Change Agents The Podcast
Reparations Media & Juneteenth Productions
Are YOU a “Change Agent”? Organizer. Activist. Educator. Policy maker. Block club leader. Nonprofit founder. Religious leader. Business owner. Voter. Neighbor.
Change Agents is a documentary series revealing the power of community-driven activism told by those in the fight. These are the stories you aren’t hearing — told by and for communities of color and other marginalized communities that have long been overlooked, misrepresented and maligned.
Headquartered in Chicago and produced across the Midwest, we highlight authentic, actionable, grassroots solutions to society’s most pressing problems — including reentry after incarceration, homeownership disparities, anti-Blackness, the mental health crisis, and more.
Produced by a team made up of BIPOC, female, queer and disabled journalists, for Reparations Media, with support from Juneteenth Productions.
Executive Producers: Judith McCray and Maurice Bisaillon. Senior Producer: Mary Hall. Operations & Digital Manager: Nicole Nir. Head of Development: Alina Panek. Sound Design: Erisa Apantaku & Will Jarvis.
Follow us wherever you get podcasts, or at changeagentsthepodcast.com. Subscribe to our newsletter at bit.ly/change_agents_newsletter.
Episodes
38 episodes
The Foundation of Freedom: Maria Garza on Housing, Healing & Change
After over a decade behind bars, Maria Garza returned to a world with little support and even less stability. Facing housing insecurity and emotional strain, she saw firsthand the failures of a system that promised rehabilitation but delivered ...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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11:07
Harry Peña: From Prison to Purpose
When a rash decision changed the course of his life, Harry Peña spent decades behind bars. But prison didn't break him — it revealed his purpose. Determined to turn his painful past into a force for good, Harry founded the Life Impacters Founda...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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7:20
Wendell Robinson: Life Sentence to Reentry Reform
Sentenced to life in prison at just 19 years old, Wendell Robinson drew his own map to freedom. Now, through his work at Restore Justice, Robinson uses his experience and knowledge to help other formerly incarcerated people navigate the reentry...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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9:36
Struggle to Serve: Larry Sapp and the push for political inclusion
“Struggle to Serve: Larry Sapp and the push for political inclusion”Larry Sapp has dedicated the past 30 years to serving his community. In 2021, he was elected to the Sauk Village Board of Trustees, promising to get the community...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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9:06
Shimere Love-Shanklin: From Struggle to Strength
“Shimere Love-Shanklin: From Struggle to Strength”Finding employment and opening doors that seem permanently closed is a barrier that people with felony records continually face. Shamere Love-Shanklin knows this real...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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12:02
Rhymes & Resistance: King Moosa uses creativity to advance voting rights
“Rhymes & Resistance: King Moosa uses creativity to advance voting rights”Did you know that individuals with felony convictions in Illinois still retain the right to vote? Rockford-born hip-hop ARTivist Brian Harrington, aka K...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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8:08
A Place Called Home
When Matthew Cage’s father died, Matthew knew it fell on him to financially support his mom. But there was a problem. Matthew had just been released from prison — and many don’t want to rent or employ someone with a criminal record. Exp...
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Season 4
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Episode 9
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21:03
Roots and Roofs: Building Wealth Through Chicago’s Two-Flats
When Mercedes Pickett set out to buy her first home, she wanted to do it in the same way her mom had — by living in a two-flat, renting out the bottom apartment, and making the building into an investment property. For over a centur...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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26:25
Say Her Name: Women Survivors of Chicago Police Torture
Michelle Clopton was in her twenties when Chicago police attempted to force her to confess to a crime she didn’t commit. For 72 hours, she was brutally questioned, deprived of food, and tortured. Today, she is one of the few women to publicly s...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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26:45
My Time
Produced by Dilpreet Raju | Criminal records can sometimes create seemingly insurmountable hurdles to employment, a key factor toward reducing recidivism rates. Defy Ventures teaches the incarcerated, and returning citizens how to ...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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25:24
Sanctuary
Produced by Justin Agrelo | In 2010, a group of men incarcerated at Danville Correctional Center had a thought: how could they help stem community violence plaguing Chicago from the inside of a prison roughly three hours away? ...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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33:20
Reclaiming their Time
Produced by Daphne Watson | Behind the walls of the notorious Stateville Correctional Facility in Illinois, incarcerated individuals, educators, attorneys, students, activists, and legislators gather several times a month for the DePaul ...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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26:08
Ending Permanent Punishments
Produced by Jane Carlson | Marlon Chamberlain couldn’t chaperone his son’s field trip or be the executor of his father’s estate because of a decades-old drug conviction. He’s now leading a group of all formerly incarcerated m...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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25:04
Giving Others Dreams
Produced by Citlali Perez | Women are being imprisoned at higher rates than ever. As they return home they face a unique set of challenges, because they are often their families primary caretakers they face harshe...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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21:44
Navigating Homeownership
Produced by Corli Jay | Chicago’s Choose To Own program gives low-income residents the educational and financial support to buy their first home, helping them navigate a confusing and discriminatory mortgage and appraisal sys...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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22:35
How to Tackle Antiblackness
How to Tackle Antiblackness"Together we are powerful." "Black and Brown solidarity." "Yellow peril supports Black power." Interracial solidarity is foundational in the fight for racial justice for all, but often interracial confl...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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28:45
Justice That Heals
Justice That HealsChicago can be cruel to its youth, especially to youth of color living in marginalized communities. Restorative justice practices have begun to emerge in the city aiming to remedy the root causes of harm that is...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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17:22
Building Equality in Construction
Produced by Leslie Hurtado | History shows that Chicago’s building trades have excluded construction workers of color. But the attention on George Floyd’s death three years ago inspired a movement toward racial justice everywhere, from schools ...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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28:48
On the Way Home
On the Way HomeYouth who are experiencing homelessness in Chicago are undercounted and frequently clumsily represented. This story’s intent is to counteract public bias around what someone experiencing homelessness looks like. The st...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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25:10
Restaurando La Maceta - Restoring La Maceta (Spanish version)
Restaurando La MacetaHay un refrán que dice que la aflicción es como una maceta rota. La maceta nunca se va ver igual o funcionar igual a lo que era antes que se rompió— igual a que una familia no se va ver igual o funcionar igual antes ...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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33:53