Oscar-nominated “The Alabama Solution” shows unfiltered prison life | The Excerpt
USA TODAY
“The Alabama Solution” reveals stark, rarely seen realities inside Alabama prisons and questions whether the system should continue unchanged.
On the Friday, March 6, 2026, episode of The Excerpt podcast: “The Alabama Solution” offers rare, unfiltered access inside Alabama’s prison system, exposing the stark human cost of mass incarceration. The Oscar‑nominated documentary confronts viewers with realities typically hidden from public view and asks what it means if the system is functioning exactly as designed. Director Andrew Jarecki and Alex Duran, co-producer of the film and program director at Galaxy Gives, join USA TODAY’s The Excerpt for a look behind the making of the film.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Dana Taylor:
With rare access and unflinching restraint, the documentary, The Alabama Solution, exposes the human cost of confinement in stark, at times difficult to watch detail. The film sets out and succeeds in offering a view of a mass incarceration system-laid bearer. If what we see is functioning as designed, should it be allowed to continue?
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