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  - Ban the Box:…
    
    1 in 3 adults in the United States have a criminal record, which offers significant challenges to these individuals, including reentering the job market after incarceration. Over the years, there’s been a push for “Ban the Box” policies that call for removing questions asking about criminal history on job applications to give former offenders a fair chance by delaying background checks until later in the hiring process. Those who are against early screening argue that former offenders shouldn’t continue to be punished by the system, especially when it disproportionally affects minorities. It also prevents applicants from contributing and reintegrating into society and reducing dependency on social services. Those who disagree and say that screening a job applicant’s criminal history is important, argue that employers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their business, employees, and customers and make informed hiring decisions. Without early screening, some recent studies show that employers might unconsciously resort to biased assumptions or stereotypes when evaluating candidates. With this context, we debate Ban the Box: Should We Banish the Criminal History Check Box from Job Applications?
    
    Friday, April 19, 2024
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Randy Cohen

Writer & Humorist

Randy Cohen is a writer and humorist best known for his “The Ethicist” column in the New York Times Magazine, which he wrote weekly for 12 years. He has won several Emmy awards for his work on television and is the author of several books and plays. His latest book is “Be Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything,” and he is currently the host of the public radio show “Person Place Thing.”

Debates Featuring Randy Cohen

Should We Separate the Art from the Artist?

With Randy Cohen, Aruna D'Souza
September 30, 2022

It turns out your favorite artist is a monster. Say they committed murder, advocated genocide, or engaged in some other act so outside the scope of a dignified, respectable society that it cannot be redeemed. What now? Must you throw the art out with the artists? It's a question at the heart of both pop culture and high art critique. For some, a work of art is an entity in itself. It should be appreciated and revered without regard to…

Should We Separate the Art from the Artist?

It turns out your favorite artist is a monster. Say they committed murder, advocated genocide, or engaged in some other act so outside the scope of a dignified, respectable society that it cannot be redeemed.…

With Randy Cohen, Aruna D'Souza
September 30, 2022

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