'Curious Conversations' podcast: Jason Higgins talks about war veterans and mass incarceration
Jason Higgins joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the intersection of U.S. military veterans and mass incarceration and his book, “Prisoners After War: Veterans in the Age of Mass Incarceration.”
He shared what led him to work at this intersection, some of the reasons he thinks it’s often overlooked, and factors he believes lead many veterans to being in prison. Having interviewed more than 60 veterans whose service ranged from the Vietnam War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Higgins also compares and contrasts their reported experiences and shares some of the efforts veterans are undertaking to support each other.
About Higgins
Higgins is digital scholarship coordinator for Virginia Tech Publishing and assistant professor, jointly affiliated with University Libraries and the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. He teaches the course Vietnam War, African American History, and Oral History. Higgins is also the author of ”Prisoners After War,” which was made into an open-access e-book thanks to a TOME grant.
Takeaways
More than 100,000 U.S. military veterans are currently in prison, compared to about 40,000 who currently experience homelessness.
Higgins sees the Vietnam War a major turning point in the connection between wars and mass incarceration, with policies and social changes playing key roles.
Veteran treatment courts are one example of ways veterans are currently helping one another by recidivism and supporting veterans' reintegration into society after prison.
Learn more
Veterans' stories inspire national grant for Virginia Tech researcher
Historian captures untold stories of America’s aging veterans
About the podcast
"Curious Conversations" is a series of free-flowing conversations with Virginia Tech researchers that take place at the intersection of world-class research and everyday life. Produced and hosted by Virginia Tech writer and editor Travis Williams, university researchers share their expertise and motivations as well as the practical applications of their work in a format that more closely resembles chats at a cookout than classroom lectures. New episodes are shared each Tuesday.
