On this episode, Conrad and Imani are joined by Professor Steven Zeidman. Steven Zeidman is a Professor at CUNY School of Law and Director of their Criminal Defense Clinic. In this episode, Professor Zeidman shares his story from working as a public defender to pursuing his work seeking clemency. He explains that clemency is the process of a governor or other executive officer reducing or pardoning the punishment of someone convicted of a crime.. He describes it as an act of mercy, which is something the American legal system seems to lack entirely. Professor Zeidman acknowledges that there are many factors that contribute to the United States incarceration problem, which includes racism, capitalism, the war on drugs, the government's campaign to “get tough on crime”. However, he adds that what may be more salient is that the United States is uniquely overly punitive that any other country in the world. Hopefully after this episode, you will have a better understanding of the importance of clemency and how it can be used as a tool to combat mass incarceration.

On this episode, Conrad and Imani are joined by Anthony Dixon. Anthony is the Deputy Director of the Parole Preparation Projection (Parole Prep). Parole Prep provides critical advocacy and direct support to currently and formerly incarcerated people serving life sentences, with the goal of transforming the parole release process in New York State. More concretely, Parole Prep trains community volunteers to assist incarcerated people with their applications and appearances before the Parole Board; collaborates with advocates across the state to push for a more transparent, just and merciful parole release process; and supports currently and formerly incarcerated leaders of the prison and parole justice movements. In this episode, Anthony explains what parole is and goes into detail about what it entails. Anthony talks about his own experience with incarceration and with parole. They discuss some of the myths and misconceptions associated with parole. Hopefully after this episode, you will have a better understanding of the importance of the work surrounding parole and be interested in learning more about how it impacts people’s lives.

In this episode, Imani and Conrad are joined by a fellow Brother in Law Tyriek. They discuss the 2024 election and talk about their opinions on voting. They share a variety of perspectives which include decisions not to vote, considerations of supporting third-party candidates, as well as settling for the lesser year of two evils. The conversation seeks to unpack who is responsible for Trump winning the election. Voting is an important right - one that many people died for us to have. Hopefully, after this episode your thoughts and opinions about voting will have been represented, challenged, or reinforced.