SOLVED! #39 - Why You Should Care About Prisons in the Fight for a Better World (Throwback)

Re-Air Date: 8/5/26

Original Air Date: 4/24/26

Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:

• Ch. 1 - Why victims of crime are underserved and actually prefer rehabilitative, root-case approaches to justice

• Ch. 2 - How cashless bail reform has shrunk jail populations and fueled momentum to block new jail construction

• Ch. 3 - The local fight over a proposed mega-prison in Arkansas making some conservatives question mass incarceration itself

• Ch. 4 - A think tank report that proves the glaringly obvious facts about what reduces recidivism, and an article on the community "solutionaries" already preventing and disrupting violence without police

• SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): Aramark's inhumane "service" in the prison system

Leave us a message on our new system!

FOLLOW US ON:

YouTube (This episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please subscribe and share!)

Bluesky

Instagram

Facebook

Mastadon

Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e

REFERENCES

The People Most Ignored by the Criminal-Justice System - The Atlantic

Jails Are Closing Across America. Why? - The Nation

Judge Orders Colorado to Stop Throwing Prisoners in Solitary for Refusing to Work - BOLTS Magazine

The Prison Next Door - The Nation

A better path forward for criminal justice: Changing prisons to help people change - A Report by the Brookings AEI Working Group on Criminal Justice Reform

Making Communities Safe, Without the Police - Boston Review

BACKSTAGE

• Prison Dining Giant Aramark Serves Inedible Food to Drive Commissary Sales, Lawsuit Alleges - The Appeal

EXTRAS:

BOOK: "We Do This Til We Free Us" by Mariame Kaba

(Buying through this link supports indie book stores and this show!)

BOOK: "The New Jim Crow" by Michele Alexander

(Buying through this link supports indie book stores and this show!)

DOCUMENTARY: "13th" by Ava DuVernay (Netflix)

DOCUMENTARY: "The Alabama Solution" (HBO)

TAKE ACTION:

Stop the prison industrial complex with Critical Resistance and the Abolitionist Law Center

Push for the passage of bills like the End of For-Profit Prisons Act of 2025

MayDayStrong.org - May 1st - No Work. No School. No Shopping.

Stop Trump's Wars

REI Co-Op Members: Vote to Boycott

Greeley Meatpacking Workers (UFCW Local 7R) Strike Fund

No Kings - What's Next?

One Million Rising Trainings

In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach

How to Support Minneapolis Communities

Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

5calls.org

Find your Indivisible group - or start one

Join our Discord Server

Reach us via Signal:

Bestoftheleft.01

Leave a message

Produced by:

Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Review the show on Apple Podcasts!