The War on Drugs

4.6 (130)
SOCIETY & CULTURE

Welcome to season two of The War on Drugs podcast, co-hosted by comedian Clayton English and Greg Glod, advisor to Stand Together on Criminal Justice and Drug Reform. This season, we’re bringing you real stories from real people—artists, athletes, and influencers like B-Real, Marcus King, Ricky Williams, John Osborne, and many others who lived the impacts of the War on Drugs firsthand. We’ll explore how drug policy isn’t just a political issue—it’s personal. We’ll talk about pain management, mental health, overcoming addiction, entrepreneurship, and the fight for personal freedom. The War on Drugs isn’t over. And the stories we share this season prove it.

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In Season 1 of Bone Valley, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King tells a story of a man, Leo Schofield, fighting to prove his innocence in the case of his wife Michelle’s murder. In Season 2, “JEREMY” Gilbert King brings us a story about her actual killer, Jeremy Scott, fighting to prove his guilt. The State of Florida does not believe either man. Bone Valley Season 3 | GRAVES COUNTY is a new story about a new case. Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the hosts of Lava For Good’s Wrongful Conviction, takes us to a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, where a terrible discovery on the front lawn of a middle school invites a string of amateur and professional investigators to try to solve a murder. Bone Valley Season 4 | EARWITNESS chronicles the case of Toforest Jonhson. In 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was murdered behind a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. Toforest Johnson was four miles away at the time and no physical evidence linked him to the crime. But he has been on Death Row for 25 years. From the team behind Bone Valley, Lava for Good’s 8-episode docuseries Earwitness follows journalist Beth Shelburne’s dogged investigation into a story filled with disturbing twists and shocking admissions, leading her to ask – and answer - this vexing question: “How did an innocent man end up on Alabama’s death row - and why is he still there, when even the prosecutor who put him there says he should get a new trial?” Bone Valley is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

4.9 (4870)

TRUE CRIME
Hosted by celebrated criminal justice reform advocate and founding board member of the Innocence Project Jason Flom, Pulitzer prize-winning podcast host and producer Maggie Freleng, and Emmy Award-winning writer, producer and podcast host Lauren Bright Pacheco, Wrongful Conviction features intimate conversations with men and women who have spent years in prison for crimes they maintain they did not commit. Some have been fully exonerated and reunited with family and friends while others continue to languish, with some even facing execution on death row. Each episode peels back the layers behind the stories of those who have found themselves caught in a legal system gone wrong, with illuminating insights from lawyers and leading experts sharing their in-depth knowledge about each case, from prison visits and courtroom battles to reexamined crime scenes and witness interviews. This gripping series reveals the tragedy of injustice…as well as the triumph that is possible when people step up and demand change.

4.4 (5549)

TRUE CRIME
One July night in 1995, Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy was shot behind the Crown Sterling Suites hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. At the same time as the murder, at least ten people saw Toforest Johnson four miles away, at a popular nightclub called Tee's Place. But detectives zeroed in on him as a main suspect in Deputy Hardy’s murder anyway, ultimately resulting in Toforest being tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. For over a quarter century, Toforest has been confined to a 5’ by 8’ cell on Alabama’s death row. In 2019, investigative journalist Beth Shelburne began covering the case, going down a disturbing rabbit hole revealing many unsettling facts that cast grave doubts about Toforest’s guilt. The facts she found tear at the very foundation of the American criminal justice system: No eyewitnesses or physical evidence tied Toforest to the murder; the state tried to convict a different man for the same crime; and perhaps most disturbing of all, Toforest’s conviction relied on an ‘earwitness’ – a woman who claimed to have eavesdropped on an incriminating phone call, a woman whom prosecutors paid for her testimony, in secret. That payment was not disclosed to the jury, Toforest, or his lawyers until after he had been on death row for 17 years. From the team behind the award-winning hit podcast Bone Valley, Lava for Good’s Earwitness is an 8-episode docuseries that asks the question, “How did an innocent man end up on death row — and why is the state still trying to execute him over the objection of the prosecutor who put him there?” Shelburne’s unprecedented access to key players—the lead detective, lead prosecutor, witnesses, jurors, and the earwitness herself— illuminate a story filled with disturbing twists, frustrating ambiguities, and shocking admissions. The story of Toforest Johnson and the state's enthusiasm for the death penalty in the face of such troubling evidentiary flaws brings to light the failings of a criminal justice system run amok. Earwitness is available every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. To hear episodes 1 week early and ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good+ on Apple Podcasts.

