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Police and the Empire City

On this episode of American Prestige, Matthew Guariglia on policing in New York.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

August 6, 2024

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Police and the Empire City w/ Matthew Guariglia, Part 1 | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek are joined by Matthew Guariglia, senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and visiting scholar of history at Emory University, for a two-part discussion on the history of policing in New York City. They explore NY policing as a case study for how the state studies people in order to inform policy, its initial function in the mid-19th century, the largely Irish and German makeup of the force at the time, the force’s interaction with different communities, how gender and race informed the force during the Progressive Era, the NYPD’s international presence and colonial aspects, the formation of “ethnic squads,” and more through the early 20th century.

Matthew's book is Police and the Empire: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York.

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On this episode of American Prestige, we’re joined by Matthew Guariglia, senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and visiting scholar of history at Emory University, for a two-part discussion on the history of policing in New York City. We explore NY policing as a case study for how the state studies people in order to inform policy, its initial function in the mid-19th century, the largely Irish and German makeup of the force at the time, the force’s interaction with different communities, how gender and race informed the force during the Progressive Era, the NYPD’s international presence and colonial aspects, the formation of “ethnic squads,” and more through the early 20th century.

Matthew’s book is Police and the Empire: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

The Political Economy of Porn w/ Molly Lambert | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Molly Lambert, creator of the JENNAWORLD podcast, to talk about the rise of the modern porn industry and its roots in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. They discuss the medium’s origins in underground stag films and the porno chic era; the shift to home video and the corporate studio model; breakout stars like Ginger Lynn Allen and Jenna Jameson; porn as an outsider industry mirroring Hollywood; gender, labor, and power in late-20th-century media; the relationship between pornography and evolving feminist politics; porn’s role in the VHS–Betamax war; and how the internet, OnlyFans, and content platforms have affected a formerly professionalized industry.

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Derek DavisonDerek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.


Daniel BessnerTwitterDaniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.


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