Listen Now - Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
Digest
The podcast delves into the NYPD's history, challenging the idealized image often presented. It begins by highlighting the department's strong brand awareness, built on iconic imagery and tales of heroism. However, the podcast promises to uncover a darker side, revealing a history of censorship and manipulation. The host's attempt to research the NYPD's history at the police museum is met with closed doors and censorship. The museum's director, an active NYPD sergeant, refused to allow the use of words like "violence" and "corruption" in the museum's narrative. This highlights the NYPD's efforts to control the narrative of its history. The podcast then emphasizes the crucial role newspapers played in shaping the NYPD's role and public perception for over 180 years. Newspapers contributed to the narrative that persists today, even if it is not entirely accurate. The podcast ultimately argues that the NYPD's history is not as straightforward as its public image suggests, and that there are hidden and darker aspects that have been suppressed or ignored.
Outlines
The NYPD's Brand Awareness and Hidden History
The podcast introduces the NYPD's strong brand awareness, highlighting its iconic imagery and tales of heroism. However, it promises to reveal a hidden and darker history of the department.
Censorship and Control: The NYPD's Museum
The host's attempt to research the NYPD's history at the police museum is met with closed doors and censorship. The museum's director, an active NYPD sergeant, refused to allow the use of words like "violence" and "corruption" in the museum's narrative. This highlights the NYPD's efforts to control the narrative of its history.
The Power of the Press: Shaping the NYPD Narrative
The podcast emphasizes the crucial role newspapers played in defining the NYPD's role and shaping public perception of the police for over 180 years. Newspapers contributed to the narrative that persists today, even if it is not entirely accurate.
Keywords
NYPD Brand Awareness
The NYPD's strong brand awareness is built on iconic imagery, tales of heroism, and widespread recognition, often associated with 9/11 and popular culture.
Police Museum Censorship
The NYPD's attempt to control the narrative of its history by censoring the use of terms like "violence" and "corruption" in the police museum's exhibits.
Newspaper Influence on Police Narrative
Newspapers played a significant role in shaping public perception of the police, influencing their role and responsibilities, and contributing to the narrative that persists today.
NYPD History
The podcast explores the hidden and darker aspects of the NYPD's history, challenging the idealized image often presented.
Media Manipulation
The podcast highlights how media, particularly newspapers, have played a role in shaping the public's perception of the NYPD, potentially contributing to a biased narrative.
Q&A
What is the main argument presented in the podcast about the NYPD's history?
The podcast argues that the NYPD's history is not as straightforward as its public image suggests, and that there are hidden and darker aspects that have been suppressed or ignored.
Why was the host unable to access information about the NYPD's history at the police museum?
The police museum was closed to the public and the host's attempts to contact museum staff were unsuccessful. Additionally, the museum's director imposed strict censorship on the narrative, prohibiting the use of certain terms.
How did newspapers influence the public perception of the NYPD?
Newspapers played a crucial role in shaping the public's understanding of the NYPD's role and responsibilities, contributing to the narrative that persists today, even if it is not entirely accurate.
Show Notes
At a time when we’re debating where policing is going, we’re going to tell you where the police came from. Guided by Peabody award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika, Empire City will provide the first accessible narrative history of the American police and its place in popular culture. Who are the police? And why were police departments created in the first place? To find answers, we’re going to tell the origin story of the largest police force in the world: The NYPD. We begin in the late 1800’s at a moment when the entire police force was on trial. It’s the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the NYPD, and it all plays out like a high stakes courtroom drama. What follows is the action-packed account of how the NYPD got to this point and what happened next. It involves Black abolitionists fighting slave patrols in the courts of Gotham; two rival police forces duking it out for power at City Hall; the origins of the true crime genre; and how the NYPD spread their tactics worldwide.
Listen to Empire City wherever you get your podcasts: Wondery.fm/Empire_City.
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Table of contents
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