Podcast appearances and mentions of Reginald Dwayne Betts

The Power of Storytelling is a special collaboration episode between Minorities in Publishing and the Restorative Works! Podcast. Through the power of storytelling, we aim to engage powerful leaders and activists in conversations around keeping hope in dire times; giving back power to communities; radical empathy; arts as means to tell real life stories, and the effects of genuine engagement in community resilience. Listen to critical storytellers and educators including Jennifer Coreas, Reginald Dwayne Betts, and Tiffany Yu, who have been foundational in bringing awareness to societal issues and community movements through storytelling and literacy. Tune in to hear these influential voices speak on the power of transforming stories into actionable change in the worlds of criminal justice, disability awareness, and publishing.  Participant Bios Jennifer Baker is an author, editor, writing instructor, and creator of the Minorities in Publishing podcast. She's been a recipient of NYSCA/NYFA and Queens Council on the Arts grants, a 2024 Axinn Writing Award, and was named the Publishers Weekly Star Watch SuperStar in 2019. She edited the short story anthology Everyday People: The Color of Life (2018) and is the author of Forgive Me Not (2023) a 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, an NYPL 2023 Best Book for Teens, and 2023 Best of the Best by the BCALA.  Claire de Mézerville López is a licensed psychologist from UCR (Universidad de Costa Rica). She holds a Master in Education with an emphasis on cognitive development from ITESM (Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, México). She also has a Master of Science in Restorative Practices from the IIRP Graduate School. She is also an associate professor at Universidad de Costa Rica, and has experience as a therapist, researcher, and consultant. Claire has published papers on adolescence, restorative practices, resilience and educational psychology. Claire has worked with the IIRP since 2011. Currently, among other duties, serves as a liaison to Spanish-speaking communities and organizations in Latin America and elsewhere Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet and lawyer. A 2021 MacArthur Fellow, he is the Executive Director of Freedom Reads, a not-for-profit organization that is radically transforming the access to literature in prisons through the installation of Freedom Libraries in prisons across this country. Betts has authored several books including the poetry collections Bastards of the Reagan Era and Felon. Jennifer Coreas is the coordinator and cofounder of the program Literacy for Reconciliation for ConTextos in El Salvador and Chicago. Her work extends from curriculum development and teaching to advocacy, training, and facilitation of dialogue. She has led the work and the vision for ConTextos's work in prisons and communities, accompanied authors in their journeys of self-discovery, and brought their stories to hundreds of teachers, psychologists, and social workers in professional development spaces. She has been recognized with numerous fellowships and scholarships including the Rocky Gooch Memorial Scholarship and the Esperanza Fellowship. She holds degrees from El Salvador in English as a second language and applied linguistics, and she received a master's degree in English from Middlebury College in 2018. Tiffany Yu is the CEO & Founder of Diversability, an award-winning social enterprise to elevate disability pride, the Founder of the Awesome Foundation Disability Chapter, and the author of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World. Her TED Talk, How to Help Employees with Disabilities Thrive, has over one million views.  She serves on the NIH National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research and was a Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit. At the age of 9, Tiffany became disabled as a result of a car accident that also took the life of her father.

The Power of Storytelling is a special collaboration episode between Minorities in Publishing and the Restorative Works! Podcast. Through the power of storytelling, we aim to engage powerful leaders and activists in conversations around keeping hope in dire times; giving back power to communities; radical empathy; arts as means to tell real life stories, and the effects of genuine engagement in community resilience. Listen to learn from critical storytellers and educators including Jennifer Coreas, Reginald Dwayne Betts, and Tiffany Yu, who have been foundational in bringing awareness to societal issues and community movements through storytelling and literacy.  Jennifer Baker is an author, editor, writing instructor, and creator of the Minorities in Publishing podcast. She's been a recipient of NYSCA/NYFA and Queens Council on the Arts grants, a 2024 Axinn Writing Award, and was named the Publishers Weekly Star Watch SuperStar in 2019. She edited the short story anthology Everyday People: The Color of Life (2018) and is the author of Forgive Me Not (2023) a 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, an NYPL 2023 Best Book for Teens, and 2023 Best of the Best by the BCALA.  Jennifer Coreas is the coordinator and cofounder of the program Literacy for Reconciliation for ConTextos in El Salvador and Chicago. Her work extends from curriculum development and teaching to advocacy, training, and facilitation of dialogue. She has led the work and the vision for ConTextos's work in prisons and communities, accompanied authors in their journeys of self-discovery, and brought their stories to hundreds of teachers, psychologists, and social workers in professional development spaces. She has been recognized with numerous fellowships and scholarships including the Rocky Gooch Memorial Scholarship and the Esperanza Fellowship. She holds degrees from El Salvador in English as a second language and applied linguistics, and she received a master's degree in English from Middlebury College in 2018. Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet and lawyer. A 2021 MacArthur Fellow, he is the Executive Director of Freedom Reads, a not-for-profit organization that is radically transforming the access to literature in prisons through the installation of Freedom Libraries in prisons across this country. Betts has authored several books including the poetry collections Bastards of the Reagan Era and Felon. Tiffany Yu is the CEO & Founder of Diversability, an award-winning social enterprise to elevate disability pride, the Founder of the Awesome Foundation Disability Chapter, and the author of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World. Her TED Talk, How to Help Employees with Disabilities Thrive, has over one million views.  She serves on the NIH National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research and was a Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit. At the age of 9, Tiffany became disabled as a result of a car accident that also took the life of her father. Tune in to hear these influential voices speak on the power of transforming stories into actionable change in the worlds of criminal justice, disability awareness, and publishing. 

