While courts are tasked with deciding guilt impartially, sentencing often demands something more human: empathy. Judges, attorneys, and jurors are asked to consider the offender’s background, the victim’s pain, and the broader impact of a crime. In this episode, Dr. Nicole Price joins David to explore the many forms of empathy and how this often-overlooked skill became central to her work. She shares how her understanding of empathy was shaped not only by her professional journey, but by an unexpected lesson from a pimp—one that her mother couldn’t teach her.

Erik Hulse’s journey is anything but ordinary—once a troubled teen and gifted musician, he went on to serve as an undercover cop and eventually a police captain. But it wasn’t until he discovered Buddhism and mindfulness that he found real peace and purpose. Now a teacher of both, Erik joins David to talk about how crime and legal struggles often stem from a loss of control, and how practices like meditation and self-reflection can help us reclaim it.

Our criminal justice system is built to deliver verdicts and sentences, but what about offering a path toward redemption? In this episode, David sits down with Laura Mars to discuss her work with group therapy for sex offenders, her Christian faith, her stand-up comedy, and the lessons she has learned about overcoming tragedy and adversity.

Policing is among the most passionately debated issues in the already boiling American political discourse. David Bell sits down with Jean Peters Baker, the recently retired Jackson County Prosecutor, to talk candidly about law enforcement, her career in the justice system, and the complexities of addressing police violence in the U.S. David and Jean discuss their perspectives and what this debate can teach us about discussing difficult disagreements in other areas.