Spotify allows podcasts to post a 'trailer,' a short example of what your show is about. It's often difficult for us to explain News Beat -- an award-winning mix of real, hard-hitting social justice journalism, music, original rap lyrics... For some, it's hard to imagine -- until they HEAR it. Then, it all makes sense.  To make it a bit easier for folks just discovering us, we put together a brief, 'behind-the-scenes' look at how one of our episodes came together.  Sort of. Bon appétit. (Note: A portion of the trailer deals with the topic of sexual assault, and could be triggering.)

News Beat is a Morey Creative Studios production: www.MoreyCreative.com

News Beat is produced and engineered by Michael "Manny Faces" Conforti: www.MannyFaces.com

News Beat Executive Producer is Jed Morey Editor in Chief: Christopher TwarowskiManaging Editor: Rashed MianCover Art Design: Jeff Main

In this episode, we take an alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the "I Have a Dream" soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of Glen Cove, NY, Larry Hamm, of the People's Organization for Progress, hip-hop artist Silent Knight, and King's own words, listeners learn of MLK's Poor People's Campaign, which he believed would be his true legacy. More than likely, it was this that got him killed.

News Beat is a Morey Creative Studios production: www.MoreyCreative.com

News Beat is produced and engineered by Michael "Manny Faces" Conforti: www.MannyFaces.com

News Beat Executive Producer is Jed Morey Editor in Chief: Christopher TwarowskiManaging Editor: Rashed MianCover Art Design: Jeff Main

Consider this: Alan Newton served more than 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit before DNA analysis proved him innocent and he was exonerated. Now, had this occurred in Alabama, he would have received $50,000 for every year of wrongful imprisonment.

Instead, Newton was convicted in the state of New York, where exonerees receive nothing, and are instead forced to sue the government for compensation. Eighteen states do not even have compensation laws, and those that do vary in exactly what the restitution is.

On this episode, we dissect the disparity in exoneration compensation laws and how even seemingly liberal states such as New York have mandates on the books many consider woefully inadequate.

News Beat is an MP Studios production, a division of Morey Publishing: www.MoreyPublishing.com

News Beat is produced and engineered by Michael "Manny Faces" Conforti: www.MannyFaces.com

News Beat Executive Producer is Jed Morey Editor in Chief: Christopher TwarowskiManaging Editor: Rashed MianCover Art Design: Jeff Main

In this special bonus episode, Editors Rashed Mian and Christopher Twarowski examine the impact of bail on New Yorkers and the potential impact new reforms will have on the state.

Next, experts will discuss recent revelations from the "Afghanistan Papers" -- documents that showed the U.S. public has been misled throughout the war—in other words, lied to.

News Beat is a Morey Creative Studios production: www.MoreyCreative.com

News Beat is produced and edited by Michael "Manny Faces" Conforti: www.MannyFaces.com

News Beat Executive Producer is Jed Morey Editor in Chief: Christopher TwarowskiManaging Editor: Rashed MianCover Art Design: Jeff Main

Just like Home Alone and Die Hard, 'tis the season to enjoy a couple of classic blasts from the News Beat past. Today, we're bringing you our first big award-winning episode, Why We Riot. It's a compelling examination of all the factors that exist when overly-oppressed and tormented communities have finally had enough, and, much like the incidents that lay at the foundation of our democracy, are forced to rise up in rebellion. Music by The Band Called FUSE, lyrics by Silent Knight.

News Beat is a Morey Creative Studios production: www.MoreyCreative.com

News Beat is produced and engineered by Michael "Manny Faces" Conforti: www.MannyFaces.com

News Beat Executive Producer is Jed Morey Editor in Chief: Christopher TwarowskiManaging Editor: Rashed MianCover Art Design: Jeff Main

From the expert voice of Naomi Klein, to the voices of teenagers taking part in the global climate strike, to incendiary lyrics from hip-hop artist Silent Knight, this powerful episode explores the ongoing climate crisis and the people who are fighting for our collective future.

UPDATE: Chesa Boudin, the deputy public defender in San Francisco, was officially elected district attorney in a hotly contested race for the hugely important seat. Boudin is among a number of DA candidates who have run on a reform agenda and he intends on dramatically reimagining the DA position in his hometown, much like Larry Krasner in Philadelphia. If you haven't already, make sure to listen to the full episode, "Restorative Justice: Healing Instead of Incarceration."

This episode introduces the concept of restorative justice, in which crime victims actually have a say in the punishment handed down to their offenders. So instead of universal prison time, atonement might come in the form of community service, or in a face to face meeting, or any number of other acts of redress that those affected see as fit.

This isn't a radical, new approach, but a centuries-old practice, that many say empowers victims and paves the road for true healing.