On today’s episode, Ali talks with Chicago-based journalist Nissa Rhee about her work on immigration reporting, youth justice, and mass incarceration. She is joined in the studio by Carousel Bayrd to emphasize the importance of supporting independent, local media. Nissa Rhee is an independent journalist who lives in Chicago. Her work has appeared in a […]
Bail and the bigger picture in Dane County
The fight against mass incarceration is a fight to fundamentally challenge the assumptions that drive our systems of policing, jails, and prisons in America. It’s also a fight against the practice of cash bail, and there are several groups in Madison who have banded together to take that on. The Free The 350 Bail Fund […]
Is Faulty Forensic Science Destroying the Criminal Justice System?
Tune in to any number of crime shows on television, and you’ll be awed by the high-tech forensic science on display. Time and again, investigators conclusively prove a suspect’s guilt with single strands of hair or a small scrap of DNA. One would think that such forensic techniques are infallible. In truth, however, not only […]
Ankle Bracelet Use Skyrocketing In Spite of Significant Problems
Imagine having your every move tracked by the government by a device permanently fastened to your ankle. The device has a battery in it, and must be plugged in every few hours. Failure to recharge it could result in your arrest. The device often malfunctions, resulting in gaps in communication and resulting in arrest, potentially […]
Lawmaker Pitches Criminal Justice Reform, Highlights Urgency
Representative Evan Goyke says now’s the time for criminal justice reform. If lawmakers don’t act fast, he says the first prisoner in Wisconsin’s system since 2001 will be forced into a private prison out of state in 2018. “The prison system is designed to hold about 17.5 thousand inmates, and yet … [it has] about […]
No Child Behind Bars Tour Comes to Madison
We begin the show with Larry Dupuis, legal director with the ACLU of Wisconsin, who recently filed a lawsuit challenging conditions at Wisconsin’s youth prison. Next, Esty is joined by organizers and speakers of the No Child Behind Bars tour, Amanda Weatherspoon and Nadya Tannous, and local activist Brandi Grayson. Amanda Weatherspoon is a Unitarian Universalist minister […]
