An exploration of the transformational events and movements that are creating a new normal in our society, as told by reporters on the ground in the Pacific Northwest. Hosted by Sara Bernard. Season 1: The Pandemic Season 2: Defunding the Police Season 3: Education … Cover photo by Lindsey Wasson
Episodes
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Ep. 1 - How Reform Gave Way to ‘Defund the Police’ in Seattle (Season 2)
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
The city spent a decade working to reform its police department. Then, the turmoil of 2020 started a new movement.
In the midst of the anti-racism protests that followed the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police last spring, a new cry went out: "Defund the police!" And in the weeks that followed, Seattle city leaders appeared to be listening.
Members of the Seattle City Council, responding to strong advocacy from inside and outside government, pledged to cut the police force by 50%. Cuts did come, but in the end they were less than revolutionary and the debate became muddled and complex.
For the second season of This Changes Everything, host Sara Bernard and reporter David Kroman are seeking to bring clarity to that debate. Over the course of six episodes, the podcast will take a close look at challenges of policing today and whether it’s even possible to downsize the police force and create a new public safety regime that is more equitable and safe.
This first episode starts by looking back, about a decade, to Seattle’s previous efforts toward reform and examines how the events in June led many city leaders to decide the earlier reform efforts were the wrong solution.
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Credits
Host, producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: David Kroman
Story editor: Donna Gordon Blankinship
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
Full transcript available here.
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Ep. 2 - Cops, Crisis Calls and Conflict Over Who Should Help (Season 2)
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
The debate over public safety is filled with disagreements, but almost everyone agrees on one thing: We need another option for people in crisis.
In this episode of This Changes Everything’s focus on defunding the police, reporter David Kroman rides along with Sandlin Grayson, a member of the Seattle Police Department Crisis Response Team, to observe how the police approach crisis calls.
Kroman then speaks to the team at the Downtown Emergency Service Center, one of Seattle’s largest nonprofits serving the homeless. Although they have some appreciation for cops like Grayson, they argue that there must be a better way to help people in crisis.
This six-part podcast, produced by Sara Bernard, takes a close look at challenges of policing today and whether it’s even possible to downsize the police force and create a new public safety regime that is more equitable and safe.
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Credits
Host, producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: David Kroman
Story editor: Donna Gordon Blankinship
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
Full transcript available here.
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Ep. 3 - Who’s to Blame When Crisis Calls Go Wrong (Season 2)
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Seattle police have undergone additional training to better respond to people in crisis, but still things go wrong and people die. Why?
Seattle police, more than many police departments, have extensive training to improve their response to people in crisis — but people are still dying. In this episode of This Changes Everything’s focus on defunding the police, we look at what happens when things go wrong.
Reporter David Kroman revisits the case of Charleena Lyles, a young Black mother who was killed by Seattle police in one of the department's most controversial incidents. There is little doubt that Lyles' death was the result of a failure, but there is disagreement over where the blame for that failure lies.
To understand what happened and what it can tell us about the complicated role of police in crisis calls, Kroman explores the choices made by officers on the day of Lyles' death, as well as those made within the system before the encounter.
This six-part podcast, produced by Sara Bernard and reported by David Kroman, takes a close look at challenges of policing today and whether it’s possible to downsize the police force and create a new public safety regime that is more equitable and safe.
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Credits
Host, producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: David Kroman
Story editor: Donna Gordon Blankinship
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
Full transcript available here.
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Ep. 4 - A Ride Along With a Police Alternative (Season 2)
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
As cities have searched for non-police options for crisis response, many have arrived in an unlikely place: Eugene, Oregon.
In this episode of This Changes Everything’s focus on efforts to defunding the police, host Sara Bernard heads to Eugene for a virtual ride along with CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets), an inventive and unique effort to respond to crisis calls with social workers instead of police.
In the calls to defund police and invest in alternatives, CAHOOTS has become the model. We get the real story about how it works and what problems it faces and consider the question: Is the program scalable from a small city like Eugene to a bigger metropolis like Seattle?
This six-part podcast, produced by Bernard and reported by David Kroman, takes a close look at challenges of policing today and whether it’s possible to downsize the police force and create a new public safety regime that is more equitable and safe.
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Credits
Host, producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: David Kroman
Story editor: Donna Gordon Blankinship
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
Read the full transcript here.
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Ep. 5 - Defund, Then What? Activist Ideas for Police Dollars (Season 2)
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Many activists leading the call to defund the police say the answer to disproportionate policing is to take money from the cops and give it to communities. But change is never as easy as writing new lines in a city budget.
In this episode of This Changes Everything’s look at efforts to defund the police, Sara Bernard and David Kroman examine emerging community programs that are seeking to take the place of police as a way to dismantle the systemic racism that has long been part of the American criminal justice system.
These Seattle programs look to keep members of the city’s Black and brown communities, in particular, out of the criminal justice system by redirecting at-risk community members with various forms of support.
This six-part podcast, produced by Bernard and reported by Kroman, takes a close look at challenges of policing today and whether it’s possible to downsize the police force and create a new public safety regime that is more equitable and safe.
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Credits
Host, producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: David Kroman
Story editor: Donna Gordon Blankinship
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
Read the full transcript here.
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Ep. 6 - When Defunding the Police Meets Political Reality (Season 2)
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
More than 6 months after first pledging to rethink public safety, city leaders face opposition. What’s next?
As anti-racism protesters filled city streets this past summer with calls for a radical rethinking of public safety, a majority of Seattle City Council members responded by committing to cut the city's police budget by 50%. But making good on that promise has been difficult.
In this, the final episode of This Changes Everything’s focus on efforts to defund the police, Sara Bernard and David Kroman discuss the political pain and potential ramifications that have come since the council members committed to those cuts.
So far, the council has made cuts to the city police budget amounting to nearly 20%. Will they make those additional cuts? Will oppositional forces prevent them from doing so? What comes next? One thing about the future is known: The hard work of reforming the police force is still to come.
This six-part podcast. produced by Bernard and reported by Kroman, takes a close look at challenges of policing today and whether it’s possible to downsize the police force and create a new public safety regime that is more equitable and safe.
---
Credits
Host, producer: Sara Bernard
Reporter: David Kroman
Story editor: Donna Gordon Blankinship
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten
Read the full transcript here.