Official Ignorance: The Death in Custody Podcast

Official Ignorance is a captivating podcast hosted by Dr. Roger Mitchell, Jr. and Professor Jay Aronson. In this episode, they are joined by the legendary Mutulu Olugbala, also known as M1 of the renowned hip-hop group dead prez, who is now a board member of The Last Prisoner project, focusing on justice for incarcerated cannabis offenders. The trio engages in thought-provoking discussions about various topics, including the impact of hip-hop on political activism, the importance of reimagining

Enjoy the early, informal recordings that lay the groundwork for the podcast, and learn more about our hosts, their mutual love of hip-hop, and their journey to the topic of death in law enforcement custody.

Enjoy the early, informal recordings that lay the groundwork for the podcast, and learn more about our hosts, their mutual love of hip-hop, and their journey to the topic of death in law enforcement custody.

In the final episode of Season 1, Roger and Jay talk to Larry Hamm, founder of the Newark, NJ-based Peoples’ Organization for Progress, longtime activist, and one of Roger’s earliest mentors. We discuss Larry’s early years as a Black student at Princeton University, his efforts to organize protests in Orange, NJ in the wake of Earl Faison’s 1999 death at the hands of police, and reflect why we should remain hopeful that we can reduce the number of people who die in custody each year in the Unite

There are no protections in the criminal justice system, especially for Black people. In the case of Sandra Bland, we were reminded that they definitely do not care if you are wealthy, poor, female, queer, or disabled – in addition to your blackness. Mitchell and Aronson dive into why dismantling and reimagining our law enforcement will lead to a fairer justice system.

On today’s episode we have a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Joye Carter, the nation’s first Black board-certified chief medical examiner, about her long career as a forensic pathologist. We ask her about her efforts to expose deaths in custody that would otherwise have been covered up. We discuss the importance of mentorship, diversity in death investigations, and eliminating racism from the medical field.