Next Left

22: Chesa Boudin Wants to Bring Restorative Justice to San Francisco


Listen Later

Chesa Boudin is part of something: a national movement to change the way that district attorneys operate within the criminal justice system. He wants to make the change in San Francisco, as that city's new DA. Boudin is running in a competitive election on November 5, and he has attracted the support of change agents from across the country: Chicago District Attorney Kim Foxx, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, and Queens DA candidate Tiffany Caban, to name a few.

Having worked for a number of years as a San Francisco public defender, Boudin knows the system. He has big plans to eliminate cash bail, to end racial disparities, to end mass incarceration, and to expand mental health treatment so that San Francisco can "stop using our jail as an ineffective and inhumane mental health facility."

But there is more to Boudin's run. He has distinguished himself in this moment of debate about the criminal justice system by speaking openly, and insightfully, about his own experience as the son of parents who were jailed throughout his childhood. His parents, Weather Underground radicals Kathy Boudin and David Gilbert, were incarcerated when he was just fourteen months old for driving the getaway vehicle in a robbery that left three men dead. Raised in Chicago by Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, who were also members of the Weather Underground, Boudin recalls visiting his parents behind bars, and struggling with what that meant for his life. He discusses all this in powerful terms, and he connects that discussion to criminal justice debates, with a reminder that, "More than half of Americans have a family member behind bars."

Speaking as a public defender, a Rhodes Scholar, a Yale Law School graduate, and an author and activist, Boudin says, "I know our system is broken. I'm running for district attorney because I know how to fix it."  He joins us this week on Next Left for a remarkable discussion about a movement that is transforming how we can and should think about law enforcement, mass incarceration, and criminal justice reform.

SHOW NOTES:
This Son of the Left Could Become San Francisco’s Next District Attorney The Nation Jimmy Tobias
How Far Will California Take Criminal Justice Reform? The New Yorker Dana Goodyear
Chesa Boudin Wants to Transform San Francisco’s Criminal Justice System Jacobin Megan Day
DA Gascón Suddenly Resigns, Mayor Breed Shivs His Successor And Installs Suzy Loftus SFist Joe Kukura
Mayor Breed’s DA appointment disrespected electoral process San Francisco Examiner Mark Leno and Danny Glover
‘Last Black Man in San Francisco’ Review; Race, Gentrification and an Instant Classic Rolling Stone David Fear

Subscribe to The Nation to support our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Next LeftBy The Nation Magazine

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

131 ratings


More shows like Next Left

View all
On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,166 Listeners

On Point | Podcast by WBUR

On Point | Podcast

3,902 Listeners

The Political Scene | The New Yorker by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

3,954 Listeners

Edge of Sports by Dave Zirin / The Nation

Edge of Sports

609 Listeners

The Majority Report with Sam Seder by Sam Seder

The Majority Report with Sam Seder

3,533 Listeners

CANADALAND by CANADALAND

CANADALAND

218 Listeners

Jacobin Radio by Jacobin

Jacobin Radio

1,424 Listeners

Ralph Nader Radio Hour by Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader Radio Hour

1,198 Listeners

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts by Slate Podcasts

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

3,529 Listeners

The Dig by Daniel Denvir

The Dig

1,545 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,670 Listeners

The Nation Podcasts by The Nation Magazine

The Nation Podcasts

417 Listeners

The Intercept Briefing by The Intercept

The Intercept Briefing

6,118 Listeners

Bag Man by MSNBC, Rachel Maddow

Bag Man

27,770 Listeners

More Than Enough by Mia Birdsong, The Nation Magazine

More Than Enough

94 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,335 Listeners

Lever Time by The Lever

Lever Time

534 Listeners