Month: October 2026

Think like a burglar! What makes one house an irresistible target and another one a hard pass? And could that Second Amendment sign in your front yard actually be attracting burglars instead of deterring them? In this episode of Pracademically Speaking, we go inside the minds of experienced burglars—virtually! Dr. Patrick McClanahan of the University of Alabama joins us to discuss his fascinating research using virtual reality technology to study how incarcerated burglars size up potential targets, weigh risks and rewards, and make criminal decisions. Find out what burglars see that the rest of us don’t, and how a groundbreaking partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is helping advance the science of criminal decision-making. No actual homes were burglarized in the making of this episode!

What happens when we interview AI itself about the future of AI in corrections?  For the first time on the podcast, our guest isn’t human. Meet Dr. PracaBot, an AI bot with an honorary doctorate and plenty of opinions, for a completely unscripted conversation about how artificial intelligence could transform corrections—from prison safety and recidivism reduction to risk assessment, reentry, and the correctional workforce.