SEASON 5, EPISODE 10
What’s the Public’s Role in Upholding a Broken Criminal Justice System?
Insha Rahman, Vice President of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute of Justice, stands for a portrait at the Vera offices in Brooklyn. In the backdrop are windows made by an artist meant to replicate windows used in jails. Photo Credit: Diana Cervantes
SEASON 5 EPISODE 10: DECEMBER 26, 2022
Currently, over 7 million people are under some form of carceral supervision in the United States–from custody to bail to probation. For our final episode, 70 Million reporter Mark Betancourt moderates a conversation about the role we, the public, play in creating and sustaining the matrix of incarceration as it exists today. He’s joined by Cornell professor Peter K. Enns, author of the book Incarceration Nation: How the United States Became the Most Punitive Democracy in the World, and Insha Rahman, Vice President of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute.
SEASON 5, EPISODE 9
How Those Drowning in Carceral Debt Are Lining Others’ Pockets
Stephanie Jeffcoat is the community organizer for All of Us are None, a grassroots civil and human rights organization within A New Way of Life, that is fighting for the rights of formerly and currently incarcerated people. Photo Credit: Alisha Jucevic
SEASON 5 EPISODE 9: DECEMBER 19, 2022
The commercial bail bond industry is privatized, consolidated – and estimated to be worth $2.4 billion dollars. People arrested in a state like California, the most expensive place to post bail, often end up in cycles of carceral debt that derail their lives. Reporter Sonia Paul follows one woman’s story – and talks to the organizers, politicians, and experts advocating for bail reform.
SEASON 5, EPISODE 8
Why Policing Our Schools Backfires
Kelli Snyder and her son at their home in Weatherford, Texas. Photo Credit: Zerb Mellish
SEASON 5 EPISODE 8: DECEMBER 12, 2022
School resource officers are often called upon in middle and high schools to help with routine discipline. But for many children, especially those with disabilities, a law enforcement response to their behavior can lead to the school-to-prison pipeline. Reporter Claire McInerny tells one family’s story in Texas.
SEASON 5, EPISODE 7
How Jailhouse Informants Rig the Justice System
Greg Taylor at his home in Maui. Photo Credit: Bud Clark
SEASON 5 EPISODE 7: DECEMBER 5, 2022
For four decades, testimony from jailhouse informants has been the source of public scandal in criminal cases across the U.S. Research shows juries find these witnesses credible, even when they know informants benefit from their cooperation with prosecutors. The impact of this practice is hard to calculate. Reporter Rhana Natour looks at critical cases in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and California, to shed light on the issue.
SEASON 5, EPISODE 6
Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 2
An unhoused man who goes by “Si Pues” sits with his belongings after moving them around the block during a sweep in Van Nuys, Calif. on July 29, 2022. Once the sweep was finished he will move back to the same spot. Photo Credit: Alisha Jucevic
SEASON 5 EPISODE 6: NOVEMBER 28, 2022
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the city of Los Angeles moved thousands of unhoused people into hotel rooms. The program, called Project Roomkey, was a temporary safety net during the national health emergency. But participants soon nicknamed it “Project No Key” because they felt more incarcerated than housed. Reporter Mark Betancourt chronicles their experience in part two of our series on how homelessness is criminalized.
SEASON 5, EPISODE 5
Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 1
Volunteers from Street Watch, Kira, left, and Micaella, right, help move people’s belongings during a sweep in Van Nuys, Calif. on July 29, 2022. Photo Credit: Alisha Jucevic
SEASON 5 EPISODE 5: NOVEMBER 21, 2022
In Los Angeles, thousands of people who live outside have to navigate the insecurities caused by homelessness, the ire of housed neighbors, and the city penalizing them for their circumstances. In one park, months of efforts to remove unhoused people culminated in a showdown with police. Reporter Mark Betancourt investigates in this episode, part one of a two-part series about the criminalization of homelessness.
SEASON 5, EPISODE 4
Grand Juries, the Black Box of Justice Reform?
Ric Simmons, law professor at The Ohio State University, in the hallway of Moritz College of Law in Columbus, Ohio. Photo Credit: Eli Hiller
SEASON 5 EPISODE 4: NOVEMBER 14, 2022
Grand juries are supposed to safeguard against the government charging people with a crime when it lacks sufficient evidence. But because prosecutors control what happens in grand jury proceedings, they almost always get an indictment. That is, unless the accused is a police officer. Reporter Mark Betancourt explores a case of police brutality in Dallas that evaporated after going before a grand jury.
SEASON 5, EPISODE 3
Highway Robbery: How a Small-town Traffic Trap Became a Legal Black Hole
Sandra Harris, photographed in her home. Photo Credit: Amarr Croskey.
SEASON 5 EPISODE 3: NOVEMBER 7, 2022
In Brookside, Alabama, an eager new police chief, unsuspecting motorists, and a state-mandated loophole converged to create a nightmare for local residents—and generate piles of cash for the local government. Reporter Rhana Natour has the story.
SEASON 5, EPISODE 2
How Guilty Pleas Fastrack and Derail Justice
Eric Weakley outside his home in Waynesboro, PA on July 22nd, 2022 waiting for his three daughters to come outside and pose for a photo. Photo Credit: Julian Thomas
SEASON 5 EPISODE 2: OCTOBER 31, 2022
The US Constitution guarantees a right to trial to anyone accused of a crime, but less than 3 percent of criminal defendants get a trial. Instead, they’re regularly cornered into pleading guilty, sometimes admitting to a crime they didn’t commit. Reporter Mark Betancourt retraces one innocent man’s legal ordeal to explain why this happens.
SEASON 5, EPISODE 1
They’re Running for Office to Change the Criminal (Injustice) System
Satana Deberry, District Attorney in Durham, North Carolina, stands for a portrait in her office at the Durham County Courthouse. Photo Credit: Cornell Watson
SEASON 5 EPISODE 1: OCTOBER 24, 2022
Weeks before the 2022 midterm elections, 70 Million creator and executive producer Juleyka Lantigua digs into the subject of criminal justice reform with three candidates from different parts of the country: Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Carolyn “Jiyoung” Park, and Durham County District Attorney, Satana DeBerry. All three spotlight inequities in policing and the courts, and call out areas in need of serious reform in the criminal justice system.
SEASON 5, TRAILER
Our Final Season Launches October 24!
SEASON 5 TRAILER: OCTOBER 17, 2022
Looking back over five seasons, we’re so thankful to you, our listeners, for believing in this work, for sharing the episodes, and for including our reporting in your own work. Season 5 builds on the legacy of this Peabody Award-nominated podcast with fresh in-depth reporting and our characteristic rich narrative storytelling. This time we start with a thesis: the entire criminal justice system is rigged, top to bottom. Each episode goes deep into how local, regional, state and federal players tilt the scales of justice to benefit the powerful and suppress the powerless.