Is your favorite business employing what could easily be described as contemporary slavery to cut costs and push product? Would you even know if the answer were yes?

The truth is, you probably wouldn’t. That’s because the prison-industrial complex in the United States is deeply entrenched in just about every sector of the economy, from military manufacturing to apple picking. And more often than not, that prison-industrial complex is rigged against low-income Americans and people of color. 

So what do we do about it? That’s what we’re covering today on Business Casual with Ashish Prashar, a widely respected justice reform advocate and former young offender. 

Ashish explains the importance of prison labor for both corporations and state economies, the necessity of prison-industrial reform, and the hard truth of America’s incarceration problem. 

But first, he masterfully provides the historical context for prison labor as it exists today—a system which relies on a Reconstruction era loophole essentially allowing for modern day slavery. 

This is a tough conversation to have...when was the last time you were forced to reconcile your modern beliefs with a Constitutional amendment ratified in 1865? But it’s way past time to have the conversation. Ashish offers a remarkable starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about the prison-industrial complex—I hope you’ll listen now.

+ While we’re here: I drew on my conversation with Ashish to write about the prison-industrial complex in my new Business Casual column. Read that piece here and subscribe to the weekly newsletter here.