It’s no secret that the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Less well known, though, is what actually takes place within prison walls.  

On this episode, Commonweal editor Dominic Preziosi speaks with veteran journalist Bill Keller, founder of the Marshall Project and author of the new book What’s Prison For? Punishment and Rehabilitation in the Age of Mass Incarceration. 

Having spent years immersed in prisons as a reporter and teacher, Keller offers a blunt indictment of our broken prison system, while also pointing out real possibilities for reform.  

For further reading:

• “The Purposes of Punishment,” Derek Jeffreys 
• “Carceral Aesthetics,” Griffin Oleynick
• “Waking the Giants,” Regina Munch