Listen "70. Prison Labor"
Episode Synopsis
Incarcerated people grow crops, fight wildfires, and manufacture everything from motor oil to prescription glasses — often for pennies per hour. Zachary Crockett reports from North Carolina.SOURCES:Laura Appleman, professor of law at Willamette University.Christopher Barnes, inmate at the Franklin Correctional Center.Lee Blackman, general manager at Correction Enterprises.Brian Scott, ex-inmate, former worker at the Correction Enterprises printing plant.Louis Southall, warden of Franklin Correctional Center.RESOURCES:"Prisoners in the U.S. Are Part of a Hidden Workforce Linked to Hundreds of Popular Food Brands," by Robin McDowell and Margie Mason (AP News, 2024)."Ex-Prisoners Face Headwinds as Job Seekers, Even as Openings Abound," by Talmon Joseph Smith (The New York Times, 2023)."Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers," by the American Civil Liberties Union and the University of Chicago Law School Global Human Rights Clinic (2022)."Bloody Lucre: Carceral Labor and Prison Profit," by Laura Appleman (Wisconsin Law Review, 2022)."Prison Labor Is on the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic," by Eliyahu Kamisher (The Appeal, 2020).Correction Enterprises.EXTRAS:"Can Data Keep People Out of Prison?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
More episodes of the podcast The Economics of Everyday Things
3. My Sharona
08/01/2026
2. Girl Scout Cookies
05/01/2026
120. An update on the show
29/12/2025
119. Christmas Lights
22/12/2025
118. Urban Trees
15/12/2025
117. Cut Flowers
08/12/2025
116. Cobblers
01/12/2025
Superhot Chili Peppers (Replay)
24/11/2025
115. Miniature Golf
17/11/2025
114. Natural and Artificial Flavors
10/11/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.