Healing Trauma: Beyond Gangs and Prisons

In this episdoe, Jolyn will shatter the misconception that mass incarceration makes our nation safer. She will talk about alternatives that offer hope healing and second chances.

She is joined by acclaimed filmmaker Robert Greenwalt of Brave New Films, who will discuss their documentary Healing Trauma: Beyond Gangs and Prisons. The film dives into the inner struggle of former gang members whose childhood trauma inevitably led to an anger that resulted in a criminal lifestyle and landed them in prison. Upon their release, these former gang members found their redemption with Homeboy Industries, Father Greg Boyle, and the many re-integrating programs offered through the Los Angeles-based organization. Healing Trauma: Beyond Gangs and Prisons follows the transformative stories of some of these former gang members as they share their adverse childhood experiences, gang involvement, and the hope they now have through the healing power of therapy.

Episode Segments:

Alternatives to Mass Incarceration A discussion about alternatives to mass incarcerations that offer hope healing and second chances. Our special guest is director Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films. His documentary Healing Trauma: Beyond Gangs and Prisons shares the transformative stories of some of former gang members who now have hope due the healing power of therapy.
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Brave New Films Our mission is to champion social justice issues by using a model of media, education, and grassroots volunteer involvement that inspires, empowers, motivates and teaches civic participation and makes a difference. Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films are creating a better America, and we want you to join us. Using media, films, volunteers and internet video campaigns, Brave New Films has created a quick-strike capability that informs the public, challenges mainstream media with the truth, and motivates people to take action on social issues nationwide.

Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Robert Greenwald Robert Greenwald is founder and president of Brave New Films, a nonprofit film and advocacy organization whose work is distributed for free in concert with nonprofit partners and movements in order to educate and mobilize for progressive causes. The work of Brave New Films has been screened around the world and viewed over tens of millions of times and counting. Greenwald’s most recent full-length feature documentary, Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA (2016), illustrates the connection between gun industry profits and gun deaths in America and has been screened thousands of times for free at schools, libraries, faith institutions, businesses and more. His previous feature-length investigative documentaries include Uncovered: The War on Iraq (2004), Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004), Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005), Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers (2006), Rethink Afghanistan (2009), Koch Brothers Exposed (2012), War on Whistleblowers (2013) and Unmanned: America's Drone Wars (2013). Before launching Brave Films in 2000, Greenwald produced and/or directed more than 65 TV movies, miniseries and films as well as major theatrical releases. His early body of work includes Steal This Movie! (2000), starring Vincent D'Onofrio as 60s radical Abbie Hoffman; Breaking Up (1997), starring Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek; A Woman of Independent Means (1995) with Sally Field; The Burning Bed (1984) with Farah Fawcett; and Xanadu (1980). His work has earned him 25 Emmy Award nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, the Peabody Award and the Robert Wood Johnson Award. He was awarded the 2002 Producer of the Year Award by the American Film Institute. He has been honored for his investigative film work by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California; the Liberty Hill Foundation; the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers Guild; Physicians for Social Responsibility; Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles; Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy and the Office of the Americas. Follow Robert on Twitter