The Problem with Punishment
Justice Beyond Punishment Collaborative
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About This Podcast
The Problem with Punishment is a podcast about how our cultural obsession with punishment has led to painful failures to address some of the most pressing issues we face. And even worse when punishment fails, the pain of that doesn’t fall equally across communities. But some New Yorkers have felt that pain and decided that we can do better. We’ll meet innovators, risk-takers – people who are committed to being problem-solvers and have figured out strategies that work better than punishment, and are doing them in the real world.
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Recent Episodes
S1E10 The Problem with Punishment and IPV
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is still far too common. It's important to end IPV, on that many of us agree. So is punishing people who hurt their intimate partners going to end IPV? What can we do…
S1E9 The Problem with Punishment and Immigration
We recorded and edited this episode in spring and summer 2025, during a horrifying effort to punish immigrants. There are ICE raids in Home Depot parking lots. Masked ICE agents are grabbing people…
S1E8 The Problem with Punishing Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a place of both power and vulnerability. For much of human experience, power and decision-making when it came to pregnancy was in the hands of women. It was an issue of health and…
S1E7 The Problem with Punishment and Homicide
Homicide is a horrifying act of harm. It's an action with permanent consequences. Our stories of homicide almost always define justice as punishment instead of healing. But punishment doesn't bring…
S1E6 The Problem with Punishment and Housing
Shelter is one of our most basic needs - and an international human right. Yet millions of Americans are denied their right to housing. This includes tens of thousands of New Yorkers who have been…
We'll be back in July
Thanks to all our listeners so far who have shared comments or feedback. We've got full transcripts and useful links for the first five episodes at beyondpunishment.org/problem-with-punishment.We're…
S1E5 The Problem with Parole
Too often, we define long prison sentences as "justice." But when we define incarceration as justice, it creates a big problem. Parole, or the end of a person's incarceration, can feel like we're…
S1E4 The Problem with Punishing Parents
Stories of child abuse or the death a child shock us, and they should. But how much do you know about the systems that are supposed to prevent this? We talk to several moms who went through New…
The Problem with Punishment and Schools
We can all agree that all the children and adults in a school should feel safe and should actually be safe. But when violence or the threat of violence happens, how do we get safer schools?In this…
S1E2 The Problem with Punishing Addiction
For this episode, we visit the wondrous folks who run OnPoint NYC, an overdose prevention center. They base their work in the principles of harm reduction, which we explore in this episode. And we…
The Problem with Punishment and Gun Violence
Gun violence is horrifying, and each life lost to a gun is a tragedy. Most interventions involve creating punishments for gun possession or use. That can sound like common sense, but in reality, it's…
Trailer: The Problem with Punishment
This is the Problem with Punishment Podcast – Spoiler Alert! The problem with punishment is it doesn’t work. But the bigger problem is that we turn to punishment in every aspect of our lives. From…
Frequently Asked Questions
The Problem with Punishment has published 12 episodes since May 2025, covering topics in Documentary, Society & Culture.
The Problem with Punishment is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 37m.
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