Inquest
@inquest.bsky.social
National Magazine Award 2025 finalist focused on ending mass incarceration. Sign up for our newsletter: https://inquest.org/subscribe-follow/
In 2026 Inquest will pursue print distribution of our free digital magazine for people within the prison system. A gift from you can help unlock a quarterly print publication designed for circulation inside of prisons. inquest.org/donate/
November 25, 2025 at 1:00 PM
In 2026 Inquest will pursue print distribution of our free digital magazine for people within the prison system. A gift from you can help unlock a quarterly print publication designed for circulation inside of prisons. inquest.org/donate/
This week Inquest covered the growing real estate trend of prison flipping, and the inner workings of extractive capitalism's merger with mass incarceration. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
November 22, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This week Inquest covered the growing real estate trend of prison flipping, and the inner workings of extractive capitalism's merger with mass incarceration. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
At Inquest and our publisher @endmassinc.bsky.social we believe that every voice has the power to move systems—and people—toward freedom. Yet, too often, the voices of those most affected by incarceration are intentionally silenced.
A gift from you helps change that.
A gift from you helps change that.
November 21, 2025 at 2:00 PM
At Inquest and our publisher @endmassinc.bsky.social we believe that every voice has the power to move systems—and people—toward freedom. Yet, too often, the voices of those most affected by incarceration are intentionally silenced.
A gift from you helps change that.
A gift from you helps change that.
“Closing prisons is not the end point of abolition, but the starting point.” Artist/activist Ashley Hunt. Read more:
The Fight Over Prison Flipping - Abigail Glasgow - Inquest
As shuttered jails and prisons become luxury venues, a growing movement is calling for community-led alternatives that honor the sites’ violent histories.
inquest.org
November 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
“Closing prisons is not the end point of abolition, but the starting point.” Artist/activist Ashley Hunt. Read more:
"Building an abolitionist future requires recognizing the harm and trauma that occurred in carceral spaces and paying homage to those who were lost to—or who survived—the system." Abigail Glasgow on challenges + necessity of finding new uses for carceral buildings.
The Fight Over Prison Flipping - Abigail Glasgow - Inquest
As shuttered jails and prisons become luxury venues, a growing movement is calling for community-led alternatives that honor the sites’ violent histories.
inquest.org
November 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
"Building an abolitionist future requires recognizing the harm and trauma that occurred in carceral spaces and paying homage to those who were lost to—or who survived—the system." Abigail Glasgow on challenges + necessity of finding new uses for carceral buildings.
Reposted by Inquest
Thanks @inquest.bsky.social for featuring an excerpt from Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice.
"Since the mid-1980s, government and business interests have retrofitted criminal legal institutions so that they function as generators of revenue." @joshpage.bsky.social & @joesoss.bsky.social on what happens when you merge extractive capitalism + the carceral state
Indentured Citizens - Joshua Page & Joe Soss - Inquest
Making incarceration profitable—for both the state and corporations—generates untold hardship not only for incarcerated people but also for their families and communities.
inquest.org
November 18, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Thanks @inquest.bsky.social for featuring an excerpt from Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice.
"Penal operations that isolate, deprive, and control do more than just warehouse; they make incarcerated populations productive by ushering them into projects that generate substantial public and private revenues." @joshpage.bsky.social & @joesoss.bsky.social on prisons & $$$
Indentured Citizens - Joshua Page & Joe Soss - Inquest
Making incarceration profitable—for both the state and corporations—generates untold hardship not only for incarcerated people but also for their families and communities.
inquest.org
November 19, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"Penal operations that isolate, deprive, and control do more than just warehouse; they make incarcerated populations productive by ushering them into projects that generate substantial public and private revenues." @joshpage.bsky.social & @joesoss.bsky.social on prisons & $$$
"Since the mid-1980s, government and business interests have retrofitted criminal legal institutions so that they function as generators of revenue." @joshpage.bsky.social & @joesoss.bsky.social on what happens when you merge extractive capitalism + the carceral state
Indentured Citizens - Joshua Page & Joe Soss - Inquest
Making incarceration profitable—for both the state and corporations—generates untold hardship not only for incarcerated people but also for their families and communities.
inquest.org
November 18, 2025 at 4:06 PM
"Since the mid-1980s, government and business interests have retrofitted criminal legal institutions so that they function as generators of revenue." @joshpage.bsky.social & @joesoss.bsky.social on what happens when you merge extractive capitalism + the carceral state
Congratulations, Calvin Duncan! We were fortunate to get to talk with Duncan last year and hear in his own words what keeps him motivated to fight for people's freedom. inquest.org/ambassadors-...
November 17, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Congratulations, Calvin Duncan! We were fortunate to get to talk with Duncan last year and hear in his own words what keeps him motivated to fight for people's freedom. inquest.org/ambassadors-...
