Pandemic in Prison: Elsie Lee, San Quentin

Earlier this summer, San Quentin State Prison was the site of one of the country’s largest COVID-19 outbreaks. Elsie Lee is a co-founder of Sistas’ with Voices, an advocacy group formed to speak against inhumane conditions in California prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her husband, Wilbert Lee is currently incarcerated in San Quentin. Elsie spoke … Continued


Pandemic in Prison: What it’s like inside California’s prisons and ICE detention facilities as told by people incarcerated and family members

As COVID-19 surged inside California’s prisons, jails and ICE detention facilities, we hear from people incarcerated inside and their family members. Michelle Hoyt’s partner Lyle Crook, 54, is incarcerated at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Corcoran, CA. She’s been regularly communicating with him and others inside throughout the outbreak. In mid-December, Lyle contracted COVID-19. … Continued


0:08 – KPFA News: Mexico has the pandemic’s fourth largest overall death toll, and that number is widely understood to be an undercount due to extremely limited diagnostic testing. Even so, over the course of this year, confirmed cases of COVID-19 became Mexico’s leading cause of death.  Shipments of vaccines began trickling in last week, … Continued


0:08 – Unemployment benefits may take weeks to arrive; advice for navigating California’s EDD system Daniela Urban is Executive Director of the Center for Workers’ Rights and special counsel to Legal Aid At Work (@LegalAidAtWork).  0:34 – Author interview: Aya de Leon (@AyadeLeon) is an acclaimed writer of poetry and prose. She is the director … Continued


0:08 – Trump signs COVID relief bill after lengthy, chaotic delay John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) is National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation. 0:34 – COVID call-ins John Swartzberg is clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. 1:08 – Colorism is discriminatory treatment based on skin tone, with wide implications across communities worldwide. … Continued


0:08 – Deirdre Cooper-Owens is associate professor of history at Queens College, CUNY, about how American gynecology experimented on enslaved women in her book Medical Bondage: Race, Gender and the origins of American Gynecology. 1:08 – New vaccines by Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech offer new hope that an end to the COVID 19 pandemic may be … Continued


0:08 – Today, we feature excerpts from KPFA’s sold out author event, co-sponsored by Marcus Bookstore, featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of Between the World and Me in conversation with KPFA host Greg Bridges at the First Congregational Church in Berkeley, in October 2015. 1:08 – Ibram X. Kendi is professor of history and international relations and the … Continued


0:08 – Fresno is the new epicenter of the pandemic Brianna Calix (@BriannaCalix) is a reporter at the Fresno Bee. 0:22 – Alex Padilla appointed new Senator of California Phil Willon (@philwillon) covers Gov. Gavin Newsom and California politics for the Los Angeles Times. 0:34 – How to stay sane during lockdown, plus listener calls … Continued


0:08 – What’s in, and not in, the new COVID relief package John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) is National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation. 0:34 – How to get unemployment claims processed and navigating the EDD, plus listeners call-in Daniela Urban is Executive Director of the Center for Workers’ Rights and special counsel to Legal Aid At … Continued


0:08 – A class-action lawsuit alleges ICE is violating the constitutional rights of immigrant detainees in Mesa Verde and Yuba County Jail by exposing them to COVID – it’s called Zepeda-Rivas. A recent ruling in the case said ICE and GEO Group were “totally unprepared” for a severe COVID outbreak at Mesa Verde this summer. … Continued