Geek Out

Rotten Fruit And Hot Pots: The Secret Techniques Of Cellblock Cuisine

Prison is a sad, cold and horrible place to be. What reminds you of home more than a hot, home-cooked meal? Nothing. Since these prisoners can’t go home– Maybe ever–they have to bring home to the cell block.


October 28, 2011
Geek Out

Deep Inside Prison’s Dark And Tangled Economy

A movie-goer’s concept of prison economy is likely that it’s a cigarette-fuelled barter system. That may be part of it, but it only scratches the surface. The truth is a violent world of sex, drugs and… postage stamps?


October 27, 2011
Geek Out

Yes, Prisoners Carry iPhones In Their Arses

If you think the mobile phone explosion of recent years has somehow been kept at bay by prison walls, you would be greatly mistaken. Technology, like water, permeates every crack. Today on Lockdown, we’re talking phones in jail.


October 26, 2011
Geek Out

The Many Insane Flavours Of Improvised Prison Weapons

Heading to the place where a prison’s homicide evidence is kept, you might expect to see a few sharpened objects — maybe a bludgeon or two. You would be underprepared.


October 25, 2011
Gadgets

Technology In America’s Most Notorious Prison

Do prison inmates surf the internet? Do they have gadgets? Do they make gadgets? Do they make weapons? Where do they get their porn and booze?


Geek Out

The DIY Wizards Of San Quentin Prison

Prison Hacks are the big house’s answer to Gizmodo’s homemod. Prison is designed to be uncomfortable — it’s prison, after all. But even incarceration can’t lock up the spirit of human ingenuity. What prisoners do with extremely limited resources is incredible.