This week, we’re sharing an interview with Julie and Jeremy, two anarchists and participants in the Asheville Community Bail Fund. We speak about the US system of pre-trial incarceration aka bail and bond, the work of the bail fund locally, the overcrowding of the Buncombe County Jail here in Asheville, the ICE holds happening in the local jail, and how local policy choices regarding criminalization are being compounded by recent and new North Carolina legislation. Even if you aren’t in Asheville or North Carolina, it’s likely that much of this conversation will be pertinent to goings-ons in your neck of the woods (though hopefully not).
If you’re a regular listener to The Final Straw Radio, have a passion for enriching the anarchist media environment, feel like your values align with what you’ve heard on the show and want a chance to help out and hone your skills, we’re always looking for help. If you’ve thought of getting a podcast or other media project going but aren’t sure how to start, we can be a good jumping off point. Feel free to reach out via our emails
Links
- https://avlcommunitybail.carrd.co/
- https://www.patreon.com/Ashevillecommunitybailfund
- National Bail Fund Network: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org
- Immigration Resources info: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/es/directorio-para-inmigracion
- Emancipate NC: https://emancipatenc.org/
- Lecture on Crime Data: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/338-counting-crime-a-lecture-on-the-politics-of-crime-data-and-its-uses
- NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty: https://nccadp.org/
- Prairieland Case: https://prairielanddefendants.com/trial-support/
North Carolina Laws discussed
- NC SB-153 – Border Protection Act (pending): https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/legislation/sb-153-border-protection-act-anti-immigrant/
- NC HB-10: https://www.ncjustice.org/nc-justice-center-statement-on-house-bill-10-veto-override/
- NC HB-318: https://www.carolinajournal.com/nc-senate-passes-criminal-alien-enforcement-act/
Iryna’s Law (HB-307)
- https://southerncoalition.org/justice-system-reform/reframing-public-safety/public-safety-solutions-we-deserve-better-than-this/
- https://lincnc.org/when-tragedy-becomes-a-banner-reflections-on-irynas-law-and-the-politics-of-grief/
Related Past interviews
- The Prairieland Case: https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/category/prairieland-case/
- NSPM-7 conversation: https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2025/09/28/the-implications-of-trumps-war-on-antifa-with-moira-meltzer-cohen/
Asheville politics and police repression
- https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2024/05/09/clean-for-who-safe-for-who-asheville-business-improvement-district/
- https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2023/03/19/felony-littering-trials-under-way-in-asheville/
- https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2021/08/01/ashevilles-policing-crisis-with-ursula-wren-of-asheville-free-press/
Public surveillance by ALPR systems like Flock
- https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2025/04/13/pushing-back-on-flock-cameras-with-kate-bertash/
- https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2025/11/02/southerners-against-surveillance-systems-infrastructure-with-ed/
. … . ..
Featured Track:
- TFSR by The Willows Whisper
This week on The Final Straw Radio, you’ll hear three interviews relating to community needs and recovering concerning Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.