Life in California Prisons
Losing Your Language Behind Bars
David Le is serving 40 years to life for second-degree murder in San Quentin. Being locked up is one kind of punishment. But he's also experiencing another: he's forgetting how to speak the language he learned as a child. Imagine if you forgot the language that gave you an identity. How would that impact your sense of self? David Le shared his story with San Quentin Radio's Anouthinh Pangthong.
Rachel Kushner’s New Novel ‘The Mars Room’ Is Her Love Letter to California
There’s a new novel out about California that takes us from a San Francisco strip club to a women’s prison in the Central Valley. It’s a critique of how women fare in California prisons, but it’s also an intense exploration of the forces that land many women there: poverty, drugs and acting in self-defense against abusive men. “The Mars Room” is the third novel from Rachel Kushner. She joined Sasha Khokha to talk about her book and how growing up in the Sunset District of San Francisco shaped her central character.
After 27 Years in Prison, Former Lifer Hopes to Help Others Like Him Re-adjust
California has more inmates serving life sentences than just about any other state in the country. But with efforts to ease overcrowding in California prisons, some of those lifers have been getting out earlier than expected. Were going to introduce you to a man who was released three years ago from Chukawalla Valley State prison, in the Mojave Desert. He's still trying to adjust to life on the outside. Alexandria Mason brings us this story from Los Angeles, as part of our series on whether the California Dream is alive for people from different walks of life.
Letter to My California Dreamer: A Place Where Dreams Are Safe to Grow
We've been getting some really great responses from listeners for a new series we're calling "Letters to my California Dreamer." We're asking you to write a short letter to one of the first people in your family who came to the Golden State with a dream. What was their California Dream? What happened to it? And is that California dream still alive for you? Last week, host Sasha Khokha shared her letter to her parents. This week, a letter to grandparents from Sarah Stroe, a second generation San Francisco native.
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