Read Matthew's substack here: https://matthewvernonwhalan.substack.com/

Introduction

On today’s episode of THIS IS REVOLUTION podcast, we confront the stark realities of the U.S. carceral system, focusing on the brutal conditions inside Alabama’s prisons. The U.S. is notorious for having the highest incarceration rate in the world, and Alabama stands out as a grim case study of what many scholars and activists have long called a form of modern slavery. The state’s prison system is severely overcrowded, underfunded, and rife with violence, neglect, and systemic abuse. With prisoners subjected to inhumane living conditions, forced labor, and an indifferent legal system, Alabama’s prisons highlight the broader contradictions of a capitalist society that profits off of punishment and exploitation rather than rehabilitation and justice.

Our guest today, journalist Matthew Whalan, has dedicated his work to uncovering these harsh realities, particularly through his Substack article, "A Life in Alabama Prison", and a recent interview that has brought attention to the horrific living conditions behind bars. His reporting sheds light on the voices of those often silenced, emphasizing the daily indignities, brutality, and neglect that people incarcerated in Alabama face. Whalan’s work helps us grasp not only the human cost of incarceration but also the structural forces that perpetuate it, including racial and economic inequality, capitalist exploitation, and political neglect.

As we delve into this discussion, we must ask ourselves: what does the treatment of prisoners in Alabama reveal about the broader U.S. prison-industrial complex? How do these systems of punishment maintain and reinforce the racial and class hierarchies on which American capitalism is built? Whalan’s work encourages us to move beyond liberal reforms and understand the carceral system as a fundamental pillar of capitalist exploitation—a system in which prisons function not as institutions of rehabilitation but as warehouses for surplus populations deemed disposable by the state.