In this special podcast, our deputy director and host Bruce Reilly, sits down with community leaders (Norris Henderson, Ronald Marshall, Emily Ratner, Rubia Garcia & Rev. Willie Calhoun) to discuss the attack on our children and the potentially disastrous ramifications our communities could face if the 4 amendments on the ballot for the March 29th election, get passed. Recorded at our headquarters in New Orleans, LA on Wednesday, March 26, 2025

In this Interview, Voters Organized to Educate sat down with candidate for State Senate District 14, Quentin Anderson, along with our very own Policy Director Checo Yancy and Director of Political Operations Devin Davis at our Baton Rouge office on February 4, 2025, for a conversation with our deputy director Bruce Reilly to discuss his race for state senate, to replace Cleo Fields and what priorities he plans on tackling if elected.

In this special episode of From Chains to Change, our very own Nziki Wiltz sits down with our deputy director Bruce Reilly to discuss the upcoming March election and the potential impacts the passage of the constitutional amendments on the ballot could mean for the future of criminal justice reform in the state of Louisiana.

Leading up to the Dec. 7 run-off election (Early Voting has begun), our hosts speak with Baton Rouge's incumbent Mayor-President Sharon Weston-Broome, who seeks reelection against Sid Edwards, a Republican who has never held political office. Baton Rouge is Louisiana's capital city navigating issues of public safety, jail construction, rising cost of living, and shrinking number of jobs.

Nziki and Bruce talk with Nick Laborde, candidate for Public Service Commission District 2, which stretches from Baton Rouge to Lafayette. They jump in about phone rates in prisons and jails, then talk about Louisiana's sustainable energy needs where climate change and hurricanes make it the soft underbelly of America. In a world where political parties are building walls between them, the electric bill may be the last place we can come together. Recorded October 24, 2024 in New Orleans.

Nziki Wiltz and Bruce Reilly interview Dr. Donaldo Batiste, a former New Orleans school principal and superintendent, who is running for reelection to his Orleans Parish School Board seat in District 4. Dr. Batiste names the problems with charter school companies that have tied the hands of local control over our children's education. [Note: From Chains to Change reached out to his opponent, who has ignored all contact from our organization].

Here we geaux! Voters Organized interviewed congressional candidate Devin Davis about his race against incumbent Rep. Troy Carter. Join Bruce Reilly and Devin for a lively discussion on abortion rights, home insurance in the time of climate disaster, Cancer Alley, Palestine, and much more. Recorded at Voters Organized HQ in New Orleans on October 18, 2024.

In this interview, Bruce Reilly and Nziki Wiltz of Voters Organized meet up with Ted James, the former Louisiana legislator who is challenging incumbent Sharon Weston Broome in the Baton Rouge Mayor-President race. They talk about crime, housing, and economic development, giving listeners a chance to really hear where Ted James is coming from. Recorded live at our Baton Rouge office on Tuesday Oct. 8, 2024.

In the 20th year of VOTE, several founders and senior staff made Spotify playlists to memorialize the journey. DJ Bruha — aka Bruce Reilly — goes behind the playlist to share why these particular songs, one each from 2004 to 2024, form part of his journey from a Rhode Island prison cell to deputy director of a Louisiana civil rights organization. And naturally, he wanted something you can dance to.

In this interview, Voters Organized's Bruce Reilly and Nziki Wiltz meet up with Mel Manuel, Democratic challenger to Representative Steve Scalise in Louisiana Congressional District 1. A North Shore native, Mel shares their values on equality, civil rights, immigration, and foreign policy. Mel is openly trans and nonbinary, and well-versed in the current climate of attacking LGBTQ people for political points.

In this interview, Voters Organized to Educate sat down with Jasmine Davis Spencer, candidate for Baton Rouge Metro Council District 10. Recorded at our Baton Rouge office on October 7, 2024, Bruce Reilly and Checo Yancy talked with Ms. Spencer about her roots in the city, the Baton Rouge jail construction, her own family's experience with incarceration, and the blessing/curse of having LSU in District 10.

In this special episode of From Chains to Change, our deputy director and host Bruce Reilly is joined by Dr Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, currently serving as the professor of Geography and African American & Africana Studies at the University of Kentucky to discuss her book ‘Prison Capital: Mass Incarceration and Struggles for Abolition Democracy in Louisiana’ The book explores Louisiana's rise to having the world's highest incarceration rate, examining the racial and economic factors that fueled mass incarceration alongside the resistance movements that emerged in response.

In this special episode of From Chains to Change, our host and deputy director Bruce Reilly is joined alongside the staff of Voice of the Experienced along with concerned members of our community to discuss the ongoing attempts by the Landry administration and the GOP in the Louisiana legislature in their ‘Special Crime Session’ to roll back critical justice reforms and progress we’ve achieved over the past few years. We discuss attempts by the legislatures to dismantle key legislative victories while making our communities less safe and more vulnerable to over policing and abuse by law enforcement.

In this episode, our host sits down with two old friends to discuss their unlikely journeys. Rep. Cruz first met Bruce during a successful 2006 voting rights campaign in Rhode Island, when neither of them could exercise the fundamental right of citizenship. Today, she serves as a valued legislator on the Criminal Justice Committee after having earned two degrees from Brown University. Steve first met Bruce in A-Block, while both were awaiting trial over 30 years ago. Today, he puts his passion into Freedom Reads, installing libraries into prisons and jails across the country with the award-winning Dwayne Betts. Be careful listening, as the accents might get pretty thick!

In this special episode of From Chains to Change, filmed from the banks of the Mississippi River in Norco, Louisiana, our host Bruce Reilly sat down with a panel of guest including, Anne Rolfes, the Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and our Director of Political Operations Devin Davis to speak with Lindsey Cheek candidate for Louisiana Attorney General. We discussed her candidacy and her priorities if elected along with the devastating impacts the petrochemical industry has had on the people of Louisiana and the impact her election to the office could have for these vulnerable communities.

In this Interview, Voters Organized to Educate sat down with Tammy Savoie, candidate for Louisiana House District 23 in the 2023 election. Filmed at our main office in New Orleans, LA on October 23, 2023, for a conversation with our deputy director Bruce Reilly to discuss her candidacy and her priorities if elected.

In this Interview, Voters Organized to Educate sat down with Rep. Barbara Carpenter, Louisiana house representative for District 63 along with our very own Policy Director Checo Yancy. Filmed via zoom at our main office in New Orleans, LA and our chapter office based in Baton Rouge, LA on October 19, 2023, for a conversation with our deputy director Bruce Reilly to discuss her time in office, the urgent need to mobilize voters and her current race for re-election.

In this Interview, Voters Organized to Educate sat down with Shaun Mean, candidate for Louisiana House District 23 in the 2023 election. Filmed at our main office in New Orleans, LA on October 18, 2023, for a conversation with our deputy director Bruce Reilly to discuss his candidacy and his priorities if elected.

In this Interview, Voters Organized to Educate sat down with Britt Gondolfi, candidate for Louisiana Senate District 12 in the 2023 election. Filmed at our main office in New Orleans, LA on October 12, 2023, for a conversation with our deputy director Bruce Reilly to discuss her candidacy and her priorities if elected. Learn more and stay up to date! Website: www.VotersOrganized.org Facebook: @VotersOrganized X: @justice_votes Instagram: @VotersOrganized

In this episode of From Chains to Change, our host and deputy director, Bruce Reilly sit down with VOTE member and the director of the Light of Justice Program Calvin Duncan to discuss his wrongful conviction and his journey back home as well as the changes seen within criminal justice system in Louisiana, the impact of life sentences, his experience completing law school and more.