Official Ignorance: The Death in Custody Podcast
1) Bonus: Mutulu Olugbala Fighting for Freedom and Social Justice in Cannabis Reform
Official Ignorance is a captivating podcast hosted by Dr. Roger Mitchell, Jr. and Professor Jay Aronson. In this episode, they are joined by the legendary Mutulu Olugbala, also known as M1 of the reno...Show More
2) Bonus: How Hip Hop Made Us, pt. 2 – Roger
Enjoy the early, informal recordings that lay the groundwork for the podcast, and learn more about our hosts, their mutual love of hip-hop, and their journey to the topic of death in law enforcement c...Show More
3) Bonus: How Hip Hop Made Us, pt. 1 – Jay
Enjoy the early, informal recordings that lay the groundwork for the podcast, and learn more about our hosts, their mutual love of hip-hop, and their journey to the topic of death in law enforcement c...Show More
4) Back to the Beginning: Talking Advocacy and Accountability with Activist Larry Hamm
In the final episode of Season 1, Roger and Jay talk to Larry Hamm, founder of the Newark, NJ-based Peoples’ Organization for Progress, longtime activist, and one of Roger’s earliest mentors. We discu...Show More
Back to the Beginning: Talking Advocacy and Accountability with Activist Larry Hamm
49:57 | Oct 17th, 2023
5) Sandra’s Story – The Truth about the American Criminal Legal System
There are no protections in the criminal justice system, especially for Black people. In the case of Sandra Bland, we were reminded that they definitely do not care if you are wealthy, poor, female, q...Show More
6) Dr. Joye Carter: The Nation’s First Black Chief Medical Examiner takes on Death in Custody
On today’s episode we have a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Joye Carter, the nation’s first Black board-certified chief medical examiner, about her long career as a forensic pathologist. We ask he...Show More
7) We Count What We Care About: Uncovering Hidden Deaths in Our Nation’s Prisons and Jails
On today’s episode, we talk to Josh Vaughn and Brittany Hailer, journalists working to expose the deadly toll of Pennsylvania’s jails. Josh tells us about his efforts to track disparities in the death...Show More
We Count What We Care About: Uncovering Hidden Deaths in Our Nation’s Prisons and Jails
1:07:33 | Sep 26th, 2023
8) The Miseducation of Capitol Hill: The Death in Custody Reporting Act
In today’s episode, we discuss a recent Senate hearing led by Sen. Jon Ossoff from Georgia that investigates the abject failure of the federal government to do what the Death in Custody Reporting Act ...Show More
9) The Legacy of Ida B. Wells: From Lynchings to Death in Custody
It is impossible to talk about the impact that death in custody has on Black and other communities, or the efforts of activists and advocates to shine a light on the crisis, without examining the life...Show More
10) Earl Faison and the Origins of the Official Ignorance Project
Our investigation begins with the story of Earl Faison, a 27-year-old who died in police custody less than an hour after being arrested on April 11, 1999. Roger, was a young medical student just down ...Show More