Hope Pod

This episode of Hope Pod Live delivers a wide-ranging look at community-centered stories from Rhode Island and the RWU campus. The broadcast features an emotional sports segment on Blackstone Valley Co-op hockey captain Colin Dorgan, whose championship performance follows a personal family tragedy, highlighting resilience and community support. Additional reporting examines Rhode Island’s foster care system and broader child welfare concerns, alongside education data and school performance trends. The program also introduces a curated local news segment and explores the growing role of artificial intelligence in classrooms, including expert insights on whether technology could replace teachers. The second half expands into LGBTQ+ culture in campus clubs, solutions journalism on youth mental health, and deeper community reporting, while continuing to promote student media and campus engagement initiatives.

Interview for Heartfest

Interview for Heartfest

Interview for Heartfest

Interview for Heartfest

Interview for Heartfest

An interview for Heartfest

This episode delves into the role of technology in education, examining the question: Could technology ever truly replace teachers? The conversation focuses on how technological advancements impact students' learning experiences, the rate at which technology is being introduced in classrooms, and the ways educators can use these tools to enhance their teaching. In our interview with Dr. Amanda Dolan, an expert in K–12 curriculum design, she shares her firsthand experiences and forward-looking perspective on how technology is shaping education.

This episode of Hope Pod Live on WQRI 88.3 FM highlights a range of student-produced stories focused on social justice and campus life at Roger Williams University and across Rhode Island. Coverage includes LGBTQ+ Health Awareness Week, the inaugural RWU men’s varsity hockey season and leadership insights from Coach Chris Hall, and analysis of Rhode Island child welfare data and policy planning. Additional segments explore solutions journalism on youth mental health in foster care and incarceration systems, community responses to gun violence, and the evolving role of technology in education. The broadcast also promotes student journalism opportunities and campus media initiatives.

In the inaugural episode of Tech in Education, our team sits down with Roger Williams Professor, Dr. Katherine Blagden, to discuss how technology and the use of artificial intelligence continue to change the classroom. Instead of letting AI manage the classroom, Dr. Blagden discusses how AI can be a tool in the classroom.

Roger Williams University's student radio show Hope Pod Live presented a wide-ranging episode covering local, state, and national issues. The broadcast featured investigative reporting on Foster Forward's Real Connections mentoring program addressing mental health challenges for foster youth, data analysis of Rhode Island's recent cybersecurity breaches affecting thousands of residents, and immigration reporter Addison Mason's examination of family separation under ICE enforcement. The show also commemorated the 250th anniversary of Thomas Payne's "Common Sense" with campus readings and highlighted the passing of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. DEI Coordinator Dr. Joanna Revelo Goodes discussed Black History Month initiatives and the university's new "Community Starts with Me, Thrives with Us" campaign during an in-depth interview.

A new Communities of Hope report highlights systemic gaps in Rhode Island’s juvenile justice mental health services, revealing that state‑mandated protections often fall short of meeting adolescents’ needs. Although the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) asserts that young people entering the training school have “unimpeded access” to private healthcare and mandatory screenings—including suicide risk assessments and meetings with social workers—research shows these measures rarely translate to effective, consistent care.According to the 2023 Kids Count report, 65% to 70% of children arrested nationally have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and many more develop psychological distress while incarcerated. Formerly incarcerated youth interviewed for the story described profound isolation, depression, and a system ill‑equipped to respond to trauma. These challenges, the report argues, stem from longstanding historical failures: Rhode Island’s earliest reform schools in the late 1800s were likened to workhouses, with documented physical and emotional abuse—conditions that set a precedent for inadequate care that reforms have yet to fully overcome.While policies and protocols may appear robust on paper, advocates stress that meaningful solutions lie in trauma‑informed, community‑rooted mental health interventions—not solely procedural compliance. The story suggests that implementing evidence‑based care models and strengthening accountability for service delivery could finally bring Rhode Island’s juvenile justice system closer to providing the comprehensive mental health support its youth deserve.

This story details the disproportionate representation and negative outcomes for Black children in the foster care system. Black children, who make up about 14% of the child population, represent 22% to 23% of children in foster care and are removed from their homes at excessively high rates. This disparity is driven by the intersection of poverty, where Black families are more often labeled neglectful, and institutional bias, resulting in higher reporting and investigation rates by schools, hospitals, and law enforcement. Research shows that Black children are more likely to be removed even when compared to children at similar risk levels. The Blind Removal Pilot Program is an initiative implemented by Los Angeles County and UCLA that attempts to address bias by redacting identifying information such as race, ethnicity, and location from case files during the committee deliberation process for removal decisions. The instability caused by system involvement leads to poor educational outcomes; only about 51% of Black foster youth in LA County graduated high school on time, and their suspension rates (17%) and chronic absenteeism rates (34%) far exceed district averages. Furthermore, African-American youth who leave state care are less likely to be employed and more likely to report incarceration. Recommended solutions include providing more support to families to reduce risk factors like poverty, requiring training to reduce implicit bias, and promoting systemic transparency.

