Show Notes
The American criminal justice system is often viewed as an unfixable and intractable problem. But shifting demographics and new approaches to community investment might actually bring a natural end to the era of mass incarceration.Alex Duran spent 12 years in New York maximum security prisons before earning a liberal arts degree through the Bard College Prison Initiative. Today, he leads the criminal justice portfolio at Galaxy Gives. He joins host Zachary Karabell to discuss his surreal personal journey from Rikers Island to the world of high level philanthropy.The two explore the real reasons crime rates fluctuate, why our current parole systems are built to manage failure rather than reward success, and how simple investments in the physical environment can do more for public safety than increased police budgets. They also tackle the harsh reality of modern prison labor and examine the unexpected data showing that the US might literally run out of inmates in the coming decades.
What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.
For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org
Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/
Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork
Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk
Subscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/
More from What Could Go Right?
What do anarchist hippies and police officers have in common? We dive into a fringe hippie experiment that turned into a template for police departments across the country. Additionally, we’re talking about a historic trip to the International Space Station and the forgotten reason we have modern ambulances in this country. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.orgSubscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetworkFollow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrkFollow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/
As modern society grows wealthier and more technologically advanced, our increasing obsession with safety is quietly stalling human progress. Economist and author Allison Schrager joins host Zachary Karabell to break down the hidden costs of our increasingly risk averse culture and explain why embracing uncertainty is essential for both personal fulfillment and economic innovation.
Why are researchers and doctors who treat dementia so happy right now? Experts think we're in a new optimistic age for Alzheimer's research with new treatments and new diagnostic tools that are changing the landscape. That’s our main story on the What Could Go Right Progress Report. We're also talking about a new kind of battery that you can eat, and last but not least, in This Week in History, we're talking about a 30-year-old agreement about Antarctica that probably saved our planet. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.orgSubscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetworkFollow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrkFollow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/
There was a time in American history when everything was about ships. For centuries, power on the seas was necessary for economic success, but U.S. maritime power isn’t what it used to be. That change has never been more important than in the growing territorial tension in the Arctic Circle. Author, columnist, and economic analyst Rana Foroohar joins host Zachary Karabell to talk about her new book Sea Change: America’s New Great Game in the Arctic. They discuss how sea lanes opening across the North Pole as a result of climate change could reshape trade, security, and geopolitics, and make the Arctic one of the most important economic and political zones in the world.
After a former Anthropic researcher quit and gave a doomsday warning about artificial intelligence, a debate on a human extinction event is raging in the media. Could AI get too smart too fast? Are we really in danger of AI going rogue and killing off humanity, or is it all an overblown distraction?