Our Work
KALW Public Media's Uncuffed is the country’s leading radio and podcast training program for people in prisons. Produced by men and women in California prisons in collaboration with KALW’s team, Uncuffed offers deeply humanizing narratives that challenge stereotypes, foster empathy, and provide a rare window into the complex lives of incarcerated people. Just as importantly, Uncuffed classes equip participants to become skilled communicators and mediamakers, driving change inside prison and outside upon their release.
Training
In classes taught by professional journalists, participants learn how to make an audio story — from the first pitch to the final draft.
Student producers interview other people in prison about their personal stories. Using professional audio equipment, software, and computers we’ve brought inside the prisons, students learn to produce audio stories that change lives.
The Podcast
The Uncuffed podcast is a showcase for personal stories and deep roundtable conversations with the incarcerated Uncuffed producers.
The podcast was featured in the New York Times and as a “New and Noteworthy” show in the Apple Podcast app.
The Uncuffed Playlist
In our Uncuffed Playlist classes at Solano State Prison, students learn how to be radio DJs. They choose an hour of their favorite music and get on the mic to talk about how those songs relate to their lives. The Uncuffed Playlist airs on KALW Saturday nights from midnight to 2am.
Listen on YouTube