Hope Pod Live returns for its second week with comprehensive coverage of Rhode Island news and social justice issues. The February 14th episode features an exclusive interview with RWU senior Rachel Cabral about her groundbreaking research on Thomas White, a 19th-century freedom seeker whose manuscript was recently discovered. The show also covers Rhode Island transportation leadership changes, Brown University's post-shooting safety measures, youth mental health legislation, and the launch of RWU's inaugural women's hockey team. Additional segments include data reporting on child welfare services, solutions journalism on juvenile justice reform, and interviews with PFLAG Greater Providence about LGBTQ+ allyship.

Hope Pod Live, Communities of Hope Civic Media's weekly radio show on WQRI 88.3 FM, returned for the spring 2026 semester with comprehensive coverage of pressing social justice issues. The broadcast featured in-depth reporting on Fred Korematsu Day commemorations at Roger Williams University, an investigation into Rhode Island's juvenile hearing boards as alternatives to traditional justice systems, and a year-in-review of the Trump administration's immigration policies and their local impact. The show also covered RWU's club hockey senior night, Rhode Island housing market data revealing affordability challenges, and local news including Providence's ICE-free zones and proposed rent control measures. Hosts Kali and Alex opened with a tribute to Dr. Anjali Ram, a beloved intercultural communications professor who passed away in January 2025.

Enacted in July 2021, Mario’s Law allows individuals who committed offenses before their 22nd birthday to be eligible for parole review after serving 20 years. The law applies retroactively to offenses committed on or after January 1, 1991, and excludes only those serving life without parole.Championed by Representative Julie Casimiro and inspired by Mario Monteiro’s own experience, the law is grounded in neuroscience showing that the prefrontal cortex—responsible for impulse control and judgment—doesn’t fully develop until around age 25. Over the next 10 to 15 years, the law is expected to impact around 40 individuals in Rhode Island, offering them a pathway to redemption and reintegration.

Garden Time is a Rhode Island–based organization that works to humanize the situation at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institution. They run three programs: an In-Prison Garden Education Program, which teaches incarcerated individuals sustainable agricultural skills; a Green Reentry Job Training Program, which supports formerly incarcerated persons through hands-on training and employment pathways in the green industry; and the Canopy Crew, an urban forestry initiative that employs formerly incarcerated persons to plant and maintain trees in underserved communities across Rhode Island.Listen in as the CoH team explores Garden Time’s work and how it supports mental health issues within the incarceration system.

The RWU Hawks took on the Connecticut College Camels last Saturday. The game was also the Hawks senior night game, celebrating 7 graduating seniors. The Hawks were defeated 7-1.

Currently, 30 out of 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island offer Juvenile Hearing Boards, an alternative to the juvenile justice system. Bernadette Tavares, the chair of the Providence Juvenile Hearing Board and Director of Careers at Foster Forward, and Luisa Sarante, Coordinator of the Providence Juvenile Hearing Board, explain how they actively engage with young first-time offenders so they can be reconciled for their past actions. Instead of going to youth detention centers, the youth have an option to gain leadership experience, serve their community, learn from their past actions, and grow from the experience.

A year after Donald J. Trump entered office for the second time, protests against ICE and the changes in immigration policy are increasing nationwide. With the public deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the deaths of those in detention centers such as Geraldo Lunas Campos due to mistreatment and unsanitary conditions, people are standing up. Despite tension, the administration is continuing its efforts. As of January 8th, 2026, 68,900 people have been deported. Many other immigrants have also self-deported or are currently detained in detention centers.

Hope Pod Live's fall semester coverage examined critical social justice issues affecting Rhode Island communities, with particular focus on immigration policy changes and juvenile justice reform. The show documented how federal funding freezes under the Trump administration have devastated local refugee support organizations like Dorcas International, which faces losing a third of its staff and $1 million in annual funding. Meanwhile, the Solutions Journalism Network team investigated mental health care gaps in Rhode Island's juvenile justice system, highlighting programs like Garden Time that offer therapeutic alternatives to traditional incarceration. The broadcast also covered environmental justice initiatives, LGBTQ+ advocacy including World AIDS Day awareness, and local news ranging from voter data lawsuits to college athletics. Student journalists explored how crossover youth—those caught between foster care and juvenile justice systems—face compounded trauma without adequate mental health intervention, proposing community-based solutions over punitive approaches.

