Episode Details

A chokehold is defined as a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air or blood from passing through the neck. Author, professor and former prosecutor Paul Butler says this term -- "chokehold" -- is also representative of the oppressive and strangulating American criminal-justice system and its treatment of black men. With such notions in place, how can society begin to move away from its learned fear of black men and a law-enforcement system that actively works against black men. Professor Butler and former prosecutor and criminal-justice activist Adam Foss discuss this deep-rooted bias against black men, how this discrimination has evolved over generations and throughout our country, and the true reasoning behind the #TakeAKnee protest movement in professional football. Guests: Paul Butler, Georgetown Law professor, former prosecutor, celebrated scholar of race and the criminal justice system, and author of "Chokehold: Policing Black Men"; and Adam Foss, former Suffolk County assistant district attorney and criminal-justice activist based in Boston.