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"The Alabama Solution" May Change How You See Prisons (w/ Andrew Jarecki & Charlotte Kaufman)

2026-02-20 News & Politics
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The Bulwark
The Bulwark
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Description

Sonny Bunch speaks with Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman to discuss their Oscar-nominated documentary, The Alabama Solution. Currently streaming on HBO, their documentary combines interviews, investigative journalism, and footage from within the prisons themselves obtained via contraband cellphones to reveal the horrible and dangerous living conditions of those serving time in the Alabama correctional system. It’s a documentary primed to shock the conscience, and I hope everyone out there watches it—even, perhaps especially, if you do not consider yourself a prison reform advocate. Go to https://TheAlabamaSolution.com to learn more about the deaths inside Alabama’s prisons. Chapters: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:25 The revival meeting and the “approved” narrative 00:08:38 Cell phone footage and access inside 00:11:05 Safety, secrecy, and filming constraints 00:15:47 Steven Davis case and the investigation 00:23:46 Lawyer calls and controlled testimony 00:27:14 Confronting state officials 00:30:09 Retaliation against prison activists 00:34:46 Organizing strikes and work stoppages 00:41:11 What viewers can do next 00:45:40 Has the film changed minds? 00:50:37 Closing

Top Comments (10)

@barrythomas1148 2026-02-20

I'm from North Florida where prisons are a large part of the rural economy. Recently I had a conversation with a guard who was concerned about the cost of living in Florida because young people are leaving and they are the most likely to be sentenced to prison and without them the prison industry will collapse. I was stunned that this was his take on our failing economy.

75 10 replies
@n.m.3568 2026-02-20

Great interview on 2/11 The Daily Show 👏👏👏👏 We NEED more awareness to these kinds of issues and the more people know the more power there will be to make changes & elect better! People like this need to be championed as it takes so much strength & bravery & heart to create a documentary like this; the American people deserve more access to REALITY 🙏🇺🇲

32
@amy2brno2b 2026-02-20

Sold me, I'm watching it right now. Update: That was. Heartbreaking.

32
@Jesstmewhysockee 2026-02-20

Looking forward to watching the documentary. Thank you for braving the abhorrent conditions to document and share the tragic state of our prison system and the abusive treatment of inmates, and thanks to the Bulwark for highlighting such an important piece of work.

31
@veronicadoggone5660 2026-02-20

It's shocking. But it's also half of the Alabama "corrections" system. The work release program is basically a life sentence into indentured servitude

31 1 replies
@patrickprice249 2026-02-20

I had to watch it in parts. It was soul crushing. Steven Davis haunted me for weeks - how he died. I worried too about the retaliation against the inmates who filmed inside the prison. What was going to happen to them. Everybody should watch it. The inhumanity of the state of Alabama and the prisons where nobody cares. 😢💔

32 5 replies
@SuzanneNoel-iw5ih 2026-02-20

The courage of the activist prisoners is amazing. We are talking life and death for these men. Not enough of us care what happens in prisons...it is awful. Maybe this will help. Please watch it

29
@margaretmcnamee6411 2026-02-20

I appreciate the Bulwark putting this interview on the platform. The US needs to clean this system up.

6
@oscarjohnson2355 2026-02-20

Alabama governor Kay Ivey used covid money to build two new for profit prisons.

32 1 replies
@HAL1138 2026-02-20

Everyone should see this film!

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