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Podcast: New Books in American Studies
Episode: Eric King, "A Clean Hell: Anarchy and Abolition in Americaâs Most Notorious Dungeon" (PM Press, 2025)
Description: A Clean Hell opens the doors of Americaâs most secretive prison and lets the reader step into the cell to experience all the horrors the Federal Bureau of Prisons tries to keep hidden underground.Â
The federal supermax ADX Florence is the most secure facility in the United States, a dungeon of isolation, sensory deprivation, and psychological disintegration. Here, cruelty isnât accidental; itâs the design. Built in 1995, the âAlcatraz of the Rockiesâ was made to cage the so-called worst of the worst: bombers, gang leaders, political enemies, and anyone the government deems too rebellious, too inconvenient, o...