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 25, 2011
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.