In this episode, we sit down with Danny Ratliff, author of From Doing Meth Shards to Running Prison Yards. After his first conviction—charges tied to operating a meth lab—Danny was thrown headfirst into the realities of prison life. With no prior experience inside, he quickly learned that survival meant alignment, ultimately joining a branch of the Aryan Brotherhood.

Danny takes us through his transformation from a nobody to a shot caller, sharing gripping stories from inside and key moments from his book. He also opens up about how he shifted his mindset, earned work release, and walked out the door on his earliest possible release date. A major part of that journey? His fiancée, Jerry—who never stopped reminding him what truly mattered: family, focus, and life after prison.

This is a powerful conversation about survival, choices, accountability, and the possibility of change.

Danny’s book is available anywhere books are sold. (https://amzn.to/3Zp7RLC)

Find us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Jae's husband Nicholas Ely on Facebook "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠More Than An Inmate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" or the Facebook group "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠End Felony Murder Rule in Nebraska⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BestSelf Publications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to purchase books by incarcerated authors and help in supporting their rehabilitation.

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The views shared by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts. This podcast provides a platform for people to share their experiences and perspectives. Listeners should verify information and form their own opinions.

In this episode, we sit down with Nancy Peters, a Connecticut-based advocate who recently founded Brothers and Sisters United in Action (BSUACT)—an organization born from lived experience, resilience, and a deep commitment to justice.

Nancy shares how her journey into advocacy began, the moments that pushed her from silent supporter to active organizer, and why she chose to create BSUACT as a space for families, loved ones, and community members to come together and demand change. We talk about the emotional toll of advocacy, the importance of collective action, and what it really takes to challenge a system that thrives on isolation and silence.

This conversation isn’t just about incarceration—it’s about unity, hope, and the power of ordinary people standing together to fight for reform and a reimagined future for those impacted by the system.

If you’ve ever wondered how advocacy starts, how movements grow, or how you can be part of meaningful change, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

Find us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Jae's husband Nicholas Ely on Facebook "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠More Than An Inmate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" or the Facebook group "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠End Felony Murder Rule in Nebraska⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BestSelf Publications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to purchase books by incarcerated authors and help in supporting their rehabilitation.

Our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠

The views shared by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts. This podcast provides a platform for people to share their experiences and perspectives. Listeners should verify information and form their own opinions.

We’re opening 2026 with a conversation every mother needs to hear—even if she hopes she never will.

In this episode, I sit down with Black Sheep Mom, a registered psychologist and the voice behind a powerful Substack blog, to talk about what happens when your child goes down a dark path—and the world decides they were destined to fail.

As both a mental health professional and a mother of an incarcerated son, Black Sheep Mom offers rare insight into the shame, grief, and emotional isolation mothers carry when their child is criminalized—often after years of being overlooked, mislabeled, and set up for failure as early as high school.

We talk about:

• The quiet shame mothers are taught to carry

• Processing guilt when you “did everything right”

• How systems fail kids long before prison does

• Why judgment hurts more than the sentence

• And how to survive emotionally when motherhood doesn’t look the way you imagined

This episode isn’t about crime—it’s about humanity, resilience, and the truth no one warns mothers about.

Because you never think it will be you… until it is.

Find us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Jae's husband Nicholas Ely on Facebook "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠More Than An Inmate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" or the Facebook group "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠End Felony Murder Rule in Nebraska⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BestSelf Publications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to purchase books by incarcerated authors and help in supporting their rehabilitation.

Our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