Today Professor Beck and Producer Brit are joined by criminal justice grad student Madison Rodriques to talk about corn dogs, slapping therapy in prison, anti-women laws, pathways to prison for women, higher rates of mental illness in women’s prison populations, The Bangkok Rules, imprisoning children, state sexual assault, the First Step Act, menstrual products, inducing labor against will, forced sterilization, protecting women prisoners from sexual violence, and Prison of the Psychotic Damned (2006).

Professor Bronson is out of the office! So Producer Brit steps in with Host Professor Beck Strah to talk about a $5.6 million dollar payout to the victim of an invasive search and the closure of a women’s prison, The Office, the Lucasville Prison Riot from 1993 including the incident that lead to a prolonged lockdown, Warden “King” Arthur Tate, harsh realities, outside protests, inmate unions, the prisoner’s demands, not killing COs, and the final settlement, and Ghostlight (2024).

Professors Eric Bronson and Beck Strah discuss weather control machines, presidential diet coke buttons, contraband drones, robots in prison, and CECOT Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, including: the reasons for the prison, the prison population, the policies behind the prison, the successes of the prison, the failures of the prison, the architecture of the prison, the hooded guards, the food, and the future of the prison. Producer Brit watches Get the Gringo (2012) for Movie Minute.

We have guests! Professors Eric Bronson and Beck Strah interview students Caroline, Daniel, Emma, Pete about their visit to the Prison Rodeo at the Louisiana State Correctional Facility at Angola. They also discuss smuggling meth into prison, Beck spilling Gumbo on his pants, the ethics of the prison rodeo, Hurricanes, the rodeo fair, trustees, the violence of the rodeo, prison cats, and Condemned to Hell (1984).

Professors Eric Bronson and Beck Strah discuss their upcoming trip to the Prison Rodeo at Angola, 19 executions so far this year, bringing back the gas chamber, closure as a concept invented by media, leasing prisoners to private business, the Red Hat unit, inmates as guards, notable wardens, notable former inmates, record solitary confinement stays, Homelessness is a Housing Problem by Clayton Page Aldern and Gregg Colburn, new malls, Cain’s Redemption by Dennis Shere, and The Farm: Angola, USA (1998)

Professor Beck Strah and a healthy and returning Professor Eric Bronson discuss podcast tattoos, a stabbing incident at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, correctional staff assaults, Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola (also known as “The Farm”), “Natural Life”, the electric chair, Utah’s death sentence options, Georgia bringing back the guillotine, Angola’s structure and layout, prison labor at Angola, the Angola prison magazine, Angola’s religious services, Angola-made coffins, the Angola Prison Rodeo, Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh, God of the Rodeo by Daniel Bergner, and Death Row (2006).

Professor Beck Strah and Producer Brit talk about Beck’s various jobs, Derek Chauvin news, and then they review the first episode of Prison Break from 2005 in which they discuss prison stores, murdering the vice president’s brother, conjugal visits, Stacy Keach, trash fires, gifts made with prison labor, dated effects, and Alien: Romulus (2024)

Professor Beck Strah and Producer Brit ask is Eric the meat of our sandwich?, the fish sloppy joe challenge, the Stateville Correctional Center getting depopulated due to bad conditions, swimming the Alcatraz escape route, the big weird time out, the would-be escapees of the Battle of Alcatraz, The Battle of Alcatraz: the escape attempt, the officer resistance, and what went wrong. They also discuss the show Prison Break and Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre (2016) and doing your prison break in the most ethical way possible.