Illustration by Golden Cosmos

The U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world; although the country makes up about five per cent of the global population, it holds nearly a quarter of the world’s prisoners. David Remnick is joined by WNYC’s Kai Wright, the host of the podcast “The United States of Anxiety,” to talk about mass incarceration and the beginning of a movement against it. Remnick also talks with Michelle Alexander, whose book “The New Jim Crow,” from 2010, which was a best-seller for nearly five years, identified how mass-incarceration policies have been a disaster for communities of color. The poet and public defender Reginald Dwayne Betts, who was formerly incarcerated, reads from his book “Felon.” And we follow a man who returns home from prison to find a changed world.

Taber Gable contributed original music for this episode.

Ten Years After “The New Jim Crow”

In 2010, Michelle Alexander’s best-selling book spelled out how mass incarceration harms communities of color. Assessing its impact, she looks back, and forward, with David Remnick.

Reginald Dwayne Betts Reads from “Felon”

When Betts was sixteen years old, he was sent to prison for his part in a carjacking. In solitary confinement, he discovered poetry.

Life After Prison

A few months ago, Jonathan was released from prison. Our producer shadowed him to learn what emancipation feels like after two decades of being locked up.