Free Will and Just Deserts w/ Tamler Sommers

In the first part of our interview with philosophy professor and fellow podcaster Tamler Sommers, we discuss the link between free will and deserving punishment.

The episode can be found here, or if you haven't iTunes here.

And check out Tamler's wonderful podcast, Very Bad Wizards. 

Payback Culture w/ Thane Rosenbaum

In the second part of our interview with Professor Thane Rosenbaum, we discuss his (and my) favorite films, books, and music about revenge.

The episode can be found here, or if you haven't iTunes here.

And check out Professor Rosenbaum's book Payback: The Case for Revenge. 

Celebrating Payback w/ Thane Rosenbaum

In this interview with Professor Thane Rosenbaum, we discuss why revenge is a good thing and how our criminal justice system has failed to recognize this.

The episode can be found here, or if you haven't iTunes here.

And check out Professor Rosenbaum's book Payback: The Case for Revenge. 

The Death of the Death Penalty? w/ Austin Sarat

In this wide-ranging interview with capital punishment expert Austin Sarat, we discuss the new abolitionist movement's arguments against the death penalty as well as Professor Sarat's own study of botched executions.

The episode can be found here, or if you haven't iTunes here.

And check out Professor Sarat's latest work, Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America's Death Penalty. 

Animal Trials (and Punishments) w/ Katie Sykes

Do you find the idea of a pig on trial for murder or locusts punished for trespass ridiculous? If so (and I hope you do), than the history of medieval animal trials will likely intrigue, disturb, and downright baffle you. Fortunately, Katie Sykes helps us unpack one of the strangest phenomena in the long, lurid history of punishment.

Listen up here, or if you haven't iTunes here.

And purchase the classic treatise on this topic here. 

Sex and Punishment w/ Eric Berkowitz

Few acts have inspired more creative, repressive, and downright disturbing punishments than s-e-x. Author Eric Berkowitz joins us for a discussion on the long history of punishing sex, and how recent sex laws can be just as disturbing as those passed during the Middle Ages.

The episode can be found here, or if you haven't iTunes, here.

And check out Eric's book, Sex and Punishment: Four Thousand Years of Judging Desire, and visit the book's website. 

From Jailhouse Lawyer to Law Student w/ Shon Hopwood

Shon Hopwood spent over a decade in federal prison for a series of bank robberies. While incarcerated, Hopwood became the most successful jailhouse lawyer in recent American history, writing two successful petitions to the United States Supreme Court. Join us for part two of our interview, where we discuss Hopwood's experience as a jailhouse lawyer and his transition back into society.

Check it out here or here.

And make sure to check out Shon's book, Law Man. 

From Bank Robber to Jailhouse Lawyer w/ Shon Hopwood

Shon Hopwood spent over a decade in federal prison for a series of bank robberies. While incarcerated, Hopwood became the most successful jailhouse lawyer in recent American history, writing two successful petitions to the United States Supreme Court. Join us for part one of a very special two-part series, where we first discuss Hopwood's bank robberies and his time behind bars.

You can listen here, or if you haven't iTunes here.

And be sure to pick up Shon's book, Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Court Cases, and Finding Redemption. 

The American Origins of Prison w/ Michael Meranze

Prison is as American as apple pie. And unlike apple pie, the modern prison system actually began in the United States.  Today's guest, Professor Michael Meranze, not only discusses the origins of American prisons with us, but some of early incarceration's rather grislier details.

You can listen here, or if you haven't iTunes then here.

And check out Professor Meranze's book, Laboratories of Virtue. 

From Dungeons to Medieval Prisons w/ Guy Geltner

Few things occupy a more terrifying place in the modern mindset than medieval prisons. According to Professor Guy Geltner, however, this historical conception is far from the truth. While medieval prisons were no paradise, they were, in many important ways, not nearly as bad as penal conditions today. How can that be? Listen up and find out!

 You can listen here on iTunes, or if you haven't iTunes, here.

 And make sure to check out Professor Geltner's groundbreaking book, The Medieval Prison.

In Defense of Flogging w/ Peter Moskos

The title says it all. According to today's guest, former police officer Peter Moskos, the convicted should have a choice of whether to serve prison time or undergo a brutal caning. 

You can get the episode here, or if you haven't iTunes, then here. 

And check out Professor Moskos's works here. 

Community Corrections w/ Edward Latessa

In our second episode on alternatives to incarceration we sit down with Professor Edward Latessa and discuss everything from the ever controversial halfway houses to the ever absurd bootcamps.

You can download the episode here, or if you haven't itunes, then here. 

Probation and Parole w/ Megan Sacks

Given American prisons' overcrowding and expense, judges have increasingly looked for alternatives to incarceration. Probation, or releasing convicts in lieu of serving prison time, has proven especially popular. Professor Megan Sacks, a former probation officer, fills us in on the pluses and perils of probation, the utter failure(s) of parole, and her own work on the front lines.

Listen to the episode here, or if you haven't iTunes, here. 

The Politicization of Punishment w/ Jonathan Simon

In our final episode on mass incarceration in the United States, we speak to Jonathan Simon, among the most influential sociologists currently breathing. According to Professor Simon, all three branches of federal and state government, not to mention us voters, are ultimately responsible for the nation's repressive and wasteful prison system.

You can find the episode here, or if you haven't iTunes, then here.

Also check out Professor Simon's latest work, Governing Through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear, here. 

Mass Incarceration w/ Ernest Drucker

The United States, despite its plummeting crime rate, continues to imprison people en masse. According to today's guest, the nation's incarceratory zeal constitutes a literal epidemic, comparable to the AIDS outbreak or the rising rates of obesity. How did we get here? How do we get out? Listen up and find out!

You can download the episode on iTunes here, or, if you haven't iTunes, here.

And make sure to check out Professor Drucker's book, A Plague of Prisons: The Epidemiology of Mass Incarceration in America. 

The Death Penalty w/ David Garland

The United States is the only industrialized Western nation that executes its own citizens. Why is this? Is this a good or a bad thing? In today's episode we explore these questions with Professor David Garland, perhaps the leading expert on capital punishment in the United States.

You can check out the episode on iTunes here, or, if you haven't iTunes, then here. 

Also check out Professor Garland's excellent book on the death penalty, Peculiar Institution: America's Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition, here. And if that isn't enough, why not read Justice John Paul Stevens's review of it? 

Selective Incapacitation w/ Kate Auerhahn

American criminal justice has long concerned itself with finding the most dangerous criminals and separating them from society. The problem with this, according to today's guest, is determining exactly who the most dangerous criminals are. What do Charles Manson and a fellow incarcerated for life for stealing a pizza pie have in common? Listen up and find out!

Listen here on iTunes or, if you do not have iTunes, here. 

Restorative Justice w/ Kim Cook

In the past few years, the idea of restorative justice has gained traction as an alternative theory of punishment. This simple idea involves having offenders and victims meet face to face, and the latter then explaining how he or she has been injured by the former. While opponents of restorative justice have labeled it hopelessly naive, today's guest, Professor Kim Cook, believes restorative justice may be an antidote to needless incarceration.

Listen up here or, if you haven't iTunes here. 

What Hell is Like w/ Edward Fudge

In the second part of our two-part series on Hell, we discuss the different views of what Hell is like. According to Protestant Pastor Edward Fudge, the Bible points in a single direction. Whether you agree, disagree, or don't really have an opinion either way, Pastor Fudge provides excellent insight into how the ultimate punishment is understood by many people today.

You can listen to the podcast here, or here if you do not have iTunes.

You can purchase Pastor Fudge's book, The Fire That Consumes, here.  

Hell's Origins w/ Alan Bernstein

In today's episode we tackle the ultimate punishment of all, none other than Hell. Hell scholar Alan Bernstein discusses how the concept of eternal punishment has varied and evolved throughout European and Middle Eastern history. Our subject may be Hell, but this episode is Heaven to listen to.

You can listen to the episode on iTunes here, or, if you haven't iTunes, here.

Pick up Alan Bernstein's major work, The Formation of Hell, here.