This week, Inquest launched our Defending Prison Journalism series with an article on the perils faced by incarcerated journalists, and what must be done to protect them. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
November 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This week, Inquest launched our Defending Prison Journalism series with an article on the perils faced by incarcerated journalists, and what must be done to protect them. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
"Prison journalism should not be starved, stifled, or silenced. In a free society, attendant to the needs of all its people, including most especially wards of the state, government institutions should be held accountable to the public—by a free press."
When Reporting Is a Crime - Corinne Shanahan & Andrew Crespo - Inquest
States have restricted, surveilled, and punished prison journalism for decades, with dire consequences—for incarcerated people and for democracy.
inquest.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"Prison journalism should not be starved, stifled, or silenced. In a free society, attendant to the needs of all its people, including most especially wards of the state, government institutions should be held accountable to the public—by a free press."
"Journalists behind bars, describing endless forms of payback, told us that retaliation was the greatest constraint on their work." Andrew Crespo & Corinne Shanahan of @endmassinc.bsky.social break down the ways prisons stop reporting of what goes on behind their walls.
When Reporting Is a Crime - Corinne Shanahan & Andrew Crespo - Inquest
States have restricted, surveilled, and punished prison journalism for decades, with dire consequences—for incarcerated people and for democracy.
inquest.org
November 13, 2025 at 4:32 PM
"Journalists behind bars, describing endless forms of payback, told us that retaliation was the greatest constraint on their work." Andrew Crespo & Corinne Shanahan of @endmassinc.bsky.social break down the ways prisons stop reporting of what goes on behind their walls.
Reposted by Inquest
"On June 9, 2023, an audience at Carnegie Hall witnessed an opera written by a person who had been convicted of murder, in collaboration with his fellow incarcerated artists. Over two years later, this fact is still striking to me."
Read this story in @inquest.bsky.social:
Read this story in @inquest.bsky.social:
I’m in Prison. My Opera Was Performed at Carnegie Hall. - Joseph Wilson - Inquest
Inside Sing Sing, I turned my twenty-five-year sentence into music fit for one of the world’s greatest stages.
inquest.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:33 PM
"On June 9, 2023, an audience at Carnegie Hall witnessed an opera written by a person who had been convicted of murder, in collaboration with his fellow incarcerated artists. Over two years later, this fact is still striking to me."
Read this story in @inquest.bsky.social:
Read this story in @inquest.bsky.social:
On Veterans Day, thinking about the military-to-prison pipeline that so many have experienced
Imprisoned by War | Jason A. Higgins | INQUEST
Over the past century, many Black Americans have joined the military in hopes of class mobility and improved civil rights—only to be chewed up by the system and then incarcerated.
inquest.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:01 PM
On Veterans Day, thinking about the military-to-prison pipeline that so many have experienced
This week Inquest covered the long history of opposition to Atlanta's racist policing, and how not even Sing Sing prison could keep Joseph Wilson from composing operas for Carnegie Hall. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
November 8, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This week Inquest covered the long history of opposition to Atlanta's racist policing, and how not even Sing Sing prison could keep Joseph Wilson from composing operas for Carnegie Hall. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
In 1901, "11,502 Black men, women, boys, and girls were arrested, comprising 64.5 percent of total arrests. Atlanta’s Black population was approximately 36,000." @jboothhistory.bsky.social on Atlanta's long history of racist policing
Stop Cop City’s Deep Roots - Jonathon Booth - Inquest
For 150 years, Atlanta has endured racist policing that has served the interest of the city’s economic elite. The fight to resist this “Atlanta way” goes back just as far.
inquest.org
November 7, 2025 at 1:00 PM
In 1901, "11,502 Black men, women, boys, and girls were arrested, comprising 64.5 percent of total arrests. Atlanta’s Black population was approximately 36,000." @jboothhistory.bsky.social on Atlanta's long history of racist policing
@interdependentstudy.com continues it podcast series based on our Abolitionist Lessons from the Prison Belt series w/ @lydiajean.bsky.social Judah Schept, Ruth Wilson Gilmore & @craiggilmore.bsky.social — read the article they're discussing here: inquest.org/custody-and-...
November 6, 2025 at 3:43 PM
@interdependentstudy.com continues it podcast series based on our Abolitionist Lessons from the Prison Belt series w/ @lydiajean.bsky.social Judah Schept, Ruth Wilson Gilmore & @craiggilmore.bsky.social — read the article they're discussing here: inquest.org/custody-and-...
