Podcast
Black Light Mass Incarceration Show
Hosted by Cierra · EN
Black Light Mass Incarceration Show is a justice-centered podcast that shines a spotlight on the hidden realities of prisons, jails, and the systems that feed them. Hosted by I Kare NC, the show amplifies the voices of currently and formerly incarcerated people, families, advocates, and system insiders, breaking down headlines, exposing corruption, and naming the trauma behind the statistics. Rooted in truth-telling and healing, Black Light pushes listeners toward accountability, reform, and real solutions that keep our communities safe, supported, and free.
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Addiction, Prison, Judgment, Mental Health, and Second Chances
2d ago00:40:27Tap to summarizeIn this powerful episode, Sasha joins us to share her journey through addiction, incarceration, healing, and advocacy. She opens up about how addiction led her to prison, the challenges of rebuilding life after incarceration, and how society’s judgment can make recovery even harder for those trying to move forward. Sasha also speaks about advocating for her brother, who struggles with mental health and is currently incarcerated. This conversation sheds light on addiction, mental health, second chances, and the importance of seeing people beyond their past mistakes.
Transcribe →Megan’s Story of Survival, Recovery & Purpose
3d ago00:58:55Tap to summarizeIn this powerful episode, I sit down with my best friend Megan of 20 years as she shares her journey through addiction, incarceration, recovery, and redemption. After moving to Kentucky and facing some of the darkest moments of her life, Megan is now 950 days sober and using her story as a peer support specialist to help others find hope, healing, and a way forward.
Transcribe →When Telling the Truth Makes You a Target Responding to TL700 CCDOC
Nov 2300:24:20Tap to summarizeIn this conversation, Cierra emphasizes the critical role of whistleblowers in exposing the truths about harm and neglect within jails and prisons. She discusses the importance of challenging a culture that prioritizes self-protection over human life and advocates for a system that values integrity and truth-telling. takeaways We will continue to give space to whistleblowers, officers, staff, and the incarcerated people and their families who want to tell the truth. We will continue to document stories of harm, neglect, and abuse inside jails and prisons. We will also continue to challenge a culture that prioritizes protecting itself over protecting human life. If that makes you uncomfortable, I want you to sit with why. A system that truly valued integrity wouldn't be angry at people who tell the truth. It would be angry at the people who keep creating the conditions we're talking about. blacklightmassincarceration@gmail.com 🖤 HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT BLACK LIGHT & OUR WORK WITH YOUTH Black Light Mass Incarceration Show is a project of I Kare NC, the nonprofit founded by Cierra Cobb and Jeffrey Cobb dedicated to supporting at-risk youth, justice-impacted families, and communities in need of healing. Here’s how you can stand with us: 🌐 Visit & Share Our Website: 👉 https://www.ikarenc.com/ 💬 Know a teen who needs mentorship? We’re accepting youth into our mentorship and conflict-resolution programs. Please reach out through our website to get connected. 🤝 Support. Share. Get involved. Every share, every mention, every connection helps us reach another young person who deserves guidance, hope, and support. Together, we can build the future our youth deserve. ✨
Transcribe →Two Podcast One Message Stop the Cycle of Pain
Nov 1701:01:54Tap to summarizeNEW COLLAB EPISODE JUST DROPPED! 🔥 Black Light Mass Incarceration Show is proud to announce our new partnership with @InmateTeawithAP, and today we’re bringing you the first official collab episode in this powerful new series. 🙌🏽 We start right here in North Carolina, breaking down the headlines that shape our communities — and exposing the deep trauma hidden behind those stories. From veterans fighting silent battles after service to incarcerated people carrying wounds the system refuses to see, we get real about accountability, compassion, and the urgent need for transformation. ❤️🩹 Across the country, we’ve been blessed to build partnerships with people who share the same mission: amplifying unheard voices, educating our communities, and confronting the systems causing generational harm. Because the truth is simple when we band together, our impact gets louder, stronger, and harder to ignore. 🗣️🔥 This collaboration between Black Light Mass Incarceration Show and Inmate Tea with A.P. is just the beginning. We’re ready for what’s next deeper conversations, more truth-telling, and a united push for real change. Tap in. Share. Join the movement. This is Black Light. ✊🏽✨ 🖤 HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT BLACK LIGHT & OUR WORK WITH YOUTH Black Light Mass Incarceration Show is a project of I Kare NC, the nonprofit founded by Cierra Cobb and Jeffrey Cobb dedicated to supporting at-risk youth, justice-impacted families, and communities in need of healing. Here’s how you can stand with us: 🌐 Visit & Share Our Website: 👉 https://www.ikarenc.com/ 💬 Know a teen who needs mentorship? We’re accepting youth into our mentorship and conflict-resolution programs. Please reach out through our website to get connected. 🤝 Support. Share. Get involved. Every share, every mention, every connection helps us reach another young person who deserves guidance, hope, and support. Together, we can build the future our youth deserve. ✨
Transcribe →A Wife’s Fight for Justice” Featuring Elisa Grant
Nov 1600:48:50Tap to summarizeIn this powerful episode, host Cierra Cobb sits down with Elisa Grant, wife of Rashawn Grant, whose case exposes deep cracks in North Carolina’s judicial system. Rashawn’s story unfolds under the shadow of Judge Jefferson Griffin, a Court of Appeals judge accused of neglecting his judicial duties while entangled in lawsuits and political efforts to overturn an election he lost. But beyond the legal fight, this is also a love story one of loyalty, courage, and resilience. Elisa shares how she and Rashawn first met, how their family has been affected, and why she refuses to stay silent in the face of injustice. Together, they’ve turned pain into purpose demanding accountability, transparency, and reform for families caught in a system that too often fails the people it’s meant to serve. This episode shines a light on what it means to keep faith when the system breaks faith with you — and how community can turn outrage into organized action. 🎧 Listen & Take Action 🎯 Support the Movement for Justice: ✍️ Sign the petition to demand change: Change.org/HqdR6XNfKP 📱 Follow and share updates: Instagram: www.quietmoneyapparel.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.ikarenc.com/ 💬 Know a teen who needs mentorship? We’re accepting youth into our mentorship and conflict-resolution programs. Please reach out through our website to get connected. 🤝 Support. Share. Get involved. Every share, every mention, every connection helps us reach another young person who deserves guidance, hope, and support. Together, we can build the future our youth deserve. ✨
Transcribe →From Death Row Defense to Systemic Change: Terrica Ganzy’s Journey
Sep 2901:06:02Tap to summarizeIn this conversation, Terica Riddford-Anze, an influential lawyer and executive director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, discusses her journey in the legal field, focusing on mass incarceration, racial bias, and the death penalty. She emphasizes the importance of community involvement, education, and mentorship in advocating for systemic change within the criminal justice system. The discussion highlights the misconceptions surrounding the death penalty, the challenges faced by public defenders, and the need for restorative justice practices to repair harm rather than punish. Terica's insights shed light on the complexities of the legal system and the urgent need for reform to create a more just society. https://www.schr.org/
Transcribe →Both Sides of the Bars: Staffing, Safety, and the Ripple Effect
Aug 2801:11:31Tap to summarizeBoth Sides of the Bars: Staffing, Safety, and the Ripple Effect Jabril Gushiniere founder of the Cook County Corrections Coalition (C4) and author of Beneath the Badge, joins Black Light to unpack “cross-watching,” the illegal practice of forcing one officer to monitor multiple housing units. We connect the dots between unsafe staffing, preventable harm, unrest, and cascading lockdowns that cancel visits and devastate families. Jabril shares why he refused to comply, the retaliation that followed, and a reform agenda that protects everyone, officers and people in custody alike. Here is our site for reference: https://www.c4cookcounty.org/ If you’re a family member with an incarcerated loved one and want a meaningful conversation with corrections to better understand how leadership decisions affect day-to-day treatment, please reach out to Cierra ikarenc.com. Want to support the work? Back the Black Light Mass Incarceration Show and I Kare NC donate or get involved at ikarenc.com. Want to be a guest? email us at blacklightmassincarceration@gmail.com
Transcribe →Reimagining Corrections Brian Koehn on Transforming America’s Carceral System
Jul 3100:51:57Tap to summarizeIn this episode, we sit down with Brian Koehn, founder of Social Purpose Corrections (SPC), a veteran-led nonprofit that is challenging the very foundation of how America approaches incarceration and re-entry. With over 30 years of experience, rising from correctional officer to warden to head of security for one of the world’s largest private corrections companies, Brian brings unparalleled insight into the failures and opportunities within our carceral system. SPC takes a radically different approach: as a nonprofit, it directs 100% of its funding back into rehabilitative care, workforce training, and holistic support for incarcerated individuals, ensuring that every dollar serves the goal of preparing people for meaningful, crime-free lives post-release. This mission doesn’t just transform individuals; it uplifts entire communities disproportionately impacted by incarceration. We discuss how SPC’s model can reshape corrections in North Carolina a state grappling with youth and adult recidivism rates, and serve as a national blueprint for humane, purpose-driven re-entry strategies. Brian also shares his personal journey of leaving the corporate correctional world, guided by faith and conviction, to build an organization rooted in dignity, healing, and social impact. Listeners will gain a powerful look into what a truly rehabilitative correctional system could look like, and why it’s not only possible, but necessary for the future of justice reform across America. If you would like to learn more about Brian and his Non-profit Social Purpose Corrections
Transcribe →Courtroom Disruptor Why your Attorney Might Not Be Fighting for You
Jun 16, 202501:17:05Tap to summarizen this eye-opening episode of the Black Light Mass Incarceration Show, we sit down with Courtney Teasley, Esq., a nationally respected justice strategist, legal disruptor, and CEO of emeffen., to uncover the hard truths about the criminal justice system and why your lawyer might not truly believe in your innocence. Courtney unpacks how she’s using her MFn Framework to train attorneys to become fierce advocates, not just legal performers. We explore her groundbreaking work in legal literacy, courtroom education, and faith-based criminal justice reform, including how churches and community leaders can take real steps to interrupt mass incarceration before it begins. From flipping judicial elections to going viral on TikTok’s #HillmanTok, Courtney is arming the Disproportionately Affected, Marginalized Minority (D.A.M.M.) with tools to know the law—and challenge it. If you care about racial justice, mass incarceration, or building powerful justice ministries, this is the conversation you don’t want to miss. emeffen. Links Linktree - https://linktr.ee/emeffenMFn TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@emeffen?_t=ZP-8wcfxlyiYaV&_r=1 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/emeffen.mfn?igsh=cTdjcGxjZTMweDMx Courtney’s Links Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecourtneyteasley?igsh=NTVuYnZlamtxeGQ5 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-courtney-teasley/
Transcribe →Visitation Rights Denied
Jan 27, 202500:22:09Tap to summarizeThe podcast episode of Justice Denied explores the personal story of the host, who has been suspended from visiting their incarcerated husband for over a year due to a false accusation. Despite filing an appeal, they were denied and told to appeal again in 12 months, leading to a potential two-year separation. The host highlights the lack of transparency and fairness in the system, as they were never shown the evidence against them and were denied access to test results. They express feelings of helplessness after exhausting all legal and advocacy options in North Carolina, facing constant roadblocks. The episode calls for justice, transparency, and support for families experiencing similar struggles, urging listeners to stand together and fight for change. Contact us at blacklightmassincarceration@gmail.com
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