Axios Podcast Spotlight: "Change Agents"

https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2024/06/24/change-agents-podcast-solutions-oriented-stories

Solutions to some of Chicago's toughest problems take center stage on this season of the "Change Agents" podcast, which dropped its season finale last week.

Why it matters: While this fourth season focuses on tough equity issues, including finding work after prison time and barriers to Black homeownership, it injects every episode with a steady stream of hope through a focus on solutions.

The big picture: The podcast is made through the Change Agents Journalism Lab that has been producing audio documentaries since 2020 with Juneteenth Productions for Reparations Media NFP.

What they're saying: "We're completely committed to solutions journalism," executive producer Maurice Bisaillon tells Axios.

"The problems faced by the communities in our stories are just context; the grassroot solutions by community leaders are the main character. Our stories aim to inspire hope that there's answers out there, solutions to the difficult challenges facing Chicago's and greater Illinois' underserved communities."
The intrigue: The project aims to reestablish public trust in journalism.

"We teach our participants to produce journalism that reflects the reality that our audience sees — with the goal to rebuild trust in local news," Bisaillon says. "Our journalists do their best to tell stories through the eyes and voices of the people in our stories. There are no studio interviews; everything happens in the field."
Zoom in: We recently listened to an episode by local journalist Corli Jay who explored her own and others' experience with Chicago's "Choose to Own" program that gives low-income residents support to buy their first home while navigating a confusing and sometimes discriminatory mortgage and appraisal process.

 
Another episode by Citlali Perez followed women administering and receiving help from Giving Others Dreams, a program that offers transitional help for returning citizens from prison.
Our thought bubble: Both explored their Chicago subjects with an intimacy and depth that few others are achieving these days.