64. Volume: Tessie Castillo: Accountability

It’s one thing to explore tough subjects, and it’s entirely another to dedicate your career to them. But once you’re aware of unfairness in the world, at what point do you have the responsibility to do something about it? We all need to take accountability for our actions. But we also need to hold people in power accountable for their part in injustices. This is The Psychology of Entrepreneurship, I’m Ronsley Vaz. This uniquely produced audio docuseries follows me, and my guests from all walks of life. We examine world events and break down the reactions and responses to them from business-minded people. Then, together we go inside and unravel the inner workings of the mind of entrepreneurs, artists, athletes and academics. Our goal is to answer the question, “What is the psychology of our decisions?”. If you are an entrepreneur or would like to explore the entrepreneurial mindset, this is the podcast for you. Tessie Castillo dedicates her career to telling stories that often go unheard.  Tessie is a journalist, author and public speaker specialising in criminal justice, drug policy, prison reform and racial equity. Her first book, Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row is co-authored with four men currently on Death Row in North Carolina’s Central Prison. She met these men while volunteering at the prison, teaching a writing class in 2014. Tessie was struck by the humility, wisdom and accountability of the prisoners on death row, which in turn shifted her writing in a new direction. The four men who co-authored the book mentioned above with Tessie are Michael, J. Braxton, Lyle May, Terry Robinson and George Wilkerson. I had the amazing opportunity to speak with three of them, which if you have listened to our three previous volumes, you know. In this volume, Tessie takes us back to the class she volunteered to teach in 2014, which started this amazing journey.  Like most of us, Tessie had some preconceived ideas of what the death row inmates would be like. In her words, she was expecting to walk into a room filled with “the worst of the worst”. Instead, she was captivated by the humanity surrounding her. In this volume, we explore the responsibility we all have to be accountable for not only our actions, but our thoughts and ideas. Accountability does not just apply to someone being charged with a crime and living with those consequences. It also applies to being held accountable for how our views and beliefs affect others.  Also within this volume: The fascinating story of Tessie’s first day teaching death row prisoners The instability of the warden system The horrible truth of executions Why having a good lawyer is the difference between life and death Purpose beyond punishment Links & Resources: Tessie’s Website Tessie on Instagram Crimson’s Letters Book Crimson Letter Book Club  Donate to help spread the word Psychology of Entrepreneurship Volume 60: The Death Penalty Psychology of Entrepreneurship Volume 61: Lyle May Psychology of Entrepreneurship Volume 62: Michael Jerome Braxton   Psychology of Entrepreneurship Volume 63: Terry Robinson We want to hear your podcasting questions! Send them through to [email protected] to get featured on the show. Or slide into our DM’s on Instagram at www.instagram.com/mustamplifyagency, you know you want to ;)  Like the polished style of this audio docuseries? Reserve your spot at the next We Are Podcast event so you can learn all kinds of tips and tricks from the experts. They’ll give you all the motivation you need to finally get your show off the ground. Find @Ronsley on Clubhouse and join The Psychology of Entrepreneurship Club!