RATTLING THE BARS
Rattling the Bars, co-hosted by former Black Panthers and political prisoners Marshall “Eddie” Conway and Charles Hopkins, better known as Mansa Musa, puts the voices of the people most harmed by our system of mass incarceration at the center of our reporting on the fight to end it.
Rattling the Bars offers an honest look at the lives of prisoners, returning citizens, their families, and their communities. With Rattling the Bars, by presenting hard data and real-life stories, we examine and seek to shift public opinion around the misconception that incarceration, punishment, and increased policing make cities safer—the truth of which has been disproven by countless studies. The series examines the history and root causes of the current so-called justice system. It showcases individuals and communities nationwide who are grappling with real solutions to problems created by the prison-industrial complex.
Latest episode
Cash bail is an abomination of justice. We should get rid of it.
The blunt fact about the cash bail system in the US is that it creates a two-tier system of “justice” in which the presumption of innocence is denied to people who have not been convicted of anything but the “crime” of being poor.
Recent episodes
How one organization is training formerly incarcerated leaders to fight mass incarceration
JustLeadershipUSA sees the answer to mass incarceration among the 5.5 million people affected by the system of mass punishment today.
Khader Adnan’s martyrdom and Israel’s abuse of Palestinian prisoners
Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi explains the life and death of martyr Khader Adnan, a baker, father, and spokesperson for Palestinian Islamic Jihad who led a series of hunger strikes during his incarceration by the Israeli state.
A new media project to bring incarcerated writers to the forefront of prison abolition discourse
Tentatively titled ‘Project Abolition,’ the new initiative by Scalawag Magazine seeks to take back the narrative on prison abolition from mainstream media while expanding publishing opportunities for writers on the inside.
May Day’s history shows why labor and prison struggles are intertwined
The role of police and prisons in the Haymarket Massacre and its aftermath demonstrates why labor must confront the prison industrial complex.
How a 1970s prisoner-organized literacy program changed Maryland’s penitentiaries
Participants in the ‘To Say Their Own Word’ program co-founded by former Black Panther Marshall ‘Eddie’ Conway look back on how education laid a foundation for future organizing.
How Maryland inmates organized for university-level education in prison
From 1979-80, Marshall “Eddie” Conway helped organize a prisoners’ educational outreach program called “To Say Their Own Word,” where prisoners and radicals met inside the Maryland Penitentiary to discuss fascism, capitalism, and the prison system.
Jalil Muntaqim: The time to end prison slavery is now
Imprisoned for 49 years by the US government, former Black Panther Jalil Muntaqim addresses the need to struggle against the US’s ongoing genocide of Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples.
The Pendleton 2 saved a man’s life. A judge sentenced them to 200 years for it.
Too Black and Victoria Law join ‘Rattling the Bars’ to discuss the campaign to free the Pendleton 2.
A tribute to the revolutionary life of Marshall ‘Eddie’ Conway
Former Baltimore Black Panther and 44-year political prisoner Eddie Conway passed away on Feb. 13, 2023. Eddie’s family and coworkers reflect on his life and example.
‘The Road to Damascus’ uses theater to confront white supremacy
Kathy Randels’s one-woman play, ‘The Road to Damascus’, explores white complicity in the prison system through fairy tales and biblical allusions.
A new federal proposal could seize 75% of commissary funds families send to loved ones in prison
The Bureau of Prisons proposal would automatically deduct three quarters of money sent to prisoners—today is the last day to submit a public comment opposing this measure.
Mass incarceration has lasted for 50 years now
A new campaign from the Sentencing Project seeks to reinvigorate the fight against the ceaselessly expanding US prison system.
We lost Malcolm X, but we can’t lose the dream of international revolution
Malcolm X believed internationalism was essential for any struggle for liberation. On the anniversary of his assassination, we discuss the need to carry on Malcolm’s legacy by keeping the dream of international revolution alive.
Dozens of Texas prisoners are hunger striking against solitary confinement
Prisoners say solitary confinement has been disproportionately weaponized against Latinos. Texas currently has over 500 people who’ve been in nonstop solitary confinement for more than a decade.
Exclusive interview from prison: Carla J. Simmons on what an inhumane carceral system does to human psyches
“If society upholds the pretense that jails and prisons act as a rehabilitative service, we must consider what condition these people will be in when they re-enter society.”
New jails are popping up coast to coast. These activists share how to fight back.
After over a decade of mass protest against prisons and police, carceral expansion shows few signs of slowing down.
These women are fighting Nevada’s prison system—and winning
Founded by women with incarcerated loved ones in Nevada’s prison system, Return Strong is fighting mass incarceration in a state dominated by prison interests.
“We not going anywhere”: Carrying on MLK’s legacy, 50 years later
In 2018, TRNN hosted a special event commemorated the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., featuring speeches by Nina Turner, Danny Glover, and Eddie Conway.
Louisiana to imprison juveniles at Angola Prison’s death row
A new report shows the state is in the process of transferring at least 20 incarcerated minors to be housed at death row units in various facilities.
The holidays are the most painful time of year to be behind bars
Every holiday season, prisoners suffer spikes in suicides, violence, and depression. Eddie Conway, who spent 44 years locked up, explains what people on the outside can do to help.
2022 was Rikers Island’s deadliest year. Again.
19 people have died in New York City’s notorious pretrial detention center. Advocates are calling for a court-appointed federal receivership to intervene.
How private developers profited from tax subsidies in Baltimore intended to revitalize poor neighborhoods
The new documentary ‘Tax Broke’ explores how subsidies that were supposed to reverse Baltimore’s fortunes transferred taxpayer money into the pockets of the rich while leaving the city no better off.
After 26 years in prison, Cambodian refugee Phoeun You was supposed to be paroled. ICE deported him instead.
Phoeun You says he has never received an official reason for his deportation, and has requested a pardon from California Governor Gavin Newsom.
El Salvador’s history shows migration isn’t the problem, imperialism is
Journalist Roberto Lovato’s first memoir recounts the story of his family through the crucible of US imperialism and El Salvador’s revolutionary history.
Modern US prison slavery is bigger than the 13th Amendment
25 state constitutions also uphold the exception that slavery remains legal when used as punishment for a crime.
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