4.8 (427)

TRUE CRIME
Twenty-two-year-old Elma Sands is found murdered in a Manhattan well on January 2nd, 1800. Her lover, wealthy and well-connected Levi Weeks, is accused of the barbaric offense. Weeks brings in the nation’s best legal defense team – none other than Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr – to clear his name while a pandemic-stricken New York City buzzes with scandal. This six-episode true story unfolds over the unbelievable two-day trial that laid the sexist roots of today’s justice system. Through flashbacks & testimony recreated in modernized language and narrated by Allison Flom, Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands investigates history’s chronic erasure of women and highlights the toils of Catherine Ring, a 27-year-old Quaker woman who took on the nation’s best legal team to preserve her cousin Elma’s name. Starring & Executive Produced by Allison Williams ("Get Out", "Girls") as Catherine Ring, Tony Goldwyn ("Scandal," "Ghost") as Alexander Hamilton, Barry Scheck (Innocence Project Founder) as Aaron Burr, and Jason Flom (Wrongful Conviction) as Judge John Lansing. Created & Narrated by Allison Flom. Erased: The Murder of Elma Sands is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

3.9 (209)

HISTORY
Absolute, Season 1: Taser Incorporated is at once a tale as old as time - a true believer learns the hard way that the costs of lofty ambition and hubris just might outweigh even the most optimistic upside - and a thoroughly modern story of technology overtaking the very people it is meant to serve. In this case: the ubiquitous electric gun carried by cops everywhere and inspiring comedic shenanigans in movies like The Hangover. Host and documentarian Nick Berardini has been obsessed with this story for his entire adult life. With Absolute, Season 1: Taser Incorporated , he left no stone unturned. Taser, Inc., now known as Axon, the 800-pound gorilla in the paramilitary police equipment industry, is led by its charismatic CEO and co-founder, Rick Smith. Fueled by a self-described religious dedication, Smith’s Star Trek obsession, and an ambitious vision of a world without gun violence, Rick leads Taser, Inc. to be the key tech supplier to virtually every police force in America. But as stories of alleged misuse, deaths, and serious injuries from Tasers begin to emerge, Taser, Inc. and Rick arrive at a crossroads between Rick’s vision and reality, with cops and the citizens they are sworn to serve and protect paying the price. Absolute, Season 1: Taser Incorporated is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1

4.6 (66)

SOCIETY & CULTURE
Righteous Convictions features music executive, philanthropist, and activist Jason Flom in conversation with a diverse who's-who of advocates at the forefront of critical issues that will impact our future. Guests include Sir Richard Branson, Ashley Judd, Senator Dick Durbin, Sister Helen Prejean, Seth Godin, Congressman James Clyburn, and many more. His discussions with these thought leaders and change-makers uncover and inspire the most powerful actions we can take for reform, equal justice, and a better world for all.

3.9 (48)

SOCIETY & CULTURE

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4.6

out of 5

130 Ratings

Thank you

04/19/2025

Laura B.1235

I get excited when I find podcasts that are not afraid to talk about psychedelics. 30 years of pharmaceutical meds for depression are not working. But the chance to try something that will. Life changing.
Finally!

03/18/2025

Ilovethisgame1999

Finally someone is talking about how ridiculous it is that marijuana is on a narcotics schedule claiming it is more dangerous than heroin. Thank you for sharing how cannabis works to help with many illnesses and pain relief!
Great Listen

02/13/2025

TRB1986

This is a podcast I’ve been waiting for! Got the recommendation from watching Clayton’s “English Major” show. I’ve been binging on it since then! Thanks for speaking up and constantly fighting to educate society on what truly is The War on Drugs.
Bitter Irony

06/26/2023

j_a_x_

It’s not lost on me that I’m listening to stories about people given insanely long sentences for cannabis while I’m smoking legally obtained cannabis. Lots of fantastic information in here, highly recommend for anyone as a primer on why the war on drugs is so dangerous.

Welcome to season two of The War on Drugs podcast, co-hosted by comedian Clayton English and Greg Glod, advisor to Stand Together on Criminal Justice and Drug Reform. This season, we’re bringing you real stories from real people—artists, athletes, and influencers like B-Real, Marcus King, Ricky Williams, John Osborne, and many others who lived the impacts of the War on Drugs firsthand. We’ll explore how drug policy isn’t just a political issue—it’s personal. We’ll talk about pain management, mental health, overcoming addiction, entrepreneurship, and the fight for personal freedom. The War on Drugs isn’t over. And the stories we share this season prove it.

Channel

Lava for Good+
Creator

Lava for Good Podcasts
Years Active

2023 - 2025
Episodes

36
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

2026 Lava Productions, LLC © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from Lava.
Show Website

The War on Drugs
Provider

Lava Productions, LLC