Tag: prisons

Prison Island: Prison Expansion in the UK

Back with a new series, hosts Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann speak to Nicole, a researcher at Corporate Watch about the British government’s plans for prison expansion, how this will impact people inside and outside prisons and how communities across the country are resisting.
“Just Paint the Walls Pink”: Gender, Prison and Carceral Feminism

Oonagh Ryder speaks to Mo Mansfield, a social justice campaigner and women’s sector professional. They discuss what carceral feminism is, how it has helped to expand and entrench the criminal justice system and how we can move beyond this towards an abolitionist feminism.
What Is Abolition?
Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann finish this season of The Lockdown with a recap of what they've discussed in the previous episodes. Sam talks about what he's learnt and they decide whether he's ready to graduate from the podcast's 'resident idiot'.
Guilty by Association: How to Get a Life Sentence for a Murder You Didn’t Commit
Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann speak to activist and founder of campaign group Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA), Gloria Morrison.
Ending the Cycle of Violence
On The Lockdown, Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann speak to anti-violence practitioner Whitney Iles about youth violence, why it happens and how to stop it.
Beyond Prison: Michael Balogun Part 2
On the Lockdown, Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann chat with Michael Balogun (whose incredible story is discussed in part 1) about what could be in place instead of a system of punishment.
Prison and Beyond: Michael Balogun
Actor Michael Balogun tells his story of spending much of his young life in and out of prison to hosts Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann. The first part of a two-parter, looking at the factors leading to imprisonment and how we could do things differently.
The Lockdown: the End of Policing

Sam Swann and guest host Connor Woodman discuss the book, The End Of Policing with its author Alex S. Vitale. They discuss the ways that the police exacerbate social problems and what the alternatives might be.
The Lockdown: Justice in Films

Hosts Oonagh Ryder @Oonskie and Sam Swann @SamGSwann chat about how justice is portrayed in films with filmmaker and writer Joel Blackledge @TheGreatDamfino. They discuss the role of the prison in films and TV, which characters are deserving of our sympathy and how punishment is the backdrop to so much of our entertainment.

The Lockdown: the Myth of Rehabilitation
Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann discuss the myth of rehabilitation in prison and how the language of rehabilitation disguises the true nature of the criminal justice system.
The Lockdown: Containing Gender
The Lockdown hosts interview Chryssy Hunter, an activist with Bent Bars and researcher currently completing her PhD on neoliberal legislation and the lives of trans and gender non-conforming people.
‘Tools and Windows’: Books for Prisoners

Hosts Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann speak to Luke Billingham from Haven Distribution, an organisation that provides books for prisoners. They discuss the difference books can make to prisoners’ lives, and why the left should stop being armchair abolitionists. Put down your Adorno and send your books into prisons!  

Prisons: Abolition or Reform?
Hosts Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann interview Dr David Scott, who explains what prison abolition is and what the alternatives are. They discuss the failings of the current penal system, the naive utopianism of reform and the practicalities of penal abolition.
WTF Is Prison Even For?
On The Lockdown, Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann ask: what is prison actually for? They discuss the history of the prison, its relationship to capitalism and colonialism, and what this means for our criminal justice system today.
Britain’s Prison Industrial Complex
The Lockdown is a show all about prisons and the criminal justice system in Britain. Oonagh Ryder and Sam Swann discuss what the prison industrial complex looks like in Britain and why privatisation in the prison system matters.
Surround Yarl’s Wood: We Must Keep On Demanding an End to Immigration Detention
We went to the 12th surround Yarl's Wood demonstration outside the immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire. But despite a recent abuse scandal, an increase in detention deaths, and a charter flight the day before, the turnout was small and the mood different to past protests.
G4S is Using Art by Detainees and Prisoners to Boost Its Public Image
A private security firm that runs some of the worst immigration removal centres and prisons in the country has partnered with an arts charity to put on an exhibition of work by inmates and detainees.
5 Things You Should Know About Toxic Water Inside the United States
With corrupt government officials and big business devastating the country's clean water supply, America's  poor are being poisoned. A look into the murky water politics of the US.