Doggerel by Reginald Dwayne Betts is a profound new collection on the intricacies of humanity and life, with man's best friend as its focal point. Reginald joins us to talk about storytelling, the power of poetry, the necessity for community, masculinity, freedom, forgiveness and more with host Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Doggerel by Reignald Dwayne Betts Olio by Tyehimba Jess The Ferguson Report: An Erasure by Nicole Sealey leadbelly by Tyehimba Jess The Residue Years by Mitchell S. Jackson Felon by Reginald Dwayne Betts Redaction by Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar Bastards of the Reagan Era by Reginald Dwayne Betts Featured Books (TBR Top Off): Devotions by Mary Oliver Crush by Richard Siken

The authors of two new poetry collections aspire to reach broad audiences with their work. First, John Himmelman says he wanted to tell stories with as few words as possible. The Boy Who Lived in a Shell, a book of illustrated poems intended for children, is connected by a single narrator, Ivo, who lives in a giant moon snail shell. In today's episode, Himmelman speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about working at a New York library, writing to make himself laugh, and making poetry accessible to short attention spans. Then, lawyer, educator and author Reginald Dwayne Betts spent eight years in prison for a crime he committed at 16. While there, Betts began to write. His latest collection Doggerel plays with the idea of mediocre poetry and a recurring motif of dogs. In today's episode, he speaks with NPR's Michel Martin about his Jack Russell terrier, reading poetry to strangers, and an emotional encounter with the police.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Reginald Dwayne Betts spent more than eight years in prison. Today he's a Yale Law graduate, a MacArthur Fellow, and a poet. His nonprofit works to build libraries in prisons so that more incarcerated people can find hope. SOURCES:Reginald Dwayne Betts, founder and director of Freedom Reads, award-winning poet, and lawyer. RESOURCES:Doggerel: Poems, by Reginald Dwayne Betts (2025).“The Poet Writing on Prison Underwear,” by Adam Iscoe (The New Yorker, 2023).The Voltage Effect, by John List (2022).“If We Truly Believe in Redemption and Second Chances, Parole Should Be Celebrated,” by Reginald Dwayne Betts (The Washington Post, 2021).Insurrections, by Rion Scott (2016).The Secret History of Wonder Woman, by Jill Lepore (2014).Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, by Robert M. Pirsig (1974).The Black Poets, by Dudley Randall (1971).“For Freckle-Faced Gerald,” by Etheridge Knight (Poems from Prison, 1968).Felon: An America Washi Tale, by Reginald Dwayne Betts.Freedom Reads. EXTRAS:“Can a Moonshot Approach to Mental Health Work?” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).“Can Data Keep People Out of Prison?” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).“The Price of Doing Business with John List,” by People I (Mostly) Admire (2022).“Why Do Most Ideas Fail to Scale?” by Freakonomics Radio (2022).

Legal Scholar and poet Reginald Dwayne Betts has just released his latest poetry collection Doggerel, which explores humanity's relationship to "man's best friend," as a lens to interrogate racism, incarceration and masculinity. Betts will share some excerpts from the collection.

Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts was part of a carjacking in a Virginia mall parking lot when he was 16 years old. He was charged as an adult and sentenced to 9 years in prison. Dwayne was released in 2005. Today, he’s a lawyer and award-winning poet. He’s also the founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization called Freedom Reads. It provides handcrafted bookcases full of brand new books to prisons. For Dwayne, and other incarcerated people, those books can be a lifeline— a connection to the rest of the world. This hour, listen back to our candid conversation with Dwayne as he reflects on his poetry, the power of books, and life after prison. We also take a visit to the Freedom Reads workshop and hear from some of the formerly incarcerated people who build the bookcases and bring them to prisons. GUEST: Reginald Dwayne Betts: Award-winning poet, whose books include Felon and the upcoming Doggerel. He's also a lawyer and the Founder and CEO of Freedom Reads Michael Byrd: Library Production Assistant at Freedom Reads Steven Parkhurst: Communications Manager at Freedom Reads James Flynn: Library Production Assistant at Freedom Reads Special thanks to Kevin Baker and Ivan Dominguez at Freedom Reads. This episode originally aired on December 6, 2024. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's poem is White Peonies by Reginald Dwayne Betts. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, guest host Maggie Smith writes… “When I'm on a walk, I take pictures and make recordings so I can later identify what I've seen and heard. If my teenage daughter is with me, as she often is, she teases me when I use the birding app on my phone, or when I take photos of seed pods, or leaves, or bark, so I can identify a plant or a tree. She said once, “Why can't you just see it and enjoy it? Why do you need to know its name?”” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

