We speak to writer Dusty Christensen about his latest piece on Sheriff Nick Cocchi's campaign fundraising. Cocchi raised more than any other sheriff in the state to run unopposed. We explore what this says about the politician's power and influence in the region and the state.

Read the piece here.
https://theshoestring.org/2022/11/11/cookouts-and-cash-sheriff-nick-cocchi-raises-big-money-to-run-unopposed/

To contribute to The Shoestring
https://theshoestring.org/donate/

Shoestring reporters Sierra Dickey and Sarah Robertson speak to Terry Gibson and Basav Sen about climate justice efforts in Springfield, MA and beyond and how those struggles overlap with struggles for police & prison abolition.

In a new episode of Trippin on The Shoestring, co-editor Will spoke with Cathy McNally about why she took down her Black Lives Matter sign. To read the paper mentioned in the episode: http://jaredkclemons.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/7/5/117532940/clemons_2022_-_from_freedom_now_to_blm.pdf

In this episode we talk with defense attorneys Rachel Weber and Dana Goldblatt, Ben Brucato, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Framingham University, and Chris K., a local anti-surveillance activist about Northampton City Council's recent decision to enter a five year contract with Motorola Solutions.

In this episode we talk with Dr. Steven Thrasher, a professor of journalism at Northwestern University, and author of the upcoming book, The Viral Underclass. We discussed the responsibility of media during the COVID 19 pandemic and more. But first, a quick update about what we're up to here at The Shoestring and the goings on at Northampton City Council.

In this episode we share an interview we conducted in January with Sarah Lanzilotta, the owner of Ten Forward in Greenfield, about the challenges faced by the independent music venue during the pandemic. But first, a quick update about what we're up to here at The Shoestring and the goings on at Northampton City Council.

We sit down with investigative reporter Dusty Christensen of the Daily Hampshire Gazette to discuss his recent work on the internal affairs of the Northampton Police Department.

The Shoestring's Covid data columnist Joe Pater joins us to discuss how public information about the virus has been disseminated and how it hasn't. He compares the local response to that in his home town in Ontario, exposing the scattershot standards between different municipal responses and much more. Pater is a linguistics professor at UMASS Amherst.

The Shoestring talks with media scholar Victor Pickard about the failure of advertising revenue to fund local journalism, the need for publicly funded local media, and the case for media cooperatives.

We talk with Shoestring staff writer and labor correspondent Roman Nicholas about his recent expose on ServiceNet. In the piece, Nicholas spoke to shelter workers about the union bargaining process for better wages, high turnover, and staff burnout, raising questions not just about the non-profit’s labor practices but how they serve the unhoused community.