Forgotten Prison

Latest Episodes:

New Podcast: The Walk Home Sep 07, 2022

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KNKX Public Radio and The Seattle Times want to share a new podcast: The Walk Home. Listen to the first episode here. To get new episodes as they come out, look for The Walk Home wherever you get your podcasts or visit thewalkhomepodcast.org.

Outsiders: A new podcast about homelessness from KNKX and The Seattle Times Jan 29, 2020

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Homelessness on the West Coast is rising to crisis levels at a time of historic economic growth and prosperity. Why? KNKX Public Radio and The Seattle Times' Project Homeless spent one year in a city that’s grappling with homelessness. What’s it like to live outside for months on end? What’s it like when tents come to your neighborhood? What new solutions can city leaders find?

UPDATE: Laura McCollum leaves the island Jun 18, 2019

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Laura McCollum, who was profiled in Episode 2 of Forgotten Prison, has been conditionally released from the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island. Hosts Simone Alicea and Paula Wissel spoke with KNKX's Kirsten Kendrick about what that means.

Episode 6: Every Prison is an Island Feb 26, 2019

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McNeil Island is an especially forgotten prison. But, in the end, all prisons are forgotten in some way. In the last episode of Forgotten Prison, hosts Simone Alicea and Paula Wissel wrestle with why that is.

Episode 5: It Happened Here Feb 19, 2019

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Studying the history of an American prison is really just a study in American history. Pick a major event, and odds are good you can find at least one story related to McNeil Island.

Episode 4: Island Life Feb 12, 2019

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One obvious thing that made the prison on McNeil unique was its island location. In Episode 4 of Forgotten Prison, we hear from former guards, inmates and children who grew up there, as well as someone descended from island homesteaders, about life in and around an island prison.

Episode 3: Designing Incarceration Feb 05, 2019

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The abandoned prison on McNeil Island and its 136-year history can tell us a lot about why we lock people up and how it has changed over time. Hosts Simone Alicea and Paula Wissel explore the decaying structures on the island to learn how the modern American prison system came to be.

Episode 2: Not a Prison Jan 29, 2019

Show notes

While the prison on McNeil Island closed in 2011, Washington state still runs the Special Commitment Center there. It's where the state keeps "sexually violent predators" who have served their prison time, but are deemed too dangerous to release into society. Technically, the commitment center is not a prison, but the reality is more complicated.

Episode 1: Forgotten Jan 22, 2019

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There are a thousand stories about McNeil Island. And odds are, you haven't heard any of them. In Episode 1 of Forgotten Prison, hosts Simone Alicea and Paula Wissel explain how we came to abandon one of the country's first federal prisons.

TRAILER: Forgotten Prison, a new podcast about McNeil Island Jan 14, 2019

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KNKX premiers Forgotten Prison on Jan. 22, a new podcast featuring McNeil Island — the Alcatraz you've never heard of.

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