Reputation

* 2023 Housing Narrative Award: Best Podcast Episode *

In this first episode, award-winning journalist Ethan Ward invites you into his own journey of homelessness, from restless nights in his car to the burden of carrying shame. Ethan takes listeners to the streets where he would park to sleep and shares memories of his time there. He also chats with Saba Mwine-Chang from the Homelessness Policy Research Institute at the University ...

Ethan chats with Lisa Chilton, a senior who couch surfed for five years after losing several family members and draining her savings. Lisa spent time between many homes or at bus stops, dragging carry-on luggage everywhere she went. In a conversation taped at her apartment in Hollywood, she shares how being unhoused forced her to constantly adapt to new surroundings and talks about the emotional, mental, and physical toll of losing...

Ethan talks to Joel, a former foster youth who fought hard to avoid becoming unhoused. He also chats with Gail Winston, a manager of the supportive housing division at LA's Department of Children and Family Services. They discuss the challenges that foster youth face, including finding housing and support after aging out of the system. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Thousands of Foster Youth Struggle to Keep a Roof Over Their Heads, a s...

From navigating transphobia and misgendering to being turned away from shelters, the unique experiences of transgender people are often overlooked. Emily Garcia and Yahni Rose, both transgender women who were unhoused at an early age, share their experiences navigating homelessness infrastructure. They also discuss how the lack of resources for the transgender community often forces them onto the streets. There are insights from Ba...

Joshua Ray Williams was an unhoused man who overdosed inside a Jack in the Box fast-food restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. The episode begins with Ethan's recollection of how he first discovered Joshua's story while researching a February 2021 article about unhoused people who died in L.A., which is how Joshua's family learned about his death. Ethan shares Joshua's last journal entries that offer a glimpse into Joshua's inner tho...

The statistics are staggering - over 450,000 people experienced homelessness in the U.S. last year, and there are estimates that between 17,000 and 40,000 of them die each year. You'll hear from Dr. Jan Gorniak, DO, MHSA, a board-certified forensic pathologist in Nevada, and Lauren Silver, a medical death investigator in Colorado. They tell the stories of unhoused people after they’ve died and how family members are notified. Throu...

Ethan chats with former L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin and host of the podcast "What’s Next, Los Angeles?" to see how he's been doing since leaving his job as a councilmember. Mike shares his views on homelessness in Los Angeles and the government's response to it. He also talks about his struggles with addiction, dealing with trolls, and how those experiences shaped him as a person and public servant. 

EPISODE CREDITS:

'Reputa...

Ethan sits down with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to reflect on how her experiences inform her approach to tackling the homelessness crisis. Mayor Bass and Ethan also talk about the power of empathy, the importance of community-based solutions to make a difference, and her fear of failure. This conversation was taped April 12, 2023. 

EPISODE CREDITS:

'Reputation' is executive produced, edited, and fact-checked by Ethan Ward. Sound ...

It’s easy to shift blame on politicians or the government. But what can regular people do to be part of the solution? What will history say about our response to this crisis? In this final episode, Ethan chats with Lizzy Calhoun, a film editor and mutual aid worker who is all about direct action. 

Lizzy's involvement with mutual aid began with volunteering to serve food on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles during the pandemic. She de...