8 chapters across the catalog
The husband of Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam vehemently denied suicide reports, calling them unfounded. Despite Mayor Bill de Blasio's early suggestions of personal "challenges," the medical examiner ruled the cause of death as "undetermined." The segment highlights the lack of a perpetrator or clear resolution in a case involving a high-ranking member of the New York judicial system.
Adama Ba, who was raided by the NYPD Terrorism Task Force at age 16 in Harlem, argues against labeling the January 6 Capitol rioters as terrorists. She suggests that expanding domestic terrorism laws and labels often backfires on innocent black and brown communities. The discussion touches on the specific legal definitions of terrorism, which require a motive for political gain, and draws parallels to the security climate following the September 11 attacks.
Fox News reporter Trace Gallagher covers the appearance of mysterious piles of bricks at protest sites in cities like New York, Dallas, and Kansas City. Moe notes that these bricks never appear when it is time to build something in black neighborhoods, only when it is time to tear things down. They discuss videos of "white girls" handing bricks to black youths.
Michael Bloomberg's 2015 comments at the Aspen Institute surfaced, showing him defending stop-and-frisk by stating that 95% of murder suspects and victims fit a specific minority description. While Donald Trump supported the policy during 2016 debates as a tool to reduce crime, Bloomberg's leaked audio explicitly advocated for "throwing kids against the wall" to find weapons.
Michael Bloomberg delivered a formal apology for stop-and-frisk at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, claiming he did not fully understand the impact on black and Latino communities. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams publicly accepted the apology, though many New Yorkers questioned the sincerity of the timing relative to the election.
An excerpt from the documentary "The Hunted and the Hated" by Ross Tuttle illustrates a typical stop-and-frisk interaction. The audio captures NYPD officers stopping a young man for wearing a hoodie and looking back at their patrol car, demonstrating the confrontational nature of these street encounters.
The hosts explore the historical origins of American policing, moving from loosely organized volunteer groups to formalized departments in the mid-1800s. They discuss the theory that Southern police forces evolved from "slave patrols" designed to control enslaved populations and maintain white supremacy. This historical context is used to explain the deep-seated fear and mistrust many black Americans feel toward law enforcement today.
Adam Curry shares his personal bias, mentioning his past work with NYPD orphans and widows alongside Joan Jett. The hosts acknowledge the "shit job" that first responders have and the psychological toll it takes, comparing it to the jaded mindset of soldiers in Iraq. They discuss how this environment can breed bad actors or cause even well-intentioned officers to become mentally twisted by the constant exposure to trauma and conflict.
