In this episode of the Jabot Podcast, I speak with economist and criminal justice expert Jennifer Doleac, author of The Science of Second Chances: A Revolution in Criminal Justice and Executive Vice President of Criminal Justice at Arnold Ventures.
Drawing from economic research and real-world policy analysis, Doleac explains how data — not ideology — should guide criminal justice reform. The conversation explores how incentives shape behavior, why increasing the certainty of consequences works better than harsher punishment, and how evidence challenges many widely accepted assumptions about crime policy.
From probation reform and recidivism research to hiring discrimination and unintended policy consequences, Doleac argues that solving complex justice problems requires experimentation, humility, and rigorous testing. The episode ultimately reframes criminal justice reform as a question of incentives, systems design, and evidence-based decision-making rather than political narratives.
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