In this episode of The Chat Room, Vidal Guzman, Founder and Executive Director of America On Trial, Inc., discusses his journey as an advocate and organizer and his work challenging mass incarceration. The conversation explores the movement to close Rikers Island, the importance of centering people directly impacted by incarceration, and the #AIRS Campaign’s efforts to address the exploitation of incarcerated people and their families through reality television.

On April 14, 2026, AOT Founder & Executive Director Vidal Guzman joined YouthBridge-NY for a youth-focused conversation on media, justice, and change, including a screening of the #AIRS documentary.

The discussion explored the Carceral Entertainment Complex, media’s influence on perceptions of incarceration, and the power of youth leadership and storytelling to challenge harmful narratives

Vidal Guzman’s “The Prison Spectacle,” published by Inquest on December 4, 2025, examines how the media turns incarceration and the lives of incarcerated people into entertainment. The piece highlights the work of America On Trial and the #AIRS campaign to challenge the exploitation and normalization of incarceration through reality television.

Don’t Feed the Algorithm of Carceral Entertainment: A Media Justice Toolkit is a resource from the #AIRS Campaign (Abolish Incarcerated Reality Shows) and America On Trial, created to help educators, organizers, advocates, and community members understand and challenge the exploitation of incarcerated people through reality television. The Toolkit provides practical tools for examining carceral media, understanding its impact, and building a movement for more ethical and justice-centered storytelling.

The #AIRS Campaign documentary screened at the InThrive Film Festival – South Bend Indiana at the St. Joseph County Public Library – Community Learning Center.

The screening highlighted the #AIRS Campaign’s work challenging the exploitation of incarcerated people through reality television and promoting truth, dignity, accountability, and responsible media representation.

The #AIRS Campaign asks us to look beyond the screen—and what happens when the cameras are gone.

AOT Founder & Executive Director Vidal Guzman was invited to speak at Harvard Law School in a conversation hosted by Professor Rebecca Richman Cohen, focusing on mass incarceration, carceral media, and the cultural impact of incarceration-based reality television.

The event included a screening of the #AIRS Campaign short documentary, Abolish Incarcerated Reality Shows, followed by a discussion about how “punishment TV” can normalize incarceration and harm individuals, families, and communities.

The conversation created space to rethink how incarceration is represented in media and how storytelling can become a tool for accountability, justice, and social change.

On June 13, 2025, the #AIRS Campaign documentary screened at the InThrive Film Festival – Northern Virginia at the McGuireWoods Gallery at the Workhouse Arts Center, located on the former grounds of DC’s Lorton Prison.

The screening brought the #AIRS Campaign’s message about incarceration, reality television, media exploitation, and human dignity to an audience in a space deeply connected to the history of incarceration.

The documentary challenges the exploitation of incarcerated people through reality television and asks important questions about who controls these stories, who benefits from them, and what happens after the cameras leave.

The screening was an important opportunity to continue the #AIRS Campaign’s work to promote truth, dignity, accountability, and more responsible media representations of incarceration.

The #AIRS Campaign asks us to look beyond the screen—and to ask what accountability, dignity, and justice should look like when the cameras are gone.

The episode is “Against the Carceral-Entertainment Complex”, part of the three-episode Unmaking the Prison Image series from Visualizing Abolition / UC Santa Cruz. Vidal Guzman joins filmmaker Davit Osit and criminologist Michelle Brown to discuss prison reality TV, 60 Days In, the harms experienced by incarcerated people, and Vidal's #AIRS (Abolish Incarcerated Reality Shows) campaign

On April 12, 2025, America On Trial Inc. and the #AIRS Campaign participated in Creative Beyond Incarceration, a community conversation at Brooklyn Artery, located at 1004 Cortelyou Road in Brooklyn.

AOT Executive Director Vidal Guzman spoke about the #AIRS Campaign and hosted a screening of the #AIRS documentary, highlighting the harm caused by incarceration-based reality television and its impact on incarcerated people and their families.

The event created space for community dialogue about ethical media representation, mass incarceration, and the need for greater accountability in how stories of incarceration are told.

The conversation continued the #AIRS Campaign’s work to challenge harmful narratives and promote truth, dignity, and accountability in media.

On April 2, 2025, the #AIRS Campaign documentary screened at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as part of an InThrive Film Festival Pop-Up, presented by the VCU Humanitarian Research Center.

The screening highlighted the exploitation of incarcerated people and their families through reality television and created space for conversations about justice, reentry, and the experiences of incarceration survivors.

The event continued the #AIRS Campaign’s work to challenge harmful media portrayals and promote truth, dignity, accountability, and meaningful reform.

On March 30, 2025, America On Trial Inc. and the #AIRS Campaign joined the Humanization Project and the Center for Crime, Equity, and Justice Research & Policy for a virtual discussion examining the impact of media portrayals of crime, incarceration, and reentry.

The event included a screening of the #AIRS documentary and explored how incarceration-based reality television, including shows such as Love After Lockup, can reinforce harmful stereotypes, exploit justice-impacted people, and contribute to barriers to successful reentry.

The conversation highlighted the importance of ethical, humanizing storytelling that challenges harmful narratives and uplifts the voices and experiences of justice-impacted communities.

Vidal Guzman’s “Punishment TV,” published by Inquest on February 25, 2025, examines how incarcerated reality television turns people’s experiences of incarceration into entertainment and profit. The piece connects these concerns to the #AIRS campaign, which advocates for an end to the exploitation of incarcerated people through reality television.

On November 14, 2024, AOT Founder & Executive Director Vidal Guzman presented to YouthBridge-NY, engaging young leaders in a conversation about the #AIRS Campaign, media, incarceration, and community change.

The event included a screening of the #AIRS documentary, followed by a discussion about how media shapes perceptions of incarceration and justice, and the importance of challenging harmful narratives.

The conversation highlighted youth leadership, community building, media accountability, and the power of young people to help create stronger and more inclusive communities.

On October 2, 2024, America On Trial Inc. hosted a #AIRS Campaign documentary screening and panel discussion at the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem, bringing community members and organizations together to discuss mass incarceration and the prison television complex.

On May 28, 2024, America On Trial Inc. hosted a #AIRS Campaign documentary screening and panel discussion in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, bringing community members together to discuss mass incarceration and the prison television complex.

We were grateful to be joined by Darren Mack, Co-Director of Freedom Agenda; Paul Notice of Notice Blog; and Michelle Diaz, CEO of Canary Impact Fund, for a powerful conversation on media, incarceration, and community accountability.

The event created space for meaningful dialogue and continued the #AIRS Campaign’s work to challenge incarcerated reality television and advocate for justice, dignity, and responsible storytelling.