How do you survive seven years in solitary confinement? The gift of literacy is what saved Shaka Senghor. Reading, journaling, academic study, and writing books was a way to structure and survive an inhumane, mentally toxic environment. And after 19 years in total behind bars, he was finally able to apply that gift and create employment for himself as a writer and organizational leader upon rejoining society.
Shaka joined Tyler to discuss his book Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison, what it was like to return to society not knowing the difference between the internet and a Word document, entrepreneurialism and humor in prison, the unexpected challenges formerly incarcerated people face upon release, his ideas for helping Detroit, what he connects with in Eastern philosophy, how he’s celebrating the upcoming anniversary of his tenth year of freedom, and more.
Follow Shaka on Twitter
Follow Tyler on Twitter
More CWT goodness:
Claudia Goldin on the Economics of Inequality
Amia Srinivasan on Utopian Feminism
David Cutler and Ed Glaeser on the Health and Wealth of Cities
Zeynep Tufekci on the Sociology of The Moment (Live)
Andrew Sullivan on Braving New Intellectual Journeys
Niall Ferguson on Why We Study History
Alexander the Grate on Life as an NFA
Richard Prum on Birds, Beauty, and Finding Your Own Way
Elijah Millgram on the Philosophical Life
David Deutsch on Multiple Worlds and Our Place in Them
Mark Carney on Central Banking and Shared Values
Pierpaolo Barbieri on Latin American FinTech
Daniel Carpenter on Smart Regulation
Shadi Bartsch on the Classics and China
Dana Gioia on Becoming an Information Billionaire
Sarah Parcak on Archaeology from Space
John Cochrane on Economic Puzzles and Habits of Mind
Patricia Fara on Newton, Scientific Progress, and the Benefits of Unhistoric Acts
Brian Armstrong on the Crypto Economy
Benjamin Friedman on the Origins of Economic Belief
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Navigating Life After 40
Teaching Learning Leading K-12
Regenerative Skills
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast