A pair of two-person teams debate a policy proposal. In this case, the proposal was to eliminate cash bail. The format is familiar to thousands of American high school and college students. One side takes the government position, endorsing the proposal; the other side becomes the opposition. This project trains current and former inmates in the art of debate. Volunteers have taught 1,000 prisoners debating skills over the past seven years.
A policy of ambiguity is swiftly shifting; the country is falling into a Sino-Russian orbit at just the time it needs the most help from Western allies. How learning to debate can improve the lives of those inside and released from New York City’s biggest prison. And meeting a street artist who decorates the wreckage of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city.
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