Reginald Dwayne Betts originally read Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail" – King's defense of the use of nonviolent civil disobedience in the fight for civil rights – while in solitary confinement in prison. Mr. Betts, who served over 8 years for a carjacking he committed when he was 16, went on to become an award-winning poet and graduate of Yale Law School. He has written the Afterword for a new commemorative edition of Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Mr. Betts talks about the book and the work done by Freedom Reads, an organization he founded that builds libraries in prisons.           Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reginald Dwayne Betts originally read Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail" – King's defense of the use of nonviolent civil disobedience in the fight for civil rights – while in solitary confinement in prison. Mr. Betts, who served over 8 years for a carjacking he committed when he was 16, went on to become an award-winning poet and graduate of Yale Law School. He has written the Afterword for a new commemorative edition of Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Mr Betts talks about the book and the work done by Freedom Reads, an organization he founded that builds libraries in prisons.           Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Disrupted team is welcoming the new year by choosing a couple of the episodes we loved from 2024. We have so many favorites that we couldn't reair all of them, but these are some of the ones that we wanted to listen back to. This week, producer Kevin Chang Barnum chose our interview with James Forman Jr. The United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world. And Black people bear the burdens of mass incarceration the most. In 2019, Connecticut was one of seven states where Black people were incarcerated at over nine times the rate of white people. That’s according to an analysis done by The Sentencing Project. These problems aren't new, but they also aren't going away. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Yale law professor James Forman Jr. hopes the new book he co-edited, Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change, will inspire readers to work towards change. It talks about finding solutions at every level of what he calls "the criminal system," from policing to prisons to courts. GUEST: James Forman Jr.: J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law at Yale University. His book Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018. He recently co-edited Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change. You can learn more about the prison system in the U.S. by listening to Disrupted's interview with Reginald Dwayne Betts. Special thanks to intern Frankie Devevo. This episode originally aired on October 25, 2024. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts was part of a carjacking in a Virginia mall parking lot when he was 16 years old. He was charged as an adult and sentenced to 9 years in prison. Dwayne was released in 2005. Today, he's a lawyer and award-winning poet. He's also the founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization called Freedom Reads. It provides handcrafted bookcases full of brand new books to prisons. For Dwayne, and other incarcerated people, those books can be a lifeline— a connection to the rest of the world. This hour, we have a candid conversation with Dwayne as he reflects on his poetry, the power of books, and life after prison. We also take a visit to the Freedom Reads workshop and hear from some of the formerly incarcerated people who build the bookcases and bring them to prisons. You can see photos of the Freedom Reads workshop on our website. GUEST: Reginald Dwayne Betts: Award-winning poet, whose books include Felon and the upcoming Doggerel. He's also a lawyer and the Founder and CEO of Freedom Reads Michael Byrd: Library Production Assistant at Freedom Reads Steven Parkhurst: Communications Manager at Freedom Reads James Flynn: Library Production Assistant at Freedom Reads Special thanks to Kevin Baker and Ivan Dominguez at Freedom Reads.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reginald Dwayne Betts is on a mission is to put a curated library in the cell block of every prison in America. A survivor of the system himself, he has obtained a college degree, a law degree from Yale, and a MacArthur Genius grant. Looking to bring hope to America's most hopeless places, Bates has founded Freedom Reads, an organization that brings free curated library collections to every prison system that agrees to it. His partner in the endeavor, Debbie Leff, also talks to us about what inspired her about this tremendous organization. No one better personifies the power of reading to change a life, so join us for what we believe is an important discussion about the vitality of libraries and the power of books to heal. Books mentioned in this week's podcast: The Circumference of a Prison by Reginald Dwayne Betts Doggerel by Reginald Dwayne Betts Felon: Poems by Reginald Dwayne Betts Redaction by Reginald Dwayne Betts Bastards of the Reagan Era by Reginald Dwayne Betts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's episode features a convo with poet and writer Reginald Dwayne Betts, recorded live at the Logan Center in Chicago. For more than twenty-years, he has used his poetry and essays to explore the world of prison and the effects of violence and incarceration on American society. The author of a memoir and three collections of poetry, he has transformed his latest collection of poetry, the American Book Award winning Felon, into a solo theater show that explores the post incarceration experience and lingering consequences of a criminal record through poetry, stories, and engaging with the timeless and transcendental art of paper-making. Dame and Kiss joined Betts on stage right after his performance of Felon to talk about liberation through recitation, how humor arms and disarms, and some excellent socks. This conversation was a part of Inside&Out, a convening about the humanities and mass incarceration hosted by Illinois Humanities. Thanks to them for inviting AirGo to participate! SHOW NOTES Read Felon by Reginald Dwayne Betts - https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393652147 Learn more about IL Humanities - https://ilhumanities.org/insideandout Bring One Million Experiments to your space by hitting us up at contact@respairmedia.com! - https://www.respairmedia.com/one-million-experiments Subscribe to AirGo - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/airgo/id1016530091 CREDITS Hosts & Exec. Producers - Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger Associate Producer - Rocío Santos Engagement Producer - Rivka Yeker Digital Media Producer - Troi Valles

[REBROADCAST FROM FEBRUARY 28, 2023] Art and poetry collide in the book from poet Reginald Dwayne Betts and artist Titus Kaphar. Titled, Redaction, the book combines words from Betts and art from Kaphar to explore how incarcerated people are treated by American society. It's an expansion on their MoMA PS1 show of the same name. Betts and Kaphar join us to discuss.

Libraries can be a lifeline for incarcerated or detained individuals and their families. In Episode 89, Call Number discusses creative programs in prison libraries. First, poets and prison reform activists Reginald Dwayne Betts and Randall Horton talked with former ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall back in an interview conducted last July. Betts and Horton, who were formerly incarcerated, now spearhead respective literary program: Betts founded Freedom Reads, which installs 500-book Freedom Libraries in prisons and juvenile detention centers, and Horton cofounded Radical Reversal, which holds literary and musical workshops and creates performance and recording spaces in detention centers and correctional facilities. They discussed the importance of access to books while incarcerated, how censorship creates barriers to that access, and what they hope for ALA's newly revised Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained. Then, American Libraries Associate Editor and Call Number host Diana Panuncial speaks with Lisa Prins, manager of adult and community education, and Allison Sivak, faculty engagement librarian, both at University of Alberta in Edmonton. In 2022, the university launched its Correspondence Book Club at the Edmonton Institution for Women, which provides women who are incarcerated with themed writing and art-making prompts. They were joined by Mariel Silva, a formerly incarcerated individual and former book club participant. Note: The sound quality in the Correspondence Book Club segment varies. For more on ALA's newly revised Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained and our episode guests, check out our November/December feature story, “Lighting the Way.” Is there a story or topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know at callnumber@ala.org. You can also follow us on Twitter/X, SoundCloud, or Spotify and leave a review on iTunes. We welcome feedback and hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for listening.

Today we are diving into the captivating life story of Attorney, Artist & Activist (Reginald) Dwayne Betts, a man whose path took unexpected turns, leading him to discover the boundless potential within himself.As we journey through Dwayne's life, we'll explore the profound impact of literature on his transformation, his encounters with influential poets like Sonia Sanchez, and the survival strategies that poetry offered him during his incarceration.Be sure to share some of your thoughts on today's episode with us on Instagram at @blackimagination. If you want to stay updated on all our latest news and exclusive content, click on this newsletter link. If you love what we do and want to support the show, click this support link. Things mentionedFreedom Reads- Organization founded by Dwayne Betts that aims to place millions of books into prisonsKiese LeMond- ambassador of Freedom ReadsTraci Thomas- podcast host of the StacksSherley Anne Williams - American PoetLucille Cliffton- American poetEldridge cleaver- author and activistWhat to ReadMakes me Wanna Holler - Nathan McCallThe Black Poets- Dudley RandallHomegirls and Hand Grenades- Sonia SanchezThe Art of War- Sun TzuCrazy as Hell, (the best book on black history you'll ever read)- Dwayne Betts coming soonWhat to listen toWe the People - A Tribe Called QuestLiving For The City - Stevie WonderThe Message - Grandmaster FlashWho to followWebsite: https://www.dwaynebetts.com/IG: Reginald Betts (@dwaynebetts)TW: Dwayne Betts (@dwaynebetts)This conversation was recorded on July 13, 2023.Host

