Indigenous people have the highest incarceration rates in Washington state, but they have few support systems for reintegrating back into their communities and recovering from intergenerational trauma. In this episode, we talk with the first known Indigenous person granted clemency by the state of Washington, Benjamin Brockie. We sit with the possibilities and limitations of getting clemency, life on the outside, and hopes for improving the re-entry process for Indigenous communities.

This episode features an interview with Benjamin Brockie and highlights the work of Seattle Clemency Project. Special thanks to Louie Gong for permission to use the image of his "Never Say Goodbye" Blanket, an inspired Native wool blanket available from Eighth Generation. All sale proceeds go to benefit Huy.

For transcript and show notes, go to www.choicesmedia.org

Solitary confinement is harmful to all, but it is still regularly implemented in Washington state prisons. In this episode, we confront Washington state's use of solitary confinement and its impact on our communities, as well as the tensions around harm reduction legislation and state oversight. This episode features a conversation with Anthony Blankenship and testimony before Washington House Committee on Community Safety by Derek Collier.

Content note: this episode includes people discussing their experiences of solitary confinement that do not meet the UN "Mandela Rules," including the institutional use of drugs and shaming to control people, people suffering mental distress and suicidal ideation. Please take care while you listen.

You can find the full transcript and show notes at www.choicesmedia.org

Washington state's legislative session isn't over yet, but meaningful opportunities for criminal punishment reform are. Ralph Dunuan walks us through the bills we were following at CHOICES Media and what it means for folks on the inside and outside of prison walls.

Episode 4. It's 2025 and the Washington state legislature is in session! Incarcerated organizers know better than most people that the state isn't always here to help us. In this episode, we explain what abolitionist reforms are and how some folks use them to realize the promise of liberation. We focus on the Judicial Discretion Act, a bill that began with incarcerated leadership and seeks to build solidarity across different incarcerated communities, victims/survivors, judges, lawyers, and outside community members.

This episode includes Charles Longshore, Azias Ross, WA House Representative Tarra Simmons, Amanda Knight, and Senator Noel Frame; hosted by Ralph Dunuan, produced by Megan Ybarra, and edited and mixed by Anvar Hassanpour. This podcast was supported in part by a Scholar-Activist Project Award from the Antipode Foundation and the UCSD Communication Department.

For show notes and transcript, go to www.choicesmedia.org

We look back to recent history of Washington prison activism to show why we need directly impacted people to have collective voice and leadership in fixing the problems in our criminal punishment system. Amongst so many stories untold to those on the outside, we hone in on the TEACH program at Clallam Bay Corrections Center from 2013 - 2018 and Judicial Second Look coalition formed in 2024 around a bill initially written by Native incarcerated leaders and judges on the outside. We'll think about lessons learned for inside-outside prison solidarity.

This episode was hosted by Ralph Dunuan, produced by Megan Ybarra, and edited and mixed by Anvar Hassanpour. This podcast was supported in part by a Scholar-Activist Project Award from the Antipode Foundation and the UCSD Communication Department. This episode features interviews with Marco Juarez Rodriguez, Carlos Bernardez Jr., Travis ComesLast and Charles Longshore.

For full transcript and show notes, go to www.choicesmedia.org

Incarcerated people and their loved ones navigate a complex system of guidelines, grids, indeterminate sentencing review boards, and more. We'll learn about Washington's draconian sentencing practices and laws that doubled its incarceration rate, instituting life and long sentences, disproportionately affecting Indigenous peoples and people of color. This episode features an interview with Dan Berger, a historian of activism, Black power, prisons and the carceral state.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find show notes, transcripts, and get in touch with us at www.choicesmedia.org

Ralph Dunuan was incarcerated in 1999, in the era of pagers. Co-host and friend Megan Ybarra interviews Ralph to learn about how he builds from his experiences to understand how Native communities are impacted by the criminal punishment system and his perspectives on family, abolition, and why prisoner-led media is important.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠@choicesmediapodcast

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find show notes, transcripts, and get in touch with us at www.choicesmedia.org

Welcome to From the Inside Out, a prisoner-led podcast for liberation media from Washington Corrections Center. Our host, Ralph Dunuan, has been incarcerated for over twenty years. In this podcast, you'll hear about how the criminal punishment system works, and what inside/outside organizers are doing to change it.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠@choicesmediapodcast

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find show notes, transcripts, and get in touch with us at www.choicesmedia.org