Mass Incarceration, Then and Now

The U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world; although the country makes up about five per cent of the global population, it holds nearly a quarter of the world’s prisoners. David Remnick is joined by WNYC’s Kai Wright, the host of the podcast “The United States of Anxiety,” to talk about mass incarceration and the beginning of a movement against it. Remnick also talks with Michelle Alexander, whose book “The New Jim Crow,” from 2010, which was a best-seller for nearly five years, identified how mass-incarceration policies have been a disaster for communities of color. The poet and public defender Reginald Dwayne Betts, who was formerly incarcerated, reads from his book “Felon.” And we follow a man who returns home from prison to find a changed world.    Taber Gable contributed original music for this episode.   

2356 232

Suggested Podcasts

Matt Dobschuetz

Greg Stone

Libby Sinback

The Lunatics Project

Oakes Media Group

Rohit Bhardwaj

Purani Dilli Walo Ki Baatein

Prakash Ranjan

Krrish Verma