logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
43m 17s

They Keep People Safe | 1

Wondery | Crooked Media
About this episode

Chenjerai takes us back to the summer of 1835, when Black New Yorkers are being kidnapped and sold into slavery in the south. But their friends and families can’t call the cops, because it turns out the kidnappers are the cops…can a group of Black resistance fighters stop it? 

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: 

Mariame Kaba: https://mariamekaba.com/

Jon Wells: https://www.jonathandanielwells.com/

Wilbur Miller: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/history/people/_emeriti/miller.php

The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War: https://www.amazon.com/Kidnapping-Club-Street-Slavery-Resistance/dp/156858752X

The Congress of Racial Equality: https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/congress-racial-equality-core

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.

Up next
Jun 23
Listen Now: Liberty Lost
In Evangelical homes across the United States, sex outside of marriage is a sin against God. So, when Abbi becomes pregnant at 16, her devout parents hide her away at the Liberty Godparent Home, a little-known facility for pregnant teens on the campus of Liberty University. The H ... Show More
5m 55s
Jun 3
Wondery Presents: How to Survive Against the Odds
Inspired by Wondery’s hit podcast Against the Odds—learn how to survive whatever nature can throw at you through gut-twisting true stories of survival on the brinkHow to Survive Against the Odds places you at the center of fifteen real life-or-death scenarios. Each story explores ... Show More
6m 2s
Oct 2024
Stay Dangerous | 8
The 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 civ ... Show More
47m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
Buffalo Soldiers | The Brass Letters | 1
In the spring of 1865, with the Civil War finally over, American lawmakers began to debate whether Black soldiers would have a permanent place in the peacetime Army. Some 180,000 Black men had fought in the Union ranks, but never before in the nation’s history had they been allow ... Show More
38m 35s
Sep 2024
Listen Now - Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
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 cult ... Show More
8m 20s