Crackdown tells the story of drug user activism in the face of hostility and neglect.
Crackdown has a first person perspective.
Garth Mullins—Crackdown’s Host and Executive Producer—is a longtime activist and drug user as well as a member of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the BC Association of People on Methadone. Crackdown was born out of the idea that journalism can be rigorous, fair, and meet the expectations enumerated in the Canadian Association of Journalists, while also containing a clear and transparently-stated point of view. We believe that journalism can and should seek to serve the public good. We believe that journalism need not be produced by people who are distant from the topics and communities they are covering. And we believe that - rather than hiding behind a mask of “objectivity” - journalism is most truthful when it clearly communicates its point of view to the audience.
Crackdown is led by people who use drugs.
Crackdown is governed by an Editorial Board consisting of some of Vancouver’s most tenacious drug user activists, including members of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, the BC Association of People on Opioid Maintenance, and the Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society. At our monthly Editorial Board meetings, our team identifies under-covered stories, sets out production goals, and reflects on past work - all with the goal of making the show as responsive to community-need as possible.
Crackdown tells stories.
Crackdown is produced by a team of award-winning investigative journalists and documentary radio producers from Vancouver, Canada. Crackdown’s Co-Host and Senior Producer, Sam Fenn, has reported on harm reduction, public health, and the war on drugs in Canada for over ten years. We believe that narrative form and nonfiction storytelling is a powerful medium for strengthening democracy, demystifying esoteric concepts, and giving communities a voice in the public policy that structures their lives.
Crackdown democratizes research knowledge.
Crackdown is produced through deep partnerships with academics at the University of British Columbia, Yale, the University of Victoria, the University of Alberta, and the University of Toronto. All of our work seeks to make research knowledge more accessible to drug users, students and the general public.
Crackdown is a part of the community.
It’s important to us that Crackdown is heard by the people most affected by the war on drugs: drug users. For that reason, our team regularly holds listening parties at the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users’ storefront in Vancouver. Other groups have spontaneously decided to hold their own listening parties. If your group is holding a listening party, please let us know!
Our show is also licensed to train people how to respond to an overdose and we regularly distribute Naloxone to people in the Greater Vancouver area.
Contact Crackdown
Email: crackdownpodcast@gmail.com
Patreon: patreon.com/crackdownpod
Twitter: @crackdownpod
Facebook: fb.com/crackdownpod
Instagram: @crackdownpod