Brandon Kramer (pictured center) is the Director of, and Pete White is a participant in, The First Step, a documentary that follows CNN correspondent/progressive Van Jones, as he controversially crosses party lines to fight for bipartisan support for criminal justice reform and a more humane response to the addiction crisis during a divisive administration. The film is a rare story caught on film about progressives and conservatives attempting to overcome their differences and work together on issues that impact people in both political parties.

Pete is also Executive Director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) whose mission is to help people dealing with poverty create & discover opportunities, while serving as a vehicle to ensure we have voice, power & opinion in the decisions that are directly affecting us. You can check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

On this week’s show from #DFF44, Brandon and Pete share their insights about the movie’s origins, the process of making the film, the necessary challenges of coalition building, and a ton more. I asked them both challenging questions, and they answered them with candor, forthrightness, and care. This is a fascinating documentary featuring a cadre of compelling personalities and a multitude of twists in the journey. Prison reform is a complex issue with no easy solutions, and this documentary does a fantastic job of capturing an unusual snapshot in time where an unusual coalition works toward a shared goal. I highly recommend you check it out.

You can download this episode on iTunes, stream it on Spotify, find it on podcatchers everywhere, or listen at the Jon of All Trades homepage.

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