Reagan with the Snap New subscribers: We’re on episode 5 of a multiepisode series called American Rehab. If you haven’t listened yet, catch up here. Luke Austin, a wannabe country singer, had founded the work-based rehab Cenikor while incarcerated in Colorado. As we revealed in last week’s episode, the program’s success helped to obscure Austin’s shady past. But as the years passed, he began funneling away Cenikor money for his own personal projects, taking increasingly violent steps to maintain his grip on power. The organization’s reputation suffered, and it started running out of funds. Ken Barun, a longtime participant, began devising ways to save Cenikor. In the past, participants had been put to work on mostly small jobs, such as landscaping and operating a gas station. Barun dreamed bigger, sending residents to construction sites, a door factory and even the Houston Astrodome. Then, in the late 1970s, Barun caught a break: An inventor named Byron Donzis perfected a set of football pads he called a “flak jacket.” He’d even convinced Houston Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini to wear it during games. But he didn’t have the means to mass produce the gear – that is, not until Barun approached him offering access to a free labor force. Before long, Cenikor participants were cranking out flak jackets for 28 NFL teams and 800 college programs. The program expanded from there, pulling in major donations from companies such as Shell and Boeing. It eventually caught the attention of President Ronald Reagan, who praised Cenikor during his reelection campaign in 1983. “In all the years that Cenikor has been in business, rehabilitating lives, we have found that nothing works as well as work itself,” Reagan said. “And work, work is therapy. You feel better about yourself when you have something productive to do.” Soon, the Reagan administration’s harsh war on drugs crackdown helped create a prison-to-rehab pipeline that benefited Cenikor even further. Today, about half of Cenikor’s participants are court-ordered there. One Texas judge told reporter Shoshana Walter that he’d sent more than 200 people to the facility during his tenure. Hear the episode. ‘A lot of us feel like we are living in a state of tyranny.’ In this week’s installment of In/Vulnerable, our ongoing comic series with The Nib investigating inequity during the pandemic, an anti-lockdown protester in North Carolina explains why he thinks attempts to stop COVID-19 have been more devastating than the disease itself. Jamison Williams was working for a water filtration company when public health restrictions shut down the company. He said the move left him and his colleagues “without any income whatsoever.” He began protesting every Tuesday. “My personal mission would be to continue to hold these politicians accountable to make sure that this never happens again,” he said. “I’m under the belief that if they’ve violated our rights once, they will continue to do so.” What we’re reading In defense of our teachers – The Atlantic When it comes to the daunting – and ever more politicized – question of reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, the worry for our children’s well-being is paramount. Yet teachers are also confronted with a whole new set of dilemmas that most people would not consider. Some West Virginia kids go hungry as state touts summer feeding plan – Mountain State Spotlight When Gov. Jim Justice mandated that schools close in March, schools and nonprofits jumped into action to make sure food was available to kids. School lots turned into drive-in feeding sites, bus drivers dropped off meal boxes to kids hidden in hollers, and the National Guard assisted in food handouts. State officials said they served a million meals to students in one month. … Then summer arrived, and the number of food sites shrank. A plasma shot could prevent coronavirus, but feds and makers won’t act, scientists say – Los Angeles Times The two scientists who spearheaded the proposal – an 83-year-old shingles researcher and his counterpart, an HIV gene therapy expert – have garnered widespread support from leading blood and immunology specialists, including those at the center of the nation’s COVID-19 plasma research. … But the idea exists only on paper. Federal officials have twice rejected requests to discuss the proposal, and pharmaceutical companies – even acknowledging the likely efficacy of the plan – have declined to design or manufacture the shots, according to a Times investigation. They agreed to meet their mother’s killer. Then tragedy struck again – The Marshall Project A Florida family opted for restorative justice over the death penalty for the man who murdered their mom. What happened next made them question the very meaning of justice. Essential and unprotected - PBS Frontline  They’ve been keeping America fed throughout the pandemic – and they say they’ve had to choose between their health and their jobs. For the essential agriculture workers who pick and process the food we eat, many of them undocumented immigrants, COVID-19 is amplifying existing challenges.

This email was sent to [email protected] why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences The Center for Investigative Reporting · 1400 65th St., Suite 200 · Emeryville, CA 94608 · USA