Archives: Episode

280 | Brutal Jail Conditions in Maricopa County

We begin our episode with our monthly round up of prison disturbances contributed by Perilous Chronicle. We close out the episode with a call from Adrien Espinoza, who is currently housed in Maricopa County in Arizona. Espinoza, who got his paralegal degree inside, has contributed to the Prisoner Correspondence Project, the Silvia Rivera law project,…

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279 | Prison’s Durable Harm

Our news today is focused on the long-term consequences of incarceration.  Not only was one of the oldest juvies in the country finally shut down due to systemic abuse of young prisoners, but a number of old school imprisoned militants, from Khalfani Khaldun to Sundiata Acoli, are being hit with repression or are fighting for late-life…

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278 | Prison Phone Exploitation

This week we continue to talk to our guests about prison phone industry giant Global Tel Link and its attempt to whitewash its image by donating money to Sesame Street. Recent grassroots activism from incarcerated people and advocates have led to a wave of legislation mandating reduced costs or even free phone calls in some…

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277 | Prison Phone Justice

This week, our guest is Bianca Tylek, who fills us in about the prison phone industry. GTL and Securus among others profit off of prisoners and their families by charging them exorbitant fees for access to the phone lines which are so key for surviving prison. Recent coverage confirming that Sesame Street had entered a partnership caused…

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276 | The Long Tail of Abuse in the NY Carceral System

This week, we finish our conversation with Kelly Grace Price about the campaign to close Rosie’s. Rosie’s refers to the Rose M. Singer Facility, an all-women’s jail on Rikers Island. On average, Rosie’s detains around 630 women, girls, transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex females while they await trial. Suzanne Singer, the granddaughter of the jail’s…

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275 | Close Rosie’s

This week, we hear from Kelly Grace Price, a co-creator of the Close Rosie’s campaign. Rosie’s refers to the Rose M. Singer Facility, an all-women’s jail on Rikers Island. On average, Rosie’s detains around 630 women, girls, transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex females while they await trial. Price deconstructs the reformist arguments made NYC Board…

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274 | Hard-earned Wisdom

We start off this week’s episode with an update on Marius Mason’s transfer to a men’s facility.  Marius is an imprisoned environmentalist who, in addition to waging an Earth Liberation Front sabotage campaign, was an important aboveground organizer for social movements in Indiana and Michigan for decades.  He came out as transgender while in prison,…

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273 | Jessica Reznicek – Dignity in Rebellion

This week, we hear from a friend and supporter of Jessica Reznicek, who was recently sentenced to federal prison after she admitted to sabotaging the widely opposed Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in 2017. In this episode, Monty tells Jessica’s story from her childhood influences to her experiences in the NoDAPL Movement, in solidarity with the…

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272 | Minnesota’s Shadow Prison

Our main story this week is a contribution from our friends at Perilous Chronicle. Perilous is an independent digital research and media project focused on prisons, and moments of protest, unrest, and repression inside them in the US and Canada. This week, Perilous Chronicle’s Ridley Seawood guides us through the The Minnesota Sex Offender Program…

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271 | Progressive Punishment

In 2008, Monroe County moved to build a new, expanded jail -framed as a “justice campus” using humanitarian rhetoric.  In response, a diverse group of local residents founded an organization called Decarcerate Monroe County (DMC). Judah Schept, who returns as our guest alongside Micol Seigel, was an organizer in the successful DMC campaign to block…

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