Inquest
@inquest.bsky.social
National Magazine Award 2025 finalist. Cited in Best American Essays 2025. Stillwater Award winner. Focused on ending mass incarceration.
All our links: https://linktr.ee/inquest.org
Can you spare $5?: https://inquest.org/donate/
All our links: https://linktr.ee/inquest.org
Can you spare $5?: https://inquest.org/donate/
"Given who he is and how he is, Calvin’s story will be for many a much-needed balm in this time of agitation and dislocation. In it, readers may hear echoes of Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning." —Bidish Sarma
Fighting for Relief - Bidish Sarma - Inquest
A new memoir details how Calvin Duncan became one of the nation’s foremost experts in post-conviction relief, helping hundreds incarcerated in Louisiana to fight for their rights, even as he sought his own freedom.
inquest.org
December 23, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"Given who he is and how he is, Calvin’s story will be for many a much-needed balm in this time of agitation and dislocation. In it, readers may hear echoes of Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning." —Bidish Sarma
"Every teacher I had ever known had given up on me when I was free. Who would teach me now that I was in chains?" —Hugh Williams Jr.
Free Books - Hugh Williams, Jr., & Katy Ryan - Inquest
Programs that send literature to incarcerated people provide a vital lifeline, facilitating personal growth and imaginative escape.
inquest.org
December 22, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"Every teacher I had ever known had given up on me when I was free. Who would teach me now that I was in chains?" —Hugh Williams Jr.
This week Inquest explored what gets lost when attempts to quanify the "success" of reentry focus only on recidivism, and share our recommended reading list of decarceral books. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
December 20, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This week Inquest explored what gets lost when attempts to quanify the "success" of reentry focus only on recidivism, and share our recommended reading list of decarceral books. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
Reposted by Inquest
"Sensitive, rich in detail, and full of lessons for those who continue to struggle with how to transform not just our prisons but the world we share together."
Garrett Felber's A CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE made @inquest.bsky.social's year in books! 🎊📚 inquest.org/the-year-in-...
Garrett Felber's A CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE made @inquest.bsky.social's year in books! 🎊📚 inquest.org/the-year-in-...
The Year in Books - Inquest
Inquest staff recommendations of not-to-be-missed decarceral books from 2025.
inquest.org
December 18, 2025 at 8:28 PM
"Sensitive, rich in detail, and full of lessons for those who continue to struggle with how to transform not just our prisons but the world we share together."
Garrett Felber's A CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE made @inquest.bsky.social's year in books! 🎊📚 inquest.org/the-year-in-...
Garrett Felber's A CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE made @inquest.bsky.social's year in books! 🎊📚 inquest.org/the-year-in-...
Reposted by Inquest
Before the NYU Press office closes for the holidays, we're thrilled to share that @inquest.bsky.social has spotlighted "How to Be Disabled in a Pandemic" in their Year in Books!
This significant work centers principles of disability justice amid the early COVID-19 crisis in NYC.
This significant work centers principles of disability justice amid the early COVID-19 crisis in NYC.
The Year in Books - Inquest
Inquest staff recommendations of not-to-be-missed decarceral books from 2025.
buff.ly
December 19, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Before the NYU Press office closes for the holidays, we're thrilled to share that @inquest.bsky.social has spotlighted "How to Be Disabled in a Pandemic" in their Year in Books!
This significant work centers principles of disability justice amid the early COVID-19 crisis in NYC.
This significant work centers principles of disability justice amid the early COVID-19 crisis in NYC.
A curated selection from our favorite decarceral books of the year, with topics ranging from prison book programs and dangerously bad prison food to disability justice and the fight to stop the world’s tallest jail from being built.
The Year in Books - Inquest
Inquest staff recommendations of not-to-be-missed decarceral books from 2025.
inquest.org
December 18, 2025 at 3:09 PM
A curated selection from our favorite decarceral books of the year, with topics ranging from prison book programs and dangerously bad prison food to disability justice and the fight to stop the world’s tallest jail from being built.
"The dominant narrative of reentry, measured narrowly through recidivism and framed around individual responsibility, fails to reflect the lived realities of those returning from incarceration."
Reentry Never Ends - B. Arneson & Bridget Conley - Inquest
When reincarceration rates are treated as the sole measure of success, we undervalue the work formerly incarcerated people do to heal and confront their traumas.
inquest.org
December 17, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"The dominant narrative of reentry, measured narrowly through recidivism and framed around individual responsibility, fails to reflect the lived realities of those returning from incarceration."
