"My passion is my superpower"—with Zaki "The Barber" Smith

For this week's episode, Rebecca sat back down with Zaki "The Barber" Smith, an entrepreneur, a powerhouse activist, and a criminal justice reform leader whose work focuses on ending the perpetual punishment that comes with having a criminal record in America. They had a far-ranging and emotional conversation about the historic clean slate legislation that passed the New York Assembly earlier this summer and now awaits the governor's signature; how a criminal record can be a life sentence to poverty; the impact of the criminal records crisis on millions of American families; the economic as well as emotional toll that comes with perpetual punishment; his own path from prison to national policy advocacy; how his years as a barber shaped him as an advocate; his work with murals, film, and other art forms as tools for criminal justice reform; and lots more.   Links from this episode: Follow Zaki on Twitter @ZakiTheBarber, learn more about of his work as a policy entrepreneur at Next100, and connect with Zaki Learn more about New York's Clean Slate campaign and the legislation that recently passed the New York Assembly to clear millions of New Yorkers' records Learn more about his #EndPerpetualPunishment mural campaign Nominate the changemakers you most want to hear from by emailing us at [email protected]