PODCAST · society
We the Unhoused
by iHeartPodcasts
We the Unhoused is a podcast created by Theo Henderson with the goal of uplifting voiceless citizens. Begun while Theo was living on the streets of LA for over eight years, the show provides an intimate look at the unhoused experience.
Episodes
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Designed to Reject: The Truth about Hostile Architecture
In We the Unhoused's final episode on iHeart (the show will continue on Patreon -- subscribe below!), Theo speaks to activist and writer Jesse Noakes about the prevalence of audible hostile architecture in Australia, and what people are doing to fight back. We the Unhoused will continue. To...
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History's Falsehoods: The Reality Check
Theo interviews Meg Stone, author of Don't Fight Back: And 10 Other Myths About Crime, Personal Safety, and Gender-Based Violence about how the unhoused and other marginalized people are encouraged not to defend themselves, and are frequently presented as aggressors themselves. In the field, Theo...
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The People's Partnership: The State of Mutual Aid in Los Angeles
Theo does a round table discussion with returning guests Zen Sekizawa and Mario Correa of JTown Action and Solidarity, Melissa Acedera of Polo's Pantry, and Neil Blakemore of the Long Beach Assembly to discuss the current state of mutual aid in Los Angeles as services and resources for the…
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Mindful Moments Through the Fire
Theo interviews Fred Vars, author of Through the Fire: How People with Mental Illness Are Empowering Each Other on the intersection of houselessness and mental illness, and how failures at city, state, and federal levels to put housing first makes it more difficult than ever to be unhoused in the...
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Let's Talk Knowledge: the Untold Stories of Unhoused Students and Parents (with Nicole Lynn Lewis)
Theo attends an action opposing the continuing sweeps in DSA-endorsed candidate Hugo Soto-Martinez's district; then, he speaks with author and activist Nicole Lynn Lewis, who speaks on her own experience as a houseless student and parent, and on her latest book Student Parent: The Fight for...
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RX Humanity: Dr. Jill Wiwcharuk Brings Clinical Care to the Streets
Theo is joined by Dr. Jill Wiwcharuk, who speaks on her work as a street doctor for the unhoused population of British Columbia, and on how Canada‘s treatment of their own unhoused population compares with the U.S. Follow Dr. Jill here: https://linktr.ee/jillwiwcharuk See omnystudio.com/listener...
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Activist Kris is Keeping Mutual Aid Real
This week, Theo speaks with activist Kris of LA Street Care and Mutual Aid about the state of mutual aid, and how we can all rise to the occasion in a moment where most systems have turned their back on the unhoused. In Unhoused News, we take a closer look at the consequences of the brutal new…
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Every Empty Plate Tells a Story
Theo speaks with Miguel, Elise, and Jacqueline at Food Access LA in our continuing series on how mutual aid is rising to the occasion as the Trump regime continues to slash programs that provide services to the unhoused. Get involved at Food Access LA: https://foodaccessla.org/ Learn more about...
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Your Voice. Your Choice. Your Future: Breaking Down the Los Angeles Primaries
The upcoming election in Los Angeles gives officials an opportunity to do right by the unhoused community and invest in real, structural solutions. So, who's stepping up? This week, Theo interviews two candidates on their plan to make Los Angeles a safe and equitable place for all as the Olympics...
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Vote for We the Unhoused at the Webbys!
We're thrilled to announce that We the Unhoused is nominated for Best Public Service and Activism podcast at the Webbys for the second year running! You can vote for the show once a day, every day through April 16th. See you next week for a new episode! VOTE HERE:...
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Diggin the Delta: Ralph Eubanks on Soul, Soil, and Systems
This week, Theo speaks with legendary historian, memoirist and educator W. Ralph Eubanks about his new book When It's Darkness on the Delta: How America's Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land. Also, Theo heads to an El Monte action to learn how locals are fighting to make their home a sanctuary...
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Mutual Aid Steps Up: Shirley’s Free Food Hub and Resisting Lip Service
This week, Theo attends a mutual aid protest action demanding that DSA-endorsed Los Angeles city councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez finally repeal 41.18, legislation that enables the LAPFD to arrest the unhoused, from his district. Speaking with organizers like Gina Viola, the group speaks with...
