2026-05-23
43 分钟The Economist.
The concept of an island prison looms large in the public imagination.
Think Alcatraz or Robben Island.
The idea of a penal colony far from shore sounds like a relic of the past.
But Rikers Island, off the coast of New York City, is still open.
It's horrible, beyond the horrible that you might expect.
It's unsafe, violent, suicides are not uncommon, and it's actually slated for closure.
The question is what you replace it with.
We know how much the shape and style of a building can change
how we feel about it and our experience there.
But who designs a new jail?
And where should we put it?
I'm Rosie Blue, and today on the Weekend Intelligence,
Stevie Hertz investigates plans for a new jail right in the heart of Manhattan.
It's prime real estate, so you might be surprised to hear that there's land available.
And actually, there isn't, really.
Except in the sky.
So, to get on Rikers Island, there's only one bridge.
One narrow bridge, and we call it the Bridge of Pain.
Like, reflecting on it, it seemed like there was like a dark cloud over Rikers Island.