Roger Williams University's student journalism initiative, Communities of Hope, presents groundbreaking solutions journalism examining two critical pathways for vulnerable Rhode Island youth. The investigation highlights Child and Family Rhode Island's Independent Living Program (ILP), which provides housing, life coaching, and essential skills training for teens aging out of foster care—a program shown to significantly reduce homelessness and incarceration rates. The report also features Mario's Law, Rhode Island's 2021 legislation offering parole review after 20 years for individuals who committed crimes before age 22, emphasizing rehabilitation over permanent punishment. Through interviews with psychologist Dr. Bonita Cade and Mario's Law namesake Mario Monteiro, the reporting reveals systemic gaps in mental health support, nutrition, and trauma-informed care within juvenile justice facilities, while showcasing evidence-based programs that successfully break cycles of instability and incarceration.

Hope Pod Live, Roger Williams University's student radio show on 88.3 FM WQRI, delivered comprehensive coverage of food insecurity and social justice issues during their weekly broadcast. The program featured an in-depth interview with Debbie Knapman, Director of Student and Family Assistance, who discussed the Swipe It Forward meal donation program, partnerships with East Bay Food Pantry, and emergency financial resources available to students. The show also examined critical policy issues including sanctuary city designations following Attorney General Pam Bondi's letter to state governors, the Supreme Court case on conversion therapy bans, racial disparities in foster care systems, and sexual abuse allegations in juvenile detention centers. Hosts Kali, Alex, and Alana provided updates on Rhode Island news, campus events during Homecoming Weekend, and student organization activities.

Hope Pod Live's latest broadcast on WQRI 88.3 FM delivered a comprehensive look at social justice issues affecting Rhode Island and beyond. The show covered Rhode Island's passage of House Resolution 2025-H 6125, affirming LGBTQ+ rights amid national backlash, ongoing immigration enforcement protests from Portland to New York, where activists face federal crackdowns, and local stories including Providence food drives and hospital funding concerns. Hosts Kali, Alex, Alexa, Macayla, and Alana also featured an in-depth interview with Garden Time's Emily Cotter and Mario Monteiro about their prison-to-workforce program that trains incarcerated individuals in green jobs. Additional segments highlighted foster care system challenges, the RW Barbershop Club's multicultural fashion show, and upcoming campus events, including a Thomas White slavery-to-freedom exhibit and the Capsized Tribune student publication launch.

Communities of Hope, a civic media organization at Roger Williams University, is developing an AI-powered chatbot to assist incarcerated youth and children in foster care systems. The tool, created by database team members Ashlyn Keating, Dennis Kinger, and Eric Tech, will provide access to counseling services, job opportunities, educational programs, and legal resources. The chatbot will be featured on the organization's website at hope.rwu.edu and will initially focus on Rhode Island resources before expanding nationally. The team is also developing an educational game to teach journalism and multimedia production skills to incarcerated individuals, and planning a mobile app for the newsroom. This initiative comes as Rhode Island faces ongoing challenges in its juvenile justice system, with approximately 65-70% of arrested youth having diagnosable mental health conditions. The project aligns with broader efforts by organizations like Kids Count Rhode Island to reduce youth incarceration rates and improve community-based mental health services.

Communities of Hope, a civic media organization at Roger Williams University, is working to serve local communities through accessible information and education. Director Bernardo Motta discussed the organization's approach to community-centered journalism, including their Solutions Journalism Network student media challenge focusing on mental health in foster care and juvenile justice systems. The radio show also covered local Rhode Island news, campus updates, and highlighted student-led projects, including environmental justice podcast "Surrounded" and investigations into the state's news media landscape.

Roger Williams University’s student-run radio show Hope Pod Live delivered comprehensive coverage of pressing social justice issues affecting Rhode Island communities. The broadcast featured investigative reporting on the Port of Providence’s environmental impact on Washington Park residents, analysis of federal executive orders targeting LGBTQ+ populations with law student Sam Filliagi, and examination of how new immigration policies are affecting international students across the state. The show also highlighted the Solutions Journalism Network’s student media challenge focusing on mental health care for incarcerated and foster youth, while covering local developments including Hasbro’s headquarters relocation, public transit cuts, and rising utility costs for low-income households.

ecoRI News and Communities of Hope discuss the top environmental-justice issues in Rhode Island — focusing on problems and solutions. We also interview deputy director at the Rhode Island Department of Health Seema Dixit.