Making Sense with Sam Harris #176 — Knowledge & Redemption
Nov 23, 2019
Lynn Novick, an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, and Jewel Hall, a Bard Prison Initiative graduate now working at the Ford Foundation, discuss the transformative power of education in prisons. They delve into Novick's film
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Film Inspiration
- Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, the film's producer, lectured at a Bard Prison Initiative class.
- This experience, inside a maximum security prison, sparked the idea for the documentary.
Mass Incarceration Issues
- The US prison system houses 2.2 million people, costing $80 billion annually.
- High recidivism rates are common, worsened by limited educational opportunities.
Impact of 1995 Crime Bill
- Jewel Hall witnessed college programs disappearing from prisons due to the 1995 crime bill.
- This led to demoralization and hopelessness among inmates, highlighting the importance of education.