-
A Question of Freedom
- A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $17.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Felon
- Poems
- By: Reginald Dwayne Betts
- Narrated by: Reginald Dwayne Betts
- Length: 1 hr and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Felon tells the story of one man in fierce, dazzling poems - canvassing his wide range of emotions and experiences through homelessness, underemployment, love, drug abuse, domestic violence, fatherhood, and grace - and, in doing so, creates a travelogue for an imagined life. Reginald Dwayne Betts confronts the funk of post-incarceration existence and examines prison not as a static space, but as a force that enacts pressure throughout a person’s life. Challenging the complexities of language, Betts animates what it means to be a “felon”.
-
-
Resonates
- By Angel Sanchez on 11-04-19
-
This Is Ear Hustle
- Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life
- By: Nigel Poor, Earlonne Woods
- Narrated by: Nigel Poor, Earlonne Woods, Lt. Sam Robinson, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods met, Nigel was a photography professor volunteering with the Prison University Project and Earlonne was serving thirty-one years to life at California’s San Quentin State Prison. Initially drawn to each other by their shared interest in storytelling, neither had podcast production experience when they decided to enter Radiotopia’s contest for new shows...and won. Using the prize for seed money, Nigel and Earlonne launched Ear Hustle, named after the prison term for “eavesdropping”.
-
-
Crying, laughing and goosebumps
- By jennifer hill on 10-19-21
By: Nigel Poor, and others
-
The New Jim Crow
- Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, 10th Anniversary Edition
- By: Michelle Alexander
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times best seller list.
-
-
Justice denied
- By Sam Motes on 09-24-14
-
The Disordered Cosmos
- A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred
- By: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the leading physicists of her generation, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is also one of fewer than one hundred Black American women to earn a PhD from a department of physics. Her vision of the cosmos is vibrant, buoyantly nontraditional, and grounded in Black and queer feminist lineages. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein urges us to recognize how science, like most fields, is rife with racism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. She lays out a bold new approach to science and society, beginning with the belief that we all have a fundamental right to know and love the night sky.
-
-
Stunning
- By Amazon Customer on 04-05-21
-
Stamped from the Beginning
- The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
- By: Ibram X. Kendi
- Narrated by: Christopher Dontrell Piper
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some Americans cling desperately to the myth that we are living in a post-racial society, that the election of the first Black president spelled the doom of racism. In fact, racist thought is alive and well in America - more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in Stamped from the Beginning, if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society.
-
-
Fabulous book, poor reader
- By EBMason on 11-15-17
By: Ibram X. Kendi
-
Money
- The True Story of a Made-Up Thing
- By: Jacob Goldstein
- Narrated by: Jacob Goldstein
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The cohost of the popular NPR podcast Planet Money provides a well-researched, entertaining, somewhat irreverent look at how money is a made-up thing that has evolved over time to suit humanity's changing needs.
-
-
well researched and written but,
- By C&S on 09-29-20
By: Jacob Goldstein
-
Felon
- Poems
- By: Reginald Dwayne Betts
- Narrated by: Reginald Dwayne Betts
- Length: 1 hr and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Felon tells the story of one man in fierce, dazzling poems - canvassing his wide range of emotions and experiences through homelessness, underemployment, love, drug abuse, domestic violence, fatherhood, and grace - and, in doing so, creates a travelogue for an imagined life. Reginald Dwayne Betts confronts the funk of post-incarceration existence and examines prison not as a static space, but as a force that enacts pressure throughout a person’s life. Challenging the complexities of language, Betts animates what it means to be a “felon”.
-
-
Resonates
- By Angel Sanchez on 11-04-19
-
This Is Ear Hustle
- Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life
- By: Nigel Poor, Earlonne Woods
- Narrated by: Nigel Poor, Earlonne Woods, Lt. Sam Robinson, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods met, Nigel was a photography professor volunteering with the Prison University Project and Earlonne was serving thirty-one years to life at California’s San Quentin State Prison. Initially drawn to each other by their shared interest in storytelling, neither had podcast production experience when they decided to enter Radiotopia’s contest for new shows...and won. Using the prize for seed money, Nigel and Earlonne launched Ear Hustle, named after the prison term for “eavesdropping”.
-
-
Crying, laughing and goosebumps
- By jennifer hill on 10-19-21
By: Nigel Poor, and others
-
The New Jim Crow
- Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, 10th Anniversary Edition
- By: Michelle Alexander
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seldom does a book have the impact of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Since it was first published in 2010, it has been cited in judicial decisions and has been adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads; it helped inspire the creation of the Marshall Project and the new $100 million Art for Justice Fund; it has been the winner of numerous prizes, including the prestigious NAACP Image Award; and it has spent nearly 250 weeks on the New York Times best seller list.
-
-
Justice denied
- By Sam Motes on 09-24-14
-
The Disordered Cosmos
- A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred
- By: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the leading physicists of her generation, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is also one of fewer than one hundred Black American women to earn a PhD from a department of physics. Her vision of the cosmos is vibrant, buoyantly nontraditional, and grounded in Black and queer feminist lineages. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein urges us to recognize how science, like most fields, is rife with racism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. She lays out a bold new approach to science and society, beginning with the belief that we all have a fundamental right to know and love the night sky.
-
-
Stunning
- By Amazon Customer on 04-05-21
-
Stamped from the Beginning
- The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
- By: Ibram X. Kendi
- Narrated by: Christopher Dontrell Piper
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some Americans cling desperately to the myth that we are living in a post-racial society, that the election of the first Black president spelled the doom of racism. In fact, racist thought is alive and well in America - more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in Stamped from the Beginning, if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society.
-
-
Fabulous book, poor reader
- By EBMason on 11-15-17
By: Ibram X. Kendi
-
Money
- The True Story of a Made-Up Thing
- By: Jacob Goldstein
- Narrated by: Jacob Goldstein
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The cohost of the popular NPR podcast Planet Money provides a well-researched, entertaining, somewhat irreverent look at how money is a made-up thing that has evolved over time to suit humanity's changing needs.
-
-
well researched and written but,
- By C&S on 09-29-20
By: Jacob Goldstein
-
The Whiteness of Wealth
- How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans - and How We Can Fix It
- By: Dorothy A. Brown
- Narrated by: Karen Murray
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dorothy A. Brown became a tax lawyer to get away from race. As a young black girl growing up in the South Bronx, she’d seen how racism limited the lives of her family and neighbors. Her law school classes offered a refreshing contrast: Tax law was about numbers, and the only color that mattered was green. But when Brown sat down to prepare tax returns for her parents, she found something strange: James and Dottie Brown, a plumber and a nurse, seemed to be paying an unusually high percentage of their income in taxes. When Brown became a law professor, she set out to understand why.
-
-
Thought provoking and very accessible
- By Simone on 05-16-21
By: Dorothy A. Brown
-
White Rage
- The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
- By: Carol Anderson
- Narrated by: Pamela Gibson
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Ferguson, Missouri, erupted in August 2014 and media commentators across the ideological spectrum referred to the angry response of African Americans as 'Black rage', historian Carol Anderson wrote a remarkable op-ed in the Washington Post showing that this was, instead, 'white rage at work. With so much attention on the flames,' she wrote, 'everyone had ignored the kindling.'
-
-
Excellent history, modern analysis less so
- By S. Yates on 02-17-18
By: Carol Anderson
-
They Were Her Property
- White Women as Slave Owners in the American South
- By: Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bridging women's history, the history of the South, and African-American history, this audiobook makes a bold argument about the role of white women in American slavery. Historian Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers draws on a variety of sources to show that slave-owning women were sophisticated economic actors who directly engaged in and benefited from the South's slave market.
-
-
Women ARE just like men
- By Mary on 08-22-19
-
Solitary
- Unbroken by four decades in solitary confinement. My story of transformation and hope.
- By: Albert Woodfox
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Solitary is the unforgettable life story of a man who served more than four decades in solitary confinement - in a six-foot by nine-foot cell, 23 hours a day, in notorious Angola prison in Louisiana - all for a crime he did not commit. That Albert Woodfox survived was, in itself, a feat of extraordinary endurance against the violence and deprivation he faced daily. That he was able to emerge whole from his odyssey within America’s prison and judicial systems is a triumph of the human spirit, and makes his book a clarion call to reform the inhumanity of solitary confinement....
-
-
An eye opener!
- By Ellen Gilmartin on 05-25-19
By: Albert Woodfox
-
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
- By: Deesha Philyaw
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where Black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church's double standards and their own needs and passions.
-
-
An Honest, Modern-Day Telling
- By Jenee' Yvette Skinner on 01-06-21
By: Deesha Philyaw
-
The Sun Does Shine
- Oprah's Book Club Summer 2018 Selection
- By: Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin, Bryan Stevenson - foreword
- Narrated by: Bryan Stevenson - foreword, Kevin R. Free
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only 29 years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. But with an incompetent defense attorney and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. He spent his first three years on Death Row at Holman State Prison in despairing silence.
-
-
Extraordinary Man
- By AP on 05-18-18
By: Anthony Ray Hinton, and others
-
The Master Plan
- My Journey From Life in Prison to a Life of Purpose
- By: Chris Wilson, Bret Witter, Wes Moore - foreword
- Narrated by: Chris Wilson, Wes Moore
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up in a tough Washington, D.C., neighborhood, Chris Wilson was so afraid for his life he wouldn't leave the house without a gun. One night, defending himself, he killed a man. At 18, he was sentenced to life in prison with no hope of parole. But what should have been the end of his story became the beginning. Deciding to make something of his life, Chris embarked on a journey of self-improvement - reading, working out, learning languages, even starting a business. He wrote his Master Plan: a list of all he expected to accomplish or acquire.
-
-
Bubble burster
- By FALON GRAY on 04-21-19
By: Chris Wilson, and others
-
American Prison
- A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment
- By: Shane Bauer
- Narrated by: James Fouhey, Shane Bauer
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2014, Shane Bauer was hired for nine dollars an hour to work as an entry-level prison guard at a private prison in Winnfield, Louisiana. An award-winning investigative journalist, he used his real name. Four months later, his employment came to an abrupt end. But he had seen enough and wrote an exposé about his experiences that won a National Magazine Award. In American Prison, Bauer weaves a much deeper reckoning with his experiences together with a thoroughly researched history of for-profit prisons in America from their origins in the decades before the Civil War.
-
-
You need to stay with the actual story
- By JTS on 11-20-20
By: Shane Bauer
-
Native Son
- By: Richard Wright
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.
-
-
excellent!
- By Patrick on 08-21-10
By: Richard Wright
-
Newjack
- Guarding Sing Sing
- By: Ted Conover
- Narrated by: Ted Conover
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As he struggles to be a good officer, Ted Conover angers inmates, dodges blows, works to balance decency with toughness, and participates in prison rituals - strip frisks, cell searches, cell "extractions" - that exact a toll on inmates and officers alike. The tale begins with the corrections academy and ends with the flames and smoke of New Year's Eve on Conover's floor of the notorious B-Block. Along the way, Conover also recounts the history of Sing Sing.
-
-
THE BEST BOOK ON PRISON LIFE I HAVE EVER READ!!!
- By Steve on 06-27-09
By: Ted Conover
-
Writing My Wrongs
- Life, Death, and One Man's Story of Redemption in an American Prison
- By: Shaka Senghor
- Narrated by: Shaka Senghor
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1991, Shaka Senghor was sent to prison for second-degree murder. Today he is a lecturer at universities, a leading voice on criminal justice reform, and an inspiration to thousands.
-
-
My Inspiration
- By Max on 03-15-16
By: Shaka Senghor
-
Down the River unto the Sea
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe King Oliver was one of the NYPD's finest investigators, until, dispatched to arrest a well-heeled car thief, he is framed for assault by his enemies within the NYPD, a charge which lands him in solitary at Rikers Island. A decade later, King is a private detective, running his agency with the help of his teenage daughter, Aja-Denise. Broken by the brutality he suffered and committed in equal measure while behind bars, his work and his daughter are the only light in his solitary life. When he receives a card in the mail from the woman who admits she was paid to frame him those years ago, King realizes that he has no choice.
-
-
Great story
- By Claudia Peebler on 03-03-18
By: Walter Mosley
Publisher's Summary
At the age of 16, R. Dwayne Betts - a good student from a lower-middle-class family - carjacked a man with a friend. He had never held a gun before, but within a matter of minutes he had committed six felonies. In Virginia, carjacking is a "certifiable" offense, meaning that Betts would be treated as an adult under state law. A bright young kid, he served his nine-year sentence as part of the adult population in some of the worst prisons in the state. A Question of Freedom chronicles Betts's years in prison, reflecting back on his crime, and looking ahead to how his experiences and the books he discovered while incarcerated would define him.
Utterly alone, Betts confronts profound questions about violence, freedom, crime, race, and the justice system. Confined by cinder-block walls and barbed wire, he discovers the power of language through books, poetry, and his own pen. Above all, A Question of Freedom is about a quest for identity - one that guarantees Betts's survival in a hostile environment and incorporates an understanding of how his own past led to the moment of his crime.
Featured Article: Listening Recommendations to Pair with 2020 Prime Film Releases
There's no shortage of exciting films being released by Amazon Studios this year—and we've found just the listens to pair with them while you wait, based on your favorite genres. Whether you're on the lookout for a new listen to add to your library or a new movie to add to your watchlist, we've compiled a handy guide sure to help you find just what you're looking for. Discover a Prime Video recommendation—or a new listen to get lost in!—with this list.
More from the same
Author
What listeners say about A Question of Freedom
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- chris marion
- 05-06-22
a poignant & powerful answer
what is the cost of walking away from a bad idea a minute too late?
the answer lies within...
-
Overall
-
Story
- tom
- 09-20-21
outstanding
thank you Mr. Betts. you have put into words my feelings. simply a masterpiece
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jdobs
- 05-26-21
Moving and Beautifully Written
Betts’ narrative about his experience in prison is incredibly moving and heartbreaking. It shines a light on the trauma of incarceration, and through his words allows the reader to meet the the man he becomes in spite of this experience. I am thankful he shared his story and powerful perspective.