap Classic

DeAndre D’Angelo, a scam artist with a talent for forged documents and a taste for red sports cars finds the perfect persona to escape his checkered past. He's the Camaro driving, show tune singing, high school student who is actually 31 years old.

What if you could relive your youth and do it all over again the right way?

Thank you, Michael Backman, for sharing your story with Snap! Check out Michael's music.

Produced by Jeff Maysh and Nancy López, edited by Anna Sussman, original score by Dirk Schwarzhoff, illustration by Alex Williamson.

Season 16 - Episode 47

A team of high school students investigate a new hire at their school. What they discover leads them towards an all out battle for the truth. 

Extra special thanks to Emily Smith and her team of sleuthers!

Produced by Shaina Shealy, edited by Nancy Lopez, original score Nick Marks. 

Season 16 - Episode 46

Drama Club is the happy, safe space for Lee and Parker until their school play becomes a homophobic middle school meltdown. The lights get turned up to 10, the adults are in a media frenzy, and the kids are just trying to figure it all out.

STORIES

Don’t Say Gay Dads

Drama Club is the happy, safe space for Lee and Parker until their school play becomes a homophobic middle school meltdown. The lights get turned up to 10, the adults are in a media frenzy, and the kids are just trying to figure it all out.

This story contains descriptions of abuse directed at gay persons. Please take care while listening.

A very big thank you to Lee and Parker—who are best friends to this day.  Thanks as well to Jamie McGonnigal.

Produced by Mark Betancourt, original score by Dirk Schwarzhoff. Artwork by Teo Ducot.

Playground Bullies and Dark Secrets 

In middle school, Mike has a secret. But no one has ever seen “it.”

This was performed at Snap LIVE in Los Angeles.

“Mighty” Mike McGee is an international spoken word artist, writer, performer, speaker, slam poet and comic. McGee is the first slam poet to win both the American National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Championship and the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship.

Original score composed and performed by Alex Mandel, Tim Frick, and David Brandt.

Season 16 – Episode 45

The county clerk in a sleepy town finds himself on the frontlines of a national fight over abortion care.  When a New York doctor prescribes abortion meds to a Texas woman, a state's rights fight erupts. Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck is front and center when he invokes the "shield law" to prevent Texas AG Ken Paxton from filing a case against the doctor. 

Produced by Anna Sussman and Zoe Ferrigno. Original score by Dirk Schwarzhoff. 

 Season 16 - Episode 43

This week on Snap Judgment… it's the tough jobs, the rough jobs, the roll up your sleeves and get it done jobs. When the oddest man in town is arrested for murder, only one lawyer steps up to represent him. Plus misadventures under the Not-So-Big Top.

STORIES

The Writing Is On The Wall

When the scariest man in town is arrested for murder, only one lawyer volunteers to represent him...

Produced by Joe Rosenberg, sound design by Renzo Gorrio. Artwork by Teo Ducot.

Corrections: In a previous version, McCracken Poston is referred to as both a state senator and state representative.  He was a state representative, not a state senator.  Also, Virginia Ridley is described as having last been seen in public in 1980, 17 years before the events described in this story.  In fact it was in 1970, 27 years before.

The Indiana Bust-Out

How does a well-mannered math kid become a first-class hustler? Through the ancient carnie tradition of "The Indiana Bust-Out."

Check out Pete’s book -- Eyeing the Flash: The Making of a Carnival Con Artist

Produced by Davey Kim, sound design by Leon Morimoto and Davey Kim. 

Season 16 - Episode 42 - Classic

The group from Union Point moves into their new homes on the tiny plot of land near Lake Merritt. They run their own security and decide who comes into their space. But then, on a Monday morning in March, we hear devastating news…

A fire burns through the plot of land on E12th. Is this the end of the experiment, or will the group keep building?

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening. 

Thank you to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your story with us.

Hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy. Edited by Anna Sussman, original music by Renzo Gorrio, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Director of Production: Marisa Dodge. Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich. Artwork: Teo Ducot.

Special thanks: Jen Chien, Catherine Winter, the City of Oakland, Sweetie at the Travel Inn, Ryan Finnegan, Will Craft, JP Dobrin, Thomas Brouns, Sukey Lewis, Alistair Boone, The Street Spirit, KQED legal, and Ott House Audio.

Episode 5 of 5. You can listen to the entire series now! 

Mama D, President Matt, and the rest of the group are finally seeing their experiment in co-governance take shape. They built their security sheds and saw their tiny homes for the first time. But when Nino Parker stepped onto the sidewalk in a neck brace, on crutches, it was clear that the group was about to face a whole new level of chaos.  

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening. 

Thank you to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your story with us.

A Tiny Plot is a new 5-part series from KQED’s Snap Studios, hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy. Edited by Anna Sussman, original music by Renzo Gorrio, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Director of Production: Marisa Dodge. Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich. Artwork: Teo Ducot.

Special thanks: Jen Chien, Catherine Winter, the City of Oakland, Sweetie at the Travel Inn, Ryan Finnegan, Will Craft, JP Dobrin, Thomas Brouns, Sukey Lewis, Alistair Boone, The Street Spirit, KQED legal, and Ott House Audio.

Episode 4 of 5. Listen on any podcast platform, right here on Snap Judgment! 

Mama D sees that the future of the experiment is up to her and what she decides: Lead the group to the plot of land offered by the city, hope and pray for a magical new plot, or disband the group and dissolve the experiment. 

Following weeks of indecision, Mama D makes a choice. And while everyone from the group was hard at work to turn their dream into reality, they didn’t seem to notice a major problem with the set-up. A fault line of sorts.  

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening. 

Big thanks to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your worlds with us.

A Tiny Plot is a new 5-part series from KQED’s Snap Studios, hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy. Edited by Anna Sussman, original music by Renzo Gorrio, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Director of Production: Marisa Dodge. Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich. Artwork: Teo Ducot.

Special thanks: Jen Chien, Catherine Winter, the City of Oakland, Sweetie at the Travel Inn, Ryan Finnegan, Will Craft, JP Dobrin, Thomas Brouns, Sukey Lewis, Alistair Boone, The Street Spirit, KQED legal, and Ott House Audio.

Episode 3 of 5. Episodes drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Listen on any podcast platform, right here on Snap Judgment! 

The standoff between Public Works and the group from Union Point Park ends with a handshake -- a deal to build a new kind of housing community funded by the city where homeless residents make their own rules. But right away, the civility of this agreement seems to break down. 

And after months of waiting, the group from Union Point Park finally gets a plot of land on E12th street for their radical experiment. But there’s a big problem with the land. It's something that leaves the future of this experiment in limbo.

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening. 

A Tiny Plot is a new 5-part series from KQED’s Snap Studios. Host and Reporter Shaina Shealy takes listeners inside an encampment in Oakland for an against-all-odds story about scarcity, community, and the complexity of building something new from the margins of a broken system. What happens when people who’ve been shut out of a system that has failed them decide to take the lead? Disaster, and unexpected beauty. 

Big thanks to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your worlds with us.

Hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy. Edited by Anna Sussman, original music by Renzo Gorrio, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Director of Production: Marisa Dodge. Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich. Artwork: Teo Ducot.

Special thanks: Jen Chien, Catherine Winter, the City of Oakland, Sweetie at the Travel Inn, Ryan Finnegan, Will Craft, JP Dobrin, Thomas Brouns, Sukey Lewis, Alistair Boone, The Street Spirit, KQED legal, and Ott House Audio.

Episode 2 of 5. Episodes drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Listen on any podcast platform, right here on Snap Judgment!