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Food Justice For All
As SNAP benefits continue to be rolled back and the Trump regime makes food access for the unhoused harder than ever, we need community-based solutions and ingenuity. Enter Arnali Ray of Hollywood Food Coalition and Sara Reyes of SELAH in Northeast LA -- Theo speaks with them about how their...
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Guardian Angels Have Paws: Keeping the Unhoused and Pets Together
Everyone deserves animal companionship, but the unhoused community is too often forced to make difficult decisions to care for their pets while living in shelters or on the street. This week, Theo speaks with Jillian and Christine with nonprofit My Dog Is My Home about their important work...
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Underreported, Underrepresented, Never Unforgettable: The LA Black Worker Center
Theo rings in the new year by spotlighting another crucial, underreported segment of the unhoused — the Black unhoused community. We speak with Angela, Ted, and Jeremiah of the Los Angeles Black Worker Center about the crucial work, they’re doing to support Black Angelinos in not just job…
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Can You See Me 2025
This week, Theo is in the field with Palms Unhoused Mutual Aid (PUMA) for their National Houseless Persons’ Memorial Day event. Organizers and neighbors gathered on December 21st, 2025, the longest night of the year, to memorialize those we lost. We also remember Cindy McAllister, Jessica 'Queen'...
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Actions, Not Just Words: Every Day Action to the Rescue
To close out 2025, Theo speaks with Sam Luu and Hillary Cohen of Every Day Action. We learn how they scaled their pandemic-era mutual aid effort to feed the unhoused to where they are today, continuing that work by preventing food waste on film sets and helping out-of-work film industry...
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Hello, My True Name and Identity Is... with Dina Gilio-Whitaker
This week, Theo speaks with Professor Dina Gilio-Whitaker, author of the new book Who Gets to Be Indian? Ethnic Fraud, Disenrollment, and Other Difficult Conversations about Native American Identity. We also take a look at the new ghoulish policies that stand to force people into houselessness in...
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Don't Forget the Outcast Nation: Unseen LGBQTIA Unhoused
Longtime guest Caitlin Krenn returns to We the Unhoused to tell Theo about the upcoming documentary Outcast Nation: LGBTQIA. Homeless. Unseen. on PBS, along with collaborators and subjects Jen Liquori, Maddox Guerilla, and director Charlie Spickler. Watch the documentary here starting December…
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The Ins and Outs of Protesting Effectively
This week, Theo speaks with legendary activist and writer Dr. Gloria Browne-Marshall, author of the new book A Protest History of the United States. Dr. Browne-Marshall discusses the most effective ways to protest in the modern age, and what we can learn from the long tradition of sit-ins, street...
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Where is Eunisses Hernandez When the Unhoused Need Her?
This week, Theo heads to a protest organized by the unhoused residents of the Mountain View encampment after yet another violent sweep. Their question: why isn’t their DSA-endorsed councilperson, Eunisses Hernandez, showing up? Residents, organizers, and mutual aid workers share their…
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The Sidewalk School Is Open for Lessons Learned
School is in session! This week, Theo speaks with Felicia Rangel-Samponaro of the Sidewalk School, an organization that provides services from food and necessities to policy advocacy to education to unhoused immigrants living on the Mexican border. Felicia's journey to this crucial work, and how...
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The Journey to Fighting Injustice
Theo speaks with longtime activist Beth Green about how to push through moments of apathy in the organizing movement. Follow Beth's work here: https://www.heartcastmedia.com/beth-green/ Keep voting for us in the Signal Awards -- open til October 9th!...
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Vote for WTU in the Signal Awards!
Description: We the Unhoused is nominated for a Signal Award, one of the most prestigious in podcasting, and your vote counts! Vote for WTU in the Activism, Public Service & Social Impact category before October 9th, and Theo will be back next week with a brand new episode. Vote here:...
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Dream Better of What We Can Do: Food Justice and the Fight Against Hate
This week, Theo examines how violent language has not just become normalized and weaponized against the unhoused, but how its worst offenders are lauded as heroes. Then: To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Crenshaw Farmer's Market, Theo speaks with organizers Laura, Ashley, Summer, and...