Reginald Dwayne Betts is a poet, lawyer, and founder of the nonprofit Freedom Reads. His New York Times Magazine article "Could an Ex-Convict Become an Attorney? I Intended to Find Out" won the National Magazine Award. His new podcast is Almost There. “I felt like I had to own becoming something and intuitively understood that if I didn't lay claim to desiring to be something, that it would be too many other forces that would be pulling on me to dictate that I become something else. … When you say you're a writer, if you know nothing else, then you know that you read. You pay attention to the world. … And prison became the metaphor by which I understood the world and poetry became the medium by which I understood what it meant to write about the world and what it meant to take seriously the responsibility to write about the world that I knew.” Show notes: dwaynebetts.com freedomreads.org 01:00 Almost There with Dwayne Betts (Emerson Collective) 05:00 The Black Poets (Dudley Randall • Bantam • 1985) 10:00 Married… with Children (Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt • Fox • 1987-1997) 21:00 "Scientists and Engineers" (Killer Mike • Michael • 2023) 24:00 "Could an Ex-Convict Become an Attorney? I Intended to Find Out" (New York Times Magazine • Oct 2018) 26:00 "The Language of Birds" (Anselm Kiefer • 2018) 28:00 A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison (Avery • 2010) 31:00 Felon: An American Washi Tale 32:00 "Kamala Harris, Mass Incarceration and Me" (New York Times Magazine • Oct 2020) 33:00 Shahid Reads His Own Palm (Alice James Books • 2010) 33:00 Bastards of the Reagan Era (Four Way Books • 2015) 33:00 Felon (Norton • 2019) 33:00 Redaction: A Project by Titus Kaphar and Reginald Dwayne Betts (MoMA PS1 • 2019) 33:00 Redaction (Titus Kaphar and Reginald Dwayne Betts • Norton • 2023) 44:00 Creative Nonfiction Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reginald Dwayne Betts spent more than eight years in prison. Today he's a Yale Law graduate, a MacArthur Fellow, and a poet. His nonprofit works to build libraries in prisons so that more incarcerated people can find hope.

Reading creates empathy, drives literacy, and in some cases offers an escape. Freedom Reads, a program to be installed this week in juvenile and correctional facilities in Maryland, will bring dozens of new books -- and all the imagination they conjure -- to young people in the system. We talk to its founder, Reginald Dwayne Betts, and new secretary of Juvenile Services, Vincent Schiraldi. Links: Freedom Reads , Banner Reporting:‘I had to protect myself': What Maryland is doing to stop kids from seeking guns; Juvenile services agency teaches kids to find their way on a Western Maryland lake  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar knew they were meant to work together when they first met. In 2019, they exhibited a project at MoMA PS1 that explored criminal justice through redacted court documents turned into poems and visual artworks. Now, that exhibit is a book called Redaction. They tell NPR's Juana Summers about how they both employ their mediums to capture the effects of incarceration, and how their collaboration focuses on joy and community even amidst deep suffering.

[REBROADCAST FROM February 28, 2023] Art and poetry collide in the new book from poet Reginald Dwayne Betts and artist Titus Kaphar. Titled, Redaction, the book combines words from Betts and art from Kaphar to explore how incarcerated people are treated by American society. It's an expansion on their MoMA PS1 show of the same name. Betts and Kaphar join us to discuss.

On this week's episode of Time Sensitive—our first of Season 7—Chicago-based artist Nick Cave talks about his career-spanning retrospective, “Forothermore,” currently on view at the Guggenheim (through April 10), which takes over three floors and features installation, video works, and sculpture, including recent iterations of his famous Soundsuits; his improvisational approach to work and life; how his art seeks to find brightness in darkness; and what the world might be like if everyone sat in silence for an hour each day.Special thanks to our Season 7 sponsor, L'ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts.Show notes: [00:30] Nick Cave[16:43] Facility[16:57] Bob Faust[16:59] Jack Cave[20:53] “TM13” (2015)[25:16] “Forothermore”[25:20] Naomi Beckwith[29:53] “Time and Again” (2000)[33:18] “Gestalt” (2012)[33:19]  “Blot” (2012)[36:21] “Sea Sick” (2012)[43:44] Anselm Kiefer[53:11] “Made by Whites for Whites”[55:38] Claudia Rankine[55:53] Reginald Dwayne Betts

WPRB News and Culture takes a look into the artistic experiences and projects happening right here in New Jersey. Ellie Diamond learns about the Trenton Circus Squad, a nonprofit whose afterschool workshops teach kids and tweens the ropes of the circus – literally.  Sophie Leheny and Mira Ho-Chen visit the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, and explore one of its longest and strangest collections. Clara McWeeny speaks to Reginald Dwayne Betts: the MacArthur Genius Grant-winning poet, performer, and legal scholar behind Felon: An American Washi Tale, a play about his own experience in the prison system. And Alan Plotz and Pat Grate learn about the work of the Arts Council of Princeton in bringing the joys of music and the arts into the suburban world.  Hosted and produced by Adam Sanders. Reported, recorded and produced by Ellie Diamond, Sophie Leheny, Mira Ho-Chen, Clara McWeeny, Alan Plotz, and Pat Grate. All music used under Creative Commons license. Theme music: “Take Me Higher,” by Jahzzar. Other music: "Hello Bob (Instrumental)" by Jukesfk, "Warm Guitar Song" by Seth_Makes_Sounds. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/newsandculture/message

