Cover art for podcast 70 Million

70 Million

61 EpisodesProduced by LWC StudiosWebsite

This award-winning and Peabody-nominated podcast documents how locals are addressing the role of jails in their backyards. Reporters travel around the country and hear from people directly impacted by their encounter with jails and to chronicle the progress ground-up efforts have made in diversion, … read more

61 Episodes | 2018 - 2024

Farewell

February 22nd, 2024

0:39

An important message from RadioPublic

Introducing Still Paying the Price: Reparations in Real Terms

July 26th, 2023

3:50

The newest narrative podcast from LWC Studios is out now! “Still Paying the Price: Reparations in Real Terms” is a 14-part series exploring how …

What’s the Public’s Role in Upholding a Broken Criminal Justice System?

December 26th, 2022

28:51

Currently, over 7 million people are under some form of carceral supervision in the United States–from custody to bail to probation. For our final episode, 70 Million reporter Mark Betancourt moderates a conversation …

How Those Drowning in Carceral Debt Are Lining Others’ Pockets

December 19th, 2022

44:19

The commercial bail bond industry is privatized, consolidated – and estimated to be worth $2.4 billion dollars. People arrested in a state like …

Why Policing Our Schools Backfires

December 12th, 2022

34:52

School resource officers are often called upon in middle and high schools to help with routine discipline. But for many children, especially those …

How Jailhouse Informants Rig the Justice System

December 5th, 2022

34:36

For four decades, testimony from jailhouse informants has been the source of public scandal in criminal cases across the U.S. Research shows juries find these witnesses credible, even when they know informants benefit …

Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 2

November 28th, 2022

41:30

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the city of Los Angeles moved thousands of unhoused people into hotel rooms. The program, called Project Roomkey, was a temporary safety net during the national health emergency. But …

Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 1

November 21st, 2022

47:59

In Los Angeles, thousands of people who live outside have to navigate the insecurities caused by homelessness, the ire of housed neighbors, and the city penalizing them for their circumstances. In one park, months of …

Grand Juries, the Black Box of Justice Reform?

November 14th, 2022

42:22

Grand juries are supposed to safeguard against the government charging people with a crime when it lacks sufficient evidence. But because prosecutors …

Highway Robbery: How a Small-town Traffic Trap Became a Legal Black Hole

November 7th, 2022

44:48

In Brookside, Alabama, an eager new police chief, unsuspecting motorists, and a state-mandated loophole converged to create a nightmare for local …

How Guilty Pleas Fastrack and Derail Justice

October 31st, 2022

40:37

The US Constitution guarantees a right to trial to anyone accused of a crime, but less than 3 percent of criminal defendants get a trial. Instead, …

They’re Running for Office to Change the Criminal (Injustice) System

October 24th, 2022

42:50

Weeks before the 2022 midterm elections, 70 Million creator and executive producer Juleyka Lantigua digs into the subject of criminal justice reform …

Our Final Season Launches October 24!

October 17th, 2022

2:37

Looking back over five seasons, we’re so thankful to you, our listeners, for believing in this work, for sharing the episodes, and for including our …

When a State Treats Drug Addiction Like a Health Issue, Not a Crime

November 15th, 2021

35:25

A year ago, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize drug possession. The goal is to reverse some of the negative impacts of the War on Drugs by approaching drug use from a health-centered basis. We visit an …

When “Bail Reform” Isn't

November 8th, 2021

27:23

Texas conservative lawmakers and bail reform advocates have long debated what bail reform can look like for those who cannot afford to bail themselves out of jail. Journalist Andrea Henderson looks closely at a new bail …

Taking Mental Health Crises Out of Police Hands

November 1st, 2021

34:39

Police encounters during a mental health crisis have a greater chance of turning deadly if you're Black. New response mechanisms bypass law …

Forget Reform, They Want Abolition

October 25th, 2021

27:04

Many organizers in St. Louis have given up on reforming the criminal legal system. Now, they’re working to abolish it. And they’re starting with the …

An Effort to Hold Prosecutors Accountable

October 18th, 2021

32:10

A legal matrix that incentivizes criminal convictions can motivate unethical prosecutors to bend or break the rules. In New York, a group of law …

We Went Back to See How These Reforms Worked

October 11th, 2021

38:10

We wanted to see what has happened since we first reported on mental health interventions for arrestees in Miami, how the "bond angels" save lives in …

