Rattling The Bars

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Rattling the Bars puts the voices of the people most harmed by our system of mass incarceration at the center of our reporting on the fight to end it. The show was founded by the late Black Panther and political prisoner Marshall “Eddie” Conway, and is now hosted by Charles Hopkins, better known as Mansa Musa, who himself spent 48 years behind bars. Rattling the Bars offers an honest look at the lives of prisoners, returning citizens, their families, and their communities. With Rattling the Bars, by presenting hard data and real-life stories, we examine and seek to shift public opinion around the misconception that incarceration, punishment, and increased policing make cities safer—the truth of which has been disproven by countless studies. The series examines the history and root causes of the current so-called justice system. It showcases individuals and communities nationwide who are grappling with real solutions to problems created by the prison-industrial complex. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter

  1. Manifest Destiny Never Ended: The Domestic War for White Supremacy

    10 HR AGO

    Manifest Destiny Never Ended: The Domestic War for White Supremacy

    From the very beginning, the United States of America has been at war—not just abroad, but domestically. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa speaks with scholar and author Dylan Rodríguez about how the US operates as a nation in a perpetual state of internal war, and how the white supremacist legacy of domestic warfare has reached terrifying new heights in the Trump era. Resource Links:Purchase Dylan Rodríguez’s book White ReconstructionRevolt against the carceral worldCOVID-19 pandemic illuminates anti-Chinese racism and xenophobiaWhy corporate media doesn’t talk honestly about racismCredits:Producer / Videographer / Editor: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Donate to support this podcast

    33 min
  2. Angola Prisoners Head to Trial Over Slave Labor Class Action Lawsuit

    3 FEB

    Angola Prisoners Head to Trial Over Slave Labor Class Action Lawsuit

    Judge Brian Jackson of the U.S. District Court has certified a class action lawsuit against Angola Prison on behalf of men forced to perform punitive farm labor under unconstitutional conditions and in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under this ruling, the court certified two specific groups: a primary class encompassing all persons currently or potentially assigned to the Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) Farm Line, and a specialized subclass for those with disabilities assigned to the same labor. In his findings, Judge Jackson noted that nearly every individual arriving at the facility is assigned to the Farm Line upon entry, with the majority remaining at risk of reassignment as a disciplinary measure. Guest: Samantha Pourciau is a Senior Staff Attorney at The Promise of Justice Initiative based out of New Orleans, Louisiana.Credits: Host: Mansa MusaProducer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino  Resource links: https://promiseofjustice.org/news/incarcerated-farm-line-workers-win-class-certificationhttps://therealnews.com/prisoners-sue-over-inhumane-conditions-on-angolas-brutal-farm-linehttps://therealnews.com/prison-farms-and-agricarceral-slave-laborhttps://therealnews.com/louisiana-still-imprisons-people-convicted-by-jim-crow-juries  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Donate to support this podcast

    15 min
  3. Louisiana still imprisons people convicted by 'Jim Crow juries'

    1 FEB

    Louisiana still imprisons people convicted by 'Jim Crow juries'

    Non-unanimous jury verdicts were a Jim Crow–era policy designed to silence Black jurors and secure convictions even when the state failed to prove its case. In 2026, over 1,000 people remain imprisoned in Louisiana after being convicted by non-unanimous juries. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, Mansa Musa speaks with Erica Navalance, Associate Director of Strategic Criminal Litigation at the Promise of Justice Initiative, about the case of Lloyd Gray and why the state of Louisiana continues to uphold unconstitutional convictions. Guest:Erica Navalance has worked with both Capital Appeals Project and Promise of Justice Initiative (PIJ) since 2015, but joined PJI full time in 2021 as a senior staff attorney for the Strategic Defense Litigation project, focusing on combatting excessive sentences, capital punishment, and other injustices in the criminal system. Additional links/info:Richard A. Webster, Verite News / ProPublica, What one man’s 45-year-old case tells us about the “Jim Crow juries” haunting LouisianaPromise of Justice Initiative, Swastika found on DA file introduced into court, judge grants hearing for PJI client incarcerated for 45 Years Credits:Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Donate to support this podcast

    36 min
  4. Florida’s temp industry extends incarceration into the workplace

    22 JAN

    Florida’s temp industry extends incarceration into the workplace

    Returning citizens are being funneled into exploitative temp jobs that pay poverty wages, deny them basic labor protections, and deepen the state’s control over their lives long after they’ve served their time. This week, Mansa Musa speaks with Katherine Passley and Maya Ragsdale, Co-Executive Directors of Beyond the Bars, about how Florida’s temp industry traps the most vulnerable workers and operates as a profitable and punishing extension of the prison system. Guests: Maya Ragsdale is the founder and co-executive director of Beyond the Bars, a worker center in South Florida building the social and economic power of workers with criminal records and their families.Katherine Passley is co-executive director of Beyond the Bars. Passley was named the 2025 Labor Organizer of the Year by In These Times magazine.Additional links/info: Beyond the Bars website, Substack, and InstagramBeyond the Bars, The Temp Trap ReportCredits: Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Donate to support this podcast