"Seeing today’s protesters as part of a long history of resistance to police oppression allows us to better appreciate the political continuities [&] to see where openings for potential change may appear." @jboothhistory.bsky.social on Black Atlantans' response to oppression
Stop Cop City’s Deep Roots - Jonathon Booth - Inquest
For 150 years, Atlanta has endured racist policing that has served the interest of the city’s economic elite. The fight to resist this “Atlanta way” goes back just as far.
inquest.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:17 PM
"Seeing today’s protesters as part of a long history of resistance to police oppression allows us to better appreciate the political continuities [&] to see where openings for potential change may appear." @jboothhistory.bsky.social on Black Atlantans' response to oppression
"Over the years, my sister has gone to Carnegie Hall to hear music I’ve written. She was an adolescent when I was arrested. Now, two decades later, this is how I spend time with her—giving her something to be proud of." Joseph Wilson on writing celebrated operas from prison
I’m in Prison. My Opera Was Performed at Carnegie Hall. - Joseph Wilson - Inquest
Inside Sing Sing, I turned my twenty-five-year sentence into music fit for one of the world’s greatest stages.
inquest.org
November 5, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"Over the years, my sister has gone to Carnegie Hall to hear music I’ve written. She was an adolescent when I was arrested. Now, two decades later, this is how I spend time with her—giving her something to be proud of." Joseph Wilson on writing celebrated operas from prison
"It was important to me to highlight the realities of incarceration. The audience has to witness the humiliation of a strip search, late-night conviction in a lonely cell, separation from loved ones." Joseph Wilson on composing an opera from prison & trying to reach audiences
I’m in Prison. My Opera Was Performed at Carnegie Hall. - Joseph Wilson - Inquest
Inside Sing Sing, I turned my twenty-five-year sentence into music fit for one of the world’s greatest stages.
inquest.org
November 4, 2025 at 2:30 PM
"It was important to me to highlight the realities of incarceration. The audience has to witness the humiliation of a strip search, late-night conviction in a lonely cell, separation from loved ones." Joseph Wilson on composing an opera from prison & trying to reach audiences
This week Inquest covered the devastating FCC vote that will cost families of incarcerated people at least $250 million more per year, and a reevaluation of the history of how the South become the most incarcerated region of the US. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
November 1, 2025 at 3:00 PM
This week Inquest covered the devastating FCC vote that will cost families of incarcerated people at least $250 million more per year, and a reevaluation of the history of how the South become the most incarcerated region of the US. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
"We did not ask for a softer bed, a nightstand, a locker, etc. WE ASKED FOR LIFE!!" —incarcerated strike leader Marjorie Marsh. Read her story:
From Chain Gangs to the “Modern” Southern Prison - Kirstine Taylor - Inquest
Over the course of the twentieth century, southern moderates claimed to pursue growth and modernization, even as they more permanently enshrined a racialized carceral state.
inquest.org
October 31, 2025 at 12:00 PM
"We did not ask for a softer bed, a nightstand, a locker, etc. WE ASKED FOR LIFE!!" —incarcerated strike leader Marjorie Marsh. Read her story:
Attending #NLADA25 @nlada.bsky.social ? Don't miss our panel "Freedom Writers: The Importance of Writing from Experience to Challenge Mass Incarceration," TODAY 3–4pm, featuring @premaldharia.bsky.social @adammcgee.bsky.social & Inquest contributors Kenithia Alston & Ivan Kilgore @ubfsf.bsky.social
October 30, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Attending #NLADA25 @nlada.bsky.social ? Don't miss our panel "Freedom Writers: The Importance of Writing from Experience to Challenge Mass Incarceration," TODAY 3–4pm, featuring @premaldharia.bsky.social @adammcgee.bsky.social & Inquest contributors Kenithia Alston & Ivan Kilgore @ubfsf.bsky.social
Political scientist Kirstine Taylor breaks down how the Jim Crow South transformed into the modern carceral state. Tl;dr threaded below, or get the whole story here: inquest.org/from-cha... [cont., 1/3]
From Chain Gangs to the “Modern” Southern Prison - Kirstine Taylor - Inquest
Over the course of the twentieth century, southern moderates claimed to pursue growth and modernization, even as they more permanently enshrined a racialized carceral state.
inquest.org
October 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Political scientist Kirstine Taylor breaks down how the Jim Crow South transformed into the modern carceral state. Tl;dr threaded below, or get the whole story here: inquest.org/from-cha... [cont., 1/3]
Reposted by Inquest
I remember what it felt like to see that number pop up on my phone when my dad called from prison, and how devastating it felt to see it as a missed call notification. Phone calls are precious time for incarcerated people and their loved ones outside.
"Families will have to pay $215 million more to stay connected than anticipated last year, and there’s expected to be two-thirds fewer call minutes between families and their incarcerated loved ones due to the higher rates." @biancatylek.bsky.social @worthrises.bsky.social
Your Call Could Not Be Completed - Bianca Tylek - Inquest
Under Biden, the FCC made unprecedented progress toward ending price gouging for prison phone calls. Tomorrow, Trump’s FCC is expected to undo it all.
inquest.org
October 28, 2025 at 11:00 PM
I remember what it felt like to see that number pop up on my phone when my dad called from prison, and how devastating it felt to see it as a missed call notification. Phone calls are precious time for incarcerated people and their loved ones outside.