Dear friends of Tiny Spark,

We know the pace of the holiday season can sometimes feel overwhelming. In the midst of it all, we hope you’ll take time out - whether you’re in the car or in the kitchen - to listen to some of our most recent episodes. 

This month, we’ve been speaking to people who are calling for new approaches to some of our most pressing social challenges. 

First up, Amy reports from her hometown of Austin, Texas to visit a place that is providing permanent (and beautiful!) houses to some of the nation’s 600,000 people who are experiencing homelessness. Find out why this model is attracting national attention and hear from residents about why they think it works. 

We then take you from housing justice to examine a form of injustice that isn’t often named out loud. We look at the ways in which the female body has been subject to misogyny and sexual violence by leading arts institutions. ‘There have been so many important critiques of the nude in art history,’ art curator Macushla Robinson tells us. She’s added her own critique in the form of an upcoming book project. Every Rape at the Met Museum digs into the ways sexual violence has been publicly displayed and even artistically praised in exhibitions and catalogues at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Finally, we move to Washington to learn about new research illuminating ties between lawmakers and the private prison industry. As the federal government pours billions of dollars into private detention facilities, the research shows political donations from these for-profit companies are influencing policymakers to support legislation that criminalizes undocumented immigrants. 

Thanks so much for your ongoing support of our work! And please stay in touch by dropping us a line at [email protected]. 

Warmly,
Amy and Freddie