"Success should not be defined in punitive terms, but rather by the ability to confront trauma with care & intention." @xarnesonx.bsky.social & Bridget Conley on using restorative justice to reframe reentry as a life-long process of healing community & private trauma
Reentry Never Ends - B. Arneson & Bridget Conley - Inquest
When reincarceration rates are treated as the sole measure of success, we undervalue the work formerly incarcerated people do to heal and confront their traumas.
inquest.org
December 16, 2025 at 3:23 PM
"Success should not be defined in punitive terms, but rather by the ability to confront trauma with care & intention." @xarnesonx.bsky.social & Bridget Conley on using restorative justice to reframe reentry as a life-long process of healing community & private trauma
Reposted by Inquest
"My journey to manhood has required me to prove I’m neither a monster nor a statistic." Story via @inquest.bsky.social.
‘You Will Lose Your Teeth’ - Devin A. Giordano - Inquest
I aged into adulthood under the violent custody of New York’s Downstate prison. My journey to manhood has required me to prove I'm neither a monster nor a statistic.
inquest.org
December 13, 2025 at 4:12 PM
"My journey to manhood has required me to prove I’m neither a monster nor a statistic." Story via @inquest.bsky.social.
This week Inquest offered a first-person essay about being sentenced to life as a young adult, plus reflections on why prison furniture is so awful. Also, we found out we are listed in Best American Essays! Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
December 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This week Inquest offered a first-person essay about being sentenced to life as a young adult, plus reflections on why prison furniture is so awful. Also, we found out we are listed in Best American Essays! Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
Congratulations to Vic Liu, whose Inquest essay "Hell Is Real and It Is Beige," a lyric account of kafkaesque bureaucracy experienced while visiting a prison, has been listed as a Notable Essay in 'The Best American Essays 2025'! Please reread and, if moved, support our work.
Hell Is Real and It Is Beige | Vic Liu | INQUEST
Some of the greatest violence of prisons is hidden, in plain view, within their banality.
inquest.org
December 12, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Congratulations to Vic Liu, whose Inquest essay "Hell Is Real and It Is Beige," a lyric account of kafkaesque bureaucracy experienced while visiting a prison, has been listed as a Notable Essay in 'The Best American Essays 2025'! Please reread and, if moved, support our work.
"A friend reminded me that while I couldn’t undo the past, I could still offer context and truth to the story the world saw." @unchaindevin.bsky.social on the power of incarcerated people telling their own stories
‘You Will Lose Your Teeth’ - Devin A. Giordano - Inquest
I aged into adulthood under the violent custody of New York’s Downstate prison. My journey to manhood has required me to prove I'm neither a monster nor a statistic.
inquest.org
December 12, 2025 at 1:01 PM
"A friend reminded me that while I couldn’t undo the past, I could still offer context and truth to the story the world saw." @unchaindevin.bsky.social on the power of incarcerated people telling their own stories
"I became a number before I became a man." So begins @unchaindevin.bsky.social 's harrowing first-person essay about aging into adulthood while incarcerated in a NY prison—and what it takes to not only survive but transform under such brutal conditions.
‘You Will Lose Your Teeth’ - Devin A. Giordano - Inquest
I aged into adulthood under the violent custody of New York’s Downstate prison. My journey to manhood has required me to prove I'm neither a monster nor a statistic.
inquest.org
December 11, 2025 at 4:09 PM
"I became a number before I became a man." So begins @unchaindevin.bsky.social 's harrowing first-person essay about aging into adulthood while incarcerated in a NY prison—and what it takes to not only survive but transform under such brutal conditions.
"I recall an older [incarcerated Rikers book group] participant urging me to sit in a moveable chair, pointing out how uncomfortable the stools are. The dissonance between the space and the people within it is loud." A deep dive into carceral furniture
In the Dayroom - Sara Medwin - Inquest
When Rikers furniture proves so unwieldy that her inside–outside book group can’t even form a circle, the author goes on a search to understand why U.S. prison furnishings are so dehumanizing.
inquest.org
December 10, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"I recall an older [incarcerated Rikers book group] participant urging me to sit in a moveable chair, pointing out how uncomfortable the stools are. The dissonance between the space and the people within it is loud." A deep dive into carceral furniture
"Configurations are designed to allow surveillance and control. But I’m [specifically] interested in the ways that the senses, when faced with this sort of furnishing, are gradually stifled." Sara Medwin on how even prison *furniture* is dehumanizing
In the Dayroom - Sara Medwin - Inquest
When Rikers furniture proves so unwieldy that her inside–outside book group can’t even form a circle, the author goes on a search to understand why U.S. prison furnishings are so dehumanizing.
inquest.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
"Configurations are designed to allow surveillance and control. But I’m [specifically] interested in the ways that the senses, when faced with this sort of furnishing, are gradually stifled." Sara Medwin on how even prison *furniture* is dehumanizing
This week Inquest covered the exploitative world of reality TV filmed inside prisons, and how in Texas a quirk in the parole system can keep technically freed people locked up. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
December 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This week Inquest covered the exploitative world of reality TV filmed inside prisons, and how in Texas a quirk in the parole system can keep technically freed people locked up. Get the full recap: mailchi.mp/inquest.o...
