'The Alabama Department of Corrections is a drug cartel'

The Alabama prison system functions like a modern-day plantation: overcrowded, understaffed prisons like Bullock Correctional Facility run on forced labor, violence, and deliberate neglect. In this episode of Rattling the Bars , host Mansa Musa speaks with journalist Matthew Vernon Whalan about his book Bullock: Chronicles of Deprivation and Despair in an American Prison , and about the systematic corruption and inhumane horrors endured daily by incarcerated people in Alabama. Guest: Matthew Vernon Whalan is a writer and oral historian living in New England. He is the author of the book Bullock: Chronicles of Deprivation and Despair in an American Prison , and his work has appeared in Counterpunch Magazine , Alabama Political Reporter , Scheer Post , Jacobin , Eunoia Review , New York Journal of Books , The Brattleboro Reformer , and elsewhere. He runs the publication Hard Times Reviewer . Credits: Producer / Videographer / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support . Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer. Follow us on: Bluesky: @therealnews.com Facebook: The Real News Network Twitter: @TheRealNews YouTube: @therealnews Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!