Podcasts for prisons? A Harvard Law fellow thinks it could keep inmates out of trouble
The United States has the largest population of incarcerated individuals on earth. On any given day, American prisons house more than 2 million inmates, and for those who do leave jail, there is a 50-50 chance they’ll return someday. But Andre Norman, a former convict turned Harvard Law School fellow, hopes he can help slow the revolving door with a unique approach: a podcast directly aimed at those serving hard time.
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ANDRE NORMAN: We have 2.2 million people locked up and we don't have a plan for the 2.2 million people.
- America has the largest population of incarcerated individuals of any country on Earth. When you count those in jail, on probation, or parole, that number swells to 6.9 million.
More than 2/3 of people who go to prison re-offend within three years of their release, and half are incarcerated at a cost of more than $80 billion a per year. But Andre Norman, 22 years out of prison and now a Harvard Law School fellow, hopes he can help slow the revolving door.
ANDRE NORMAN: I went to prison not because nobody loved me. I lost my purpose. And they say you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. That's wrong. It's dead wrong, because there's a step before that-- getting ready to want help. And that's what we do.
- Thanks to over 300,000 tablets deployed to correctional facilities nationwide, a growing number of people behind bars have access to educational resources, monitored messaging to family and friends, and Norman's "Second Acts" podcast.
ANDRE NORMAN: When I came home, I wasn't the uncle. I was a guy in the pictures on the refrigerator.
- Norman interviews a variety of guests like James Jackson, the self-proclaimed relationship mechanic, entrepreneur, and musician.
JAMEL JACKSON: I would tell my younger self like, yo, there's something about you. Even though you don't look the part, you don't feel the part, you're not emotionally feeling the part, mentally feeling the part. I would say there's something about you.
- Michelle Falconer, a realtor who spoke about what kept her resilient through family losses and other painful hardships.
MICHELLE FALCONER: One of the things I hate to hear is "no new friends." I hate that saying, because if that's the case, I'd be the same person I was 20 years ago.
- And Jeremy Anderson, a motivational speaker and author who turned his life around from being a drug dealer.
JEREMY ANDERSON: If you are not intentional about being successful, you can accidentally become a failure.
- The podcast and tablets help incarcerated people with a common struggle-- re-entering into a society that's constantly changing.
- The "Second Chance" podcast was cool for me because it allowed me to feel more normal.
ANDRE NORMAN: Incarceration is not a place-- it's a state of mind. I'm saying there are people who are incarcerated physically, but are free mentally.
- And to make this more of a rehabilitation situation instead of an imprisonment.
ANDRE NORMAN: With a tablet you can talk to your family, you can talk to your kids. With a tablet you can get a degree, you can get a GED. With a tablet you can just sit down, and just listen to music and relax.
- People [? in here ?] that are incarcerated are still people. They still have value. Let's use that value and grow on that.
- Aventiv, the company behind the tablet program, has a goal of making sure at least one million tablets are accessible to people in prison in the next three years.
ANDRE NORMAN: The plan is to have a tablet in every offender's hand, because it makes education possible, it makes enlightenment possible, it makes church possible, it makes connecting to your families possible. Versus we throw you in this black hole, and nobody hears from you until your time's up.
