Podcast
Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
Hosted by Wondery | Crooked Media · EN
The police tell us they are here to protect us. But what if their original purpose was something else altogether? Peabody Award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika takes listeners on a journey to uncover the hidden history of the largest police force in the world – from its roots in slavery, to rival police gangs battling across the city, to everyday people who resisted every step of the way. As our society debates where policing is going, Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD explores where the police came from.
From Wondery, Crooked Media and PushBlack.
Follow Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD on the Wondery App or wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/empire-city/ now.
24episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Listen Now: Scam Factory
Feb 24, 202500:06:30Summary readyYou know those messages that you get all the time, the ones that pop up out of nowhere? They could be real, but something about them seems fishy. You likely dismiss these texts and emails as mere annoyances, thinking you’ve stopped some random stranger from ripping you off. But the shocking truth is, the person behind that message might be trapped inside a “scam factory” on the other side of the world and forced to scam others against their will. From Wondery, comes a new series about the brutal reality behind these operations, where one family discovers a horrifying truth: the only way out is to scam their way out.Listen Now: Wondery.fm/Scam_Factory See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
SummaryIntroducing: Blood Vines
Feb 13, 202500:08:27Summary readyGet ready for a whole new vintage of true crime podcast with Blood Vines, available exclusively on Wondery+.Hosted by Chris Walker, this full-bodied series uncorks the never-before-told story of the Licciardi family - one of the most powerful wine dynasties in California history - who almost brought down the entire industry over a family battle for succession …that ended in murder. www.wondery.com/links/blood-vinesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
SummaryListen Now: We Came to the Forest
Jan 27, 202500:06:03Summary readyVienna is working a delivery job when she hears about Cop City, a massive police training facility planned for Atlanta. She decides to join the activists trying to stop construction. When Vienna arrives in the South River Forest, she quickly finds a community, a cause and a love unlike any other. But the events of one morning shatters everything. Vienna and everyone connected to the forest begin to question what are you willing to die for? Wondery, Campside and Tenderfoot TV present: We Came to the Forest.Listen to We Came to the Forest wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the entire series early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts: Wondery.fm/WeCametotheForestSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
SummaryListen Now: Something Was Wrong
Jan 13, 202500:06:30Summary readySomething Was Wrong is an award-winning docuseries about survivors discovery, trauma, and recovery from crime and abuse.To Listen: Wondery.fm/Something_Was_WrongSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
SummaryListen Now - Code Switch: What happens when public housing goes private?
Dec 16, 202400:41:05Summary readyThe New York City Housing Authority is the biggest public housing program in the country. But with limited funding to address billions of dollars of outstanding repairs, NYCHA is turning to a controversial plan to change how public housing operates. Fanta Kaba of WNYC's Radio Rookies brings the story of how this will affect residents and the future of housing, as a resident of a NYCHA complex in the Bronx herself.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
SummaryListen Now - Scene on Radio: Danger
Dec 2, 202400:47:14Tap to summarizeSharing an episode from Scene on Radio's acclaimed Season 2 series, Seeing White, by John Biewen and featuring Empire City host and creator, Chenjerai Kumanyika. For centuries, white supremacist U.S. culture has raised the specter of the dangerous Black man. Biewen tells the story of a confrontation with a Black teenager, then he and Kumanyika discuss that well-worn narrative and its neglected flip-side: the harrowing history of white-on-Black violence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Bonus Episode: The Fall of Eric Adams
Nov 1, 202400:24:02Summary readyNew York’s Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted and charged by the federal government with corruption, wire fraud, bribery and more. Could we have predicted what kind of mayor Adams would become based on the culture he was a part of in the NYPD? Chenjerai and attorney John Teufel, who has investigated police misconduct, discuss the implications of the indictment and the significance of a former cop becoming the mayor.From Wondery, Crooked Media and PushBlack.Empire City is made with a commitment to ensure the stories of those who were and are still impacted by the NYPD are always part of the stories we tell ourselves about the Police, about America, and about Democracy.Voices & References:John Teufel: https://www.johnteufelesq.com/DOJ’s Indictment of Adams: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/new-york-city-mayor-eric-adams-charged-bribery-and-campaign-finance-offensesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
SummaryBlack History, For Real: NYPD's Secret Story | For Real, For Real | 9
Oct 23, 202400:42:21Summary ready"Woop! Woop! That’s the sound of da police! Conscious and Frankie welcome Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika – host of Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD. Dr. Kumanyika’s podcast is a deeply personal tale of his relationship to policing, the history of the NYPD and its long reaching impact in police departments across the nation. Are the police truly functioning as designed? Does their origin begin and end as slave catching patrols? Today’s conversation brings humor and depth to the exploration of that fraught history.Listen to Black History, For Real on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
SummaryStay Dangerous | 8
Oct 21, 202400:47:53Summary readyThe NYPD loves to show off its diversity, but it often hides how hard and long it fought that diversity. Chenjerai takes us back in time to the real story of how the NYPD got its first Black cop – and how decades later, Black cops went to war with the NYPD’s union to push for civilian oversight of the police. But how effective is reform if the police are still only accountable to themselves? From Wondery, Crooked Media and PushBlack.Empire City is made with a commitment to ensure the stories of those who were and are still impacted by the NYPD are always part of the stories we tell ourselves about the Police, about America, and about Democracy.Voices & References:Edwin Raymond: https://x.com/edwinraymondnycKhalil Gibran Muhammed: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/khalil-gibran-muhammadNatalie Cherot: https://nataliecherot.com/Andrew Darien: https://directory.salemstate.edu/profile/andrew.darienAn Inconvenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America https://www.amazon.com/Inconvenient-Cop-Change-Policing-America/dp/0593653165The Watchmen: https://www.hbo.com/watchmenThe Congress of Racial Equality: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/congress-racial-equality-coreFollow Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD on the Wondery App or wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/empire-city/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
SummaryThe American Problem | 7
Oct 14, 202400:38:28Summary readyNew York’s police start to realize that beating up and arresting immigrants is making them distrustful of cops. In response, a police chief has an idea, borne out of his time colonizing the Philippines: control the population by recruiting local community members to police their own people. From Wondery, Crooked Media and PushBlack.Empire City is made with a commitment to ensure the stories of those who were and are still impacted by the NYPD are always part of the stories we tell ourselves about the police, about America, and about democracy.Voices & References:Asad Dandia https://www.newyorknarratives.com/our-narrativeMatt Guariglia https://www.matthewguariglia.com/Daniel Czitrom https://www.mtholyoke.edu/directory/emeriti-retired-faculty/daniel-czitromAlbert Samaha https://www.albertsamaha.com/New York Narratives https://www.newyorknarratives.com/Follow Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD on the Wondery App or wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/empire-city/ now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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