Mother Jones
Senior reporter for Mother Jones and co-author of A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran
PROFILE
Shane Bauer
Guest
FROM Shane Bauer
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Ten days with an armed militia on the US-Mexico border Journalist Shane Bauer recently went undercover with a militia group called Three Percent United Patriots. He picked up a rifle, pulled on camo gear and combat boots, and headed into southern Arizona to look for drug traffickers and illegal immigrants.
To the Point
Private prisons: justice and profits Incarcerating criminal convicts is part of the justice system, which is run by government. So, why do we have private prisons? It goes back to the Reagan Administration, the War on Drugs and the crackdown on crime, which led federal prisons to be overcrowded. But the government refused to build new ones. Privatization was said to be cheaper and more efficient — and a new, very profitable, industry was born. Now, the Obama Administration says private prisons are unsafe, unhealthy and too expensive. As it ends the practice , will states and the Immigration Service go along?
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Reporter Goes Undercover to Find Out What Life is Like Inside a Private Prison More and more inmates are serving time in private prisons in America. These are facilities run by for-profit companies such as the GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America. Yet even though nearly one out of every ten inmates is locked up in a private prison, little is known about what actually goes on inside these facilities. Mother Jones Senior Reporter Shane Bauer wanted to know more about what life is like inside of private prisons, so he went undercover for four months, working as a prison guard at Winn Correctional Center, a privately-run state prison in Louisiana. What Bauer saw inside of Winn was shocking: chaos, beatings, stabbings, overall lawlessness, and even an escape.
To the Point
When American Hikers Became Political Prisoners in Iran Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer had been living in Syria, teaching and writing. Josh Fattal was visiting from the US. The story of the three American hikers who strayed into Iran on a hike in the Kurdish highlands in 2009 has been widely reported. They spent two years in prison — some of that time in solitary confinement -- before being released. Now they've co-authored Sliver of Light , a book about how they were captured and what it took to endure without a trial or any knowledge of how long their confinement might last.
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Previewing James Comey's blockbuster testimony Former FBI director James Comey testifies Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but his opening statement has been released. In it, he says he felt pressured by Donald Trump to declare loyalty to him and publicly clear him of any wrongdoing in the Russia investigation.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Gov. Jerry Brown: California and China will fight climate change together President Donald Trump reportedly wants the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, and he’s expected to announce a decision soon. California Governor Jerry Brown heads to China to strengthen climate and clean energy ties.
The Business
In 'Speechless,' Scott Silveri combines comedy, family & disability Scott Silveri has written and produced sitcoms for more than 20 years. In all that time, he never encountered a TV family that looked anything like the one he grew up in -- with a mom, a dad...and a brother with cerebral palsy. He changed that with his show Speechless on ABC. Silveri tells us about looking to his own past for stories, and why he was determined to make a family comedy and not just a "disability show."
Design and Architecture
Farewell LA freeways, Peter Shire is back Angelenos don't want more freeways but we seem not to want mass transit either. Metro has killed the 710 freeway extension, and bus and train ridership is down across the region. What's the future of getting around in LA? And, Peter Shire is having a comeback. What attracts a new generation to his playful ceramics and furniture?