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by Joe Arvidson
Host Joseph Arvidson brings criminologist, practitioners, academics and those with lived experiences from around the world together to discuss the age old dilemma of responding to society's criminal element. Merging established correctional policy with emerging desistance models, this show illustrates how adopting a holistic lens and constantly questioning established approaches can best serves justice involved individuals.
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- 2 days ago57 min
EP 251: Dr. Jerrod Brown on the Gut-Brain Axis — The Hidden Link Between Health and Behavior
What if some of the behaviors correctional professionals label as noncompliance, impulsivity, poor motivation, or treatment failure are being influenced by factors we rarely consider? Dr. Jerrod Brown—the most frequent returning guest in the history of The Criminologist Podcast—returns for another thought-provoking conversation, this time exploring the gut-brain axis and its potential relevance to criminal justice, behavioral health, probation, parole, and correctional practice. The gut and brain are engaged in constant, two-way communication. Emerging research suggests that disruptions in this system may be associated with mood, attention, stress regulation, sleep, fatigue, self-control, and other areas of functioning that justice professionals encounter every day. But this episode is not about turning probation officers into physicians or nutritionists. It is about broadening the lens. The conversation explores how factors such as nutrition, food insecurity, chronic stress, sleep problems, sedentary behavior, and overall physical health may affect a person's ability to engage successfully in treatment and supervision. The discussion also connects these ideas directly to the Risk-Need-Responsivity framework, particularly the Responsivity Principle. If responsivity means creating the conditions in which interventions have the best chance to succeed, should practitioners be paying more attention to the biological and lifestyle conditions surrounding the people they serve? Among the topics explored: • The basics of the gut-brain axis and gut microbiome • Connections between gut health, mood, cognition, and self-regulation • Nutrition, food insecurity, and justice-involved populations • Sleep, stress, trauma, and lifestyle factors • Gut dysbiosis and emerging neurocriminology research • Impulsivity and executive functioning • Lifestyle medicine and the Blue Zones research • The role of nutritionists, dietitians, and multidisciplinary collaboration • Why these issues may represent important responsivity considerations • The danger of interpreting every struggle in supervision or treatment simply as unwillingness or noncompliance Jerrod repeatedly emphasizes an important caution: none of these factors alone explain criminal behavior. Human behavior is complex, and these are pieces of a much larger puzzle. The challenge for practitioners is simpler: Stay curious. Ask better questions. And keep looking beyond the behavior immediately in front of you. Resources mentioned in this episode Examining the Link Between the Human Microbiome and Antisocial Behavior: Why Criminologists Should Care About Biochemistry, Too https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2017.1410373 Blue Zones — Power 9 Principles https://www.bluezones.com/resources/principles/ Lifestyle Medicine: Prevention, Treatment, and Reversal of Disease https://www.bluezones.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Lifestyle-Medicine-Prevention-Treatment-and-Reversal-of-Disease.pdf Contact Dr. Jerrod Brown: Jerrod01234Brown@live.com Remember: There is no them. There is only us.
- 1 weeks ago1h 18m
EP 250: A Different Kind of Justice. How Leadership Culture Shapes Corrections
What if some of the biggest challenges in corrections are not simply about programs, policies, or training—but about the way we lead? In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, filmmaker, author, and organizational culture expert Dara Barlin joins the show for a wide-ranging conversation about human-centered leadership, correctional culture, staff well-being, implementation, and the ripple effects leadership can have throughout a justice organization. Dara is the Executive Director of the Center for Transforming Culture, author of A New Kind of Power, and filmmaker behind the documentary A Different Kind of Justice. Her work asks a provocative question: What happens when correctional organizations move away from rigid, top-down leadership and create cultures where information, ideas, and accountability can move in multiple directions? The conversation explores: • Why great training often fails to translate into sustained practice—the "knowing-doing gap" • The relationship between organizational culture, officer wellness, morale, retention, and performance • Why emotionally intelligent leaders may be hiding in plain sight inside correctional organizations • The importance of listening to frontline staff and people with lived experience • How leadership practices can create either a negative or positive cascade throughout an organization • Why accountability and human-centered leadership are not mutually exclusive • The parallel process between how leaders treat staff and how practitioners ultimately engage the people they serve • What these ideas mean not only for prisons, but also for probation, parole, and community corrections • Why meaningful organizational change requires much more than a one-time training event • How A Different Kind of Justice uses storytelling to help correctional leaders see what a different model of leadership can look like This episode challenges listeners to look beyond individual programs and interventions and consider the environment surrounding the work itself. Because culture matters. Leadership matters. And how people are treated inside justice organizations may ultimately shape how those systems treat everyone else. Learn more about Dara Barlin, A Different Kind of Justice, upcoming Watch Parties, and ways to get involved: https://www.humansfirstproductions.org/ Contact Dara directly: dara@humansfirstproductions.org
- 4 weeks ago52 min
EP 229: Leadership in Corrections. Brian Gates and the Five Instruments of Leadership
What separates a leader who simply manages people from one who actually develops them? In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, Brian K. Gates, Director of Programs with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, joins the show for a practical conversation about leadership, culture, community supervision, and what it takes to build stronger professionals inside complex correctional systems. Brian brings more than three decades of experience in community corrections, beginning his career as a probation and parole officer and progressing into statewide executive leadership. Along the way, he developed a memorable framework he calls The Five Instruments of Leadership: Eyes to observe Ears to listen Brain to discern Heart to care Mouth to communicate Brian explains how these five instruments work together with four leadership domains — Character, Relationships, Empowerment, and Stewardship — and his 16 Leadership Commitments to move leadership from theory into daily practice. One of Brian's most memorable leadership principles is: "Be the parachute, not the pilot." Great leaders support their people when needed, but they also create room for staff to think, make decisions, grow, and develop sound professional judgment. The conversation also turns to the TIDES Supervision Model and Brian's leadership in helping bring TIDES to North Carolina. What began as an initial pilot has grown into a broader implementation effort involving multiple cohorts of officers and a federally supported initiative focused on trauma-informed community supervision. Brian shares what he has observed about the model, the importance of leadership presence during implementation, and why training attendance alone is never enough — we also need to ask whether practice is actually changing. This episode is especially relevant for probation and parole professionals, correctional leaders, supervisors, trainers, and anyone interested in building healthier organizational cultures without sacrificing accountability or public safety. Explore Brian's Five Instruments of Leadership infographic: https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2/D4E22AQGwwm8SG5mCIA/feedshare-shrink_1280/B4EaEMVV7hJkAQ-/0/1791208284180?e=1793232000&v=beta&t=hivEkZkQi9JCpQiA274T4-OfJZxgc0sKEbmgocQvvEg Connect with Brian Gates: 📧 bkgates7@gmail.com If you work in corrections, community supervision, leadership, or organizational change, this is a conversation worth hearing.
- Sep 9, 202618 min
EP 228- Train and Pray: What Happens After the Training Ends?
*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-6a70a912-4b0c-83ea-80e4-8435cf4a6e16-3" data-turn-id-container= "request-6a70a912-4b0c-83ea-80e4-8435cf4a6e16-3" data-testid= "conversation-turn-28" data-turn="assistant"> Training matters. But what happens after the training ends? In this special mini-episode of The Criminologist Podcast, Joseph Arvidson reflects on a question that correctional organizations—and perhaps the broader helping professions—need to ask more often: How do we know whether training actually resulted in learning, application, and improved proficiency? Agencies invest significant time and resources in conferences, certifications, curricula, and staff development. We document attendance. We issue certificates. We check the box. But then what? Your host introduces what he jokingly calls the "Train and Pray" model—the tendency to provide training and then simply hope that people remember it, understand it, and transfer it into practice. Using examples from Risk-Need-Responsivity and a memorable golf analogy, this episode explores a different way of thinking about professional development: Train → Practice → Measure → Reinforce. The goal is not to diminish the importance of good training. It is to recognize that training is only one part of a larger learning and implementation system—one that should include practice, feedback, reinforcement, and opportunities to demonstrate proficiency. Joseph doesn't claim to have the entire solution figured out....not just yet! But he believes this is a question the field should be asking. What happens after training in your organization—and how do you know whether people can actually apply what they learned? 🎙️ The Criminologist Podcast #Corrections #Probation #Parole #RiskNeedResponsivity #RNR #ProfessionalDevelopment #ImplementationScience #CriminalJustice #Training #TheCriminologistPodcast _:empty]:hidden">
- Sep 9, 202618 min
EP 228- Train and Pray: What Happens After the Training Ends?
*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-6a70a912-4b0c-83ea-80e4-8435cf4a6e16-3" data-turn-id-container= "request-6a70a912-4b0c-83ea-80e4-8435cf4a6e16-3" data-testid= "conversation-turn-28" data-turn="assistant"> Training matters. But what happens after the training ends? In this special mini-episode of The Criminologist Podcast, Joseph Arvidson reflects on a question that correctional organizations—and perhaps the broader helping professions—need to ask more often: How do we know whether training actually resulted in learning, application, and improved proficiency? Agencies invest significant time and resources in conferences, certifications, curricula, and staff development. We document attendance. We issue certificates. We check the box. But then what? Your host introduces what he jokingly calls the "Train and Pray" model—the tendency to provide training and then simply hope that people remember it, understand it, and transfer it into practice. Using examples from Risk-Need-Responsivity and a memorable golf analogy, this episode explores a different way of thinking about professional development: Train → Practice → Measure → Reinforce. The goal is not to diminish the importance of good training. It is to recognize that training is only one part of a larger learning and implementation system—one that should include practice, feedback, reinforcement, and opportunities to demonstrate proficiency. Joseph doesn't claim to have the entire solution figured out....not just yet! But he believes this is a question the field should be asking. What happens after training in your organization—and how do you know whether people can actually apply what they learned? 🎙️ The Criminologist Podcast #Corrections #Probation #Parole #RiskNeedResponsivity #RNR #ProfessionalDevelopment #ImplementationScience #CriminalJustice #Training #TheCriminologistPodcast _:empty]:hidden">
- Aug 18, 20261h 6m
EP 247: Taking RNR Across Cultures. Carolina Báez Hernández on Evidence, Implementation, and Reform
What does it take to move evidence-based corrections across cultures — and make reform survive the real world? In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, Joseph Arvidson sits down with Chilean psychologist and correctional reform specialist Carolina Báez Hernández for a wide-ranging conversation about evidence-based practice, Risk-Need-Responsivity, implementation, culture, leadership, and the realities of correctional reform. Joe and Carolina first met in Barcelona at the International Training School on Core Correctional Skills, where Joe was an instructor and Carolina was a participant. Their professional paths later crossed again in Uruguay, where Carolina joined Joe during his Fulbright Specialist work with prison professionals, and most recently in Bali, where they presented together at the World Congress on Probation and Parole. Their conversation explores questions that matter far beyond any single country or correctional system: • What happens when evidence-based models developed in one setting are introduced into another culture? • How do we balance fidelity with adaptation? • Why is implementation rarely just a technical problem? • What roles do politics, culture, leadership, and narrative play in whether reform succeeds or collapses? • What can Latin America teach the rest of the world about rehabilitation, resilience, and justice reform? One of the central themes of the episode is simple but powerful: Good evidence is not enough. Reform succeeds or fails in the space between research and implementation. For probation and parole professionals, correctional leaders, researchers, policymakers, educators, and anyone interested in making evidence-based practice work in the real world, this is a conversation you will not want to miss. 🎙️ Guest: Carolina Báez Hernández 🎧 Host: Joseph Arvidson, The Criminologist Podcast #Corrections #Probation #Parole #RNR #EvidenceBasedPractice #ImplementationScience #CriminalJustice #Desistance #Rehabilitation
- Aug 4, 202651 min
EP 246: Why We Can't Look Away. Dr. Debbie Goodman on True Crime, Victims & Violence
