FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 22, 2021
CONTACT: Christiaan Perez, press@opportuni​tyagenda.org, 212-334-4275

New York, NY – Today, The Opportunity Agenda launched Shifting the Narrative Podcast, a five-episode narrative-style documentary series that delves into how the dominant narratives on major political issues have changed over time. The podcast focuses on individuals who took action to address the societal struggles and goes further to explore how their actions and the movements they were a part of that played a significant role throughout history in changing the way that we talk about the death penalty, the war on poverty and gun violence.

Shifting the Narrative Podcast is a narrative-style audio documentary that provides an immersive audio storytelling experience through a mix of interviews interlaced with historic recordings from iconic events such as Resurrection City, the anti-poverty protest of 1968 that Martin Luther King Jr. was organizing before his assassination. Through this audio experience, the audience can understand more about how individuals can have a significant impact in shifting the dominant narrative.

The Podcast was designed as a companion to Shifting the Narrative: Six Case Studies, an extensive study about tracking and analyzing how narrative shifted in six key issue areas over the past four decades. Shifting the Narrative Podcast is produced and co-hosted by Will Coley with Ellen Buchman, President of The Opportunity Agenda, as co-host.

Shifting the Narrative Podcast includes interviews with:

• Photographer Robert Houston talking about his images of Resurrection City in 1968
• Bill Pelke talking about how he found forgiveness and became a champion in the anti-death penalty struggle
• And much more

“Narrative shift takes a long time, and I am forever grateful to the titans who came before me to show us the kind of resolve that is needed in order to stand up against problematic dominant narratives. I am excited to share this series with a broad swath of future narrative changers so that, together, we can learn about what it takes to keep the momentum going as we move closer to a more just narrative,” said Ellen Buchman, President of The Opportunity Agenda and Co-Host of Shifting the Narrative Podcast.

“I like stories about people standing up and doing something about injustice. For the podcast, we were fortunate to be able to connect with exactly these types of people who were both catalysts and witnesses to narrative change over several decades. It was an honor to help tell the stories of their work,” said Will Coley, Producer and Co-Host for Shifting the Narrative Podcast.