70 Million

Series produced by Lantigua Williams & Co.

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70 Million documents how locals are addressing the role of jails in their backyards.

70 million Americans older than 18 have a criminal record. 70 Million documents how residents and communities are taking up the challenge of reforms, one jail--and story--at a time. We’ll travel around the country to learn about local efforts in diversion, bail reform, recidivism, and specialty courts--all with the goal of lessening the impact of jails on communities. (This podcast is made possible by a grant from the Safety and Justice Challenge at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.)


31 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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When jails across the country began releasing thousands of people amid the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, and mass demonstrations against pol...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 36:01
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In California, so-called “quality of life” laws criminalize things like panhandling, living in cars, and blocking sidewalks. Reporter Sarah McClure...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 41:09
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In Alaska, rising violent crime and substance abuse across the state have also increased incarceration rates among Native Americans. Making use of ...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 36:35
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Sean Wesley knew he had Hepatitis C when he started serving his prison sentence in Louisiana, and spent years trying to get treatment. Despite an i...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 33:49
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Over the past few years, voters across the U.S.have elected prosecutors who promised to implement much-needed criminal justice reforms, from decrim...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 31:08
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Kirsten made her way out of jail and addiction with the help of a special court on the Penobscot Nation reservation in Maine. There, culture and ju...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 35:25
  • Purchases: 1
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The Trump administration has issued numerous policies to systematically dismantle asylum as a legal right. They're also locking up asylum seekers f...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 45:36
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Reporter Sonia Paul takes us to Detroit, where 80 % of residents are Black, and examines the tools, models and methods changing the nature of polic...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 40:13
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A year ago, Illinois passed a law requiring all jails to ensure that pre-trial detainees have an opportunity to vote. Chicago’s Cook County Jail wa...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 40:06
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James Howard III was arrested this spring and sent to Chicago’s Cook County Jail a few weeks into the state's coronavirus lockdown. Crowded, unsani...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2020
  • Length: 36:32
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Drug felony charges have more than doubled in Colorado as the state faces an opioid crisis. Jail admissions are on the rise in some counties. While...

Bought by Prairie Public, KVSC, KFCF FM, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 30:31
  • Purchases: 4
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Shandra Williams had experienced five miscarriages by the time she and her husband Dawayne became pregnant with their son. Then she was arrested. R...

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  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 27:26
  • Purchases: 1
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Shandra Williams had experienced five miscarriages by the time she and her husband Dawayne became pregnant with their son. Then she was arrested. R...

  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 32:39
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Shandra Williams had experienced five miscarriages by the time she and her husband Dawayne became pregnant with their son. Then she was arrested. R...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 38:21
  • Purchases: 1
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Comedian Felonious Munk was among the 13,000 formerly incarcerated people whose voting rights Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe restored in 2018. 7...

Bought by KFAI Minneapolis, KGNU Community Radio, PRX Remix, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, and KFCF FM


  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 26:41
  • Purchases: 5
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At 17, Mark Denny was wrongfully convicted of a rape and robbery in Brooklyn. It took nearly 30 years for that conviction to be overturned -- and i...

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  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 30:41
  • Purchases: 1
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Five years after Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a police officer galvanized criminal justice reform activists in St. Louis, they're gaining ...

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  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 38:00
  • Purchases: 1
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Tamiki Banks’ life was turned upside down when her husband was arrested, leaving her the sole breadwinner and caregiver to their twins. More than t...

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  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 30:26
  • Purchases: 1
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People with intellectual and developmental disabilities, known as I/DD, are overrepresented behind bars. One reason is that police officers, lawyer...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, KFAI Minneapolis, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 26:10
  • Purchases: 3
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For years, to fund itself New Orleans’ criminal legal system has relied on bail, fines and fees levied on the city’s poorest. But there are signs o...

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  • Added: Jul 28, 2020
  • Length: 32:51
  • Purchases: 1