Living on Mars: are there lessons from prisons?

From confinement to food, lessons learned behind bars could be key to surviving on the red planet.

Lucy Berthoud, Professor of Space Systems Engineering, University of Bristol • conversation
June 13, 2025 ~8 min

Living on Mars: are there lessons from the terrible conditions of prisons?

From confinement to food, lessons learned behind bars could be key to surviving on the red planet.

Lucy Berthoud, Professor of Space Systems Engineering, University of Bristol • conversation
June 13, 2025 ~8 min


Colorado’s fentanyl criminalization bill won’t solve the opioid epidemic, say the people most affected

Incarcerating people who use drugs is associated with increased overdose deaths after release and high rate of recidivism.

Katherine LeMasters, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
June 13, 2025 ~9 min

Extreme heat, flooding, wildfires – Colorado’s formerly incarcerated people on the hazards they faced behind bars

More than 65% of formerly incarcerated people reported experiencing climate-related hazards, according to survey results.

Shideh Dashti, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Jan. 22, 2025 ~8 min

Jails and prisons often fail to protect incarcerated people during natural disasters

Prisons and jails are difficult to evacuate when wildfires or storms approach. Many of these facilities lack evacuation plans and may keep incarcerated people on-site instead of moving them to safety.

Tara Goddard, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning, Texas A&M University • conversation
Nov. 12, 2024 ~10 min

Rural counties increasingly rely on prisons to provide firefighters and EMTs who work for free, but the inmates have little protection or future job prospects

Georgia’s inmate fire crews respond to hundreds of calls in surrounding counties every year. Without them, there might not be a responder, but they aren’t universally loved – and they don’t get paid.

J. Carlee Purdum, Research Assistant Professor, Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University • conversation
April 15, 2024 ~9 min

Life Inside Russia’s Prisons

VOA Learning English • voa
March 3, 2024 ~8 min

More mental health services could keep people out of prison

Permanent housing, employment, and professional and/or peer support "are better than keeping people in jail and they're 100% cheaper."

Dalin Clark-Michigan State • futurity
Feb. 29, 2024 ~4 min


To support people after incarceration, focus on housing

To support people who have been incarcerated and to reduce recidivism, policymakers and re-entry programs need to prioritize housing.

Kelli Burgos-Georgia State • futurity
Sept. 6, 2023 ~4 min

Honduras Plans High Security Prison Build on Unpopulated Caribbean Island

VOA Learning English • voa
July 23, 2023 ~5 min

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