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Crosscurrents
Crosscurrents is our award-winning radio news magazine, broadcasting Mondays through Thursdays at 11 a.m. on 91.7 FM. We make joyful, informative stories that engage people across the economic, social, and cultural divides in our community. Listen to full episodes at kalw.org/crosscurrents

How does San Quentin compare with a Norwegian prison? Ask the residents

Uncuffed producers Thanh Tran (left) and Nate McKinney talk with the producers of the Norwegian prison radio program RøverRadion about their experiences of incarceration and reactions to visiting Norway's prisons.
Joacim Myhre / RøverRadion
Uncuffed producers Thanh Tran (left) and Nate McKinney talk with the producers of the Norwegian prison radio program RøverRadion about their experiences of incarceration and reactions to visiting Norway's prisons.

This aired in the April 5, 2023 episode of Crosscurrents.

Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced that he intends to remodel San Quentin State Prison into a “Norwegian-style” rehabilitation facility. What would that mean?

If you’ve listened to KALW's podcast Uncuffed, you may have heard that last summer, a team of formerly incarcerated producers traveled to Norway. They attended the world’s first international prison radio conference and visited a few of the country's prisons.

While visiting Oslo Prison, Uncuffed producers Thanh Tran and Nate McKinney sat down with producers in the Norwegian prison radio program, called RøverRadion. In this conversation with RøverRadion hosts — who are using their first names only to protect their anonymity — you’ll hear what Thanh and Nate have to say about what they saw in Norway, and how it holds up to their experiences at San Quentin State Prison.

This piece was brought to you by the team at Uncuffed, and edited by Sonia Paul. Thanks to Martine Rund and Joacim Myhre at RøverRadion for their help. Follow @WeAreUncuffed on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Learn more, sign up for Uncuffed news, and support the program at www.weareuncuffed.org.

Click the play button above to listen to this interview.

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Crosscurrents From The Producers Of UncuffedCrosscurrents
Nathan "Nate" McKinney is a founding co-host of Uncuffed. He paroled from San Quentin in 2022, after serving more than 20 years.
Thanh Tran is a media-maker and journalist, raised in South Sacramento. Thanh left San Quentin in 2022, is a Senior Policy and Communications Fellow with the Ella Baker Center, and an Advisory Board member for Uncuffed.
Stories from inside California prisons