New Thinking, from the Center for Justice Innovation

Latest Episodes:

Taking Reform Out of Its Comfort Zone Oct 25, 2021

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Can a treatment-first approach be brought to scale inside of the same system responsible for mass incarceration in the first place?

The Crisis on Rikers Island Sep 22, 2021

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An audio snapshot from an emergency rally demanding immediate measures to release people from NYC's Rikers Island jail. Eleven people have died in the custody of the city's jail system this year.

Cages Don’t Help Us Heal Aug 10, 2021

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I made my own choices, Marlon Peterson says, “but I also did not choose to experience the type of things I experienced.”

One of These Days We Might Find Us Some Free: Reginald Dwayne Betts Jul 20, 2021

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In 1996, 16-year-old Reginald Dwayne Betts was sentenced to nine years in prison for a carjacking. He spent much of that time reading, and eventually writing. After prison, he went to Yale Law School and published a memoir and three books of poems. But he’s still wrestling with what “after prison” means. This is a conversation about incarceration, Blackness, and the weight of history, both political and personal. Betts’s most recent collection of poems is Felon.

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This episode was originally released in January 2020.

The Cycle: Police Violence, Black Rebellion Jun 30, 2021

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Historian Elizabeth Hinton on the lessons for the present from her new book, America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s.

Policing, Race, and a Crisis in Mental Health Jun 01, 2021

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People experiencing a mental health emergency make up one of every four people killed by police. Changing how we respond to crisis in the moment, and to widespread, ongoing mental health needs, means deferring to the leadership of people with lived experience and putting racial equity at the center of every reform. On today's episode, listening to the people who know how to fix systems, because they're surviving their harms.

Does the Criminal Justice System Cause Crime? Apr 26, 2021

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A headline-grabbing new study suggests even fleeting contact with the criminal justice system is a significant risk factor for incurring a future arrest. Hear from the Boston D.A. and a study co-author.

How Will the Death Penalty End? Mar 25, 2021

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Journalist Maurice Chammah discusses his new book, Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty.

COVID-19 Behind Bars: A Pandemic of Neglect Feb 02, 2021

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Homer Venters has been inspecting detention facilities for COVID-compliance almost since the start of the pandemic. The former chief medical officer for NYC jails says what were already substandard health systems and abusive environments have deteriorated sharply, where even people positive for the virus can languish unseen for days.

Heal and Punish? Treatment and Trauma Inside a Coercive System Jan 19, 2021

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How effective is therapy or treatment when it’s used instead of incarceration, and what are the challenges to conducting it inside the coercive context of the criminal justice system? New Thinking host Matt Watkins is joined by clinical psychologist Jacob Ham who works with justice-involved young people affected by trauma, and John Jay College’s Deborah Koetzle who evaluates programs aiming to help participants rebuild lives outside of the justice system.

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**This episode was originally released in January 2019**