Background Briefing

Background Briefing – April 3, 2024

Jack Smith’s Shot Across the Bow at the Trump-Friendly Judge on the Classified Documents Case We begin with Special Counsel Jack Smith challenging the Trump-appointed judge on the documents case to make a ruling, which is likely to embrace her alternative reading of the 1978 Presidential Records Act instead of the Espionage Act and thus … Continued


The Final Straw Radio

Mac Marquis on “Books Through Bars: Stories from the Prison Books Movement”

An interview with David “Mac” Marquis, co-editor of the recently published “Books Through Bars: Stories From The Prison Books Movement” (University of Georgia Press, 2024) on prison books projects, what they say about conditions inside, some of the value of this inside-outside organizing and what you can expect to find in the book.


Law & Disorder

Trans Erasure Laws Multiply Nationally; Baltimore Plans $1Bn Jail Construction; Plus Resistance in Residence Artist Adi Oasis

Baltimore is planning a $1bn jail construction project, the most expensive state-funded project in Maryland ever. They’re using a consent decree for terrible jail conditions as justification for building a “better” jail. We’re joined by David Fathi, the Director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project, which brings challenges to conditions of confinement … Continued