David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign, the end of pandemic-era medicaid & food security protections, and the many legal fights over medication abortion. Here are some notes and references from this week's show Hannah Dreier and Kirsten Luce for The New York Times: “Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.” Jeff Stein and Tony Romm for The Washington Post: “Biden Calls For Trillions In Tax Hikes And New Domestic Spending” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “The Abortion Pill Fight” Redaction, by Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar Information on the New York reading and book signing for Redaction Here are this week's chatters: Emily: The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America's Top Secrets, by Matthew Connelly John: Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, by Chris Miller David: Defending Democracy with Malcolm Turnbull;  Listener chatter from Rebecca Carr: Pat Sangimino for The Lincoln Journal Star: “Leading Off: In The Heat Of The Sexual Revolution, A Woman And Her Invention Made A Difference”; Pagan Kennedy for The New York Times: “Could Women Be Trusted With Their Own Pregnancy Tests?” For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily talks to Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar about their book, Redaction.   Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.  Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Make an impact this Women's History Month by helping Macy's on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign, the end of pandemic-era medicaid & food security protections, and the many legal fights over medication abortion. Here are some notes and references from this week's show Hannah Dreier and Kirsten Luce for The New York Times: “Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.” Jeff Stein and Tony Romm for The Washington Post: “Biden Calls For Trillions In Tax Hikes And New Domestic Spending” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “The Abortion Pill Fight” Redaction, by Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar Information on the New York reading and book signing for Redaction Here are this week's chatters: Emily: The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America's Top Secrets, by Matthew Connelly John: Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, by Chris Miller David: Defending Democracy with Malcolm Turnbull;  Listener chatter from Rebecca Carr: Pat Sangimino for The Lincoln Journal Star: “Leading Off: In The Heat Of The Sexual Revolution, A Woman And Her Invention Made A Difference”; Pagan Kennedy for The New York Times: “Could Women Be Trusted With Their Own Pregnancy Tests?” For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily talks to Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar about their book, Redaction.   Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.  Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Make an impact this Women's History Month by helping Macy's on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Plotz, John Dickerson, and Emily Bazelon discuss Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign, the end of pandemic-era medicaid & food security protections, and the many legal fights over medication abortion. Here are some notes and references from this week's show Hannah Dreier and Kirsten Luce for The New York Times: “Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.” Jeff Stein and Tony Romm for The Washington Post: “Biden Calls For Trillions In Tax Hikes And New Domestic Spending” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “The Abortion Pill Fight” Redaction, by Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar Information on the New York reading and book signing for Redaction Here are this week's chatters: Emily: The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America's Top Secrets, by Matthew Connelly John: Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, by Chris Miller David: Defending Democracy with Malcolm Turnbull;  Listener chatter from Rebecca Carr: Pat Sangimino for The Lincoln Journal Star: “Leading Off: In The Heat Of The Sexual Revolution, A Woman And Her Invention Made A Difference”; Pagan Kennedy for The New York Times: “Could Women Be Trusted With Their Own Pregnancy Tests?” For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily talks to Reginald Dwayne Betts and Titus Kaphar about their book, Redaction.   Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth.  Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Make an impact this Women's History Month by helping Macy's on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Things Cost: An Anthology for the People (UP of Kentucky, 2023) is the first major anthology of labor writing in nearly a century. Here, editors Rebecca Gayle Howell & Ashley M. Jones bring together more than one hundred contemporary writers singing out from the corners of the 99 Percent, each telling their own truth of today's economy. In his final days, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for a "multiracial coalition of the working poor." King hoped this coalition would become the next civil rights movement but he was assassinated before he could see it emerge as the Poor People's Campaign, now led by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis. King's last lesson--about the dangers of dividing working people--inspired the conversation gathered here by Jones and Howell.  Fifty-five years after the assassination of King, What Things Cost collects stories that are honest, provocative, and galvanizing, sharing the hidden costs of labor and laboring in the United States of America. Voices such as Sonia Sanchez, Faisal Mohyuddin, Natalie Diaz, Ocean Vuong, Silas House, Sonia Guiñansaca, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Victoria Chang, Crystal Wilkinson, Gerald Stern, and Jericho Brown weave together the living stories of the campaign's broad swath of supporters, creating a literary tapestry that depicts the struggle and solidarity behind the work of building a more just America. All proceeds from the book will be donated to the Poor People's Campaign. Stephen Pimpare is director of the Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

What Things Cost: An Anthology for the People (UP of Kentucky, 2023) is the first major anthology of labor writing in nearly a century. Here, editors Rebecca Gayle Howell & Ashley M. Jones bring together more than one hundred contemporary writers singing out from the corners of the 99 Percent, each telling their own truth of today's economy. In his final days, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for a "multiracial coalition of the working poor." King hoped this coalition would become the next civil rights movement but he was assassinated before he could see it emerge as the Poor People's Campaign, now led by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis. King's last lesson--about the dangers of dividing working people--inspired the conversation gathered here by Jones and Howell.  Fifty-five years after the assassination of King, What Things Cost collects stories that are honest, provocative, and galvanizing, sharing the hidden costs of labor and laboring in the United States of America. Voices such as Sonia Sanchez, Faisal Mohyuddin, Natalie Diaz, Ocean Vuong, Silas House, Sonia Guiñansaca, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Victoria Chang, Crystal Wilkinson, Gerald Stern, and Jericho Brown weave together the living stories of the campaign's broad swath of supporters, creating a literary tapestry that depicts the struggle and solidarity behind the work of building a more just America. All proceeds from the book will be donated to the Poor People's Campaign. Stephen Pimpare is director of the Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