Why COVID-19 Goes from Jails to Communities

October 4th, 2021

36:03

This special roundtable of experts looks at how policing and incarceration practices are impacting COVID-19 rates in BIPOC communities around the …

How Black Women Are Rightfully “Taking Seats at the Table”

September 27th, 2021

29:36

Nearly one in two Black women in the US have a loved one who has been impacted by our carceral system. Many become de facto civilian experts as a …

Curing “Petty, Everyday Injustice” in Cook County

September 20th, 2021

36:21

The saying goes that “justice delayed is justice denied.” One part of Illinois’ judicial system has had an outsized role in delaying justice for …

Where Juvenile Detention Looks More Like Teens Hanging Out

September 13th, 2021

28:35

There’s a place in rural St. Johns, Arizona, where teens who have encounters with officers of the law can play pool, make music, and get mentored …

Season 4 Launches September 13!

August 30th, 2021

2:14

Peabody Award-nominated  podcast 70 Million is coming back for our fourth season! Join us for more in-depth reporting and rich narrative storytelling from communities impacted by the carceral complex. We'll bring you …

Where the COVID-19 Pandemic Might Finally Ignite Change in the Bail Bonds System

November 16th, 2020

36:01

When jails across the country began releasing thousands of people amid the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, and mass demonstrations against …

TRAILER: Future Hindsight!

November 13th, 2020

2:58

Our friends at Future Hindsight just launched Season 12!  Future Hindsight is a weekly podcast that aims to spark civic engagement through in-depth …

Where Housing, Not Jails, Is the Answer to Homelessness

November 9th, 2020

41:09

In California, so-called quality of life laws criminalize panhandling, living in cars, and blocking sidewalks. Reporter Sarah McClure chronicles how arresting homeless individuals entangles them in a cycle of poverty …

On Tribal Land, Banishment, Rehabilitation and Re-entry Add Up to Justice

November 2nd, 2020

36:34

In Alaska, rising violent crime and substance abuse across the state have also increased incarceration rates among Native Americans. Making use of …

Where Hep C Remains Untreated for Those in Custody

October 26th, 2020

33:49

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 innovative arrangement between a drug manufacturer and the state's …

No Longer Waiting for Top-Down Reform

October 19th, 2020

31:08

Over the past few years, voters across the U.S.have elected prosecutors who promised to implement much-needed criminal justice reforms, from decriminalizing marijuana to ending cash bail. Journalist Ruxandra Guidi …

TRAILER: Say Their Name!

October 15th, 2020

2:59

From DCP Entertainment, "Say Their Name" is a documentary series that focuses on the assault and killing of unarmed Black people by police and in …

A Special Court Keeping Native Americans Out of Jail

October 12th, 2020

35:25

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 …

How the Asylum Process Became Another Carceral Matrix

October 5th, 2020

45:36

The Trump administration has issued numerous policies to systematically dismantle asylum as a legal right. They're also locking up asylum seekers for …

Why Detroit Might Be the True Test of Whether More Cameras Make Cities Safer

September 28th, 2020

40:13

Reporter Sonia Paul takes us to Detroit, where 80% of residents are Black, and examines the tools, models and methods changing the nature of policing …

Voting from Jail Is a Right, and Now a Reality in Chicago

September 21st, 2020

40:06

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 was …

COVID-19 Makes Deciding Who Gets Out of Jail Urgent

September 14th, 2020

36:43

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, unsanitary, and with little means of social distancing, the single-site jail …

TRAILER: Driving The Green Book!

September 3rd, 2020

4:50

We produced something beautiful for Macmillan Podcasts!! Introducing Driving the Green Book, a ten-part documentary series premiering September 15. …

Season 3 Starts Sept. 14!

August 31st, 2020

2:31

We're back! Now as an award-winning and Peabody Award nominated podcast. Thank you for listening and sharing us. For two years we've documented criminal justice reform—one jail and one story at a time. In season 3, we …

Two Rural Counties Take Diverting Paths to Jail Reform

September 16th, 2019

30:31

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 …

Where Texting Brings People to Court

September 9th, 2019

27:26

After someone is arrested, there are multiple court-ordered actions after they make bail. Often, missing any of these--especially court …

A Pregnancy That Changed Texas Law, Part 2

September 2nd, 2019

32:39

If you haven’t already listened to Part 1 of this story, we suggest you do that first.

