Shows
The 98% - Life After PrisonBONUS EPISODE: At Both Ends of the LeashSend us a textWe go behind the walls of Orange Correctional Center in Hillsborough, NC to attend a graduation ceremony for a group of therapy dogs trained by residents of the prison. The non profit, EENP - Ears, Eyes, Nose and Paws - teaches incarcerated people to train therapy dogs that are then partnered with people who have disabilities. Listen and learn how these dogs transform lives.In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime vi...2025-06-1530 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonUnlocking the BoxSend us a textIn our second episode examining the use of solitary confinement, we meet two people on a mission to end the use of prolonged solitary confinement in our nation's prisons. From personal experience, Craig Waleed understands the psychological harm caused by isolation in a 8x10 box. Dolores Canales was trying to save her son when she first joined the protest against conditions in California's Pelican Bay Special Housing Unit, known as the SHU. Her efforts helped spark a national campaign against solitary confinement. In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to creat...2025-04-1843 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonInside the BoxSend us a textMeet Drew Doll and Daquan Peters, both survivors of solitary confinement, and both devoted to seeing the practice banned in US prisons. Hear their stories and learn why the Mandela Rules, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, declare the use of prolonged solitary confinement to be torture. In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate. April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After mo...2025-03-3140 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonOn a Mission with a Purpose: Post Incarceration SyndromeSend us a textApril riffs about the social, emotional, and psychological difficulties caused by the ongoing trauma of prison. She also shares some of the stubborn habits that have followed her home from her 31 years inside.In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate. April Barber received a life sentence when she was 15. After more than 31 years, she had her sentence commuted by Governor Cooper. She was released March 24, 2022.2025-03-2011 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonBrian Scott - Leading with Lived ExperienceSend us a textAs a young man Brian Scott saw people in terms of what they could do for him. His behavior eventually led to a 20-year prison sentence. In the four years since his release, Brian's become a leader in North Carolina's reentry movement with his non-profit Our Journey. This is his story. In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate. April Barber received a life sentence when she...2025-03-0328 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonFalling DownSend us a textIt's one thing to get out of prison. It's quite another to stay out. More than 40% of returning citizens in North Carolina end up back in prison within the first two years. In this episode, we explore the reasons so many people fall down and are re-incarcerated. We'll meet Delfonzo Brewer and learn how his 27-years in prison left him unprepared for the transition back to society. In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a...2025-02-1939 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonReflections of a Prison ChaplainSend us a textMeet Josh LeRoy, father, husband, and former prison chaplain. Josh spent roughly ten years pastoring to men in minimum security. He says it's the most fun he's ever had in any job. Learn what it was like to arrive at a new prison in the middle of Covid, how he thinks the carceral system should be changed, and why he finds prison ministry so rewarding. In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a long...2025-02-0931 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonThirty-Three Years on HearsaySend us a textAt the age of 20, Randolph Wilson was sentenced to life in prison in a case built entirely on hearsay. Three co-defendants, who testified against him, later recanted their testimony saying they'd been coerced by the local sheriff. After 33 years behind the wall, Randolph Wilson is a free man. This is his story. In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate. April Barber received a life sentence when...2025-01-3127 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonOn a Mission with a Purpose: April interviews a man on death row.Send us a textLyle May received a death sentence in 1999. Since that time, he's found God, gotten sober, and has devoted himself to a life of scholarship and reflection. This is Episode 3 of April's special series On a Mission with A Purpose, in which she interviews people who are living with meaning and purpose despite their particular circumstance.Stay Tuned for the Fourth Season of The 98% - Life After Prison coming in January.In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people fac...2024-12-3120 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonProviding a Second ChanceSend us a textFormerly incarcerated people face a number of barriers as they try to rebuild their lives after prison. One big one is employment. In this episode, we learn about one company that's made a commitment to providing a second chance and find out what can happen when justice-involved people are given an opportunity.In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate. April Barber received a life sentence wh...2024-09-2333 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonIt's Expensive to Break the LawSend us a textOver the past 20 years, North Carolina’s Legislature has increased court and criminal fees by 400 percent. A good percentage of that money is disbursed to the state’s General Fund, not allocated to the courts, which remain grossly underfunded. In this episode, we learn how court-imposed fees lock people in a cycle of debt and can lead to additional monetary sanctions, driver’s license revocation, probation extension, and jail time.In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison...2024-09-1632 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonWorking with Women on the InsideSend us a textWith so much focus on the mass incarceration of men, we often overlook the fact the number of incarcerated women stands almost seven times higher today than it did in 1980. Bianca Harris has watched the rise since she began her career in corrections in 1993. After more than 20 years at North Carolina's largest women’s prison, she has a lot to say about how incarcerated women should be handled.In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk i...2024-09-0829 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonA Father & Son Speak from the HeartSend us a textEdward Scott believes having difficult conversations with his loved ones is part of what it takes to be strong person and a good father. He invited us to listen in to the conversation he had with his grown son Terrell about what it was like to grow up without him because he was incarcerated. In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the many issues people face when transitioning from prison. Van Wyk is a longtime video producer and criminal justice advocate. April Barber received a li...2024-08-1632 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonBonus Episode 2_ On a Mission With a PurposeSend us a textOn a Mission With a Purpose is a series of interviews conducted by April Barber Scales. Felishia McPherson describes how the lack of cultural understanding she experienced with mental health therapists in prison sent her on a mission to become a mental health counselor herself. Today she is Licensed counselo and a Peer Support Specialist specializing in Reentry and Domestic Violence. She also serves on the executive board of Nami - The National Alliance of Mental Illness. In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to creat...2024-08-1109 minThe 98% - Life After PrisonIncarcerating the Mentally Ill.Send us a textWith a shortage of mental health services in this country, prisons and jails have become a dumping ground for people with mental illness including people with conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Too often these conditions go untreated and people are released back into the community with no support. Learn how Fit Wellness takes a holistic approach to treating formerly incarcerated people with serious mental illness, in an effort to break the cycle between crisis and incarceration. In 2023, Judy Van Wyk and April Barber partnered to create a podcast about the ma...2024-08-0239 min