What’s wrong with the criminal justice system? As it turns out, enough so that reforming it has become one of the few bi-partisan issues. The U.S. is home to only 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prison population. As many as 60% of them may be behind bars, not because they’ve been convicted of a crime, but because they can’t afford to pay their cash bail. There are around 8,000 people incarcerated in New York City’s jails, and, while that sounds like a lot, it’s actually at near-record low levels. Part of the reason is that the city has taken it upon itself to reform much of the prison system, with, for one thing, the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2016, which took many low-level, non-violent offenses out of the criminal system and moved it into the civil system. Our guests talk about why that matters, what’s being done to close the infamous Rikers Island jail in favor of smaller, community lock-ups, and how much more needs to be done to create a system that is fair and safe.