Lock 'em up and throw away the key. Turns out that concept has been controversial from the beginning. There have always been cracks in the concept of incarceration, but have we let the system grow beyond our control? Journeying from prisons’ beginnings to now, and from the US to a small European country, we ask: who is prison actually serving?

We trace the unexpected backstories of everyday things – things that have traveled the world, by force, by chance, or by choice. How did this item or idea change as it moved through different cultures and eras on its way to you? And what surprising truths does its story reveal about our world today?