The recent increase in incarceration rates among women within the federal prison system means unique challenges the women face upon their release. In this episode, guest Tanya Pierce, the executive director of Life Unbolted, discusses what reform measures are needed to address this crisis.
Both Sides of the Bars – Black Community Health Effect and Criminal Legal System – Feb 13 2025
Not only do various public health issues disproportionately affect the Black community, but they are exacerbated by criminal legal system involvement. Those issues include infectious diseases, substance use, mental health, homelessness, and violence. In today’s episode, a medical expert in the field – Dr. Robert Fullilove, professor of sociomedical sciences and associate dean for community and minority affairs at Columbia University – proposes solutions to this public health crisis.
Both Sides of the Bars – Sing Sing – Rehabilitation Through the Arts – Dec 20 2025
Universally acclaimed by critics -- and nominated for numerous awards -- last year's film "Sing Sing" is based on the "rehabilitation through the arts" program at New York State's maximum security prison. The film focuses on a group of incarcerated men who create theatrical stage shows through the program — and it stars both professional actors as well as many formerly incarcerated men who were alumni of that program. Two of those men — Jon-Adrian "JJ" Velazquez and Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin — are the guests of this episode in which they discuss the movie ... and also the unique prison program in which they were a part.
Both Sides of the Bars – Top Trends in Criminal Legal System Reform in 2024 – Dec 16 2024
In this year-end wrap-up report, an expert in sentencing reform, voting rights, and confronting racial disparities in the criminal legal system looks back at 2024 and explores key changes formerly incarcerated activists, lawmakers, and advocates took to challenge mass incarceration. They include decarceration, voting rights and collateral consequences, and trends in prison capacity. Guest Nicole D. Porter, senior director of advocacy at Washington, D.C.-based The Sentencing Project, also looks ahead and predicts what changes are on the horizon for the coming year.
Both Sides of the Bars – Mass Incarceration Doesnt Mean Less Crime – Nov 22 2024
In the last decade, nearly all 50 U.S. states have declined in both crime and mass incarceration rates, but according to a recent report by The Sentencing Project (TSP), there's a startling disconnect between the two. This report exposes the limited impact of imprisonment on public safety and challenges the notion that higher incarceration rates lead to safer communities. In this episode, two Washington, D.C.-based guests -- Nazgol Chandnoosh, TSP's co-director of research, and Bryan Widenhouse, senior policy associate at FAMM (formerly Families Against Mandatory Minimums) -- discuss how mass incarceration hasn't been a major factor in the decline in crime since the 1990s.