Wanda's Picks Radio Show

Our first guests look at soiltary confinement through the lens of Sarah Shourd's play The Box, at Z-Space through July 30. Sarah is joined by Jerry Elster, consultant:

Jerry Elster is the Healing Justice Coordinator for American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). He is also a formerly incarcerated person. He has a in forensic psychology. He is pursuing a doctorate in forensic psychology. He has worked in the field of Mentoring, Substance Abuse Counseling, Restorative Justice, and Advocacy. He serves on the advisory board for Oakland & the World, a venture to aid formerly incarcerated people and those facing employment challenges to gain cooperative economic advancement by becoming owners of their own businesses. He is a member of All of Us or None, a movement-led organization that advocates for the rights of prisoners and their families. Jerry's trials have taught him how essential it is for people to speak and be heard in their own voices. He believes that, people without a voice are a people without hope. His goal is for human and civil rights for everyone regardless of origin or prior arrest history: http://www.afsc.org/content/jerry-elster

Sarah Shourd is an author, prisoner rights advocate, Contributing Editor at Solitary Watch, and a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley—currently based in Oakland, California. Sarah was held as a political hostage by the Iranian government from 2009-2010. Sarah was held incommunicado in solitary confinement for 410 days before being released, without a trial or any evidence shown against her, by President Ahmadinejad on “compassionate grounds,” a move designed to ease international pressure against the Iranian government:

We close with a conversation with Chaz Shermil & Kimba Daniels, cast in Katori Hall's Hurt Village, up through Sunday at Ubuntu Theatre Project in Oakland.