Our guest is Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, who joins us to discuss her new book. That well-regarded book, "Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A.," is an unflinching memoir of Allen's late cousin as well as a detailed and accessible critique of America's criminal justice system. Per Jennifer Senior in The New York Times: "A compassionate retelling of an abjectly tragic story.... Among the most valuable contributions Allen makes is forcing us to ask: To what end are we locking up our children? Are we not foreclosing their options before their lives have even begun...? [Her] analysis of gang culture -- or 'the parastate,' as she calls it, with its own bylaws and tragic form of appeal -- may be where she's at her ferocious best." Note that Allen will appear tonight (the 6th) at 7pm at a reading/signing to occur at the TCC Center for Creativity.
"Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A."
