TED Talks News and Politics

What happens to people in solitary confinement | Laura Rovner


Listen Later

Imagine living with no significant human contact for years, even decades, in a cell the size of a small bathroom. This is the reality for those in long-term solitary confinement, a form of imprisonment regularly imposed in US prisons. In this eye-opening talk, civil rights lawyer Laura Rovner takes us to ADX, the US federal government's only supermax prison, and describes the dehumanizing effects of long-term solitude on the mind, personality and sense of self. What emerges is an urgent case for abolishing solitary confinement -- and evidence for how our tax dollars, public safety and values are implicated in it. "Prisons are administered in our name and on our behalf," she says. "We have an obligation to bear witness."
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

TED Talks News and PoliticsBy TED

  • 3.7
  • 3.7
  • 3.7
  • 3.7
  • 3.7

3.7

137 ratings


More shows like TED Talks News and Politics

View all
TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

21,942 Listeners

TED Talks Daily by TED

TED Talks Daily

11,140 Listeners

TED Talks Education by TED

TED Talks Education

481 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,827 Listeners

TED Talks Kids and Family by TED

TED Talks Kids and Family

473 Listeners

TED Talks Daily (HD video) by TED

TED Talks Daily (HD video)

770 Listeners

TED Business by TED

TED Business

1,109 Listeners

TED Talks Society and Culture by TED

TED Talks Society and Culture

697 Listeners

TED Talks Science and Medicine by TED

TED Talks Science and Medicine

763 Listeners

TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing by TED

TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing

646 Listeners

TED Health by TED

TED Health

1,422 Listeners

TED Tech by TED Tech

TED Tech

400 Listeners

Something You Should Know by Mike Carruthers | OmniCast Media

Something You Should Know

4,178 Listeners

Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

Worklife with Adam Grant

9,157 Listeners

No Stupid Questions by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

No Stupid Questions

3,653 Listeners

Speed & Scale by TED

Speed & Scale

91 Listeners

How to Be a Better Human by TED

How to Be a Better Human

1,387 Listeners

ReThinking by TED

ReThinking

617 Listeners