{"id":18832,"date":"2026-02-05T22:19:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T22:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/?p=18832"},"modified":"2026-03-03T21:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T21:55:08","slug":"chainz-2-changed-podcast-north-dakota-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/stories\/chainz-2-changed-podcast-north-dakota-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"This Podcast Broadcasts Change from a North Dakota Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From a maximum-security prison cell in Bismarck, North Dakota, unheard stories are spreading hope and changing hearts . . . through a podcast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s called Chainz 2 Changed<\/a>, the brainchild of Antonio Stridiron and Zach Schmidkunz. Both men are incarcerated at the North Dakota State Penitentiary (NDSP). They record the show in a refurbished cell, on donated equipment. And since its launch in August 2023, Chainz 2 Changed has been downloaded nearly 20,000 times in all 50 states, almost 40 countries, and other correctional facilities in North Dakota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reason why we wanted to start a podcast is to get the world to know about the one thing that many of us try so hard to do, but never get recognized doing,\u201d says Stridiron. \u201cChanging, changing, changing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n Launched in August 2023, Chainz 2 Changed is the brainchild of Antonio Stridiron and Zach Schmidkunz. Both men are incarcerated at the North Dakota State Penitentiary (NDSP).\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n \n \n <\/figure>\n\n
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The idea sprang out of a visit several years ago from North Dakota legislators, touring NDSP before voting on an upcoming sentencing bill. They were deeply impacted by the residents, Stridiron remembers, who challenged their expectations of what incarcerated people were really like. But the legislators were unsure they could convince their constituents on the outside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stridiron saw this lack of understanding as a problem for everybody.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSociety, TV, the news, movies, they have a way that they portray people in prison, and people need to know that that\u2019s not always true,\u201d he says. \u201cWho\u2019s best to tell the truth [apart] from the people who\u2019s actually doing it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another resident suggested that Stridiron start a podcast. But without equipment or internet access, the idea stalled. Until he brought it up to Schmidkunz.<\/span><\/p>\n

By then, both men were living in NDSP\u2019s<\/span> U.N.I.T.Y. Village<\/span><\/a>, where mentors serving long sentences provide guidance to younger residents. There was more space, and more trust. So Schmidkunz wrote to the North Dakota Council on the Arts<\/a> and Prairie Public Broadcasting<\/a> for advice. Almost immediately, both organizations\u2014plus the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation\u2014offered equipment, support, and training.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s work on getting rid of the stereotype that we are only what we did,\u201d said Schmidkunz in their first episode. \u201cBecause most of us in prison are going to be out soon. And we\u2019re going to be everybody\u2019s neighbors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Poppy Mills, NDDOT<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Zach Schmidkunz (pictured) wrote to the North Dakota Council on the Arts and Prairie Public Broadcasting for advice on their podcast idea. Both organizations\u2014plus the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation\u2014offered equipment, support, and training. \n\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Poppy Mills, NDDOT<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Episodes often include original music created by residents, including co-host Antonio “Dread” Stridiron (pictured).\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Poppy Mills, NDDOT<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n The podcast studio is inside a renovated cell within the U.N.I.T.Y. Village of the North Dakota State Penitentiary.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n
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\n \n\n\n\n<\/g>\n\n\n\n<\/clipPath>\n<\/defs>\n<\/svg> Photo Credit: Poppy Mills, NDDOT<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n Today, Chainz 2 Changed releases two to four episodes a month, and they’re available to listen on their website and Spotify.\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n\n
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