“I remember them finding the drugs and holding them up in the sky. And I was like, 'Oh man, I’m going to prison.'” This week’s guest, the writer Mitchell S. Jackson, started selling drugs when he was 14 years old, then went to prison for drug possession years later. When his mother tried to buy drugs from him, he knew he couldn’t run away from his bad decisi ... Show More
Jun 27
Rewind: Location, Location, Location
From our archives—this episode originally aired on April 10th, 2017. Location, location, location. It makes all the difference in real estate, and it can make all the difference to one's happiness. But finding a place that really feels like home can be tricky. Home is where the h ... Show More
35m 48s
Feb 2024
CHE | From Prison to Patriarch
<p class="p1">My guest today is a man who spent 15 years behind bars trying to figure out how to get out of the destructive patterns and habits he had acquired growing up with violence, gangs, and drugs. And, although not all of us have been convicted and segregated from society, ... Show More
52m 17s
Jul 2019
Shaka Senghor Session: Things I Learned in Prison You Can Apply to Your Life
In a live appearance at UCLA’s Royce Hall, author, mentor and criminal justice activist Shaka Senghor uses his powerful story to share the surprising universal life lessons he learned in prison. At the age of 19, Shaka was sent to prison for second-degree murder. After being inca ... Show More
25m 33s
Apr 2022
EP253: Reconciling Dad the Farmer and Dad the Veteran Pilot, How The Civil War Openly Became about Slavery and Why it Took One Man 7 Years to Get His Car Back
On this episode of Our American Stories, Iowa listener Joy Neal Kidney shares her father's story. Our regular contributors Jon Elfner and Dr. Kate Masur, author of "Until Justice Be Done," tell the rest of the story that begins with three runaway enslaved people. Tyson Timbs tell ... Show More
38m 13s
Dec 2023
An author, his cellmate, and a new beginning
When award-winning author Alex Wheatle was sentenced to nine months in prison at the age of 18, he thought his life was over. Alex had been born in London to Jamaican parents, but grew up in care in the notorious Shirley Oaks children’s home. As a teenager, he was convicted of as ... Show More
41m 37s
Apr 2022
Story Time: How Getting Arrested Changed My Life
In today’s episode, Rachel has just returned from the dealership after buying her first car in Sweden. Finally feeling like an adult in her home country, this sparks an epic story where Rachel shares a secret from her teenage years. It involves a scooter, a lot of alcohol, and tw ... Show More
1h 12m
May 2020
E181 From Heroin to Hollywood: The Story of Mike Majlak - IMPAULSIVE EP. 181
In this emotional episode of IMPAULSIVE, we finally pick the brain of our boisterous co-host, Mike Majlak. After a decade of heroin addiction, Mike tells the story of his violent, illegal, and ill-fated past in honor of his book release, “The Fifth Vital,” available now on Amazon ... Show More
1h 45m