Why are we so fascinated by high-profile crime—and when does that fascination cross the line from understanding into entertainment? In Episode 246 of The Criminologist Podcast, Joseph Arvidson welcomes criminologist, professor, author, media contributor, and host Dr. Debbie Goodman for a wide-ranging conversation about crime, justice, and public understanding. Dr. Goodman explores the difference between consuming true crime and examining crime through a criminological lens. She discusses how victims and survivors are represented in the media, why complex acts of violence resist simple explanations, and what the public often misunderstands about juvenile offending, mass violence, familicide, and other serious crimes. The conversation also examines the responsibility criminologists and justice professionals carry when commenting publicly on active or high-profile cases—and what future police officers, probation professionals, attorneys, advocates, and justice leaders should understand before entering the field. This episode moves beyond sensational headlines and asks a more important question: How can we talk about crime in ways that inform the public without losing sight of the people whose lives are affected? Learn more about Dr. Debbie Goodman: 🌐 Crime Time with Dr. Debbie https://www.crimetimewithdrdebbie.com/ 🔗 Connect with Dr. Goodman on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-debbie-goodman-05a52a229/ Subscribe to The Criminologist Podcast and share this episode with a colleague, student, or justice professional who values thoughtful conversations about crime and justice.
- Jul 21, 20261h 17m
EP 245: Creating Conditions for Success. Dianna Kalandros on Justice Innovation
In this episode of The Criminologist Podcast, host Joseph Arvidson welcomes Dianna Kalandros, Director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in Coconino County, Arizona, for a conversation about collaboration, innovation, and what it means to humanize the justice system in practical ways. Dianna discusses the role of Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils, the importance of bringing stakeholders together, and how local systems can respond to long-standing challenges in probation, courts, corrections, and community justice through creativity and collaboration. A central theme of the conversation is the shift from simply asking, "How do we respond when people fail?" to asking, "How do we create more opportunities for people to succeed?" Joe and Dianna explore incentive-based approaches, removing barriers, supervision fees, justice system collaboration, and the importance of recognizing progress. Dianna also shares the impact of the Client of the Month project and how it helped humanize individuals involved in the justice system for local stakeholders. The episode also touches on innovative efforts such as the Justice Bus, broader CJCC work in Coconino County, and examples of how communities can rethink access, accountability, and support. This conversation is especially relevant for probation, parole, pretrial services, courts, corrections, reentry, behavioral health, and justice-system leaders interested in improving outcomes through collaboration, practical innovation, and a more human-centered approach. Selected resources provided by Dianna are included below: Tempe incentives program article from KJZZ A look at how a Tempe-run program helps people charged with misdemeanors offset fees, connect with supports, and get back on track. https://www.kjzz.org/kjzz-news/2024-10-30/tempe-run-program-helps-people-charged-with-misdemeanors-offset-fees-get-back-on-track Coconino County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council More information about the CJCC in Coconino County, including Dianna's role and local CJCC work. https://www.coconino.az.gov/943/Criminal-Justice-Coordinating-Council National Network of Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils — JMI Justice Learn more about CJCCs, standards, essential elements, and national resources. https://jmijustice.org/nncjcc/ CJCC Essential Elements — National Institute of Corrections A resource outlining the ten essential elements of high-performing Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils. https://nicic.gov/resources/nic-library/all-library-items/cjcc-essential-elements-companion-national-standards Justice on the Road with Coconino County — JMI Justice A feature on Coconino County's Justice Bus initiative and its effort to bring justice-related services directly t
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About The Criminologist
Host Joseph Arvidson brings criminologist, practitioners, academics and those with lived experiences from around the world together to discuss the age old dilemma of responding to society's criminal element. Merging established correctional policy with emerging desistance models, this show illustrates how adopting a holistic lens and constantly questioning established approaches can best serves justice involved individuals.
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