"Our lives are not entertainment." Formerly incarcerated NYC organizer Vidal Guzman on how carceral reality TV steals vulnerable people's stories
The Prison Spectacle - Vidal Guzman - Inquest
How reality TV turns incarceration into entertainment—and helps strengthen the very systems of violence it claims to expose.
inquest.org
December 5, 2025 at 1:01 PM
"Our lives are not entertainment." Formerly incarcerated NYC organizer Vidal Guzman on how carceral reality TV steals vulnerable people's stories
"Today, numerous reality shows mine incarceration for profit. What began as a niche genre has grown into a profitable industry that enjoys low production costs and thrives on human suffering." Formerly incarcerated organizer Vidal Guzman on entertainment industry profiteering
The Prison Spectacle - Vidal Guzman - Inquest
How reality TV turns incarceration into entertainment—and helps strengthen the very systems of violence it claims to expose.
inquest.org
December 4, 2025 at 3:04 PM
"Today, numerous reality shows mine incarceration for profit. What began as a niche genre has grown into a profitable industry that enjoys low production costs and thrives on human suffering." Formerly incarcerated organizer Vidal Guzman on entertainment industry profiteering
"Family and loved ones often have to fill the gap and help significantly with reentry plans. But if an incarcerated person doesn’t have outside support, they are basically stranded." Xandan Gulley on being paroled after a long sentence and nowhere to go:
Why Are Freed People Still in My Prison? - Xandan Gulley - Inquest
In Texas, when someone makes parole, they will only be released once they have an approved home. Many of us have nowhere to go, and no one to help us find somewhere.
inquest.org
December 3, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"Family and loved ones often have to fill the gap and help significantly with reentry plans. But if an incarcerated person doesn’t have outside support, they are basically stranded." Xandan Gulley on being paroled after a long sentence and nowhere to go:
"Those of us freed by the parole board often have nowhere to go, and continue to sit in prison until we are essentially kicked out to fend for ourselves." Incarcerated author Xandan Gulley on why paroled doesn't necessarily equal freed.
Why Are Freed People Still in My Prison? - Xandan Gulley - Inquest
In Texas, when someone makes parole, they will only be released once they have an approved home. Many of us have nowhere to go, and no one to help us find somewhere.
inquest.org
December 2, 2025 at 6:19 PM
"Those of us freed by the parole board often have nowhere to go, and continue to sit in prison until we are essentially kicked out to fend for ourselves." Incarcerated author Xandan Gulley on why paroled doesn't necessarily equal freed.
For #GivingTuesday we are sharing a thread of some 2025 features from incarcerated authors. About a third of our contributors are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated, and we believe in the necessity of centering them in the work of ending mass incarceration. [1/9]
December 2, 2025 at 2:07 PM
For #GivingTuesday we are sharing a thread of some 2025 features from incarcerated authors. About a third of our contributors are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated, and we believe in the necessity of centering them in the work of ending mass incarceration. [1/9]
Today, on #MovementMediaMonday we join partners across the country in amplifying media that moves us toward justice. Truth-telling is an act of resistance. For the people who write from inside prisons, it’s also an act of courage.
December 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Today, on #MovementMediaMonday we join partners across the country in amplifying media that moves us toward justice. Truth-telling is an act of resistance. For the people who write from inside prisons, it’s also an act of courage.
"'I knew what my reality was. This is what I was going to be doing for the rest of my life: visiting a prison.'"
Yearning to Go Home - Kunlyna Tauch & Abigail Higgins - Inquest
Life-without-parole sentences hit families especially hard. Yet they fight on, committed to their loved ones’ freedom.
inquest.org
November 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"'I knew what my reality was. This is what I was going to be doing for the rest of my life: visiting a prison.'"
"To abolish the family is not to outright get rid of the family and leave people as isolated individuals. Instead, family abolition seeks to preserve and expand the best part of caring families while rejecting the family as the only site of care and love."
Abolishing the Family - Quinn Lester - Inquest
The fight against police and prisons cannot be separated from the struggle to extend care beyond the limits of the family form.
inquest.org
November 28, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"To abolish the family is not to outright get rid of the family and leave people as isolated individuals. Instead, family abolition seeks to preserve and expand the best part of caring families while rejecting the family as the only site of care and love."
"You got the delicious / corn bread and turkey / Dressing, Slice turkey / [...] / There are about six / Officers standing in the / Dining hall, as we eat. / Watching ... / Just so no man / Double back" —from Leon Johnson's poem "Holiday Special Meal"
Three poems - Inquest
“Crying Johnny,” “Officer Judy Gives Instructions to the Lock Down Inmates,” & “Holiday Special Meal”
inquest.org
November 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"You got the delicious / corn bread and turkey / Dressing, Slice turkey / [...] / There are about six / Officers standing in the / Dining hall, as we eat. / Watching ... / Just so no man / Double back" —from Leon Johnson's poem "Holiday Special Meal"