“On The Issues” Podcast: Why is Mass Incarceration of Women Ignored?

Ms. Magazine's "On the Issues" new podcast deals with the incarceration of women, particularly Black women.

Photo: YouTube

Ms. Magazine’s “On the Issues” new podcast deals with the incarceration of women, particularly Black women.

On the Issues with Michele Goodwin is a new issues- and policy-focused podcast featuring feminist analysis, insightful conversations and exciting guests. This is the first podcast from Ms. Magazine, a legacy feminist publication.

In each bi-weekly episode, host Dr. Michele Goodwin and special guests will tackle the most compelling issues of our times, centering feminist concerns about rebuilding our nation and advancing the promise of equality.

The new episode—Mass Incarceration: Don’t Forget About the Women (with Sue Ellen Alen, Piper Kerman, and Kamilah Newton)—is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and MsMagazine.com.

Women make up the fastest growing incarcerated population in the U.S—yet, politicians and the media frequently frame incarceration as an issue that affects only boys and men.

This week, Dr. Goodwin and her guests ask: Why is so little attention paid to women and mass incarceration? What does the failure to include women in the analysis on mass incarceration mean for communities, families and the women themselves? What are the unique challenges women and girls face behind bars and after they are released?

Dr. Goodwin is joined by Sue Ellen Allen, founder and executive director of Reinventing Reentry; Piper Kerman, author of the memoir Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison; and Kamilah Newton, writer for Yahoo Lifestyle and associate producer for MAKERS.

Their conversation covered a wide range of topics; you can find a full transcript here.

Dr. Michele Goodwin is a frequent contributor to Ms. Magazine and on MsMagazine.com. She is a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Irvine and also serves on the executive committee and national board of the ACLU. Dr. Goodwin is a prolific author and an elected member of the American Law Institute, as well as an elected Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Hastings Center. Her most recent book, Policing The Womb: Invisible Women and The Criminalization of Motherhood , is described as a “must read.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *