Kite Line Radio

100 | They’re Not Detention Centers, They’re Prisons

For this episode, we are returning to the conditions in immigrant detention centers. Alejandra spoke at the Fight Toxic Prisons conference in Pittsburgh, which was held earlier this month. Growing up in California, she was the only child in her family to be undocumented. As an adult in Arizona, she had a minor arrest that…

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99 | The Stakes of #SurroundICE

This week, we will focus on a specific story about an immigrant detention case in Pittsburgh- and hear firsthand from family impacted by these harsh repercussions for undocumented immigrants. Martin Esquivel-Hernandez was detained after a traffic stop, held by ICE, and eventually deported, leaving his family behind in Pennsylvania. Today, we will hear his story…

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98 | Families Fighting the Prisons

First, we hear part of a panel from the recent Fight Toxic Prisons conference, which was held last week in Pittsburgh. Saleem Holbrook shares his experiences after doing nearly three decades inside, with a focus on what it’s like to organize behind the walls. Coming into the system when he was young, he describes the…

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97 | Summer of Kites

This week’s episode is packed with news of struggles and repression. We start with coverage of Indiana prisons and two prisoners who need outside support right now. Then we get updates and two statements from prisoners in Florida continuing to organize within the framework of Operation PUSH. These reflections are particularly vital as both prisoners…

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96 | Carceral Capitalism, Part 3: The Prison Abolitionist Imagination

This week, we are returning to the topic of Carceral Capitalism. We interviewed the poet and author Jackie Wang in previous episodes of Kite Line. You can access those by clicking her name in the tag links below. There, Wang discussed the relationship between the growth of municipal debt and the emergence of fine farming…

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95 | The Causes and Costs of Sex Offense Laws

In this episode, we hear from Timothy Stewart-Winter, an Associate Professor at Rutgers University with a background studying sexuality and incarceration. Stewart-Winter wrote the book “Queer Clout: Chicago and the Rise of Gay Politics” and co-directs the Queer Newark Oral History Project. In this episode, they speak about the policing of sexuality and some of its consequences,…

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94 | The Sex Offender Stigma

This week, we share the first part of a conversation we had with “Joe”. After doing ten years in prison for a sex offense conviction, Joe is now outside and navigating the difficult tightrope that many people convicted of such crimes must walk. A difficult topic to even discuss, Joe expresses the way being on…

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93 | Michelle Jones on the Collateral Consequences of Incarceration

This week, we share a moving keynote speech recently given at the University of Michigan by Michelle Jones. Jones has been featured on multiple episodes of Kite Line, who shared some of her experiences at the Indiana Women’s Prison, particularly issues of mental and physical health on the inside. Now, she speaks of the extensive…

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92 | Are Prisons Obsolete? Part Two

Last week, we began hearing the voices of prisoners on the topic of Angela Davis’s book, Are Prisons Obsolete? Up first, we have Anastazia Schmid’s response to the book, followed by Angaza Iman Bahar reading his response to us from Miami Correctional Facility.

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91 | Are Prisons Obsolete? Part One

This week, we start in on the topic of Are Prisons Obsolete Over the next couple of Kite Line episodes, we will be sharing the words and writings of prisoners- many of whom have been featured on previous episodes- and their responses to Angela Davis’s book, “Are Prisons Obsolete” For context, the Abolition Study Sessions are a…

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