On Friday Dec. 13, Uncuffed audio podcast laid out the red carpet for their December 2024 graduation ceremony at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.
Celebrating inside Chapel B everyone came dressed to impress. The six graduates were accompanied by family, friends, staff of Uncuffed and KALW Radio station 91.7 FM.
Uncuffed education facilitator Ryan Pagan hosted the event, he entertained everyone with his energetic personality. His wife was also in attendance, witnessing his work unfold for the first time.
“It’s cool because she never seen me like that,” Pagan said. “It’s different telling someone what I do, then them seeing it in action.”
Formerly incarcerated Uncuffed alumni Thanh Tran and Chanthon Bun came to the event to show their support. Anoother alumni Greg Eskridge, former Uncuffed facilitator, made a notable appearance. He was released from San Quentin in July after serving 30 years. Upon Eskridge’s release, he works at KALW Public radio station.
Now, less than six months after being released in July, “I came back to celebrate and inspire the guys,” Eskridge said. “I’m still a part of this community. I know the beauty in this place.”
Uncuffed was brought to San Quentin by longtime Senior Editor Ninna Gaensler Debs, and Senior Producer Angela Johnston. They had a mission to give a voice to the incarcerated through an audio podcast training program. This gives the participants an opportunity to express their humanity, develop job skills, and inspire change.
Uncuffed has been training people for over 10 years and produces an award-winning journalism podcast, launching careers in media and changing the narrative about people in prison.
Graduate Anthony Gomez was called to the stage by Johnston and Gaensler to receive his certificate. After shaking hands, Gomez gave a heartfelt speech about not liking to celebrate the month of December, because it’s the same month his crime was committed in 2015.
That brought tears to the eyes of his mother and KALW Executive Producer Ben Trefny, who were both present.
“It’s beautiful to see them all together,” said Trefny. “Anthony’s story made me cry.”
It was also Gomez’s mother’s birthday.
According to Graduate Matt Sheppard, instructors Johnston and Gaensler encouraged all graduates to invite their families to the graduation.
Over the 24 weeks of the course, each participant had to produce four audio stories, which included assignments: Mix tape, interview someone, personal essay, and an audio essay.
Sheppard’s comedy on stage had the entire room laughing with his jokes. He said omedy is a way his family coped with life challenges. His daughter, who flew in from Atlanta to see her father graduate, could not hold back her smile. There were photos and video cameras capturing the moment.
“Now my daughter can see I am nothing like what she was hearing about me when she was younger,” said Sheppard.
During the event, everyone sat together at tables conversing while eating food. It was an event of celebration, hard work, and unity.
“A lot of those people that came in are my future colleagues. Hopefully their families know they are in the right business, helping the right people,” Sheppard said.
KALW staff Victor Tence and Shereen Adel, who were visiting San Quentin for the first time, chatted with residents and shared their journalism experience. Having an open mind was pivotal for Adel, who recently started training incoming staff members. One of their new members came from the Uncuffed program recently.
She mentioned talking to him, saying “I feel like my world has expanded.” Reflecting on her experience with the program so far, she spoke to the importance of not putting people in boxes based on what they have faced in life.
Uncuffed senior producer and instructor Johnston, who helped organize the event, were busy making sure everything went as planned.
Johnston spoke on the impact the Uncuffed program had on her career in the last ten years. She said the participants taught her so much about being a good storyteller, and what it means to be a journalist.
According to Johnston, the big eye opener for her is having empathy for other people.
“I wish we could have brought more people in to hear these amazing stories” said Johnston.
Cross Currents daily news magazine host Hana Baba opened up on stage about life struggles while considering journalism early in her career. Skipping journalism school, growing up in Texas, she did not see other journalists who looked like her. She encouraged the guests to take in this beautiful moment, feel the positivity in the room.
“When people listen to Uncuffed, you have the power to take people to your world,” Baba said. “That’s what journalism is all about: connection and heart.”
Before leaving the event, she danced alongside a few residents to the song “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” by McFadden and Whitehead.
After the event concluded, attendees were not just taking away invaluable advice, but were educated on how they can continue to support such organizations that put so much effort into empowering and uplifting incarcerated members voices and stories. The Uncuffed podcast can be heard on California State Prison-issued GTL tablets and on radio station 91.7FM.
Uncuffed has expanded to other institutions like California Solano State Prison and the California Institution for Women. By giving a voice to more incarcerated people, Uncuffed is telling the narrative about incarcerated people one story at a time.
As James Kass, executive director of KALW said, “Our goal is to get Uncuffed broadcast all across the country” and, thanks to their 150,000 weekly listeners, he believes that this is more than feasible.
