112. Reading Dostoevsky Behind Bars

Twenty years ago, before the Freakonomics book tour, Bill McGowan taught Steve Levitt to speak in public. In his new book he tries to teach everyone else. SOURCES:Bill McGowan, founder and C.E.O. of Clarity Media Group. RESOURCES:Speak, Memorably: The Art of Captivating an Audien ... Show More

Former professional poker player Annie Duke wrote a book about Steve’s favorite subject: quitting. They talk about why quitting is so hard, how to do it sooner, and why we feel shame when we do something that’s good for us. SOURCES:Annie Duke, author and former professional poker ... Show More

Psychologist David Yeager thinks the conventional wisdom for how to motivate young people is all wrong. His model for helping kids cope with stress is required reading at Steve’s new high school. SOURCES:David Yeager, professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. ... Show More

Adrian Turner joined the prison service 1988 as a prison officer, working at Ashford Remand Centre. He subsequently worked at HMP Full Sutton, HMP Norwich, HMP Whitemoor, PSC Newbold Revel, HMP Lindholme, HMP Channings Wood, HMP Gloucester, HMP Eastwood Park, HMP Bristol, HMP Sud ... Show More

For the nearly 20 million Americans with a felony record, punishment doesn’t end after their prison sentence. Sociologist Reuben Jonathan Miller sheds light on the aftershocks of mass incarceration through the stories of people who’ve lived it, left it and still have to grapple w ... Show More

Welcome to The Academic Life! In this episode you’ll hear about: How both of today’s guests became involved in higher education in prison. Why this work is personal to them. Funding and representation issues in higher education in prison. The complexities of supporting students w ... Show More

In a live appearance at UCLA’s Royce Hall, author, mentor and criminal justice activist Shaka Senghor uses his powerful story to share the surprising universal life lessons he learned in prison. At the age of 19, Shaka was sent to prison for second-degree murder. After being inca ... Show More

Since the pandemic struck, millions around the world have endured lockdowns, with many finding it hard to tolerate long periods indoors. But what if lockdown meant years on end spent entirely alone, in a single room, sometimes no bigger than a large elevator? In many US states, j ... Show More

In episode 2 of The Secret Life of Prisons, Phil and Paula hear what it's like to live in The Cell. Wrongly-imprisoned journalist Raphael Rowe and author and blogger David Breakspear share their stories of living in a cell.  Carl Cattermole is an award-winning dramatist and autho ... Show More

With more than one and half million people behind bars, the U.S. is second only to China in the number of citizens who are incarcerated. And an estimated one of three African American men spend some part of their lives under the control or supervision of the criminal justice syst ... Show More

Happy Christmas from The Secret Life of Prisons! On Wednesday 22 November 2023, Rory Stewart delivered the annual Longford Lecture at Church House in Westminster. And like every year, National Prison Radio was there to broadcast the lecture into prison cells across England and Wa ... Show More

Indeterminate sentences are devastating to mental health, but prisoners with mental illness are less likely to be released. The result is a vicious cycle whereby the most vulnerable inmates often have the least chance of getting out – as John’s case shows. By Sophie Atkinson. Hel ... Show More