Content note: this talk will mention Black deaths in custody, policy brutality, grief and mention of torture. These are told from the lived experience of our guest and how this shapes their response to the conversation. In some instances this is described in detail to shed truth, so we ask that you go gently and decide when the time is right for you to listen in.

On today’s show we’re asking: What if our institutions were life-affirming, instead of death-making? This is the question at the heart of abolition, a political tradition that demands the end of prisons, as well as the end of the kind of world that could ever even have something as violent as a prison. Our guest for this week is Latoya Aroha Rule - activist and writer working to ban the use of spithoods in this country who's work explores all this and more. Their journey towards this has been deeply rooted in grief and love as well as the power of creative protests. 

This piece was produced by Sam Haran and hosted by Shareeka Helaluddin. Featuring music by Mo'Ju - Bran Nue Wurld.