Nov 25, 2019

PBS documentary explores the power of education for prisoners

Photo courtesy Skiff Mountain Films

PBS' new documentary series "College Behind Bars" grants viewers an inside look at New York's Bard Prison Initiative, which allows select inmates to enroll in Bard College's curriculum, writes the Washington Post.

Why it matters: Recidivism among alumni from the program — which currently has 300 participants — is at 4%, compared to a 50% rate generally.

  • The four-parter, which airs Nov. 25 and 26, is executive-produced by Ken Burns and is the solo directorial debut of his longtime partner, Lynn Novick.
  • PBS is allowing the documentary to stream for free for 60 days.

Go deeper: Congress considers granting more access to education in prison

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Axios
Updated 7 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 12,220,166 — Total deaths: 553,438 — Total recoveries — 6,696,632 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 3,111,902 — Total deaths: 133,195 — Total recoveries: 969,111 — Total tested: 38,032,966 — Map.
  3. Public health: More young people are spreading the virus — Cases rise in 33 states — Florida reports highest single-day death toll since pandemic began.
  4. Science: World Health Organization acknowledges airborne transmission of coronavirus.
  5. 1 🐂 thing: How the world could monitor for potential pandemic animal viruses.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
8 hours ago - Podcasts

Inside Joe Biden's economic plan

Joe Biden on Thursday returned to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to give his first major speech on economic policy since becoming the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee.

Axios Re:Cap digs into Biden's plans, how they developed and how they may change, with former U.S. Commerce secretary and campaign surrogate Penny Pritzker.

Dave Lawler
9 hours ago - World

Countries grapple with whether to lock back down as hotspots emerge

Tokyo in the time of coronavirus. Photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty

Many politicians and public health officials sounded a similar lockdown refrain in the spring: let’s do this right so we only have to do it once.

Reality check: While some countries have thus far managed to keep cases under control after opening up, dozens of countries that had initially turned a corner are now seeing a worrying rebound. They have to decide if and how to return to lockdown — and whether their populations will stand for it.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow