The Unwelcome: Part I

This episode opens with Matriculation Day at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington – the start of school for first-year students. Racial justice protests in 2020 promoted a state-ordered independent investigation documenting an institutional culture of racism and sexism. What has changed at VMI since then? Have the changes gone far enough in addressing systemic racial inequality?  And will the new governor, Glenn Youngkin, threaten VMI’s progress?

The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington is a college embedded in Southern military tradition – which includes an unquestioning respect for the Confederacy. But in the spring of 2020, a racial reckoning came to VMI after students of color and some alumni began to air their frustrations and demand change. In this episode, you’ll discover how those students and alumni exposed racism and false historical narratives. This state school with intimate ties to Virginia politics provides insight into how our country grapples with the legacy of the Confederacy.

This exclusive trailer for season four of Sounds Like Hate (coming June 14) takes you inside the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, where an independent investigation exposed a longstanding culture of systemic racism. Alumni and students demanded change – including the removal of memorials glorifying the Confederacy. Now, for the first time in 182 years, a Black superintendent has been appointed to lead at VMI. Will he be able to implement real change?

In this special episode of Sounds Like Hate Season 4, we travel back to the months leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, to track white supremacists as they plan, prepare and execute their violent plot to attack the U.S. Capitol and overturn an election. Listen now as we examine the events that should have been 'red flags' in 2020 as the hate and extremism movement reached a boiling point in the lead up to Jan. 6, 2021. 

The Season 3 finale of Sounds Like Hate centers on the small town of Arivaca, Arizona, just 11 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Here, residents have taken a decidedly pro-migrant stand – but armed anti-migrant militia groups continue to operate nearby, and more anti-migrant residents are moving in. Can Arivaca’s commitment to embracing inclusivity survive in a shifting, politically polarized world?

In Part I of “The Unwelcome,” we’re on the southern border in Arizona, where armed militia groups stalk migrants traversing harsh desert conditions. In some cases, militia members arm themselves with guns, scopes and motion activated video cameras seek to capture migrants and destroy their water sources, putting migrants’ lives at an even steeper risk.

This special bonus episode of Sounds Like Hate provides an exclusive update on The Base, an international “white power” terrorist group that we’ve been tracking since Season 1 of the podcast. Since then, some members of The Base have been arrested and charged with hatching violent plots – here are the details of the disturbing crimes these extremists were planning to commit.

In part II of “Fostering Hate,” we tell the stories of LGBTQ parents and children navigating a foster system with a history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Too often, foster parents are not adequately vetted or trained. In this episode, we meet LGBTQ people who have been deeply impacted by issues of bias, rejection and queer identity in the foster system – each of them ultimately connected by their desire for a chosen family where LGBTQ identities are accepted and celebrated. Children and families must be protected, not discriminated against in our system.

In 2018, Philadelphia tried to defend its policies to prevent discriminatory treatment of LGBTQ parents in its foster care system – and got sued by a religious right organization over it. This episode unravels the ongoing legal battle over the future of queer parents in Philly’s foster system and includes interviews with some of the kids and parents who have been directly affected.

In Florida, many people who have previously been incarcerated have had their right to vote taken away by discriminatory legislative measures. In this episode, we meet some of these people who have served their sentenced time and simply want their rights back – and are bravely fighting to be heard by lawmakers and to give voice to others who share their struggles.