Introducing Into the Mix Season 2

Ben & Jerry’s is back with another season of Into the Mix, a podcast about joy and justice. Hosted by Ashley C. Ford and produced with Vox Creative, this season will bring you stories of struggle and success from the everyday people at the heart of our greatest fights — from voting rights, to cannabis justice, to dignity for migrant workers — today.

Back in the day, Michael Thompson was a local legend in Flint, Michigan. He brought acts like Aretha Franklin to town, and did incredible work to ease vicious gang violence in his community. So when he was sentenced to 42 to 60 years in prison, Flint was shocked, and devastated. His crime? Selling marijuana to a police informant. 

Michael was still serving time while recreational dispensaries began popping up all over his hometown, and he ended up serving the longest sentence for a nonviolent drug charge in the history of Michigan. As he navigates life post-release, he’s calling for others left behind in prison to get the same opportunity to walk free through clemency.

You can learn more about his mission at MTclemency.com.
 

Today, over 4.5 million people can't vote in the United States because of a mistake they made in the past.

Desmond Meade is one of them. He's a "returning citizen" who understands the devastating impacts of having your civil rights stripped away, and the redemptive power of second chances. So, he set out to do something about it, and brought about the greatest expansion of voting rights in America in half a century. It’s that work that just earned his organization a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

You can learn more about Desmond’s work at the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition here.

Subscribe now, and don’t miss a moment of Into the Mix.