In 2013, the Texas Jail Project gets a call from Bonnie Wyndham -- a mother whose daughter, Cat, is pregnant behind bars and not …

A Pregnancy That Changed Texas Law, Part 1

August 26th, 2019

38:20

Shandra Williams had experienced five miscarriages by the time she and her husband Dawayne became pregnant with their son. Then she was arrested. Reporter Rowan Moore Gerety travels to Victoria, Texas, where Williams’ …

Comedian Felonious Munk Stands Up for Reform

August 19th, 2019

26:41

Comedian Felonious Munk was among the 13,000 formerly incarcerated people whose voting rights Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe restored in 2018. 70 …

An Open and Shut Case, Reopened

August 12th, 2019

30:41

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 it …

The Work of Closing a Notorious Jail

August 5th, 2019

38:00

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 …

How Bail Shackles Women of Color

July 29th, 2019

30:26

Tamiki Banks’ life was turned upside down when her husband was arrested, leaving her the sole breadwinner and caregiver to their twins. More than two …

When Disability Requires a Different Approach

July 22nd, 2019

26:10

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities, known as I/DD, are overrepresented behind bars. One reason is that police officers, lawyers, …

Marching Toward Reform in New Orleans

July 15th, 2019

32:51

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 of change in the horizon, with a groundswell of community action and two …

Now a Peabody Award Nominee!!

July 8th, 2019

1:54

As of this week, our second season is a Peabody Awards nominee!!  Reporters who take a closer look at communities and programs trying bold solutions …

Are Some of the Formerly Incarcerated Owed Reparations?

October 29th, 2018

29:10

To close out season one, we invited two legal experts, Christina Swarns, President and Attorney-in-Charge of the Office of the Appellate Defender in New York and Scott Hechinger, Senior Staff Attorney & Dir. of …

How New Orleans Could Set a New Course for Bail Reform

October 22nd, 2018

29:58

New Orleans could become the battleground for bail reform. The city has one of the highest per capita incarceration rates in the world. And most …

In Miami, Jailing Fewer, Treating More

October 15th, 2018

27:04

This episode is a special collaboration with Miami’s WLRN radio station, whose reporters Nadege Green and Daniel Rivero report on the county’s …

Undocumented Immigrants Are Tethered to ICE, and Private Companies, by Ankle Monitors

October 8th, 2018

29:08

A handful of companies are making millions off ankle monitors strapped to undocumented immigrants in ICE custody. The makers pitch the monitors as an …

In One State, an Opioid Crisis Led Police to Start an Angel Program

October 1st, 2018

26:28

In Massachusetts, Gloucester PD started an "angel program" to help people in the grip of opioid addiction get help. Instead of arresting people for …

One State Is Disrupting the Pipeline from Foster Care to Jail

September 24th, 2018

28:23

By age 17, over half of young people in foster care have already been convicted of a crime or spent a night in jail. After they age out, a quarter will go to jail or get in trouble with the law within the first two …

Putting Women Already in Jail First

September 17th, 2018

27:23

Oklahoma locks up women and girls at a higher rate than anywhere else in the US. Black mothers bear the burden of this crisis, which can curtail accessing public benefits and lower the chances of keeping their children. …

Reform Activists and a New DA Find Common Ground

September 10th, 2018

28:33

Activists in Houston were galvanized by events in Ferguson in 2014 following the death of Michael Brown. First, they took to the streets in protest. …

Veterans Courts Give Soldiers a Way Back

September 3rd, 2018

29:26

For veterans, run-ins with the law don’t always have to mean jail time. Thanks to Veterans Court in Boston, which helps in finding treatment for PTSD, getting sober, and finding work. Reporter Heidi Shin talks to an …

Locals Divided Between Diversion and Border Security

August 27th, 2018

29:50

In Pima County, where Tucson is located, formerly incarcerated individuals and local government officials have joined efforts to send fewer people to jail. Meanwhile, a federal program designed to stop drug and human …

70 Million S1 Trailer

August 17th, 2018

2:07

70 million Americans older than 18 have a criminal record. 70 Million documents how residents and communities are taking up the challenge of reforms, …

70 Million Podcast Teaser

May 18th, 2018

2:44

Starting August 27, follow along as the reporters on 70 Million travel around the country to chronicle how communities are taking the challenge of …

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