About this episode

This episode discusses the hidden costs of incarceration and the push for reforming criminal legal fines and fees.

For many Americans, contact with the criminal legal system comes with a hidden price tag. Without their knowledge, incarcerated people can often rack up large bills owed to the government to pay for the cost of their own incarceration. Sociologist Brittany Friedman explains how these "pay-to-stay" laws work, how civil lawsuits are used to collect that money after release, and why the push to reform these criminal legal fines and fees has drawn bipartisan support. For more on this topic: Read the article mentioned in the episode, Civil Lawfare , co-authored by Friedman and published in the journal Social Problems Listen to her podcast, Exploitation Nation Check out her book, Carceral Apartheid: How Lies and White Supremacists Run Our Prisons Read her SSN key findings brief, Ending Modern-Day Slavery in California

People in this episode

Host: The Scholars Strategy Network

Guest: Brittany Friedman

Topics covered

• incarceration
• criminal justice
• legal system
• bipartisan reform
• civil lawsuits
• fines and fees

Keywords

• incarceration costs
• pay-to-stay laws
• criminal legal system
• bipartisan support
• civil lawsuits
• reform

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Scholars Strategy Network, Social Problems, California

Books & works: Civil Lawfare, Exploitation Nation, Carceral Apartheid: How Lies and White Supremacists Run Our Prisons

More episodes of Scholars Strategy Network's No Jargon

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• Episode 302: The Christian Women Behind MAGA · June 30, 2026 · 38 min
• Episode 300: Can America's Political Parties be Fixed? · June 2, 2026 · 40 min
• Episode 299: Can Cash Improve Pregnancy Outcomes? · May 12, 2026 · 27 min

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