New Yorker Radio Hour: The Rikers Debate Project

Parliamentary-style debate might not seem like the most practical skill for prison inmates and formerly incarcerated people. The members of the Rikers Debate Project would beg to differ. Founded to teach debate in the infamous New York City jail, the R.D.P. now holds classes (currently, because of the pandemic, by correspondence) in eleven states, and hires fellows who have been released from prison. Current and former inmates form teams alongside debaters from Yale and other élite college-debate societies, and, as in any competitive debate, they must be prepared to argue either side of an issue, no matter how strongly they may feel about it. KalaLea, one of our producers, followed the members of the Rikers Debate Project as they prepared to argue over one of the most critical topics of the day: defunding the police. Refining debate skills “serves them really well, both to advocate for themselves and their communities and also just in their relationships and in job interviews,” Caitlin Halpern, who sits on the group’s board of directors, says. Lewis Conway, Jr., who served time for involuntary manslaughter and is now working for the A.C.L.U., agrees. “I work at a very large institution, and oftentimes you have to argue your point as to why this certain campaign is important. . . . The debate project has helped me navigate that.” view original press