05. Before the Miracle Happens

Female Announcer: Just so you know, this episode includes a brief mention of drug use and fatal overdose. And a couple of swear words.

[Music: Slightly melancholy hip-hop beat (“Deadlines” by Dylan Sitts)]

Speech Thomas [VO]: It’s been seven years since I left the Richmond City Jail.

Back in 2017, I spent two weeks recording music with the men in the REAL program — watching them try to change the course of their lives.

I remember leaving the jail, the feeling of walking out through those thick metal doors one last time.

And even though I felt proud, I still didn’t know: How would Devonte and Anthony do on the outside? Would Garland and Kelly stay together? What happened to Teddy?

As I helped to finish the album that we came together to produce and I tried my best to keep in touch with everyone, I felt this tension… 

Between the hope that I heard in their songs… and the uncertainty surrounding their future.

Where did they end up? Did the time we spent together make a difference?

And what can this whole experience show us about rebuilding a life after incarceration?

[Music: Slightly melancholy hip-hop beat ends]

[Music: Theme music plays, consisting of a choir of men snapping and humming with a hip-hop beat underneath their voices]

Speech: From Narratively and VPM, this is Track Change. I’m Speech Thomas, a musician and part of the hip-hop collective Arrested Development.

Currently, nearly two million people are locked behind bars in the United States.

Garland Carr (singing theme): Concrete barriers, cold and gray

Speech: This season, we’ve followed four men who were incarcerated at the Richmond City Jail and volunteered to be in the REAL program — that’s “Recovery from Everyday Addictive Lifestyles.”

Garland: Good Lord, carry my soul away

Speech: REAL’s goal was to give people inside the jail a community to help them manage addiction and resources to help them stay free after their release.

Some of these men were also musicians. So together, we recorded an album to chronicle their lives as they tried to break free of the cycle that trapped them.

Garland: Rage and pain, bearing down on me

Been so long since I’ve been free

[Music: Theme music ends]

—

[Sounds of women’s voices chatting]

Sarah Scarbrough: So we are at one of our women’s houses. Um, in all, it holds 10 ladies.  Some have been here for several months, some have been here for two days.

Speech: Today, instead of inside the Richmond City Jail, Sarah Scarbrough’s working with folks on the outside.

Not long after I left, a change of leadership at the jail made her feel uncertain about the REAL program’s future. So she moved the non-profit into the communities of Richmond.

Sarah took what she learned from working with folks on the inside to help the people coming out of jails and prisons with transitional housing.

Sarah: Folks were getting out of the REAL program in the Richmond jail and they were struggling.

Sometimes that would lead to them using, sometimes it would lead to reincarceration, and other times it would just lead to them not being as successful as they could be.

Speech: She changed the name from REAL, to REAL LIFE. Her team went from running one house in 2017, to running twelve in 2024, with one-hundred and thirty-one beds.

Sarah: So much of their life, they’ve not felt safe. They’ve lived in places that are really not fit for habitation, and so we want to kind of change that, and let them see that they’re worthy of having a nice place to live.

Speech: And REAL LIFE has plans to turn a spare room in one of their houses into a music studio.

[Music: Devonte plays the opening chords to “Broken Chains” in the REAL program studio on an acoustic guitar]

Because Sarah and her team…they understand that music is a key outlet for the people in the houses as they heal.

Devonte James: [singing] More love

More love, man

The world counted me out

Thinking I’m just another Black man 

looking for yet another handout 

I’mma prove ’em wrong 

and succeed 

The power lies in me

to be what my son needs me to be 

as a father…

[Music: Devonte’s guitar playing fades out and the sound of Devonte humming his background vocals can be heard under Speech’s narration]

Speech: Remember Devonte James? In June 2017, after he was released from the Richmond City Jail, Devonte went straight to the REAL House when Sarah was just starting to build out this whole vision.

He had a job, a place to live, and had made a commitment to keep up with the program.