What Things Cost: An Anthology for the People (UP of Kentucky, 2023) is the first major anthology of labor writing in nearly a century. Here, editors Rebecca Gayle Howell & Ashley M. Jones bring together more than one hundred contemporary writers singing out from the corners of the 99 Percent, each telling their own truth of today's economy. In his final days, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for a "multiracial coalition of the working poor." King hoped this coalition would become the next civil rights movement but he was assassinated before he could see it emerge as the Poor People's Campaign, now led by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis. King's last lesson--about the dangers of dividing working people--inspired the conversation gathered here by Jones and Howell.  Fifty-five years after the assassination of King, What Things Cost collects stories that are honest, provocative, and galvanizing, sharing the hidden costs of labor and laboring in the United States of America. Voices such as Sonia Sanchez, Faisal Mohyuddin, Natalie Diaz, Ocean Vuong, Silas House, Sonia Guiñansaca, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Victoria Chang, Crystal Wilkinson, Gerald Stern, and Jericho Brown weave together the living stories of the campaign's broad swath of supporters, creating a literary tapestry that depicts the struggle and solidarity behind the work of building a more just America. All proceeds from the book will be donated to the Poor People's Campaign. Stephen Pimpare is director of the Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/public-policy

Art and poetry collide in the new book from poet Reginald Dwayne Betts and artist Titus Kaphar. Titled, Redaction, the book combines words from Betts and art from Kaphar to explore how incarcerated people are treated by American society. It's an expansion on their MoMA PS1 show of the same name. Betts and Kaphar join us to discuss.

In conversation with Airea D. Matthews A ''powerful work of lyric art'' and ''tour de force indictment of the carceral industrial state'' (The New York Times Book Review), Reginald Dwayne Betts' poetry collection Felon won the NAACP Image Award, the American Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2019 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Also the author of two other poetry collections and a memoir, he received the 2019 National Magazine Award for his New York Times Magazine essay about his journey from prison inmate to Yale Law School. His other honors include a Guggenheim fellowship, a 2021 MacArthur ''genius grant'', and a Radcliffe fellowship from Harvard. Betts is the founder and executive director of Freedom Reads, a not-for-profit institution devoted to providing greater access to literature in prisons. Created in collaboration with visual artist Titus Kaphar, Redaction is a multimedia examination of the relationship between race and incarceration in America.  Airea D. Matthews is the 2022-2023 Philadelphia Poet Laureate and directs the poetry program at Bryn Mawr College. Her collection Simulacra won the 2016 Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Best American Poets, Gulf Coast, Harvard Review, and VQR, among other journals. Her autobiographical poetry collection Bread and Circus will be published this spring. (recorded 2/27/2023)

Publishing industry news, insider interviews, and a look at current non-fiction books featured on C-SPAN's Book TV. In this episode we talked to Reginald Dwayne Betts, founder of Freedom Reads, an organization that provides books to incarcerated people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the final midterm sprint; the latest British Prime Minister; and Trump's legal troubles.  Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Adrian Wooldridge for Bloomberg: “Rishi Sunak Is a New and Old-Fashioned Tory” Barton Gellman for The Atlantic: “The Impeachment of Joe Biden” The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward's Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump Nathaniel Rakich for FiveThirtyEight: “The Most Important Elections Of 2022 Could Be In State Legislatures” Brittany Bernstein for The National Review: “Why Some Trump-Country Pennsylvanians Still Aren't Sold on Dr. Oz” Anna Bower for Lawfare: “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Georgia Special Purpose Grand Juries But Were Afraid to Ask” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?” The Prison Letters Project Here are this week's chatters: John: States United Democracy Center; Third Way Paul Revere Project Emily: Charlie Savage for the New York Times: “Garland Formally Bars Justice Dept. From Seizing Reporters' Records” David: Dhruv Mehrotra for Wired: “Hot on the Trail of a Mass-School-Shooting Hoaxer”; Ben Collins' Twitter thread collecting favorite tweets. Listener chatter from Brian DeGeer: Theresa Vargas for The Washington Post: “Fiona Apple Uses Her Voice To Call Out Prince George's Justice System” For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily discusses The Prison Letters Project with John J. Lennon and Reginald Dwayne Betts.   Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the final midterm sprint; the latest British Prime Minister; and Trump's legal troubles.  Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Adrian Wooldridge for Bloomberg: “Rishi Sunak Is a New and Old-Fashioned Tory” Barton Gellman for The Atlantic: “The Impeachment of Joe Biden” The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward's Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump Nathaniel Rakich for FiveThirtyEight: “The Most Important Elections Of 2022 Could Be In State Legislatures” Brittany Bernstein for The National Review: “Why Some Trump-Country Pennsylvanians Still Aren't Sold on Dr. Oz” Anna Bower for Lawfare: “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Georgia Special Purpose Grand Juries But Were Afraid to Ask” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?” The Prison Letters Project Here are this week's chatters: John: States United Democracy Center; Third Way Paul Revere Project Emily: Charlie Savage for the New York Times: “Garland Formally Bars Justice Dept. From Seizing Reporters' Records” David: Dhruv Mehrotra for Wired: “Hot on the Trail of a Mass-School-Shooting Hoaxer”; Ben Collins' Twitter thread collecting favorite tweets. Listener chatter from Brian DeGeer: Theresa Vargas for The Washington Post: “Fiona Apple Uses Her Voice To Call Out Prince George's Justice System” For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily discusses The Prison Letters Project with John J. Lennon and Reginald Dwayne Betts.   Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson discuss the final midterm sprint; the latest British Prime Minister; and Trump's legal troubles.  Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Adrian Wooldridge for Bloomberg: “Rishi Sunak Is a New and Old-Fashioned Tory” Barton Gellman for The Atlantic: “The Impeachment of Joe Biden” The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodward's Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump Nathaniel Rakich for FiveThirtyEight: “The Most Important Elections Of 2022 Could Be In State Legislatures” Brittany Bernstein for The National Review: “Why Some Trump-Country Pennsylvanians Still Aren't Sold on Dr. Oz” Anna Bower for Lawfare: “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Georgia Special Purpose Grand Juries But Were Afraid to Ask” Emily Bazelon for The New York Times: “I Write About the Law. But Could I Really Help Free a Prisoner?” The Prison Letters Project Here are this week's chatters: John: States United Democracy Center; Third Way Paul Revere Project Emily: Charlie Savage for the New York Times: “Garland Formally Bars Justice Dept. From Seizing Reporters' Records” David: Dhruv Mehrotra for Wired: “Hot on the Trail of a Mass-School-Shooting Hoaxer”; Ben Collins' Twitter thread collecting favorite tweets. Listener chatter from Brian DeGeer: Theresa Vargas for The Washington Post: “Fiona Apple Uses Her Voice To Call Out Prince George's Justice System” For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily discusses The Prison Letters Project with John J. Lennon and Reginald Dwayne Betts.   Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Research by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“When I came back, I was thinking about how to tell the story. And I wanted to meet people who, in one way or another, resembled the young people who I'd known as a kid and I was talking to various people, and I had some ideas. And then I got a call from a lawyer, whose name is Ken. And he called up and he said, You know, I've heard about what you're doing. And I have a client whose experience, I think, speaks to what you're trying to do…” Writer Nicholas Dawidoff (The Catcher was a Spy) spent eight years immersed in the story at the heart of his new book, The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice and the American City, and he joins us on the show to talk about the evolution of New Haven (and if it's possible to go home again), inequality and the American Dream, racism and generational poverty, class, justice, his friendship with acclaimed poet Reginald Dwayne Betts and more with Poured Over's host Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Madyson. Featured Books (Episode): The Other Side of Prospect by Nicholas Dawidoff Felon by Reginald Dwayne Betts Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude MacKay   Featured Books (TBR Topoff) The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton Monster by Walter Dean Myers   Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Saturdays.

