Can schools and prisons share a common structure rooted in colonialism, discipline, and control? How can deconstructing these systems lead to community-driven accountability and justice?

Today’s guest is Dr. Lisa Guenther, a Queens National Scholar in Political Philosophy and Critical Prison Studies. Renowned for her books Solitary Confinement: Social Death and Its Afterlives and The Gift of the Other: Levinas and the Politics of Reproduction, Lisa’s work has illuminated the intersections of philosophy, carceral systems, and decolonial resistance. Beyond academia, her work with groups like the P4W Memorial Collective and Reach Coalition highlights her commitment to social justice and transformative approaches to imprisonment and education.

In this episode, Lisa takes us on a profound journey exploring the philosophical ties between education and incarceration, rooted in colonial and capitalist ideologies. Reflecting on her experiences working with individuals on death row and leading philosophy discussion groups within prisons, she offers unique insights into how systems of control shape both classrooms and carceral spaces. We discuss the historical underpinnings of these systems, their role in enforcing social hierarchies, and how community-driven restorative practices can provide alternatives to punishment and discipline. Lisa challenges us to reimagine justice, accountability, and education not as tools of compliance, but as opportunities for mutual growth and trust-building, even in a fractured world.