People I (Mostly) Admire cover image

People I (Mostly) Admire

112. Reading Dostoevsky Behind Bars

Aug 19, 2023
53:51
Snipd AI
Reginald Dwayne Betts, a former prisoner turned Yale Law graduate and poet, discusses the importance of rehabilitation and mentors in the prison system. The podcast explores the efforts of Freedom Reads in building libraries in prisons and the transformative power of literature. It delves into the impact of support organizations in prisons, the societal lack of forgiveness, and personal experiences in different prisons. The speaker reflects on hope, ambition, and overcoming challenges, and the hosts discuss imposter syndrome and tease a future episode on alien life.
Read more

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Freedom Reads builds libraries in prisons to disrupt the bleak environment and facilitate communal engagement with a diverse range of books.
  • Scaling the impact of Freedom Reads is hindered by the lack of funding, with each freedom library costing around $25,000, but they aim to raise $30 million to build 2,000 libraries across the country.

Deep dives

Building Libraries in Prisons

Reginald Dwayne Betz discusses the organization he started called Freedom Reads, which builds libraries in prisons. The libraries aim to disrupt the bleak and hopeless environment of prisons by bringing in nature and creating a space for communal engagement with books. They have built 172 freedom libraries across 34 prisons in 10 states. The collection includes a wide range of books, not just easy ones, and they employ strategies like bringing in writers to give readings, creating solo shows based on books, and bridging the gap between literature and performance to engage prisoners with reading.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode