TED Talks News and Politics

The US is addicted to incarceration. Here's how to break the cycle | Robin Steinberg and Manoush Zomorodi

05.12.2020 - By TEDPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Nearly half a million people in the US are in jail right now without being convicted of a crime, simply because they can't come up with the money to pay cash bail. To try and fix this system, public defender and activist Robin Steinberg asked a straightforward question: What if we paid bail for them? In conversation with TED Radio Hour host Manoush Zomorodi, Steinberg shares how her nonprofit The Bail Project -- which uses a revolving fund to post bail for those who can't afford it -- is scaling up their efforts across the country and rolling out a new community-based model to fight mass incarceration. (This ambitious plan is part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)

More episodes from TED Talks News and Politics