Publishing industry news, insider interviews, and a look at current non-fiction books featured on C-SPAN's Book TV. In this episode we talked to Reginald Dwayne Betts, founder of Freedom Reads, an organization that provides books to incarcerated people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PROGRAMMING NOTE: The third season of The Last Archive is coming this fall! It will remain free and available everywhere. In the meantime, we are launching a new, subscription-only series as part of the Pushkin+ offering. It's called The Last Archivist, a series of conversations between historian Jill Lepore and collectors, curators, librarians, and keepers of history. This first episode is available for free, but if you want to listen to the rest of the series, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, or at www.pushkin.fm. Stay tuned for Season Three of The Last Archive later this year, which will be free and available everywhere you listen to podcasts. DESCRIPTION: In the first episode of this Pushkin+ series, Jill Lepore talks to Reginald Dwayne Betts about Freedom Reads: an initiative to build libraries in prisons and jails across America. Betts is a MacArthur Genius Grant award recipient and the author of "Felon" – a collection of poems about the effects of incarceration. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reginald Dwayne Betts animates the ideals of justice, integrity and equity in his work as both an attorney and a poet. Betts is also the founding director of Freedom Reads, which aims to establish freedom libraries in prisons across the country. He said it exposes people to the various ways that poetry, fiction, memoir and other literature operate. “Prison is a brutal place, but I don't want to act like prison is just a brutal place. A man I didn't know heard me ask for a book and slid me ‘The Black Poets' because he thought it might matter to me. It profoundly changed my life,” Betts said. Their conversation was the first of four included in MPR and the Star Tribune's Talking Volumes series in 2021 centered around race in America. Guest: Reginald Dwayne Betts is the founder and director of Freedom Reads, a first-of-its-kind organization that empowers people through literature to confront what prison does to the spirit. To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or RSS. Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations. 

In life, Len Bias was a transformative basketball player. In death, he's a cautionary tale and an iconic symbol of poor decision making. Len Bias is also a cultural catalyst.  In this episode, Len's story and legacy are juxtaposed with those of many important figures in American cultural history…Emmit Till's traumatic  tale, and racial injustice. The tragic young death of rapper Biggie Smalls…The black folklore fable of John Henry. His legacy is addressed in contemporary black writings, including by acclaimed poet Reginald Dwayne Betts and Justin Tinsley. Songs have been written about Bias. And a play used his story to teach youth about the perils of drug abuse. All this, in the last narrative episode of this podcast series. About the Narrator: John Salley - John Salley  is an American former professional basketball player, talk show host, and actor. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises, as well as the first player in the NBA to win a championship in three different decades. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: “The Leaked Draft Roe Opinion Is A Disaster For The Supreme” Edwin Meese III for The Washington Post: “Did The Conservative Legal Movement Succeed? That All Depends On Whether The Supreme Court Overrules Roe V. Wade.” Reginald Dwayne Betts for The New York Times Magazine: “Could an Ex-Convict Become an Attorney? I Intended to Find Out” Here are this week's chatters: Ruth: Julia Clancy for Eating Well: “What Is an Air Fryer and Should You Buy One?” James: The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, and the American City, by Nicholas Dawidoff  Emily: She's getting a puppy! Send your advice. Listener chatter from Joe Stracci: Kevin Kelly for The Techium: “103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known”  For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily and Ruth interview James about his innovative programs at Yale's Center for Law and Racial Justice. Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Ruth Marcus for The Washington Post: “The Leaked Draft Roe Opinion Is A Disaster For The Supreme” Edwin Meese III for The Washington Post: “Did The Conservative Legal Movement Succeed? That All Depends On Whether The Supreme Court Overrules Roe V. Wade.” Reginald Dwayne Betts for The New York Times Magazine: “Could an Ex-Convict Become an Attorney? I Intended to Find Out” Here are this week's chatters: Ruth: Julia Clancy for Eating Well: “What Is an Air Fryer and Should You Buy One?” James: The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, and the American City, by Nicholas Dawidoff  Emily: She's getting a puppy! Send your advice. Listener chatter from Joe Stracci: Kevin Kelly for The Techium: “103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known”  For this week's Slate Plus bonus segment Emily and Ruth interview James about his innovative programs at Yale's Center for Law and Racial Justice. Tweet us your questions and chatters @SlateGabfest or email us at gabfest@slate.com. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting a Writer's Life in Prison (Haymarket Books, 2022) is an expansive resource for incarcerated writers. With over 50 contributors like Reginald Dwayne Betts, Randall Horton, and Nicole Shawan Junior, this resource provides the foundations for crafting a vibrant literary life with the carceral state. The guide offers advice including editing, publishing works, and developing prison writing groups while weaving first-person narratives. The Sentences That Create Us will show incarcerated people and allies how to release their stories that prisons caged. N'Kosi Oates is a Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies at Brown University. Find him on Twitter at NKosiOates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting a Writer's Life in Prison (Haymarket Books, 2022) is an expansive resource for incarcerated writers. With over 50 contributors like Reginald Dwayne Betts, Randall Horton, and Nicole Shawan Junior, this resource provides the foundations for crafting a vibrant literary life with the carceral state. The guide offers advice including editing, publishing works, and developing prison writing groups while weaving first-person narratives. The Sentences That Create Us will show incarcerated people and allies how to release their stories that prisons caged. N'Kosi Oates is a Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies at Brown University. Find him on Twitter at NKosiOates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting a Writer's Life in Prison (Haymarket Books, 2022) is an expansive resource for incarcerated writers. With over 50 contributors like Reginald Dwayne Betts, Randall Horton, and Nicole Shawan Junior, this resource provides the foundations for crafting a vibrant literary life with the carceral state. The guide offers advice including editing, publishing works, and developing prison writing groups while weaving first-person narratives. The Sentences That Create Us will show incarcerated people and allies how to release their stories that prisons caged. N'Kosi Oates is a Ph.D. candidate in Africana Studies at Brown University. Find him on Twitter at NKosiOates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

