Unlocking Change

Colorado Radio for Justice

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SOCIETY & CULTURE

UNLOCKING CHANGE is a production of Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). It's an in-depth conversation between CRJ's system-impacted hosts and reporters with leading voices in the criminal-legal space. What is “justice”? What is “freedom”? How might these aspirations become real in our communities & across our culture? www.radioforjustice.org

JAN 16

Representative Javier Mabrey: We Gotta Fight

As the 2026 Legislative Session of the Colorado General Assembly kicks off, UNLOCKING CHANGE brings a conversation with Javier Mabrey (D), State Representative for House District 1 as well as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) host Herbert Alexander invites Mabrey to share his journey from childhood poverty into legal practice and state politics, and his perspectives and hopes for reforming long sentencing, cash bail, and the larger economic systems that sustain inequality in the U.S. UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org COLORADO RADIO FOR JUSTICEhttps://www.radioforjustice.org/ Instagram // radio4justice Facebook // radioforjustice LinkedIn // radioforjustice Bluesky // https://bsky.app/profile/radioforjustice.bsky.socialX (formerly Twitter) // https://x.com/home 00:00 Unlocking Change Introduction01:53 Introduction To Javier Mabrey02:47 The Legal System Works as Well as Intended03:28 US Prison Population and Criminalizing Poverty 05:01 Pretrial Sentencing05:49 Personal View of Poverty in Our Systems06:53 The Path to Reforming The Criminal Legal System08:56 More Likely to Recidivate09:35 The Habitual Law and Its Effects10:29 White Collar Crime Disparity12:15 Who Belongs in Prison?13:35 Vote for Community Safety15:01 How Is Incarceration Discussed in The Government?16:03 Having Hope for Incarcerated Individuals17:38 The Ebb and Flow of Progress18:40 What Does the Upcoming Legislative Session Hold?22:45 What Does Utopia Look Like (Where will The Billionaires Be?)

28 min
11/07/2025

Emma Mclean-Riggs, Part 2: Faith in the Collective

It's Part 2 of a two-part conversation with Emma Mclean-Riggs, Senior Staff Attorney from the ACLU of Colorado, who sits down with Colorado Radio for Justice hosts Tiffany McCoy and Trevor Jones. Emma examines the criminalization of poverty and homelessness in Colorado communities; the ACLU's work of not just improving incarcerated people's lives inside facilities, but striving to liberate them; and an exploration of what exactly "civil liberties" themselves are. Emma highlights the value of media led by lived-experience producers, and she articulates her vision for a more just future that relies on each and every one of us. UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org 00:00 Introduction - Camping bans / blanket bans in Boulder09:14 What motivates Emma?09:14 Emma's life journey into law15:08 Colorado incarceration liberatory work17:11 What are 'civil liberties'? 18:25 ACLU's history, values, intersectionality20:58 Support ACLU / Get involved23:21 Vision for future?

29 min
10/03/2025

Emma Mclean-Riggs, Part 1: Immigration, The Constitution, & Determination

Join Colorado Radio for Justice hosts Tiffany McCoy and Trevor Jones as they dive into a critical conversation with Emma Mclean-Riggs, Senior Staff Attorney from the ACLU of Colorado. Emma discusses the alarming escalations in ICE detention expansions, unlawful deportations by the Trump Administration under the Alien Enemies Act, and the challenges faced by Venezuelan immigrants in Colorado and beyond. Mclean-Riggs shares the ACLU of Colorado's multi-faceted approach to defending civil liberties in today's shifting political climate, from litigation and policy advocacy to community organizing. And she shares what fuels her relentless fight for justice and the constitutional principles at stake: the human beings whose lives and futures are on the line. UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org 00:00 Introduction 01:57 Meet Emma Mclean-Riggs and the ACLU of Colorado 03:12 ICE: A Pressing Concern 06:59 DBU v. Trump, ACLU of Colorado's Lawsuit 25:25 What Motivates & Sustains Emma in Her Work 27:15 Why Call Prisons "Cages"? 32:31 Children & Trauma from Family Separation

38 min
08/01/2025

Kristen Nelson Part 2: Humanity & Purpose

UNLOCKING CHANGE this month features Part 2 of a two-part conversation with Kristen Nelson, Executive Director of the Spero Justice Center, hosted by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) hosts JoyBelle Phelan and Michael Clifton. Michael shares his journey through the Colorado Department of Corrections and the crime and sentence that brought him there, as a way of examining with the Kristen the current and future possibilities for mitigation, accountability, and sentence reductions. JoyBelle reflects on her work as a Community Corrections board member, inviting Kristen's insights on structural challenges to repairing victim impacts. Finally, our hosts invite Kristen to look into a crystal ball, to articulate possible futures for systems change. UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

30 min
07/04/2025

Kristen Nelson, Part 1: Hope Is Essential

UNLOCKING CHANGE this month features Part 1 of a two-part conversation between Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) hosts JoyBelle Phelan and Michael Clifton and Kristen Nelson, Executive Director of the Spero Justice Center. Kristen shares her journey from working on death penalty cases to founding Spero, whose mission is to end mass incarceration in Colorado by addressing long sentences. Michael and JoyBelle reflect on their own journeys through the prison system, and the trio reflects on the importance of hope in the ongoing fight for a more humane and just legal system. UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

26 min
06/06/2025

Christie Donner: Evolution & Authenticity

UNLOCKING CHANGE this month features Christie Donner, Executive Director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. CRJ hosts JoyBelle Phelan and Ryan Conarro invite Christie to dive into nothing less than the full history of mass incarceration and Colorado… and to share how she insists on hope and authenticity in her decades-long efforts to effect a more humane criminal-legal system. UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

30 min
05/02/2025

Rebecca Wallace: Until They're All Free

UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). This kick-off episode features Rebecca Wallace, Policy Director of the Colorado Freedom Fund. In a conversation with CRJ hosts Tiffany McCoy and Ryan Conarro, Rebecca articulates the importance of supporting the most vulnerable in the criminal legal system; the need to address public health needs over relying on incarceration; and visions for a world in which everyone can be healthy, safe, and free. Visit https://www.coloradofreedomfund.org/ for more on Rebecca's work and her organization. www.radioforjustice.org

30 min

7 Episodes

UNLOCKING CHANGE is a production of Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). It's an in-depth conversation between CRJ's system-impacted hosts and reporters with leading voices in the criminal-legal space. What is “justice”? What is “freedom”? How might these aspirations become real in our communities & across our culture? www.radioforjustice.org

Creator

Colorado Radio for Justice
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

7
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2025 Colorado Radio for Justice
Show Website

Unlocking Change