‘The prison has become a black hole into which the detritus of contemporary capitalism is deposited’ – Angela Davis
In the long-awaited return of Bensplaining podcast, I interview activist and academic Marlee Raible about the prison-industrial complex. We chat about:
- the racist history and present of the Australian and US prison systems
- why being ‘tough’ on crime perpetuates it
- the links between profit, poverty and prisons
- alternatives to incarceration, like restorative justice
- Marlee’s experience with the Zapatista movement in southern Mexico.
Reading List
- Marlee’s phenomenal podcast Carceral Complex dives deep into these issues.
- The 13th, available on Netflix. An exceptional documentary on the history, horror, and corruption of the American prison-industrial complex.
- Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis. A powerful case for prison abolition that changed my mind on the issue.
- The Tall Man, by Chloe Hooper. A devastating exploration of the cover up of a white police officer’s killing of an Aboriginal man on Palm Island in 2004.
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander. An analysis of how the U.S. criminal justice system uses the War on Drugs as a primary tool for enforcing traditional, as well as new, modes of racial discrimination and oppression.
- The Little Book of Restorative Justice, by Howard Zehr. A practical guide to tools communities can use for a restorative, rather than retributive, approach to justice.
- Discipline and Punish, by Michel Foucault. A seminal analysis of crime, justice and state power.
- The moving story of Hector Black, told by Radiolab.
If you enjoy the podcast, let someone know or chuck us a share on social media. You can also listen on iTunes.
Benjamin Hickey 