IRE Radio Podcast | Fostering Disparity

Brandon Stahl has spent years reporting on foster care for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. But at a meeting with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, he stumbled across a fact he’d never heard before: Minnesota places a higher share of American Indian kids into foster care than any other state. A year-long investigation with data journalist MaryJo Webster left them with a series of articles, some heartbreaking stories, and one big question. 

You can find the podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. If you have a story you think we should feature on the show, drop us a note at web@ire.org. We’d love to hear from you.

EPISODE NOTES

Looking for links to the stories, resources and events we discussed on this week's podcast? We've collected them for you.

• Read “Indian kids in foster care,” the first story in Minneapolis Star Tribune’s series.
• Download data from Cornell University’s Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS).
• Both the program “R” and the program “PSPP” are free alternatives to the statistical program SPSS.

CREDITS

Blake Nelson reported this episode. He also designed our new logo and episode artwork. Daniela Vidal is our host. IRE Web Editor Sarah Hutchins edits the podcast. We are recorded in the studios of KBIA at the University of Missouri.

MUSIC

Bad Cut (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Little Black Cloud (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Bad Seed (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Blammo (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Bad Scene (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Dole It Out (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Dark Water (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Delta (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0