July 17, 2023

Investigation in CA Parolee Rehabilitation | How Tablets are Shaping Prison | Book Chronicles a Cold War Fight with Hockey

49 minutes

Investigation into rehabilitation program for those paroled from prison. A look inside state prisons to see how tablets are transforming sentences. A new book chronicles how Czechoslovakia used hockey to fight back against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Investigation into California's rehabilitation program

California spends $100 million dollars a year on a rehabilitation program for parolees. But an investigation by our content-sharing partners at CalMatters has revealed the state does not have a way of tracking how successful the program is. Investigative reporter Byrhonda Lyons joins us to share the details of her year-long examination of the program the state pays for to help parolees stay clean, get jobs and ultimately not re-offend.

Clarification: We’ve updated the description of this episode to clarify that the CalMatters investigation tracked a single program.

How tablets are shaping prison

Tablets have been rolling out across California prisons for the past two years, and are scheduled to complete the state’s 33 correctional facilities by this summer. The tablets are part of a statewide shift to focus on rehabilitation for those incarcerated. CapRadio Healthcare Reporter Kate Wolffe spoke with journalists incarcerated at San Quentin, Solano and Corcoran state prisons to see how tablets are transforming sentences, including growing pains and questions about the companies that stand to profit from this additional telecommunications service. Wanda Bertram, a Communications Strategist at the Prison Policy Initiative, also joins Insight about the research the non-profit has been conducting about tablets at correctional facilities across the country.

Hockey vs. the Cold War

Throughout history are examples of how sports reflect a political era. From the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. to the women’s movement on the tennis court, and Rugby following apartheid in South Africa. And the examples continue up to the present day. And the world stage, (like the Olympics) has become telling history lessons. A UC Davis political science professor understands this dynamic very well. And his new book takes us back to the Cold War era through the extraordinary success of a hard-scrabble hockey team whose unlikely victory over the Soviet Union inspired their nation to fight back after the global superpower invaded their country. The author is Ethan Scheiner and he joined Insight to tell us about the book titled “Freedom to Win: A Cold War Story Of The Courageous Hockey Team That Fought The Soviets For The Soul Of Its People-And Olympic Gold.”

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