Send us a text

What if everything we think we know about fighting crime is wrong? Drawing from my extraordinary journey through the American prison system, I take you behind the steel doors to reveal truths about crime and punishment that politicians and pundits never discuss.

The current response to rising crime in Washington DC reveals a familiar pattern – conservatives demand tougher sentences while progressives call for police reform, yet neither addresses the root causes of criminal behavior. My time as an inmate gave me unprecedented access to the inner workings of drug cartels and criminal enterprises, revealing how our prohibition-based approach to drugs actually fuels the violence we're trying to prevent.

I explain why legalization (not mere decriminalization) of drugs would dramatically reduce violent crime by eliminating the black markets where violence is the only means of contract enforcement. This isn't about enabling addiction – it's about recognizing that prohibition has failed throughout history and continues to waste billions while making our communities less safe. I share firsthand accounts of how the prison drug trade operates, demonstrating why interdiction efforts are doomed to fail against the economic incentives of prohibition.

Beyond drugs, I explore how social breakdown contributes to criminal behavior and why neither "tough on crime" nor "defund the police" offers practical solutions. By shifting our focus from being tough on crime to being smart on crime, we could concentrate our limited resources on preventing and solving violent offenses that directly harm others.

If you're tired of simplistic solutions to complex problems and want to understand crime from someone who's seen both sides of the justice system, this candid discussion offers perspectives you won't hear in mainstream political discourse. Subscribe now and join me in reimagining how we approach one of society's most persistent challenges.

Support the show