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The Julia Tutwiler Prison is the only correctional facility for women in Alabama, and it has a reputation for overcrowding, understaffing and egregious inmate mistreatment. In 2014, a US Department of Justice investigation found conditions in the prison to be unconstitutional due to rampant staff-on-prisoner sexual abuse. As part of an effort at reform, in 2016 Tutwiler helped to initiate the Alabama Prison Birth Project – an endeavour to prepare its pregnant prisoners (some 45 to 50 women each year) for motherhood, and ensure that their babies are healthy and looked after. But can a system that separates newborns from their mothers just 24 hours after birth ever be humane? Constructed with care and nuance by the Academy Award-nominated US filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon, this documentary traces both the promise and the moral complexities of a programme that seeks to break the intergenerational prison chain from inside.
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Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
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Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
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Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes
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Biography and memoir
The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands
29 minutes
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Cognition and intelligence
What’s this buzz about bees having culture? Inside a groundbreaking experiment
8 minutes
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Earth science and climate
The only man permitted in Bhutan’s sacred mountains chronicles humanity’s impact
22 minutes
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Art
‘If you’re creative, why can’t you create a solution?’ One artist’s imaginative activism
17 minutes
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The ancient world
An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub
2 minutes
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Death
A hunter’s lyrical reflection on the humbling business of being mortal
6 minutes