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The Mosaic of Healing: Mental Health and Artistry
This week, Theo speaks with Executive Director of the Institute of the Development for Human Arts Jessie Roth about healing and transforming society through accessible treatment for mental health that takes full account of the adverse affects of external conditions. In Unhoused News, Theo takes a...
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Despite Hate, Hope Glimmers: Farmers in Coachella Valley
As ICE raids continue to escalate and target farm workers, many of whom as unhoused, revolutionary mutual aid efforts like Alianza Nacional De Campesinas are meeting the moment. Theo and the WTU crew head to the triple digits of Thermal, California, where farmers can access everything from fresh...
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Body Brokers: Coming to a City Near You
Theo speaks with activist Sequoyah Thiessen about their experience being body brokered at LA area rehab facilities, and how these same places are exploiting the community's most vulnerable -- including the unhoused. We also remember past guest Cindy McAllister, who passed away this month. Theo...
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The Reality of Mental Health Complications: Social and Personal
This week, Theo explores the reality of mental health complications while unhoused -- with parent to an unhoused Angeleno, Anita, and speaking about lived experience with attorney Clare Cortwright. Also, we remember Angeleno and Reclaimer activist Benito Flores. More about Reclaimers and…
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The ICE Storm Rages On
This week, Theo speaks with returning guest, ACLU SoCal's Kath Rogers and immigration lawyer Pasquale Lombardo about the ICE raids in Los Angeles, and how to move forward with hope and pragmatism for the undocumented and unhoused communities. Also -- Theo covers the press conference of…
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While LA Resists ICE, Arizona Battles Lethal Heat
As the heat picks up and Los Angeles continues to resist ICE, Theo speaks with Tanner Swanson of A New Leaf in Arizona to speak about the unique issues the state’s unhoused people face in increasingly lethal temperatures. While the year mark of the Grants Pass decision approaches and climate...
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The ICE Has No Chill
This week, Theo reports from Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, where necessary protest was met with violent retaliation from ICE, the LAPD, and the National Guard after the city was targeted for mass deportation. He reflects on the intersection of being unhoused and undocumented, and who gets left...
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Exploring the Dark Shadows of Foster Care Houselessness
Theo is joined by author and journalist Claudia Rowe to discuss her latest book Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care and take a closer look at the ways that those in the foster system have faced discrimination and a complete lack of support for generations. The…
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The Common Links to Houselessness: An International Perspective
Houselessness is a global issue, and every unhoused person’s experience is unique. This week, Theo welcomes his first international guest to We the Unhoused — Greta shares her story of navigating houselessness in Europe and the UK, and how her experience is in conversation with how the unhoused…
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The Struggle. The Blues. The Redemption.
This week, Theo speaks with the legendary John Lee Hooker Jr. about his time being unhoused, the misconceptions media has around the unhoused, and how he found his way through addiction. Also, a moment to celebrate We the Unhoused's two Webby Award wins! Follow John Lee Hooker Jr. here:...
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United to Discuss Houselessness
This week, Theo talks with Becks Heyhoe-Khalil about how houselessness is treated in America versus other places in the west -- and what needs to be done in the States to combat the numerous way the U.S. fails the unhoused on the city, state, and national levels. Follow Dr. Heyhoe-Khalil's work...
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Undoing the Harm: An Overdue Discussion On Harm Reduction
WE THE UNHOUSED IS NOMINATED FOR A WEBBY! Vote for us here before April 17th: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/shows/public-service-activism This week, Theo speaks with Amanda Nicholson and Max Flower about the pressing issue of harm reduction. We discuss how…
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The Wrong Read Home: Lived Experience vs. Academia
This week, Theo welcomes returning guest and activist Curtis Howard and academic Kevin Smith to contrast the ways that the unhoused are presented by unhoused and housed media, respectively. Curtis was unhoused for three decades and was incarcerated multiple times, and shares not just his own...
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The E-L-M Is Within Us: Educate, Liberate, and Motivate
This week, Theo looks to the future for the unhoused in America, and how to know your rights in an increasingly uncertain and hostile environment. He speaks with ACLU staff attorney Kath Rogers and Supervising Attorney for Tenants Rights at Inner City Law Kaimi Wenger about what you can do to...
