logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2019
47m 52s

Mass Incarceration

NPR
About this episode
The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world, and a disproportionate number of those prisoners are Black. What are the origins of the U.S. criminal justice system and how did racism shape it? From the creation of the first penitentiaries in the 1800s, to the "tough-on-crime" prosecutors of the 1990s, how America created a culture of mass incarceration.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Yesterday
How college football's deadliest year built the NCAA
A listener emailed the Throughline team with a stunning factoid: Teddy Roosevelt helped create the NCAA to make college football safer. But is it true? What we find is weirder, grislier, and pettier than we expected.Guests:Denis Crawford, historian and exhibit designer at the Col ... Show More
19m 29s
Nov 5
Health Insurance in America
Millions of Americans depend on their jobs for health insurance. But that's not the case in many other wealthy countries. How did the U.S. end up with a system that's so expensive, yet leaves so many people vulnerable? On this episode, how a temporary solution created an everlast ... Show More
52m 30s
Nov 3
Remembering Noah Adams
Today on the show, we honor the late Noah Adams, longtime NPR All Things Considered host. We bring you three of his stories about the complicated and messy parts of being human in an ever-changing world. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like thi ... Show More
24m 8s
Recommended Episodes
May 2019
#1
Over 2.2 million people are behind bars in America. That's a prison population rate of 655 for every 100,000 residents. In other words, when it comes to locking folks up, the United States is #1. In part one of our 4-part series, we explore how the land of the free became the hom ... Show More
25m 46s
May 2018
Prison Industrial Complex
Over the past two decades, private prisons have increased exponentially to accommodate the rising incarceration rate. But many people wonder: Were the number of private prisons built as a response to the rising incarceration rate…or were they the cause of it? Learn more about you ... Show More
56m 52s
Jul 2020
Revisiting Caught: 'I Just Want You to Come Home'
The United States locks up more people - and more children - than any country in the world. Two years ago, Caught delved into the experiences of youth whose worst decisions led them to be entrapped within the criminal justice system, often for life. We’re revisiting the story of ... Show More
28m 47s
Jan 2022
How “radical hospitality” can change the lives of the formerly incarcerated | Reuben Jonathan Miller
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
18m 34s
Aug 2021
7: Crack vs. Cocaine: Welcome to Incarceration Nation
America is an Incarceration Nation, locking more people up than any other country. That includes countries with dictators. Think about that. In today’s episode, Bailey pulls back the curtain to show us the ugly truth behind why ONE gram of crack gets the same criminal sentence as ... Show More
45m 46s
Jun 2021
The multibillion-dollar US prison industry -- and how to dismantle it | Bianca Tylek
A phone call to a US prison or jail can cost up to a dollar per minute -- a rate that forces one in three families with incarcerated loved ones into debt. In this searing talk about mass incarceration, criminal justice advocate and TED Fellow Bianca Tylek exposes the predatory na ... Show More
6m 24s
Aug 2021
Restraining police restraint
Deaths in custody are a recurring tragedy for many countries, including Australia, the United States and in the United Kingdom. Victims are disproportionately black. They often die after being restrained during a mental health crisis, or while intoxicated. In the UK, barrister Le ... Show More
54m 5s
May 2021
Hard Truths: Finding a job after prison
We're back with another episode of our Hard Truths series looking at the criminal justice system in the U.S. Today. Specifically, what happens when people of color make it out of that system and try to rebuild their lives. People of color are disproportionately imprisoned in the ... Show More
11m 29s
Jul 2024
The prison system is broken - how can we fix it?
On this week's podcast, inspired by <a href='https://www.mysocialworknews.com/article/prison-reform-is-essential-i-m-optimistic-it-might-be-coming'>this</a> opinion column, Vince and Cara discuss  their experiences of working with people in prison - the good, and the bad. They ex ... Show More
52m 38s