My guest today is Professor Alexandra Natapoff. Alexandra is a law professor at Harvard University. She writes about criminal courts, public defense, plea bargaining, wrongful convictions, and race and inequality in the criminal justice system. Her new book, which is an expanded edition of her older book is called "Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice" In this episode, Alexandra and I discuss a phenomenon that's rarely encountered outside of shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, which is the use of criminal informants in the American justice system. Not all countries allow cops and prosecutors to reduce an accused criminal sentence in exchange for his cooperation and other investigations. However, Alexandra argues that most local and state agencies in America are allowed to do this with no documentation and no transparency. We talk about the advantages as well as the flaws of this system. We discuss the risk of informants giving false information or even planting evidence to reduce their own sentences. We talk about the triangular relationship between cops, informants, and prosecutors. We talk about the secretive nature of the informant system and how that prevents academics from studying it. I also press Alexandra on whether her proposal for transparency in the informant system would hinder the cops' ability to solve violent crimes and protect unsafe neighborhoods. Check out Alexandra's Book: Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice - https://amzn.to/3Old94u #Indeed #Ad Need to hire? You need Indeed. Join over three million businesses worldwide using Indeed to hire great talent fast. Visit https://www.indeed.com/Conversations to start hiring now. #AthleticGreens #Ad To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit https://www.athleticgreens.com/coleman #Butcherbox #Ad Sign up today at https://www.butcherbox.com/COLEMAN and use code COLEMAN to get Free Ribeyes for a Year plus $10 off. #ColemanUnfiltered Coleman Unfiltered addresses topics that have been on mute through the ages with silent shifts into polarities, by relentless questioning and observations in coordination with some of the brightest intellectuals of our generation. The Unfiltered Community is an ode to the fans; an environment promoting sound tolerance of ideas to solidify the meaning of liberalism in a changing world. It’s a concrete effort to have open, honest conversations on the most difficult social and political issues we’re surrounded with. For in-depth discussions, unaired/unseen episodes, and bonus content on Conversations With Coleman, participate via a membership and gain access to raw, powerful human ideology. Welcome to the new age’s most original intellectual revolution; let’s change the world, one conversation at a time. Sign up Today - https://bit.ly/3B1GAlS FOLLOW COLEMAN Twitter - http://bit.ly/2rbAJue Facebook - http://bit.ly/2LiAXH3 Instagram - http://bit.ly/2SDGo6o Podcast -https://bit.ly/3oQvNUL Website - https://colemanhughes.org/ Limited Edition Merch - https://bit.ly/CWCMerch #ConversationswithColeman #CWC #ColemanHughes #Podcast #Politics #society #Colemanunfiltered #Unfiltered #Music #Philosophy #BlackCulture #Intellectual #podcasting #podcastersofinstagram #Youtube #podcastlife #music #youtube #radio #comedy #podcastshow #spotifypodcast #newpodcast #interview #motivation #art #covid #history #republicans #blacklivesmatter #follow #libertarian #art #socialism #communism #democracy #americafirst #blm #trending #capitalism #kag #indian #conservatives #media #elections