Spark Media

06/05/2026

DC DOX Festival is around the corner and I am excited to hear that “The Baddest Speechwriter of All” is coming to town. Directed by Academy Award-winner Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry, the short doc tells the remarkable story of the amazing and inspiring Dr. Clarence B. Jones - MLK’s lawyer, speechwriter and trusted confidant.

We lost Clarence last month and I dearly miss his courage, clarity and grace. He was truly a legend and his legacy will always inspire me.

Winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, "The Baddest Speechwriter of All" is a wonderful film and an amazing testament to Clarence’s commitment to justice and fighting the good fight. It’s playing on Sunday, June 14, at 11:30 am. Learn more here: https://dcdoxfest.com/films/the-baddest-speechwriter-of-all/

One of the city’s premier film festivals, DC/DOX brings powerful documentary storytelling from around the world right to our nation’s capital. I was proud to screen my 2024 film, Public Defender, at the festival.

06/04/2026

Sharon Liese, Emmy Award-winning director and longtime Spark Media friend and collaborator, brings her thrilling Sundance Film Festival-premiered documentary, SEIZED, to Washington, DC on June 13 as part of DC DOX Festival.

SEIZED details the troubling police raid on the local Kansas newsroom, Marion County Record, and raises urgent questions about abuse of power, journalistic ethics, and the U.S. Constitution. The film unfolds in real time through police body-cam and surveillance footage, revealing the chaos of the raid, the bombshells that followed, and the devastating personal toll on the newsroom - including the tragic death of its 98-year-old co-owner.

Don’t miss this powerful story about what happens when freedom of the press - one of democracy’s most fundamental tenets - is threatened.

Watch SEIZED on June 13 at 1:30 p.m. ET at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC. The film will screen alongside FINAL PRESS as part of a special DC/DOX shorts program exploring the vital role of a free press. One of the city’s premier film festivals, DC/DOX brings powerful documentary storytelling from around the world right to our nation’s capital. Spark was proud to screen its 2024 film, PUBLIC DEFENDER, at the festival.

Get your tickets and use the code FREEPRESS to receive 10% off: https://dcdoxfest.com/films/seized/

06/02/2026

The host of The People’s Recorder, the amazing Chris Haley, will be joining the “ABC’s Podcast” today at 7:00pm ET via TikTok. Find it here: !

Chris, who is also the Director of the Study of the Legacy of Slavery at the Maryland State Archives, will be discussing the continuing legacy of Roots. This is an important and timely discussion, and we hope you tune in!

06/01/2026

We just heard about this amazing program coming from the Authentic Opera Company and the Face Off Theatre Company. Tangled Roots is a “one-act opera rooted in memory, ancestry, and the presence of those who came before us.” The opera takes its inspiration from oral histories with the survivors of slavery conducted by the Federal Writers’ Project between 1936 and 1938.

This is such an amazing way to make history come alive for a modern audience. With support from the Kalamazoo College Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, Authentic and Face Off will perform the opera at the Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College on June 19 at 7pm to commemorate Juneteenth. It’s free and open to the public! To all our friends near Kalamazoo, check it out! Learn more at https://www.authenticoperacompany.com/tangledroots

The People’s Recorder also tells the stories of these interviews, especially those done in Virginia, in episodes 2 and 3. Find them wherever you get your podcasts or at the YouTube links below.

Episode 2 – A New Kind of History https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsAt73ozuak
Episode 3 – A Lost Cause? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxAK-FaqijU

Those episodes were produced with support from Virginia Humanities and National Endowment for the Humanities.

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, we’d like to take a moment to recognize all who have served and sacrificed. Thank you!

Since 2001, we have lost more veterans to su***de than killed in action. We need to do our part to help spread awareness or support organizations that prioritize veteran health and wellness.

These brave men and women have stood for us. Now it’s our turn.

There are a lot of great groups out there doing important work for veterans and their families, such as Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). Learn more about their work at www.taps.org.

05/19/2026

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

It’s a good time to highlight the important story of Japanese American artist Miné Okubo. Okubo was a gifted artist who was working with Diego Rivera on murals for the WPA when she was forced into an incarceration camp for Japanese American citizens during World War 2. Okubo used her skills as an artist to depict the injustice in her landmark book Citizen 13660.

Her work helped give us a profound new lens on the American identity. It was an honor to speak with her nieces and share her story in The People’s Recorder.

Listen to Episode 9: “Is This Land Your Land?” wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUX0-EKrOi8

That episode was produced with support from California Humanities and National Endowment for the Humanities

05/18/2026

And to think that our connection started with a simple domain sale!

Fifteen years later, we’re still connected. Paul Carlin has just started Elite Finishing Labs, a space for indies to get top rate finishing, color, conform and broadcast deliverables, without all the corporate overhead. Check him out at https://elitefinishinglabs.com

Wishing him lots of great projects, good humans, smooth exports and plenty of inspirational sparks ahead!

05/12/2026

04/30/2026

Check out the latest from The People's Recorder! Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

You can now listen to our interview with expert folklorist Dr. Peggy Bulger!

Dr. Peggy Bulger led the American Folklife Center at the The Library of Congress for a dozen years. Before that, she served as Florida’s first state folklorist. But even before that, when she was doing her graduate research, Dr. Bulger had the foresight to interview Florida legend Stetson Kennedy about his work gathering Florida’s stories and songs. So, when we sat down with Dr. Bulger for The People’s Recorder, we knew she would bring a treasure trove of stories.

You can hear a lot of this conversation for free on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zSE2tgC2jI

Be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!

To hear the full interview, consider joining our Patreon Community at www.patreon.com/PeoplesRecorder

04/28/2026

Host a screening of the award-winning documentary PUBLIC DEFENDER produced by The New Yorker and in partnership with the Pulitzer Center

Be part of a national conversation together with Living Room Conversations.

This is about more than one day. It’s about how history is shaped, challenged, and remembered.

Mark on May 3 ➡ https://mailchi.mp/901100ea3206/pd-world-press-freedom-day?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnPv0SP3ReuLMA3ETYk1xoovVy-yHA3KM07GtKRlRKHvqzMw8tS401xuX5fyo_aem_eNlMGdhJUlMP4k8a9lNjkg