Sarah: Devonte did well when he first came in, and was all-in. He was ready. He was engaged…

But then, I think some of the complacency and arrogance set in. 

I remember we were standing in the living room of the house and he told me he was thinking about leaving. And he said, “What do you think?” 

And I told him. I said, “I think it’s a terrible idea. You are not ready. And you are going to fall on your face.” 

And he said, “No, I don’t think so. I think, I think I’ve got it. I’m going to be fine. I had the program in the jail,” and…

He was really adamant in believing and thinking that he was ready, he was good, he was going to remain sober, and ultimately decided to leave the house.

Speech: Devonte said that he knew it took a lot of dedication to commit to recovery, but at the same time he was just tired.

And after leaving jail, being in the REAL house, and still having to keep up with the program’s rules, and meetings, and curfews… it just didn’t feel like freedom to him.

Devonte: In the program, while I was incarcerated, that’s all we did was meetings, pretty much from like…7 to 7, or 8 to 7, or something like that.

I mean, that’s a lot of meetings, you know?

I just felt like I had no time to live my life, so…I made a choice to leave.

Speech: After he left REAL, Devonte moved back into his mother’s house.

Before long, he started selling, and then he started using again.

Devonte: When I left the program, I left everything that I gained in the program as well. Looking back at things, like, that was a big mistake for me.

[Music: Slow hip-hop tune with a nostalgic acoustic guitar hook (“Jelly Bean” by Dylan Sitts)]

Speech: The next year, 2018, Devonte got pulled over with drugs in his car. He was sentenced to 5 and a half years.

He was released early, in 2022. But a few months later, a close friend of his died from an overdose. And being crushed from that loss, Devonte overdosed himself, and he nearly died too.

It was a really bad year for him. His mom also relapsed, and by 2023, the two of them ended up in the same jail, at the same time.

After getting out, Devonte went back to a REAL LIFE house. He said that both he and his mom were sober, and this time, he was going to see the program through. 

Devonte: So, now…she’s clean, I’m clean…It’s never been like that for me.

And hopefully we can, we can get it right this time, you know? Now feels like the moment.

I’m older, more mature, I’ve been through a lot…and I’ve seen the negative side of life, and what the streets had to offer, but I have yet to see the positive side.

[Music: Slow hip-hop tune ends]

—

Speech: Someone else who also struggled after getting out was Anthony Johnston.

Anthony Johnston: [Rapping acapella in the studio] Yeah, I’m from the dungeon

where things happen for no reason

people getting high as ever and OD’in  

they overseeing their own demons

and then they start crying when their lungs start breathing 

our mind’s bleeding

it’s time to get it right 

we might leave this clip tonight

people start talking about God, that’s like our kryptonite…

[Sounds of Anthony rapping fade out under Speech’s narration] 

Speech: Back in 2017, Anthony and Devonte were both moving into the REAL house at the same time.

But they weren’t facing the same challenges. For starters, Anthony had never completed the REAL Program in the jail.

He didn’t have the same emotional or behavioral tools in his belt. He hadn’t done work-release like Devonte had either, so he didn’t have a job ready for him when he came out.

And Devonte told us that when it came to the area where the REAL House was located…

Devonte: Anthony…he grew up in that, that area. So like he knew people there, there was, there was like a corner store right behind the house, right?

And in the alley, that’s pretty much like the drug spot, where everybody get high, get drunk.

So, just walking to the store was a challenge for him.

Speech: Anthony didn’t have anyone outside of the house to support him.

He didn’t have money, and those pressures took a toll on him.

Devonte: I don’t know, when he got out, he was just, like, off to the races, like…he went and got drunk, you know… 

And, like, he didn’t know, but he was influencing me too.

[Music: Wistful, shimmering keyboard melody over a shuffling hip-hop beat (“Put It Down” by Amber Spill)] 

Speech: Anthony ended up getting kicked out of the house.

Sarah would hear updates, and rumors, from other people when they saw him here and there. That he was homeless for a while, and asking for money in barbershops.

Anthony ended up getting arrested in 2021 for probation violations and new criminal charges.

Speech: Now, he’s serving time in a Virginia prison until 2029.

Devonte: He, he wasn’t ready.

We was, we was just too young. And stubborn.

Speech: About a month after we spoke to Devonte, we learned that he was also kicked out of REAL LIFE for missing mandatory meetings, not communicating with the staff about where he was going, and disobeying the rules.

But when we caught up with Devonte on the phone, he said the reason he was missing group meetings was to find a job.

In fact, he was offered a full-time job the day after he left the house. 

The last time we caught up with him, he was living with his grandmother working as an electrician, and looking to join another recovery program.

He told us he was still determined to stay sober, to surround himself with people who could keep him on that path.

And to keep on making music.

[Music: Wistful keyboard melody ends]

Devonte: [Singing while playing an arpeggiated chord progression on his acoustic guitar]

You don’t know 

Where I’ve been 

All this hurt

Pain within

You don’t know

You don’t know 

Where I’ve been

No you don’t

No you don’t 

[Switchings to rapping while still playing guitar]

I’ve been through so much hurt

When my love was shamed 

Trying to shoot for this sky 

but the demons inside me 

they distorted my aim

Then I found drugs 

and knew my life would never, ever be the same

Drowning all my pain and sorrow

Look…

Drowning all my pain and sorrow in a bottomless bottle

Who the fuck cares about tomorrow 

if you gotta beg and borrow? 

So many trials and tribulations 

still I overcame

Lost my daddy then my mom

and drugs can’t mask the pain

You don’t know

You don’t know

You don’t know

You don’t know

Where I’ve been

All this hurt

Pain within

You don’t know

You don’t know

Where I’ve been

No you don’t, no you don’t…

[Devonte stops singing and playing]

—

Garland: [Singing acapella]

Freedom wind 

Blow me away

I don’t feel so free today

And I know that

it won’t be long 

til I sail again

I’m just still waiting on your freedom wind

[Music: Warm, soulful, clean electric guitar instrumental (“Empty Bottle Blues” by Will Harrison)]

Speech: Back in 2017, Garland Carr was sentenced to more than seven years in a state prison.

Sarah remembers that after he got the news, Garland was terrified, mostly because that meant leaving the Richmond City Jail and the REAL program.

Sarah: He would say, “If I go, I am scared of this happening again. I am scared of being exposed to the drugs. I am scared of getting hooked on them again.”

And, we would talk a lot about, “well, what can you do if you’re faced with that?” and “remember this part of your 12 steps, or remember this part of the curriculum.”

But ultimately he would just say, you know, “Sarah, if everybody is using drugs, I’m an addict. I can only stay away for so long.”

Speech: At the time, Garland’s girlfriend Kelly said that if he started using again she would absolutely walk away.

And today? She’s not his girlfriend anymore.

[Music: Guitar stops playing on an ascending, hopeful note]

Instead…she’s his wife.

Kelly Carr: True story. [Laughs]

Speech: Kelly says that after he was sentenced, he wrote a song just for her. And the moment she heard it she just knew they would get married.

Of course, with Garland still in prison, it hasn’t been a traditional marriage, and neither was the proposal. Kelly says Garland’s mother gave her a small box…

Kelly: And she was like, “Don’t look in there.” Obviously I knew what it was. So, I went to go see him in prison the next day.

In the visiting room, he got down on one knee. [Laughs]

And like they yelled at him to get up because you’re, you know, they watch everything you do pretty much when you’re in there.

Um, and he like did his little proposal. I don’t even know what he said because I was just like, “Please God, sit in your seat before, you know, they kick us out of here.”

And I had to open it up, and I put it on my finger…

Speech: The two got married in prison on July 11, 2019. 

Kelly: I mean, we got to sit beside each other, and there wasn’t a correctional officer staring at us, but um…

We didn’t get to like, dance or, or do anything like that.

