A groundbreaking new podcast limited series, Fire Escape, tells the remarkable story of Amika Mota, an incarcerated female firefighter, former midwife, and daughter of a feminist icon, whose journey challenges the stigma surrounding women in prison. In this powerful series, listeners ride along with Amika to emergency calls, as she saves the lives of people in the prison town, including her jailers and their families. The limited-series will release on November 13 exclusively on Wondery+, and will be available on Amazon Music and everywhere you get your podcasts starting December 9.
Fire Escape chronicles Amika's life, the challenges she faced after being sentenced to almost ten years in one of the largest women’s prisons in the world, and her identity-shifting work as an incarcerated first responder. During her time in prison, Amika must also learn how to be a mother to her three growing children, despite being told by the world that she is no longer entitled to that role.
In the series, Amika confronts and transforms the shame imposed on women in prison through her human-to-human actions in emergency situations, defying a system intent on burying her under the weight of her worst moment. Listening to her stories as an incarcerated first responder shifts the narrative around women in prison, emphasizing their fundamental right to live a full and worthy life.
“When I first started talking to Amika, she had a way of seeing the layers upon layers of expectations put on women in prison. And then when she talked about her experiences on the firetruck, all of those expectations unraveled. It was a whole new way of telling a story” says host, Anna Sussman.
Fire Escape is a Wondery and KQED’s Snap Studios production.
ABOUT WONDERY
Wondery, an Amazon company, is a podcast studio known for character-driven, binge-worthy stories including Dr. Death, British Scandal, Even the Rich, and Business Wars, and hit partner shows like Morbid, How I Built This, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, and New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce. Over 55 shows from Wondery have hit No. 1 on Apple Podcasts, including Scamfluencers and Stolen Hearts. Many Wondery podcasts have been adapted for scripted television or streaming series, including Dr. Death and Joe vs Carole on Peacock and The Shrink Next Door and WeCrashed on Apple TV+. Wondery has gained critical acclaim and commercial success for its immersive approach to sonic, emotionally driven storytelling. The Wondery app offers a unique, personalized podcast listening experience, including access to its premium ad-free offering Wondery+. With Wondery+, fans experience early access, exclusive episodes, and ad-free listening.
https://wondery.com/
ABOUT ANNA SUSSMAN (HOST)
Anna Sussman has been a reporter, producer and editor at Snap Studios for fifteen years.
She has reported on prisons designated for women in California for nearly twenty years. Her multi-year, reporting projects have won numerous awards, including the Third Coast Gold and Silver awards for outstanding audio features.
She has reported on human rights and post-war justice from more than ten countries. Anna’s work has appeared on PRI’s The World, NPR, CNN, The San Francisco Chronicle, and in two economics textbooks as well as McSweeny’s press. She taught audio journalism in Uganda, Liberia and, for ten years, at the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
ABOUT SNAP STUDIOS
Snap Studios, a subsidiary of KQED Public Media in San Francisco, produces the radio show and podcast Snap Judgment and the podcast Snap Judgment Presents: Spooked. Snap Judgment features immersive first-person storytelling and broadcasts weekly on more than 460 NPR stations, including all top 30 markets. Spooked is the top-ranked supernatural storytelling podcast exploring hidden stories from myriad cultures and traditions. Snap Studios’ most recent production is Mind Your Own with Lupita Nyong’o, a storytelling podcast series about what it means to belong, all from the African perspective. Snap Studios programs are scored with original music and immersive soundscaping, transporting listeners into the heart of each story. Snap Studios podcasts average over two million downloads every month and are available for free on all major podcast platforms.
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🎙️Step into the Boots of Incarcerated Female Firefighter in New Podcast Series from Wondery and KQED’s Snap Studios, Fire Escape