    35 min
  5. Rural America wants to break its economic addiction to prisons

    12 JAN

    Rural America wants to break its economic addiction to prisons

    Prisons have frequently been presented as a “solution” to the economic woes and employment needs of rural communities around the US—but that doesn’t mean residents of these communities want them there. In Franklin County, Arkansas, for instance, residents are banding together in opposition to the state’s plans to build a mega-prison in their area. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa speaks with Lauren Gill, a staff reporter from Bolts magazine, and Natalie Cadena, executive director of the Arkansas-based rural advocacy nonprofit Gravel & Grit, about the fight in Franklin County and rural America’s changing relationship to the prison-industrial complex. Guests: Lauren Gill is a staff writer at Bolts. She previously worked as a reporter for The Appeal, Newsweek, and the Brooklyn Paper. Her reporting on the criminal legal system has also appeared in ProPublica, Rolling Stone, The Intercept, Slate, The Nation, and The Marshall Project, among others.Natalie Cadena is a seasoned education professional and writer with over 15 years in public education and 5 years of experience in professional writing. She is also the executive director of Gravel & Grit, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit dedicated to transparency, accountability, and rural advocacy in the state of Arkansas. Additional links/info:Gravel & Grit website and InstagramLauren Gill, Bolts, “The prison next door”Caroline McCoy, Oxford American, “Arkansas’s faulty plan to build a mega prison” Credits: Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Donate to support this podcast

    35 min
  6. Prison during the holidays isn’t what you think

    22/12/2025

    Prison during the holidays isn’t what you think

    For incarcerated people and their families, the holidays are the most painful time of year. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa and TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez speak frankly about what it’s like to be locked up during the holidays, why inmate suicides, violence, and depression spike this time of year, and about the life-saving and society-improving steps we can take this holiday season to help prisoners maintain contact with the outside world. C/W: Discussion of suicide and depression Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Donate to support this podcast

    26 min
  7. Nicole Porter: The US is ‘by far the world’s number one jailer’

    09/12/2025

    Nicole Porter: The US is ‘by far the world’s number one jailer’

    Fifty years into the era of mass incarceration, states like Arkansas, Montana, California, and Colorado are pushing to build new prisons and expand immigrant detention. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa talks with Nicole Porter of The Sentencing Project about how federal and state governments are doubling down on new prison construction and ICE contracts to expand the prison-industrial complex, what sets the US criminal justice system apart from other countries around the world, and how organizers are fighting for real prison population reductions instead of more cages. Guest: Nicole D. Porter, named a “New Civil Rights Leader” by Essence Magazine for her work to challenge mass incarceration, manages The Sentencing Project’s state and local advocacy efforts on sentencing reform, voting rights, and confronting racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Since joining The Sentencing Project in 2009, Porter’s advocacy and findings have supported criminal legal reforms in several states including Kentucky, Maryland Missouri, California, Texas and the District of Columbia. Porter’s areas of expertise include research and grassroots support around challenging racial disparities, felony disenfranchisement, in addition to prison closures and prison reuse. Her research has been cited in several major media outlets including Salon and the Washington Post, and she has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and on National Public Radio and MSNBC.Additional links/info: The Sentencing Project website, Facebook page, and InstagramLisa Armstrong, Essence, “The new Civil Rights leaders”Credits: Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Donate to support this podcast

    37 min
  8. ‘An accountability vacuum’: How Baltimore is enabling ICE’s lawlessness

    02/12/2025

    ‘An accountability vacuum’: How Baltimore is enabling ICE’s lawlessness

    ICE raids and the expanded use of expedited removal are tearing apart immigrant families and neighborhoods in Baltimore. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, host Mansa Musa speaks with Baltimore reporter Kori Skillman about how lack of democratic oversight and collusion between local government and federal law enforcement have enabled ICE’s lawless tactics and left Baltimore’s immigrant communities living in constant fear, economic precariousness, and social isolation. Guest: Kori Skillman is a Report for America Corps Member covering justice and accountability for the Baltimore Beat. Skillman investigates policing, incarceration, and civil rights in Baltimore. Most recently, she worked on ABC News’ assignment desk, covering breaking news and editing for live broadcasts. A Bay Area native, Skillman holds a dual B.A. in journalism and international business from San Diego State University, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa, and an M.S. from Columbia Journalism School.Additional links/info: Kori Skillman, Baltimore Beat, “Indiscriminate ICE arrests have left Baltimore’s immigrant communities in a constant state of fear and anxiety”Kori Skillman, Baltimore Beat, “Lack of ICE oversight shows how Baltimore has long been at the mercy of outside powers”Credits: Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Donate to support this podcast

    31 min
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About

Rattling the Bars puts the voices of the people most harmed by our system of mass incarceration at the center of our reporting on the fight to end it. The show was founded by the late Black Panther and political prisoner Marshall “Eddie” Conway, and is now hosted by Charles Hopkins, better known as Mansa Musa, who himself spent 48 years behind bars. Rattling the Bars offers an honest look at the lives of prisoners, returning citizens, their families, and their communities. With Rattling the Bars, by presenting hard data and real-life stories, we examine and seek to shift public opinion around the misconception that incarceration, punishment, and increased policing make cities safer—the truth of which has been disproven by countless studies. The series examines the history and root causes of the current so-called justice system. It showcases individuals and communities nationwide who are grappling with real solutions to problems created by the prison-industrial complex. Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Sign up for our newsletter

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