The Hidden Driver of Mass Incarceration | jaymichaelson.net

Jay Michaelson is an award-winning journalist, meditation teacher, podcast host, and author of ten books.

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Prosecutorial Misconduct: The Hidden Driver of Mass Incarceration

Saturday, March 17th, 2018 | Multimedia, Law/Politics/Religion

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Recent Articles

Opportunism, Madness, Nihilism, and Terror

Apr 10th, 2025 in Both/And
Stephen Miller’s cavalier cruelty misses the whole point of Passover

Apr 9th, 2025 in Forward
The Glass is Already Broken

Apr 3rd, 2025 in Both/And
Waiting for Midnight: A Quasi-Optimistic Take

Mar 28th, 2025 in Both/And
Letter to a Trump-Supporting Technologist

Mar 20th, 2025 in Both/And
more...

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Professor @emory @harvard
Journalist @cnn @rollingstone @jdforward
Psychedelics Scholar Rabbi Writer Dad
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Emperor Jar Jar.

Emperor Jar Jar.

When Israel’s military operations in Gaza began

When Israel’s military operations in Gaza began in October, 2023, I defended them. But now, 19 months later, I am horrified, filled with rage and despair at actions that legally constitute genocide.

Read more at forward.com (link in bio)

American Nationalists and American small-l liberal

American Nationalists and American small-l liberals (which includes liberals, centrists, and the neo-conservative Right) may inhabit the same geographical area, but in our minds, we live in different countries. We look at the Statue of Liberty and see different things. Liberals see pluralism, diversity, civil liberties, and multiculturalism. Nationalists see American particularism, Christianity, patriotism, and nationalism. And so of course we see one another as opposed to what makes America great.

Read more at jaymichaelson.substack.com

#banalityofevil

#banalityofevil

Looking forward to joining @iuindianapolis and the

Looking forward to joining @iuindianapolis and the @jccindianapolis on Tuesday 5/13 for a conversation about psychedelics and spirituality. Details at the link in bio.

My chapter "Queer Theology and Social Transformati

My chapter "Queer Theology and Social Transformation: Points of Contact, Points of Conflict" has been published in this remarkable new anthology from @clgs_psr entitled "Mapping New Terrain in Queer Religious Scholarship." The chapter is also available for download at the link in my bio. I'm honored to be included with some very esteemed colleagues!

#themoreyouknow

#themoreyouknow

Great histories (and tragedies) focus on the “Gr

Great histories (and tragedies) focus on the “Great Men” who, for good or ill, shape human history. But for every Stalin, there are a thousand apparatchiks, petty officials who sense an opportunity to advance, as long as they tow the line of the most powerful. This is where the banality of evil takes place: not in the Emperor’s Chambers, but in the wheatfields of Mina-Rau, where under the shadow of vast silos, power is distributed to the ambitious and the pathetic, and violence is visited upon the good.

New at jaymichaelson.substack.com

Yeah, let's not both-sides this thing, eh?

Yeah, let's not both-sides this thing, eh?

This Sunday evenin, I'll be at the @92ndstreety in

This Sunday evenin, I'll be at the @92ndstreety in Manhattan doing a live taping of my longtime friend @rabbiingber 's new podcast, "Detours and Destinations." Come join us for some of each.

Some of the elements of this moment are new: the r

Some of the elements of this moment are new: the role of the Internet, the proximity of its darkest corners to the corridors of power, and the extent of the Trump administration’s unconstitutional defiance. But some is quite old. I was half-joking when I analogized the interpretation of tattoos to the interpretation of sacred symbols and signs, but only half. The human predilection to pattern recognition manifests first and foremost in religion, magic, and fortune telling of all sorts. We read the tea leaves, wonder at synchronicities — and if we attune ourselves to them, we see them everywhere.

Read more at jaymichaelson.substack.com

Yes, thanks for all the antisemitism-fighting. I f

Yes, thanks for all the antisemitism-fighting. I feel much safer now.

I'm headed to Madison, WI, tomorrow, April 24, to

I'm headed to Madison, WI, tomorrow, April 24, to talk about the cultivation of altered states of consciousness in Kabbalah, Sufism, Psychedelics, and the blendings of all of the above.

@uwmadison

Sometimes, I feel anxious about the fragile Americ

Sometimes, I feel anxious about the fragile American experiment in democracy, enraged that so many people are already living in abject terror right now, and equally enraged at the hundred million or so Americans who think things are going great.

Then again, it’s a lovely spring day, I’ve had a full day—preparing a talk on gender in the Talmud, finishing the final for my psychedelics class at Harvard, taking my daughter bike-riding—and it’s possible, for people with my good fortune, to still live pretty normally. Is this obscene, or human, or both?

Continue reading at jaymichaelson.substack.com .

What does CECOT say about us?

What does CECOT say about us?

Parsing the various motives of Republican scare-mo

Parsing the various motives of Republican scare-mongers terrified about losing their masculinity.

New at jaymichaelson.substack.com

Jewish law is clear: legal seriousness is essentia

Jewish law is clear: legal seriousness is essential, due process is sacred, and empathy is a prerequisite for justice.

New in @jdforward

V'im kol zeh, ani maamin ("And despite all this, I

V'im kol zeh, ani maamin ("And despite all this, I still believe").

#rebzalman

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about this teac

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about this teaching from Thai Buddhist master Ajahn Chah, quoted in Mark Epstein’s book Thoughts Without a Thinker:

You see this goblet? For me this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on the shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ When I understand that the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.

There’s a lot in this teaching. It’s sustained me over the past few weeks, especially in the hard times. I wrote about it this week in my newsletter - jaymichaelson.substack.com

Today and tomorrow: I'll be speaking at the @emory

Today and tomorrow: I'll be speaking at the @emoryuniversity symposium on "Science on Spiritual Health," talking tomorrow about #psychedelics in religious communities. The event streams for free online, and features an all-star cast, if I may say so myself. Come join us!

https://psychedelics.emory.edu/events/sos-twenty-five.html

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