AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
People I (Mostly) Admire
112. Reading Dostoevsky Behind Bars
Aug 19, 2023
Reginald Dwayne Betts, a Yale Law graduate and MacArthur Fellow, discusses his journey from prison to poet and advocate. He emphasizes the power of literature in transforming lives through his nonprofit, Freedom Reads, which builds libraries in prisons. Betts shares personal stories of how reading Dostoevsky and other authors helped him navigate moral dilemmas during incarceration. He also reflects on the emotional challenges of reintegration into society and the ongoing battle against imposter syndrome, highlighting the importance of second chances.
53:51
Episode guests
AI Summary
Highlights
AI Chapters
Episode notes
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.
AI-powered
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