HOST & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Speech Thomas
Speech is an award winning artist, consistently pushing the artistic and social envelope. From writing some of the most iconic hip-hop songs to leading the trailblazing 2-time Grammy Award winning group, Arrested Development, to super stardom, this Milwaukee native has graced stages with legends including Nelson Mandela, James Brown, The Roots, Hilary Clinton, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Public Enemy, Herbie Hancock, Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama.
Speech and Arrested Development have been a ground-breaking force in Hip-hop culture since 1991. They are constantly touring the world with events that celebrate life, death and the struggles of our ancestors! Speech has also continued to be a trailblazer as a solo artist, and started Black Existence as a worldwide resource for black diaspora culture.
SENIOR PRODUCER & WRITER
Liz Mak
Liz Mak is an independent reporter and producer from Los Angeles. Previously, she worked at the podcast and radio show Snap Judgment, at NPR member station KALW, and also taught at the Transom story Workshop. Liz’s stories have taken her to search for hidden graves on a remote Indonesian island, document the 2016 protests at Standing Rock, and spend a year within a San Francisco high school. Her writing, photography, audio and video work have appeared in various outlets, including NPR, WIRED, Studio 360, PRI’s The World, and The New York Times.
SHOWRUNNER & SOUND DESIGNER
James Boo
James Boo is an audio producer who thinks more people should listen to ska. Over the past decade he’s documented a generation of New Yorkers through their food, built an independent studio for Asian America’s stories, and helped to develop, produce, edit, and launch multiple new podcasts — most recently, as Executive Producer of the award-winning audio series Before Me: A Refugee’s Story, told from Mother to Daughter. James’ work is rooted in life stories that are impossible to monetize, a belief that the best kind of representation is self-representation, and hope that our extractive capitalist dystopia doesn’t actually have to be that way. Also, ska.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Nidhi Shastri
Nidhi Shastri is an audio producer based in Chicago. Her award-winning independent podcast, “Model Minority: Uniquely America is dedicated to sharing Asian, African and Middle Eastern immigrant stories. Previously, she has worked as a grassroots organizer advocating for healthcare access for underrepresented communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is a 2021 AIR Media New Voices Scholar, and a 2023 NPR & WBEZ NextGenRadio Fellow. Currently, she works as a producer helping to amplify Black voices on Illinois Soul at Illinois Public Media. Her passion lies in shedding a light on immigrant stories and using audio as a means for educating and enacting social change.
FACT CHECKER
Sara Herschander
Sara Herschander is a reporter and audio producer covering the nooks and crannies of nonprofits, labor, housing, and social movements. After graduating with a master’s in bilingual journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, she worked as a production fellow for Futuro Media’s In The Thick podcast on politics and later as a reporter for The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Her freelance work has appeared in Univision, The American Prospect, and Dissent Magazine, where she was also an inaugural member of the magazine’s emerging writers program. In a prior life, Sara studied international security and foreign policy at Boston University, and spent several years working in education, refugee services, and homeless services in Santiago, Chile, Mexico City, and New York City.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Noah Rosenberg
Noah Rosenberg is the founder, CEO and Head of Content at Narratively, the storytelling platform and production company that celebrates humanity through diverse, authentic stories across writing, podcasts, TV and film. He’s built his career around an unwavering commitment to championing under-represented voices and untold stories — at leading outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CBS News and GQ, and fast-moving startups like Narratively, which he has led for a decade. He’s developed, sold and produced countless projects, with virtually every major Hollywood studio and network to audio leaders like WNYC and Snap Judgment, top brands like Amazon and Marriott, and prolific producing partners from LeBron James to Angela Bassett, 50 Cent and Mayim Bialik.
CONSULTING PRODUCER
Sam Bathrick
Sam Bathrick began his career as a refugee caseworker, interviewing survivors of war in West Africa, an experience that would ignite his passion for bringing tough but true stories to light. He fell in love with New York while producing “Run For Your Life”, a documentary biopic about the enigmatic founder of the NYC Marathon. He then spent some wild years chasing musicians through the streets of cities like Tokyo, Istanbul and Miami directing the PBS/BBC travel series “Music Voyager.” He’s since directed two award-winning feature documentaries — “200 Miles” and “16 Bars” — both exploring the human condition under challenging extremes. Sam brings an editor’s ear and an auditor’s eye to the creative process, while striving to tell stories that allow viewers to see the world lucidly and with compassion.
CONSULTING PRODUCER
Sammy Dane
Sammy Dane is a documentary editor based in New York City. His first feature experience was as a Co-Producer and Assistant Editor on 16 Bars, which ignited his passion for documentary filmmaking and stories of perseverance through creativity. In 2022, he won an Emmy for Co-Editing The First Wave, and his latest film American Symphony is available on Netflix.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Joe Lamont
Joe Lamont has worked in the music industry for over forty years. Throughout this time, he has been involved in areas ranging from music supervisor, artist management, music publishing, consulting, as well as film and documentary production.
AUDIO ENGINEER
Lauryn Newson
Lauryn Newson is the Co-Founder of Sound Sanctuary, alongside Pat Mesiti-Miller, where they carry out audio and music production services for various types of media.
THEME COMPOSER
Renzo Gorrio
Renzo Gorrio is a San Francisco based producer, musician, and sound designer known for more than a decade of work at Snap Judgment. The latest full-length release for his solo project, “Hydroplane,” can be found on Nebleena and Schematic Records.
Acknowledgements
This season of Track Change features the music, voices, and experiences of Tennyson Jackson, Loretta Simmons-Jackson, Garland Carr, Kelly Carr, Anthony Johnston Jr., Devonte James, Crystal James, and Dr. Sarah Scarbrough. This season was adapted from original footage from the documentary film 16 Bars, with support from the filmmakers at Resonant Pictures.
- Music from the 16 Bars original motion picture soundtrack licensed by Eric Michels:
- “Inspire” written by Tennyson Jackson and Philip Ezeimo
- “Freedom Wind” written by Garland Carr
- “Two Stamps” written by Garland Carr
- “Recidivism” written by Anthony Johnston, Jr. and Speech Thomas
- “Broken Chains” written by Devonte James and Speech Thomas
- “Lay My Burden Down” written by Garland Carr (adapted for theme song by Renzo Gorrio)
- Additional music from Epidemic Sound
- Special thanks to the following contributors, who were essential in helping to bring this series to life:
- Gavin Wright, Meg Lindholm, Steve Humble and the team at VPM for their partnership and support
- Dan McCoy, Kahlia Ali, June Jennings, Gary Duong and the team at the NPR Network for their collaboration and promotion
- Maurice Washington, Melissa Trinidad, Michael Pinto, Steven Tyler, and Tauchanna Gilmore for their feedback
- Ann Jacobs and Dr. Bruce Arrigo for speaking with us about their research and experiences
- Jemimah Ekeh for podcast artwork and graphic design support
- Resonant Pictures for providing photography
