#1605 Our Prison System is a Demonstrable Failure (Throwback)

#1605 Our Prison System is a Demonstrable Failure (Throwback)

Author: Best of the Left: Perspectives on Politics, Culture, and Economics December 6, 2025 Duration: 1:02:42

Original Air Date: 1-23-2024

The recent discovery of hundreds of bodies buried behind a jail in unmarked graves sparks a renewed discussion about the futility and counter-productiveness of our system of incarceration and the context of our history that has brought us to this point.

Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Full Show Notes

Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)

Join our Discord community!


SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Families in disbelief after hundreds of bodies found buried behind Mississippi jail - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 1-10-24

Ch. 2: The Most Infamous Jail in America - Olurinatti - Air Date 3-29-23

Ch. 3: Behind the News: The State of the Carceral State w/ Wanda Bertram - Jacobin Radio - Air Date 3-20-23

Ch. 4: Angela Davis on the argument for police and prison abolition | UpFront - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 12-17-21

Ch. 5: The Part of History You've Always Skipped | Neoslavery - Knowing Better - Air Date 4-4-22

Ch. 6: Penitence for the privileged - Beyond Prisons - Air Date 7

Ch. 7: Debunking "Norwegian Prison Reform" As Propaganda with Oakland Abolition and Solidarity - Millennials Are Killing Capitalism - Air Date 3-28-23


EDUCATE YOURSELF & SHARE

8 Ways You Can Advocate for Justice Reform in 2024 (Vera)

Prison and Jail Reform (Brennan Center for Justice)

Criminal Justice Reform (Equal Justice Initiative)

Cutting Jail and Prison Populations (Brennan Center for Justice)


SHOW IMAGE

Description: Photograph of the outside of Coyote Ridge Corrections Center. Barbed wire lines the fences of the entrance in front of the dark gray cement building with tinted windows.

Credit: "A sagebrush sea change from behind barbed wire" by U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com


For over fifteen years, Best of the Left-Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy has served as a vital, human-curated digest of voices from across the progressive spectrum. Instead of presenting a single opinion, each episode is built around a specific theme-from economic inequality to climate policy to cultural shifts-and weaves together insightful commentary from a diverse array of journalists, activists, and thinkers. This approach allows you to efficiently grasp the nuances of complex issues by hearing multiple expert angles in one sitting, all while discovering new commentators and sources you might not have encountered otherwise. The result is a richly layered analysis that algorithms simply cannot replicate, offering depth and context often missing from the daily news cycle. Since 2006, this award-winning podcast has cut through the noise, drawing from hundreds of independent and established sources to provide a coherent, thoughtful examination of the forces shaping our society and governments. Tuning in means joining a long-running conversation dedicated to understanding and advancing democratic principles, social justice, and a more equitable economy, all through the focused lens of leftist thought.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Podcast Episodes
#1765 AI Capitalism Will Not Deliver an AI Utopia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:58:10
Air Date: 1/17/2026 There's a lot to be concerned about with AI but the biggest concern is the economic system we have in place at the moment when AI is being introduced. Capitalism is not a good steward of new and poten…
#1763 It's Not a Health Care System, it's a Wealth Extraction System [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:47:27
Air Date: 1/9/2026 The Republican Party has been angry about every government service and regulation designed to help average people for at least the past 90 years. And, given any opportunity to hobble or destroy any of…