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On Our Watch

On Our Watch is an investigative podcast from KQED, you can listen to the second season now on the KQED website. 

A young man looks at the camera, wearing an official Department of Corrections beanie and a patterned jacket over his uniform. He sits in a nondescript office in front of a bulletin board and a printer.

Correctional Officer Valentino Rodriguez poses for a photo while on duty at California State Prison Sacramento, or “New Folsom.”

When correctional officer Valentino Rodriguez first stepped behind prison walls, he wasn’t just starting a job, he was joining a family. What he didn’t know was that he was now bound by an unwritten code that would ultimately test his loyalty to his oath and his fellow officers. Five years later, Valentino’s sudden death would raise questions from the FBI, his family and his mentor in the elite investigative unit where they both worked. This season, join us as we follow in Valentino’s footsteps to uncover the secrets hidden inside the most dangerous prison in California: New Folsom. If you have tips or feedback about this series please reach out to us at onourwatch@kqed.org.

On Our Watch is an investigative reporting podcast produced by KQED. Special thanks to editorial consultants Rahsaan Thomas of Ear Hustle, Sandhya Dirks of NPR and KQED’s April Dembosky.

David Barstow, Chair of the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, provided support and guidance. Graduate students Kathleen Quinn, Laura Fitzgerald, Cayla Mihalovich, Julietta Bisharyan, William Jenkins, Elizabeth Santos, Armon Owlia, Vera Watt, and Junyao Yang provided research. Jeremy Rue, Associate Professor of Practice at UC Berkeley Journalism and Amanda Glazer, PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley Statistics did our data analysis. Funding for On Our Watch is provided in part by Arnold Ventures and the California Endowment. Additional support for student researchers was provided by the Knight Foundation.

The case files covered in the series were obtained as part of the California Reporting Project, a collaboration of 40 newsrooms formed in late 2018 to investigate misconduct and serious use of force unsealed by a new state law.

Production Staff & Crew

Sukey Lewis

Sukey Lewis ( 2015 )

Reporter

Steven Rascon

Steven Rascón ( 2022 )

Producer