I think we like shared an Oreo as our wedding cake. [Laughs]

Speech: Marriage didn’t make life for the two of them any easier. Instead, the last few years have been incredibly hard on their relationship.

[Music: Clean electric guitar returns with a more angelic sounding chord progression]

In six years, Garland has been in four different prisons, sometimes in locations far from Kelly’s home. During the pandemic, they didn’t get to see each other at all for nearly a year and a half. 

And to make matters worse, Garland’s been punished numerous times for breaking prison rules. He’s lost his visitations with Kelly, and even regular access to phone calls.

Kelly says that when they are in contact, Garland talks about dreams. He’s talking about where he wants to work, where he wants to live, and he still wants to pursue music, wholeheartedly.

Kelly: Oh, he, he has…hundreds and hundreds of songs.

Speech: So they’ve started planning out his future career together as husband and wife. 

[Music: Warm, soulful guitar playing ends]

Kelly: We’ve talked a lot about how a lot of people have been able to break through, through, like, Instagram or Tiktok, or things like that.

You know, some people might — [laughing] when they’re going through Instagram, um, they’re going to be like, “Who is this this buff convict?”

I mean, he’s a stunning man. He’s six three, you know, fully tattooed. He’s going to catch a lot of people’s attention, I think that’s going to be his break.

[Music: Garland plays “Coming Home,” a.k.a. “Kelly’s Song,” on an acoustic guitar]

Speech: Garland’s scheduled to be released from prison in the Fall of 2024.

He and Kelly think that it’s not safe for him to be in a home with other people who are still  struggling with addiction. So, when he gets out he’s moving in with her.

Kelly: Of course it’s going to be a totally different dynamic, you know, we’re going to have to get adjusted to living together, and with my son being there, and us being like a, you know, a family.

It’s definitely going to be, have its like obstacles and challenges, but…

We’ve waited this long. I think that we need to give it a go.

Garland: [Singing while playing guitar]

I wanna make you mine forever, 

but I can’t buy you a ring 

and I can write a thousand love songs, 

but you couldn’t hear me sing

I wanna rock you in the darkness

and hear you whisper something sweet

I want to rise and stand behind you

And feel you quiver in our heat

So many nights I needed saving, 

seemed to try to no avail

Of all the times that I was sinking

and there were times you made me sail

You gotta know that all the hard times

I won’t let em be for nought

Cause I would gladly give it to you

All the little bit I’ve got

So baby, look out your window

And we can share the moon

Cause I know I’ll always love you

And I’ll be coming home soon

I’ll be coming home soon

[Music: Garland’s singing and acoustic guitar ends]

—

Speech: And now I want to get back to where this story all started: with Teddy Jackson.

Teddy “Kane” Jackson: [Rapping acapella in the studio]

I wrote this to inspire if you tired of the lying

and the bias and the violence

got to stand on top of that giant 

like King David and Goliath…

Speech: The last we heard of Teddy, he was nowhere to be found. His mom, Loretta, had called Sarah, and she was frantic.

Loretta Jackson-Simmons: [over the phone] And I, I just, I don’t know. He went out and he got, I think he got high. 

This is just bewildering to me, because I just don’t know what that trigger was. I’m just at a loss. 

Sarah: I would not give up calling him because you never know when he might pick up, you know? 

Loretta: Okay. And if I can reach him what do I say?

Sarah: Ask him what he is willing to do.

[Music: Slightly tense, gritty hip-hop beat (“Trilla” by Amber Spill)]

Speech: When Loretta did eventually find Teddy, she ended up taking him to a psychiatric facility. And after he got out of there, Teddy found it hard to live in Richmond.

He felt that his past gang affiliation made it unsafe, and knowing the area, it was just too hard for him to stay sober there.

And so he left and he went to Miami, where he entered another inpatient program. But after he left the facility there, he struggled and ended up living on the street.