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LA: Big Fires Everywhere
In our final installment on the LA fires (for now), Theo speaks to Alex, a survivor of the Altadena Eaton fire about his recent experience, and his previous experience being unhoused years ago. Then, we check in with Rachel Sanoff, volunteer coordinator of the SELAH unhoused coalition in LA about...
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Wake Up, LA: Smell the Ashes
In the second part of We the Unhoused's LA fire coverage, Theo speaks with JTown Action and Solidarity co-founder Mario Correa about the mutual aid response to the fires, both with the existing unhoused community and newly displaced people. Then, he checks in with longtime unhoused veteran…
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The Fires This Time: The Aftermath
Theo takes a closer look at how the recent fires in Los Angeles affected the city's unhoused community, who the mainstream media and the city continued to ignore. He speaks with returning guest Roof Lesser about her experience being unhoused close to the fires, and with restaurateur and activist...
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The Black Panthers Chronicles: Past, Present and Future
Welcome to 2025 at We the Unhoused! Theo is starting the year on a high note, interviewing former Black Panthers, Lorenzo Ervin and JoNina Abron-Ervin. They share their experiences and insights on what a more just world can still look like. In Unhoused News, Theo takes a look at the persistent...
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Evolving Struggles, Successes and Journeys
In our last episode of 2024, Theo reflects on how 2024 has affected the unhoused community, and how to look forward to 2025. Then, he speaks with two returning guests -- Peoples City Council cofounder Albert Corrado about his journey toward mutual aid and building a better world in the wake of…
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Take a Pause: SELAH Mutual Aid Helps the Unhoused, Part 2
Theo returns to the field to continue exploring SELAH, the Los Angeles mutual aid organization working to educate their participants and volunteers on Grants Pass and provide necessary services. He speaks with volunteer coordinator Rachel Sanoff, participant Cindy, and longtime outreach volunteer...
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Take a Pause: SELAH Mutual Aid Helps the Unhoused, Part 1
This week Theo provides updates on the Jordan Neely murder trial before exploring how one Los Angeles mutual aid organization is working to educate their participants and volunteers on the Grants Pass decision, and how they plan to continue providing services during a second Trump administration....
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Grants Pass: The Pieces of Horrors
This week, Theo gives insight into what the election means for the unhoused population, and speaks with activists on how to move forward. Rooflesser returns to the show to discuss their work on the ground in LA, and we check in with home reclaimer and advocate Martha Escuerdo to talk about her...
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The Power is in the People Who Vote!
This week, Theo checks in with two candidates for judge we spoke with earlier this year -- George Turner and Erika Wiley. We discuss what's changed with the Grants Pass decision, the journey to the ballot box, and the pressing need for local politicians that are advocating for the unhoused. Learn...
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Unhoused Votes Matter
Ahead of the election, Theo dives deep into why the unhoused vote is so crucial with Dr. Caitlin Krenn. Also, Theo speaks with Oregon-based activist Jetty about how Grants Pass legislation is already affecting the intensity of sweeps across the country. Follow Jetty here:...
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And the Youth Shall Lead Us
Theo continues his exploration of the wreckage of the Grants Pass ruling with a focus on the effects of youth houselessness, and goes in depth with Dr. Robin Petering and Tonny St. James to discuss the Young People to the Front initiative. But first, Theo speaks with Emptea about the uptick of...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
We the Unhoused is a podcast created by Theo Henderson with the goal of uplifting voiceless citizens. Begun while Theo was living on the streets of LA for over eight years, the show provides an intimate look at the unhoused experience.
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iHeartPodcasts
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does We the Unhoused have?
We the Unhoused currently has 131 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is We the Unhoused about?
We the Unhoused is a podcast created by Theo Henderson with the goal of uplifting voiceless citizens. Begun while Theo was living on the streets of LA for over eight years, the show provides an intimate look at the unhoused experience.
How often does We the Unhoused release new episodes?
We the Unhoused publishes regularly with 131 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to We the Unhoused?
You can listen to We the Unhoused on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts We the Unhoused?
We the Unhoused is created and hosted by iHeartPodcasts.
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