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Police and the Empire City, Part 2

On this episode of American Prestige, Part 2 of our conversation with Matthew Guariglia on policing in New York.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

August 13, 2024

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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.

Police and the Empire City with Matthew Guariglia, Part 2 | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek are back with Matthew Guariglia, senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and visiting scholar of history at Emory University, for the second part of our discussion on the history of policing in New York City.

We delve further into the NYPD’s efforts at “ethnic policing,” exploring the Italian squads of the early 20th century, how tackling the Mafia anticipated modern-day police efforts at tackling transnational crime, how World War I challenged the idea of police squads recruited from immigrant and minority communities, the NYPD’s relationship with the nascent FBI, and how these past efforts at reform inform contemporary debates.

Listen to the first episode here!

You can find Matthew’s book Police and the Empire City: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York.

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On this episode of American Prestige, we’re back with Matthew Guariglia, senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and visiting scholar of history at Emory University, for the second part of our discussion on the history of policing in New York City. We delve further into the NYPD’s efforts at “ethnic policing,” exploring the Italian squads of the early 20th century, how tackling the Mafia anticipated modern-day police efforts at tackling transnational crime, how World War I challenged the idea of police squads recruited from immigrant and minority communities, the NYPD’s relationship with the nascent FBI, and how these past efforts at reform inform contemporary debates.

Listen to the first episode here!

You can find Matthew’s book Police and the Empire City: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York at Bookshop.org.

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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