[Music: Gritty hip-hop beat echoes and stops]

Teddy: This is, uh…the homeless edition of “Cribs.”

Yeah, this is [laughs] — I’m just joking. Nah, it’s not a laughing matter, man, but this is where I’m living at right now. Everything I own is under that blanket.

A lot of my stuff gets stolen a lot because I have to leave it there. Um…

I don’t really — it’s it’s it’s tearing me up even looking at it, like coming from, you know, a roof over my head, man, food and, you know, love and family, to this… and by myself?

It’s…it is like, extremely… [sighs]

I guess depressing, that’s the only way I can say it.

[Music: Gritty hip-hop beat returns]

Speech: Now originally, before there was a podcast — this podcast — Teddy, myself, and the other guys were part of a documentary film called 16 Bars.

In 2018, the film had its first screening in California. And we decided to bring Teddy there — all the way to the other side of the country — so he could see it for himself.

During the Q&A after the showing, he explained to the audience why he chose to sleep on the street in Miami and not at the nearby shelter.

[Music: Gritty hip-hop beat ends]

Teddy: I know a lot of people like, “Well, what are you, an idiot? Why don’t you go in there?”

Well, they’re inside of there, smoking crack. Shooting heroin. Sneaking prostitutes in.

I can’t control who comes through those doors. But I can control where I go if I lay on that sidewalk.

[Sounds of audience applauding]

And to me, I have a peace of mind that I wouldn’t have in there.

[Music: Soul-inflected tune with sharp staccato chords and a hard, driving drum beat (“Different Type of Vibe” by Matt Large)]

Speech: Teddy bounced around a bit, before ultimately deciding to stay in San Francisco. That’s where he’s been for the past three years. 

We spoke with his mom, Loretta, and she says that while he doesn’t have a stable address, he actually is the most stable he’s ever been.

Loretta: He’s had a lot of demons that he’s had to fight. I think it’s changed in a sense that he’s gained some wisdom. He’s more at peace with himself now. 

He’s grown, he’s not the same person, he still has his struggles…but just from my conversations with him, he’s trying to figure out life on his own terms.

Speech: About once a month, Loretta catches up with Teddy on the phone.

Loretta: We’ll just have random conversations. Last week I said, “So what did you learn new about yourself today?”

He said that, “If I listen to God talking to me, then I have a beautiful day.”

Speech: Loretta says that back in 2017, she was constantly in a state of anxiety about Teddy — especially because there wasn’t much she could do to help him. So she started working with Sarah at REAL LIFE to help people dealing with substance use disorders.

[Music: Soul-inflicted tune ends with hopeful notes played on keyboard]

Loretta: Sometimes when I pass by a group of homeless people – it’s like, damn, does Teddy look like that? Does he smell like that? Is he eating out of a trash can like that?

And I get overwhelmed and…in order to not let it consume me, I’m compelled that I have to do something. 

I have to redirect that and help somebody else…I have to extend that to somebody else’s child.

Speech: Teddy has bipolar disorder, he’s clinically depressed, and he has PTSD.

Loretta says that since leaving prison, he’s been to five different treatment centers, and seven psychiatric units.

Sometimes, when he was feeling overwhelmed or homesick, he would check himself into a hospital on his own.

But she says it’s now been a couple of years since he’s been in the hospital. And he tells her that he isn’t doing hard drugs. Now, she only wishes he had a more secure living situation.

Loretta: I always try to encourage him to, can you at least get somewhere where I can mail you something?

And his response is, “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m fine. It’s not like you think. I don’t have an address that I feel comfortable with you sending stuff to, but I’m not on the street like that, either.”

And if he’s comfortable, if he feels safe and he tells me not to worry, he’s not in distress, then, in order for my own emotional and mental survival, I just go with that.

[Music: Laid-back, G-funk-style hip-hop beat with soulful guitar lines (“By the Palms” by Gregory David)]

Speech: Ask Sarah, and she’ll tell you that addiction does not discriminate. It plagues people of all stripes, and once it’s taken its hold, the hurdles to overcoming it can feel insurmountable. 

She says that Teddy’s story, and Garland’s, and Anthony’s and Devonte’s — they’re all examples of how substance use disorder is so unrelenting. 

Sarah: Research shows us that people are going to try, like actually try, at recovery seven times before it sticks. 

And while not everyone makes it — there are so many that do, and so providing opportunities, providing support, and not stigmatizing the disease, um, I think would be some of the biggest pieces for folks to take away.

Speech: So whenever Sarah feels that someone at REAL LIFE isn’t breaking through, and starts to question how effective she can be, she reminds herself:

[Music: Laid back hip-hop beat ends]

Sarah: You know, something that is said in recovery often is don’t give up five minutes before the miracle happens. 

And that’s something that, like, through all of my work, that always…has made an impression on me, because when somebody is removed from the program or when somebody is removed from the house, that’s always a lingering thought in the back of my head, is…

Are we giving up before the miracle happens?

[Music: Melancholy acoustic guitar plays descending, arpeggiated chords with heavy reverb (“Moln” by Osoku)]

Speech: As a man of faith, I believe in miracles.

But something I’ve learned since I first walked into the Richmond City Jail is that the American incarceration system denies the very things we need to make those miracles happen.

[Music: Melancholy acoustic guitar is joined by a soft hip-hop drum beat]

The system’s built to punish by tearing folks away from society, and putting a stigma on their chest. And punishing folks, instead of truly helping them rework their lives — that only makes it more likely that they’ll end up behind bars again.

So yes, we should celebrate the rise of holistic, community-based reentry programs like REAL LIFE.

But, not every program offers the same level of mental health counseling, housing, and job support. And funding for these programs just can’t keep up with the numbers:

Every single year over six hundred thousand people are released from American prisons. Nine million people are released from local jails.

It’s just too much for programs to support. And as a society, we aren’t tackling the root causes of crime. We’re not investing in alternatives to locking people away.

[Music: Melancholy music lingers on a haunting note played on piano]

So, when I think about what success looks like, in the heart of a deeply flawed system…

I listen to the music that came out of the Richmond City Jail.

[Music: Soft hip-hop beat comes back under a slightly sad flute melody]

Recording a track in a studio is not gonna stop judges from giving a person seven years in prison for breaking into a cell phone store. It’s not gonna replace a family that someone never had in the first place, or clear a conviction record that makes it hard for them to get jobs.

But when someone like Devonte, or Anthony, or Garland, or Teddy makes music,

It’s clear that they’re not just a criminal to be punished, a problem to be corrected.

With every bar, every lyric, every rhyme, they showed the depth of their humanity.

The person that couldn’t be erased.

And when I listen to these joints, this is the miracle that I feel.

[Music: Melancholy acoustic guitar returns and concludes on a descending melody]

—

Speech: Loretta says that a while back, a donation was made in Teddy’s name for a spot in a rehab residential program called Delancey Street; it’s in San Francisco.

The program would allow him to stay for two whole years. They even have a bed saved for him. So, he can actually go any time, whenever he decides he’s ready.

Loretta: So he’s called and said, “Guess where I am?” 

“I haven’t a clue. Where are you?”

He said, “I’m standing across the street from Delancey Street.” 

“Okay, that means you’re going in?”

“No, I haven’t decided. But at least I’m across the street.” 

I said, “So what prompted you to even just go there, and just stand across the street, and look?”

You know, he was saying, “I don’t want to ever be institutionalized again. But I do recognize that there are some changes I have to make within myself.”

So he said, “This is not the first time I’ve come here. I’ve come here and just sit across the street, just to go into deep thought.”

And to me that, that meant a lot. That you haven’t made the step to go across the street, but at least you’re sitting outside of that place, thinking about…a positive change, something that could bring some tranquility to your life.

[Music: The full final cut of “Inspire” by Teddy Jackson and Philip Ezeimo — a heavy, propulsive hip-hop song with gritty, fuzzy bass guitar and hard, driving drums]

Teddy: [Rapping]

I wrote this to inspire

if you tired of the lying

and the bias and the violence

got to stand on top of that giant

like King David and Goliath

for the fellas that can’t get hired

Ever since Obama left the White House

seems like the White House done got Whiter

In the air will be whole lotta lighters

for the convicts locked on Riker’s

and the lifers

and the mama that’s hooked on crack, sellin’ her kid’s diapers

To the young Black man indicted

coulda been a draft pick for the Vikings

got pulled over, he ain’t got a license

caught with some crack and a scale and a rifle

Just cause I’m Black and my skin not like you,

when I was walk past, don’t jump like I’mma bite you,

just trying to open up the door for you, ‘cause I got manners,

I’m a man, understand that’s spiteful

We ain’t never asked you to come this country

Took us from our own land, called us monkeys,

changed our language, whipped us bloody

Them type scars can’t fix with no money

Time never wasted, mind elevated,

raised in the 80s, coulda went crazy, but

God showed favor, your soul, He could save it,

baby with a baby, you can still make it

Child support, WIC, EBT

raise their kids on BET

stack their paychecks week to week now

ain’t no gunshots when they sleepin’

I know God watch over me, over me, over me,

yeah…

Children’s Choir:

This is my pain, my glory

Inspire me

God save me, this my story

Inspire me

Teddy: [Rapping]

To the gangbanger that’s crippin

To the young black girl that’s stripping 

but she’s stripping for tuition

don’t pass judgment, uplift ‘em

Single mother got evicted

had a cashier job at Wendy’s

now she four bedroom house living

kept her faith in her ambition

You can be Muslim or Christian

it don’t make a difference

join your hands and lift em

because God don’t like division 

See the vision, feed the children

cause to raise em take a village

educate em bout the system

that’s designed to keep imprisoned

we done healin…

Children’s Choir:

This is my pain, my glory

Inspire me

God save me, this my story

Inspire me

This is my pain, my glory

Inspire me

God save me, this my story

Inspire me

Whoaaaaaaaa…Oooooohhhhh…

This is my pain, my glory

Teddy (speaking): I wrote this to inspire. I pray that it do.

Children’s Choir: Inspire me — God save me, this my story

Teddy: I pray that it do. I pray that it do.

Children’s Choir: Inspire me

[Music: “Inspire” ends]

—

[Music: Upbeat, high-energy hip-hop beat (“What” by Aldous Young)]

Speech: Track Change is made by Narratively and VPM, and distributed by the NPR Network.

This season was produced by Liz Mak, James Boo, Nidhi Shastri, and Noah Rosenberg.

Fact check by Sara Herschander. Audio mix by Sound Sanctuary, and theme music by Garland Carr and Renzo Gorrio.

Special thanks to Teddy, Garland, Anthony, Devonte, Kelly, Loretta, and Sarah, for catching up with us and sharing part of their lives with the world.

This season was adapted from original footage from the documentary film 16 Bars, with support from the filmmakers at Resonant Pictures. You can watch the film at 16barsthefilm.com.

Songs from the 16 Bars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack are used with permission from the copyright holders. If you want to listen to them, check out trackchange.vpm.org.

This podcast was originated by our Consulting Producer, Sammy Dane. Sam Bathrick and Eric Michels were also Consulting Producers.

Our Executive Producers are Noah Rosenberg, Joe Lamont, and me, Speech Thomas.

Our Producers from VPM are Meg Lindholm and Gavin Wright. VPM’s Chief Content Officer is Steve Humble.

To learn more about the work that REAL Life is doing to help formerly incarcerated people stay free in Virginia, visit reallifeprogram.org.

Thank you so much for listening, fam. Peace and strength.

[Music: Upbeat hip-hop beat ends]