Systemic

Colorado Public Radio•systemicpodcast.org

Systemic is an award-winning podcast that uses audio diaries and interviews to document the lives of people working to create change.

In Season 2, the show follows a diverse group of educators, students and parents during a school year in which debates around race and equity in public education reached a fever pitch.

Season 1, produced in the wake of George Floyd's death and the ensuing protests, follows Black Americans working to reform policing from inside and outside the system.

Last refreshed: June 28th, 2025 at 8:40 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

Overcoming Hate

When it comes to prosecuting hate crimes, Colorado didn’t have a great track record until they amended Colorado’s bias-motivated crimes statute. In this bonus episode of Systemic, we look at how Melissa Hall, a Black parent who was racially abused while volunteering on school premises, tested this new amendment in court. Host and producer: Jo Erickson Producers: Rebekah Romberg, Kibwe Cooper, Emily Williams Theme music by Daniel Mescher. (Additional music via Universal Production Music.) Art: Ma...

Feb 06, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 5

Dreams

Leaders in Denver Public Schools acknowledge existing inequities in schools and are trying to address them. They recognize the lack of people of color in leadership positions has created policies that led to disparities between white students and students of color. To redress this problem, DPS created a leadership program. But while it solves some problems, it may create new ones. In this episode we follow educator Paulina Lerma as she attempts to break the glass ceiling to become a Latina princ...

Jan 31, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 4

Tipping Point

The number of Black teachers leaving the profession is rising. Kevin Adams is a social studies teacher working in Denver Public Schools. He’s very popular with students and parents, but struggles with microaggressions from his colleagues. Like many Black teachers, he thinks about quitting education. Why are Black teachers walking away? Kevin and his friend started a podcast to put a spotlight on the hard truths about why teachers of color are leaving the profession. In this episode we follow Kev...

Jan 24, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 3

Safe Space

The dramatic exit of the superintendent and changes to school equity policies is cause for concern for Naomi Lopez, a speech therapist in Colorado Springs School District 11. Lopez works with children in special education who require services from the equity department. Without the equity leadership team overseeing the work, she fears her students will miss vital resources that assist in their academic goals. Naomi’s problems grew when two board members expressed transphobic messages on social m...

Jan 17, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 2

No Equity, No Voice

Racial tension has been building in Colorado Springs School District 11 for some time. School volunteer Melissa Hall was racially abused by a white parent in the school parking lot. But tension escalated when the superintendent abruptly resigned and a school board member made racial comments toward Black men who attended a school board meeting. In this episode we follow Melissa Hall, a Black parent, as she feels the full impact of withholding equity policies as a school volunteer and a mother of...

Jan 10, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 1

Season 2 Preview: Equity & Education

Conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion found their way into schools, classrooms, and school board meetings over the past few years. But fixing an entire education system isn’t simple. Systemic, hosted and reported by Jo Erickson, is back for Season 2. This season, teachers, parents, students and administrators of color are asking hard questions about the American education system. What topics get to be included in the curriculum? How can educators make schools a place where every fa...

Dec 27, 2022•3 min

Dismantle

This spring, the nation held its breath as Derek Chauvin, the officer charged with murdering George Floyd, went on trial. Was the officer a single bad apple, or a symptom of a broken system? Nekima Levy-Armstrong is a former law professor who gave up her career to become a full-time activist. Since then, she’s spent the better part of a decade pushing for police reform, and played a pivotal role in the movement that followed Floyd’s death. In this year when rethinking law enforcement is at the c...

Jun 09, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Hard Truths

On this episode, we follow an officer in leadership who’s working to reform policing from the top down. As director of public safety in the small community of Franklin Township, New Jersey, she’s taking a hard look at the diversity of her department, and addressing how officers interact with the community they serve. Hosted and produced by Jo Erickson Editor: Dennis Funk Production and mixing: Rebekah Romberg Theme music by Daniel Mescher. Additional music via Firstcom. Executive producers: Brad...

Jun 02, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Survivor

Against the backdrop of George Floyd’s death and nationwide Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Colorado legislators won praise for swiftly passing an ambitious law meant to punish future abuses by police officers. But part of the genesis for that law began in 2019 amidst a different set of police protests after the death of a Black man in Colorado Springs. That moment left a grieving family searching for answers in a complicated and frustrating legal system. Hosted and produced by Jo Erickson ...

May 26, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Black and Blue

Meet two Black police officers — a young officer in the Minneapolis suburbs and a veteran sheriff's deputy in Colorado Springs — working to protect their communities. In the wake of George Floyd's death and the nationwide protests that followed, these two women offer a glimpse of what it's like to serve in law enforcement at a time when policing itself is under fire. They also speak frankly about how their jobs and their identities sometimes come into conflict. Hosted and produced by Jo Erickson...

May 19, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Introducing Systemic: A Show About Reform

Since the death of George Floyd in 2020, America has been searching its soul over questions of racial injustice. Many people are looking for solutions to change a police culture that disproportionately harms people of color. They’re asking hard questions about what should be done to reform law enforcement. To capture this defining moment, we followed a group of people across the U.S., working to change police departments from the outside and within. Systemic — hosted and produced by Jo Erickson ...

May 03, 2021•3 min

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