Many people who were incarcerated at Mt. Meigs as children ended up spending their entire lives tethered to the criminal legal system. Many were sentenced to life in prison. Many others were sentenced to death. This episode traces the lives of

Episode 2: The Arrival

Jan 25th, 2023 49m 4s

Survivors of Mt. Meigs share how they ended up in the juvenile justice system and what happened once they went down the long road to the reformatory. Lonnie and Johnny meet the foreboding superintendent EB Holloway, while Mary and Jennie must d

Episode 1: The Lucky Ones

Jan 18th, 2023 39m 50s

Reporter Josie Duffy Rice travels to a small town outside Montgomery, Alabama, and tries to visit a juvenile reform school, once called the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children or Mt. Meigs. The school opened in the early 20th century a

Episode 6: Scallawags and Carpetbaggers

Feb 21st, 2023 49m 41s

Denny Abbott enlists the help of lawyer Ira Dement to sue the state of Alabama. What ensues is a years-long battle, multiple lawsuits, personal turmoil, but also...a glimmer of hope for the kids at Mt. Meigs. Special thanks to Denny Abbott and

Episode 5: When Mary Met Denny

Feb 15th, 2023 25m 8s

Mary Stephens and four other girls escape Mt. Meigs and are determined to tell someone about what's happened to them. Probation officer Denny Abbott must make a decision. If you or someone you know attended Mt. Meigs and would like to connect

Episode 4: The Runaways

Feb 8th, 2023 28m 37s

Since the 1920s, notices started appearing in the local newspapers near Mt. Meigs. They said things like "Six armed negroes escaped Mount Meigs Industrial School” or “Police seeking escape artist in burglary." In this episode, we hear about th

Episode 3: Cornelia's Dream

Feb 1st, 2023 39m 38s

By the 1960s, the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children was an early prototype of the for-profit prison. But it wasn’t designed that way. In this episode, we go back to the early 20th century when a Black woman and student of Booker T. W

Bonus

Vote now! UNREFORMED Nominated For Webby Award

22 days ago 2m 20s

Hi listeners! This is Josie Duffy Rice. We wanted to give you some good news and ask once more for your help, if you wouldn’t mind! First the good news! I am so honored to tell you that Unreformed has won a few very exciting awards lately. We

Bonus

UNREFORMED Nominated for Signal Listener's Choice Awards - Vote now!

Sep 29th, 2023 1m 31s

Unreformed has been nominated for two Signal Listener's Choice Award. Voting is open through October 5, 2023, you can vote for the show under "Best Host" and "History" in the Limited Series and Specials category. Link to vote is here. See omnys

Trailer

Introducing: Out of the Shadows

Sep 2nd, 2023 2m 7s

Out of the Shadows is a podcast about America's tangled history of immigration hosted by award-winning New York Times writer Erick Galindo and entrepreneur and best-selling author Patty Rodriguez. Season 2: Dreamers Last season, we tackled Rona

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Introducing: Queen Havoc and Her Murder Cult

May 31st, 2023 2m 26s

Hi, Unreformed fans! Dive into how South African cult leader Cecilia Steyn leads her followers to kill 11 innocent people over the course of four years. Join host and filmmaker Kurt Kubicek as he travels to Krugersdorp, SA - a small mining town

Episode 8: Searching for Justice

Mar 8th, 2023 44m 54s

In the final episode, we look at where Lonnie, Mary, Johnny, Jennie, Johnny Mack, and Denny are fifty years after leaving Mt. Meigs. We also look at how juvenile justice in America has evolved and how other juvenile reform schools that mistreat

Bonus

Unreformed presents "5-4: Tanner v. United States."

Mar 7th, 2023 50m 41s

Hey folks, Josie here! We wanted to share a show that we think you might like. It's called 5-4, and it's about how much the Supreme Court sucks. 5-4 is all about how the Supreme Court DOESN'T provide justice, and we think that will resonate wit