Police
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If John Rawls Ran the Police February 17, 2023
America has a problem with police legitimacy. This has been true for some years, but the past month has underscored the point. Understandably, the savage beating of Tyre Nichols has led to renewed calls for police reform, and clearly many people do n...
All Anyone Can Do: A Midwestern Journalist’s Retrospective February 07, 2023
The distance travelled from Elvis to Trump is a lifetime. Which, like all history, is best appreciated in retrospect, and most rewarding when gleaned from first-hand accounts - provided these are forthright and, above all, well-written. These require...
The Defiance of Salman Rushdie February 07, 2023
When Salman Rushdie turned seventy-five, last summer, he had every reason to believe that he had outlasted the threat of assassination. A long time ago, on Valentine’s Day, 1989, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, declared Rushdie’s ...
How 'First Blood' Foreshadowed America’s Policing Problem September 21, 2022
Forty years after its release, "First Blood" can still teach us a lot about power and the purpose of the law. Rambo: Why you pushing me? Teasle: What'd you say? Rambo: I said why you pushing me? I haven't done anything to you. Teasle: First of all, y...
Cannabusiness Goes to Pot September 16, 2022
My one and only run-in with the police occurred on a hot summer night in Portland, Oregon, a month . . . ....
Hell, or Catalonia September 06, 2022
IN THE FALL OF 2014, in the run-up to what began as a “declaration of sovereignty,” or, in layman’s terms, a referendum on Catalan independence, and was downgraded, for reasons deferential to the letter if not the spirit of the law, to a “citizen par...
If You Want Protection for Your Loved Ones, Do It Yourself June 01, 2022
Police in Uvalde, Texas, face a barrage of criticism for delays in confronting the shooter who slaughtered children and teachers......
The Clockwork Universe: Is Free Will an Illusion? May 04, 2021
Towards the end of a conversation dwelling on some of the deepest metaphysical puzzles regarding the nature of human existence, the philosopher Galen Strawson paused, then asked me: “Have you spoken to anyone else yet who’s received weird email?” He ...
Cleaning House in Baltimore May 04, 2021
Residents of Baltimore are getting used to the feds swooping down on the city in pursuit of official malfeasance. Federal prosecutors are investigating Marilyn Mosby, the state’s attorney for Baltimore, and Nick Mosby, her husband and the president o...
Simon & Schuster Won't Distribute Controversial Book April 16, 2021
Simon & Schuster has scrapped its plans to distribute a book written by one of the Louisville police officers who shot Breonna Taylor, after news of its publication ignited widespread criticism.Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was not charged over his involve...
Fear Thy Neighbor April 07, 2021
In an age of rancor, one thing we can all agree on is that it makes a certain amount of sense to fear the police. What other force in civil society is authorized to intrude on private life, and deny its benefits and freedoms, in quite the same way? I...
When Your Grandfather Was Stalin's Bodyguard March 13, 2020
When the poet Osip Mandelstam was arrested by the Soviet secret police in the 1930s, he was taken to the notorious Lubyanka prison for interrogation. He drew a distinction between the guards “on the outside” — village youths doing terrible things out...
The Chicago Police Department's History of Torture March 04, 2020
The Chicago Police Department has been synonymous with all of the very worst excesses of law enforcement culture in the United States for decades, its actions exacerbated by a culture of winking, backslapping, and encouragement from elected officials...
A Wild & Dangerous Effervescence March 02, 2020
n January 1891, Victorien Sardou premiered his Thermidor at the Comédie Français. The play tells the story of a clerk working for the fearsome Committee for Public Safety who tries to save its victims from the Terror by misplacing their paperwork. Th...
Spycraft as Statecraft March 02, 2020
Kevin Mallory was no James Bond. The hapless former CIA agent attempted to deflect suspicion that he had been selling the Chinese secret information by voluntarily turning over a Chinese-provided cell phone to FBI investigators. Mr. Mallory assumed a...
How America Became Over-Policed June 08, 2018
In pop culture, representations of police have tended with few exceptions to start with the vision of a righteous force on the side of the people. In the 1950s, Dragnetshowed Sergeant Joe Friday solving crimes with a cool professionalism. In the ongo...
Which Algorithm Watches the Watchmen? November 27, 2017
Cameras, connected to facial recognition software, watch every corner in lower Manhattan......
A Dark and Violent New Book August 22, 2017
Roland Ford is a private investigator who excels at finding missing people. He's also a former police officer, an Iraq war combat veteran and a widower who is tortured by the loss of his wife, who comes to him now in waking dreams......
American Crime Writer Don Winslow July 14, 2017
The author takes inspiration from television, movies and his new book on police in New York......
'Game Of Thrones' With Cops June 24, 2017
Don Winslow's new novel is packed with crooked cops and crookeder crooks, all defending their territories and trying to maintain a status quo where everyone earns, everyone eats and no wars break out......
Fast-Moving Fiction, Soon to Be Film June 24, 2017
The book centers around Dennis Malone, a powerful New York City police detective. He's arrogant, contemptuous, corrupt, smart and violent. He steals a lotta cash and heroin from a drug bust......
A Max Tudor Mystery June 23, 2017
Mixing a former M15 agent with a dishy priest and a bunch of Hollywood gossips is guaranteed to be at least entertaining and potentially explosive......
New and Noteworthy Books June 19, 2017
Look for new books by Dean Koontz, Janet Evanovich and Don Winslow. Plus a history of the iPhone......
Corrupt Cop Up Against the Wall June 17, 2017
Crooked cop is a hero until he is no longer a hero......