For Reginald Dwayne Betts—a poet, lawyer, and activist who supports and contributes to prison decarceration efforts—reading and writing have a mind-expanding power that never wanes. The author of three books of poetry and a memoir, his prose is intimate and raw. Even when he's not writing about himself, Betts finds ways to build personal connections with his subjects for his award-winning work in The New York Times Magazine—subjects that have included the rapper Tariq Trotter of The Roots, the late actor Michael K. Williams, and Vice President Kamala Harris. He also brings a literary bent to his activism: In 2020, he founded Freedom Reads, a nonprofit that aims to build libraries inside 1,000 prisons and juvenile detention centers across the country. The program recently installed its first sets of bookshelves at MCI-Norfolk, the Massachusetts prison where Malcolm X was incarcerated, and last month, in a public event at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., it presented the 500 titles that comprise each collection.Betts, a graduate of Yale Law School (where he's currently in a Ph.D. program), became an advocate for respecting the rights and dignity of the people who are in or who have gone through the American carceral system after experiencing it firsthand himself. Instead of resigning himself to the violence and dehumanizing conditions of incarceration, he turned his focus to books—many by Black writers and poets—that showed him the depth and richness of self-reflection, and that got him thinking about the stories he himself had to tell. On this episode, Betts speaks with Spencer about the long-term impacts of his time behind bars, the current renaissance of prison writing, and the transformative act of giving people who are incarcerated access to literature and books.Special thanks to our Season 5 sponsor, L'ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts. Show notes:Full transcriptdwaynebetts.comA Question of Freedom [18:39]Betts's 2021 commencement speech at Wesleyan University [25:46]Felon: An American Washi Tale [30:24]“Kamala Harris, Mass Incarceration and Me” [30:36]“A Son, A Mother, and Two Gun Crimes” episode of Death, Sex & Money podcast [38:06]“The Lives They Lived” [42:55]Shahid Reads His Own Palm [01:00:27]Bastards of the Reagan Era [01:00:27]Felon [01:00:27]“Could an Ex-Convict Become an Attorney? I Intended to Find Out” [01:03:01]Freedom Reads [01:10:23]“Memorial Hoops” [01:16:54]

Reginald Dwayne Betts says he survived his prison sentence by reading. He talks about the Freedom Library, which is now on display at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. And, a World War II-era plane was on a scientific mission when it crashed into Lake Mead. The National Park Service is taking steps to protect it. Frani Halperin of H2O Radio reports.

Wyatt and Mary snuggle into Wyatt's office to talk to anti-diet trailblazer Judith Matz (LCSW, author of The Diet Survivor's Handbook and creator of the Making Peace with Food card deck) about weight stigma, binge eating disorder, and common myths about fatness. Also on the agenda: The Manic Episodes hired a bunch of unpaid employees; Wyatt is hooked on the Civil War; and poems by Sylvia Plath and Reginald Dwayne Betts. Instagram: @judmatzJudith's Website

New York Times Moscow bureau chief Anton Troianovski and Yale historian Marci Shore join hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Troianovski discusses his reporting on the recent talks between the U.S. and Russia, contextualizes Russia's unusual demands, and considers the odds of a diplomatic solution. Shore lays out the Ukrainian political history that helped set the stage for current tensions, explains how Trump learned from Putin's efforts to subvert Ukrainian elections, and recommends favorite Ukrainian writers. The episode also features Reginald Dwayne Betts reading Serhiy Zhadan's poem “Headphones,” which he selected for inclusion in The New York Times Magazine. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video excerpts from our interviews at our Fiction/Non/Fiction Podcast Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction's YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf. Selected readings: Anton Troianovski U.S. and Russia Take More Measured Stance in Ukraine Talks - The New York Times Articles by Anton Troianovski in The New York Times Marci Shore Ukrainian Corruption Is Trump's Native Language | Foreign Policy The Bard of Eastern Ukraine, Where Things Are Falling Apart | The New Yorker The Poet Laureate of Hybrid War | Foreign Policy Others: Poem: Headphones - The New York Times Seven dillweeds | Eurozine Mondegreen — Volodymyr Rafeyenko | Harvard University Press Words for War Greetings from Novorossiya - University of Pittsburgh Press ​​​​Love Ukraine as You Would the Sun: 10 Ukrainian Books Worth Reading in English ‹ Literary Hub “We're All Russian, Now,” featuring Sana Krasikov and Charles Baxter (Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 1, Episode 4) Frank Foer Immanuel Kant The Orphanage by Serhiy Zhadan Reginald Dwayne Betts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices