Redemption Radio
Redemption Radio explores the criminal justice system through the eyes of a returning citizen. The host, Thad Bereday, a former lawyer and presidential pardon recipient, leads guests in a dialogue about criminal justice reform, considering issues that prevent America's justice system from delivering compassion and mercy.
Episodes
18 episodes
Episode 17: Season One Wrap Up
In the season one finale, Thad Bereday wraps up what we have learned this season on Redemption Radio. Questioned by his friend and guest host Evan D. Smith, executive director of Love INC of Metro Tampa, Thad describes his favorite and mo...
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Season 1
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Episode 0
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33:16
Episode 16: Annette Scott
Annette Scott is my yoga teacher! I came to yoga unwittingly, when my life was at a low point, and I felt I had struck bottom. More than any other yoga instructor, Annette showed me how to feel this discomfort, learn to breathe and be present t...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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47:33
Episode 15: Justin LaRosa
Rev. Justin LaRosa is my pastor! When I got released from prison in 2018, Justin was one of the first people I turned to who became an important part of my support system. As Director of the Portico (the downtown Tampa location of Hyde Park Uni...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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49:08
Episode 14: Charles Neal and Morgan Godvin
Charles Neal is a corrections officer with the Oregon Department of Corrections. Morgan Godvin is a returning citizen working as an advocate, academic, journalist, and content creator. Together, Charles and Morgan have founded the Humane Justic...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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56:14
Episode 13: Ray Coker
Ray Coker is one of my best friends. When I got cancer, Ray was among the inner circle who nursed me back to health. We walked together once a week, helping and supporting each other through life’s challenges. Ray was the guy ...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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38:12
Episode 12: Mary O'Connor
Mary O’Connor is the incoming Chief of the City of Tampa Police Department, one of the nation’s top 50 police departments. She is the second female Chief of Police in the department’s history. Chief O’Connor served TPD for 22 years, risin...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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38:40
Episode 11: Jhody Polk
Jhody Polk spent seven years in Florida prison for a series of violent offenses committed in her early 20’s. While in jail, she learned to undo much of the societal conditioning imposed upon her from growing up in East Gainsville. N...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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38:22
Episode 10: Neil Volz
Neil Volz is Deputy Director of Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, the group that successfully passed Amendment 4, restoring voting rights to 1+ million returning citizens in Florida. Today, FRRC provides jobs and pathways to formerly ...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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54:21
Episode 9: Andrew Learned
Rep. Andrew Learned (D-59) is a military veteran and small business owner who was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2020. He won election by 1,270 votes in a closely divided district. Nearing the end of the 2022 legislative ses...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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39:10
Episode 8: Lawrence Bartley
Lawrence Bartley is a journalist and contributor to The Marshall Project, a non-profit online news publication devoted entirely to coverage of the criminal justice system. Bartley is founder and director of “News Inside,” the print versio...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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44:07
Episode 7: Jeff Brandes
Through 12 years in public service, Florida Senator Jeff Brandes (R-24, Pinellas) forged a reputation as the state’s leading advocate for criminal justice reform. Known as a maverick, Brandes was chairman of the powerful senate Judiciary Commit...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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45:01
Episode 6: Andrew Warren
Andrew Warren is the elected State Attorney for Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit (Hillsborough County). Since his election in 2017 and re-election in 2020, State Attorney Warren has been called “the face of criminal justice reform in Tampa” and ...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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45:46
Episode 5: Sarah Couture
Sarah Couture is Florida State Director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center (FFJC), a national advocacy center dedicated to solving the unjust imposition of fines and fees in the criminal legal system. Sarah describes how fines and fees ...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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52:22
Episode 4: Jo Ann Palchak
On National Constitution Day, criminal defense attorney Jo Ann Palchak talks about working as a lawyer, plea-bargaining, the trial penalty, duties of prosecutors and what it is like representing defendants in the criminal justice system. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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44:40
Episode 3: Carrie Boyd
Carrie Boyd is a former policy director for the SPLC Action Fund, the legislative division of the Southern Policy Law Center. For over 50 years, the SPLC has been the premier civil rights law firm in the south, particularly Georgia, Flori...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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48:11
Episode 2: Fentrice Driskell
Representative Fentrice Driskell represents the 63rd Congressional District (Hillsborough County) in Florida’s House of Representatives. She serves as Democratic Policy Chair, the third-ranking leader of the Florida House Democratic Caucus, whi...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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48:04
Episode 1: Robert Blount
Robert Blount is president of Abe Brown Ministries, based in Tampa, FL, and is a seasoned advocate in working with ex-offenders reentering society from the criminal justice system. In this episode, Robert shares the challenges faced by so...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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51:04
Episode 0: Thad's Origin Story
In the inaugural episode of Redemption Radio, host Thad Bereday shares his personal journey through the criminal justice system. Thad started his career as a high-flying lawyer working inside the executive suite of a Fortune 500 company, based ...
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Season 1
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Episode 0
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11:31
