WHYY Presents New Podcast Examining Aging And Justice Inside U.S. Prisons

“Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison”
Explores the human, fiscal and moral impact of a rapidly aging incarcerated population
Hosted by Studio 2’s Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA, April 22, 2026 – WHYY, the Greater Philadelphia Region’s public media provider, will present a powerful new investigative podcast, Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison, premiering April 22, 2026. The five-part series explores the growing crisis of aging and dying in America’s prisons, with a focus on women serving life and long-term sentences at SCI Muncy, Pennsylvania’s largest women’s prison.

Hosted by Emmy Award-winning Cherri Gregg, the co-host of WHYY’s Studio 2, the podcast examines the human, fiscal and moral implications of a rapidly aging prison population. Through 30-40 minute episodes released weekly for five weeks, the series brings listeners inside a system grappling with complex questions about justice, healthcare and dignity at the end of life.

Produced by Temple University’s Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting in partnership with Create Genius Media, and released by WHYY, the podcast combines personal narratives, expert analysis and national data to shed light on an often-overlooked population.

“This podcast is about more than prison – it’s about how we define justice at the end of a life sentence,” said Gregg, host and co-executive producer. “We’re asking hard questions about dignity, cost, and whether a system built for punishment knows what to do with aging human beings.”

During the past several decades, the number of older incarcerated people in the United States has increased significantly, raising urgent concerns about healthcare costs, public safety and compassionate release policies. At SCI Muncy alone, roughly 150 women serving life sentences are aging behind bars, many incarcerated during the height of mass incarceration in the 1980s and 1990s.

The series also highlights potential solutions, including expanded geriatric parole and compassionate release, while amplifying the voices of women whose stories are rarely heard.

“Cherri and I spent two years working on this project, and what is really special about it is that you hear from women who have spent decades in prison and need to be heard,” said Yvonne Latty, director of the Logan Center and co-executive producer.

Listeners can access the trailer now and subscribe to the podcast wherever they get their podcasts.

About WHYY:
WHYY, the Philadelphia region’s leading independent, non-commercial public media provider, has served southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and all of Delaware for more than 70 years. WHYY’s mission is to engage audiences, expand perspectives, and empower communities through lifelong learning, truthful reporting, healthy dialogue, and amplification of diverse voices. The station’s national production and presentation roster for public media includes Fresh Air with Terry Gross & Tonya Mosley, the award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues; the children’s arts education series Albie’s Elevator and The Infinite Art Hunt; the weekly science and health program & podcast, The Pulse as well as a variety of documentaries, series, and specials. WHYY also serves as the Local Primary 1 (LP1) station for the Philadelphia emergency alert system (EAS) operational area, acting as the region’s primary broadcaster for receiving and relaying emergency alerts to other stations and cable systems—ensuring the public receives timely and potentially lifesaving information. For more information, visit WHYY.org

Media Contact:
Gary Bramnick|215.351.1262
gbramnick@whyy.org